Lemon

[Peter_Bull]

I agree totally with Bull996 and MMacD!!
I love my 996 and granted it's only done 5.6K miles as it's a pampered 3rd car. What a superb car in all aspects - except of course I have to stop to get the roof up and down, yet even the wife's Z4 can be done on the move.
Before I bought the 996 I tried out quite a few 993S's as at the time that is what I wanted after my very low mileage SC. To be honest the 993's felt old as old fashioned as old as my SC in many aspects but I perceived as I really wanted what most other enthusiasts wanted - the 993S. The rot set in when my wife said one day " ... were not going to look at another stinker are we?...." She meant a 993. It was then I realised that I was being misled and following the diehard pack for a 993 and not what I (and wife) really wanted - a truly modern Porsche that set high standards in driveability, comfort and reliability! Just the job for a spaz like me with a poorly back! I've never regretted it and it is the best Porsche I have owned (4th).
All this talk about unreliability and how everyone jumps on the bandwagon saying the same things to knock the 996 is really quite pointless really. It's only because the internet and forums like this that have recently developed to give us all a broader audience to in which to air our views - good or bad.
An oil leak from the RMS - so what! Just imagine what the 964 section of this forum would have been like in the early 90's with all the problems they had with the dual mass flywheel, distributor drive and oil leak problems. I could hazard a guess that the 996 problems on this forum would pale into insignificance.

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

ORIGINAL: Peter Bull
What a superb car in all aspects - except of course I have to stop to get the roof up and down, yet even the wife's Z4 can be done on the move.

Why not get a SmartTop roof control. Advertised in PP, etc.

 

[burrow01]

ORIGINAL: Peter Bull

An oil leak from the RMS - so what! Just imagine what the 964 section of this forum would have been like in the early 90's with all the problems they had with the dual mass flywheel, distributor drive and oil leak problems. I could hazard a guess that the 996 problems on this forum would pale into insignificance.

I agree wholeheartedly with this, apart from the fact that there are known 964 engine numbers after which the problems are solved, and the 993 engine suffers much less from them, as the problems were engineered out. The RMS is an ongoing saga over 8 years, with several attempts at a fix. The other problem with the car is the intermediate shaft, which is much more serious, and again the same engine design is being used to this day. In the past (sounds of violins etc) these problems would have been fixed much more quickly, that was one of the appeals of a Porsche, each new model learnt from the lessons of the previous models, and the engineers were allowed to develop a better car each time. The appearence of RMS leaks on 997's is incredibly dissapointing in this respect

my 2p

Pete

 

[mwadams]

Peter,

I was not jumping on the bandwagon, and as someone who has had 10 Porsches, it was quite sad for me to have two 996's which were bloody awful in reliability; in both instances the cars were purchased from well known independents.

Bearing in mind I actually went back to a 996 in between having a Boxster 'S' which needed a new engine (under warranty).

I actually went through the upgrade from 964 , 993, to 996.

I think Porsche should have by now ironed out the design flaws on each new model.

Mark

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton

ORIGINAL: mwadams
I so think the build quality was better on the older cars and not going to spark an all out debate.

No, I don't want to do that either. If the car was a weekend-only drive for me, I'd go for the 993 every time. Much more raw and visceral - from a different era of motoring.

It's disappointing that you didn't have better experiences with later models. How about some comments by others about the positive experiences?

Richard

Not a 996 but my 986 has 87k miles (all mine) on it with a split expansion tank as the only minus.

JCB..

 

[blease]

A good discussion, for which thanks.
I really did not want to start this thread as I am a porschophile. I know about poor engineering having come up through the ranks of British and Italian motorcycles, a Hillman Imp and an Austin Montego (cringe!!!). What I loved so much about my first Porsche was that tactile contact with quality engineering.
The 996 is brilliant when it's going. But something has been lost in the translation from specialist sportscar to mass produced vehicle. I, too, went down the 996 route to be able to involve my wife who viewed the Carrera 3.2 as a smelly, old, noisy and uncomfortable dinosaur. And, yes, that 915 box was a bugger, but I loved the thrill of getting a change 'just so'. A boy thing I guess. But it never let me down or emptied my pockets unless I wanted to. Someone inherited a loved old 3.2 with brand new suspension and brakes, set up for track work. Ho hum.

 

[blease]

Wow! We are censored!!!
I typed 'bugger' in the last reply and it came out 'bugger'!!
Come PCGB, we are all consenting adults here!

 

[Mark_Bennett]

We may be consenting adults, but lot's of companies firewalls will block access to sites containing certain words.
So, do you want PCGB to be blocked by company firewalls or not? [&:]

 

[Bull996]

ORIGINAL: James Keith Starkie

******* ****
a four letter word censored out, could only be one couldn't it? And, it's not a very nice word either, adult or not.

I can think of loads of four letter bad words..... wont list them though []

 

[Lancerlot]

Just picked up this thread.
Just to add my experiences to the discusson, I've had 8 Porsches (7 of them 911's). In my opinion the best were my first one, a 911 SC and my current car, a 996 (although this is a turbo). Only problem in 3½ years being a battery drain due to a sticking electronic seat relay and recently a replacement battery.

 

[Beaky]

I've copied this from another 996 thread but:
There's a good article in this month Totally 911 on the true facts on the 996 engine design issues (go into W H Smith and read it in your lunch time!) makes for interesting reading on the whole topic.

Porsche has been slowly trying to address the design faults through the evolution of the 996 engine, but these engines are not as bullet proof or as strong as the original dry sump design, hence the GT2/3 & Turbos' still use the old design

Still a 5-10% failure rate is very low compared to other manufacturers but high compared to the old models

 

[blease]

Depressingly, the 'leak' turns out to be the nearside rad again.
The censoring software put 4 stars in the place of the 7 letter word meaning 'unmarried mothers son'.
I suppose I should have typed b**tard!

 

[Guest]

I picked my car up two weeks ago (996 C4S 2002). Within days I took it to Sports and Classic to look investigate why it was using coolant.
Michael diagnosed both radiators as faulty and needed replacing. The broker I bought it from did not believe him so sent a flat bed lorry and took it to Bob Watson in Oxford. He agreed and replaced both radiators. I picked it back up on Wednesday. Noticed it leaking again on Thursday and had it flat bedded back to Bob on Friday It appears that the O rings in the hoses and knackered and are now being replaced. I should get the car back on Mon or Tuesday. Hopefully thats it and the car is great from now on. Initial thoughts are that the car is great though.

I did have Michael look at it to check everything else. All good, phew and I joined the PCGB at Goodwood on Friday

 

[blease]

Yeah, when it's going well, it is a great car. My cab can be a naff hairdressery boulevard cruiser, a comfortable, rapid Grande Tourer or a salivating balls-out track day thrasher. It really has all those characters. But the price is mounting up and it is just so disappointing to see problems arising that you know are due to the accountants getting the upper hand over the engineers. Not what attracted me to Porsche in the first place. OK, I admit it, I take the Clarkson view of the world that Brunel was a better man than anf money man you could shake a stick at!

 

[John Maddox]

993's are not immune - I've spent £3k on mine this year, clutch/steering rack/window problems/drive shaft gaitors/battery/geometry checks/etc !!

 

[carrera4boy]

ORIGINAL: blease

Yeah, when it's going well, it is a great car. My cab can be a naff hairdressery boulevard cruiser, a comfortable, rapid Grande Tourer or a salivating balls-out track day thrasher. It really has all those characters. But the price is mounting up and it is just so disappointing to see problems arising that you know are due to the accountants getting the upper hand over the engineers. Not what attracted me to Porsche in the first place. OK, I admit it, I take the Clarkson view of the world that Brunel was a better man than anf money man you could shake a stick at!

Hi Mate,

Both my 996 C4 radiators have cracked this year costing me £1200. Its as soon as we get the hot weather and you hit the AirCon button, one radiator gets hot the other cold and the seals crack etc. Its VERY common i was told, but not covered under warranty (surprise surprise). Pressing a button on my dash board cost me £1200.

I would like to add though, i think its a great car and not much comes close in terms of performance and looks. A few niggles over the years but nothing really major.
Simon

 

[blease]

The woe continues. Whilst in with a specialist having all the ignition coils changed (another 'common' problem!!) some a***hole scraped the nearside wing. Hoped to have the car for some cruisin' on my hols but that is fading into the distance!
The only 'good' news is that the crappy coils are just £25 per pot unlike a previous Merc where they were £110 per pot!