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newbie on the lookout for a 993

R

redbull

New member
hi there guys im a new member on the forum and wish to say a big hello to all of you! i am in somewhat of a position with regard to a certain itch i have and wish to soon satisfy with regard to owning a porsche after a fair amount of deliberation i have picked out two models that float my boat those being the 996 c2 and the 993c4s
the latter is through the pure love of the widebody look,and i understand that the c4s has the turbo chassis to effect i.e brakes and wide rear end! i currently work at a reasonably succesfull F1 team and hence will enefit from a fair bonus in january of 2010 so i am trying to learn alot from you guys to help with my choice when i decide to part with my cash,i currently drive a 1995 mk4 twin turbo toyota supra running 365bhp the supra is awesomely fast ,but i would like to know what sort of cars you guys owned previously and what your feelings on the reliability of the 993 is and also the driving experiences and the performance also !

thanks for your time in reading my post

james baughan
 
Hi James and welcome. I think you've got to get out and drive at least one example of each. The 993 is a fantastic car and bearing in mind your Supra I think you might prefer the driving experience to a 996, which to my mind is massively competent but misses out a little on the overall level of feel you get from a good 993. I'm no expert I confess, but my 3 1/2 year ownership of a 993 was almost totally without problems. The engines seem to be bullet proof if properly looked after, but bodywork can show problems in specific places like around the windscreen (especially if it's been replaced). Go for good history, don't worry too much about mileage and look at a few before you buy as great ones seem ot be priced at pretty much the same level as examples that need work and money. I sold mine due to circumstances, but want one again so badly one of my kidneys in in danger of finding itself in another body...

You might want to get a copy of Peter Morgan's buyers guide which is very helpful for things to look out for. He does one book for each model of car and they're a good investment, but there's also lots of good info on this forum and others for free. Specialist mags are quite good too.

Love the idea of blowing a bonus on a 993 - a fine investment in my opinion!

Cheers, Craig
 
Hi James,
Welcome to the forum.
In terms of reliability I can echo Craig's comments - (touching wood as I say this 'cos mines in for MOT and service today) - but nothing goes wrong, it just works all the time like any modern car. I've had the car for 3 years and about 23,000 miles now and I've only spent on services and tyres (plus a clutch just after I bought it).

Dropping my car in for service my indie was saying he'd just had to spend quite a time sorting out siezed front CV joints on a C4 that had only done 25K miles from new (ie the less you drive them the more goes wrong!) - definitely not worth hunting out a low mileage car!

In terms of 996 or 993 (I had to make same decision), you will quickly decide for yourself as soon as you have driven one of each - totally different cars.

Good luck with the search.
 
guys once again a very big thanks for answering a question that has no doubt been asked millions of times before:
Mark how did the mot and service go i hope they werent to painfull!
so am i right in assuming that the 993 is what is regarded as the more bullet proof set up unlike that of the 996 which seems to hark of seals leaking and a few engine bore liners failing ? is ther much different in the poke between a 285 bhp 993 and the later 996's 3.4 making 300 bhp?finally what sort of 993 is the best to have im afraid i do not have an infinate budget or bonus i think i will have around 16,000 to spend maybe a touch more,this isnt going to allow me to buy a 996 c4s though i presume? so they do another 993 in widebody ?and can you recommend any dealers in the south that are highly thought of please?

thanks guys james
 
Hi James,

I was in a very similar position to you a few years ago. At the time I bought a facelift 996 and I have to say it was a great car, very fast, super handling and well out together. I had it nearly 2 years and had no issues at all with the engine or the way ot was put together! The 996 seems to get a bad rap but it was a great car!

However, I always liked the 993 and I am not ashamed to say it was more about the 'look' than anything else. Yes I wanted the 'air-cooled' sound and the more obvious 'over-engineering' but at the end of the day it just looked better!

The most interesting thing to me on the swap was that the 996 was definitely the faster car and if outright speed is your thing it is the one to go for but the 993 just makes me smile every time I drive it. I was a little 'bored' with the 996 after 3 months, the 993 is still with me 2 years later and I have no intention of selling (unless I can grab a 993 turbo one day!). The build quality is good and I find I can tackle small jobs on my own before it goes to Northway once a year for a service. I have found no discernible cost difference between the 2 of them to be honest. The 993 just feels more 'involving'.

Cost-wise you will struggle to find a wide-body under £20k these days. The low mileage ones are in the 30's! How about a tidy narrow-body? I have to admit I stuck to the wide-body but looking around a few narrows they still look great and performance may well be a little sharper due to reduced weight (especially in the case of the c4s) - how about a standard Carrera?

Having said all of that I also think the 996c4s is becoming something of a bargain now and may be a better bet financially - don't believe what you hear about 996 quality, it is excellent especially post 2001 facelift.

As has been said before, try a few out...you may be surprised at how solid a 996 feels, but for me its 993 every time.

Cheers,

Mark
 
James,
I can only see a C4 in that link, but that looks a very good price to me - it's also a good mileage (not too low - but also not as high as many) - plus it's a Varioram.

But looks to me like the page changes quickly so I might be looking at wrong car.

I noticed the pedal position the first time I sat in one, but I've never noticed in again since - and I swap between my 993 and other cars continuously - so basically don't worry about that, you get used to it very quickly and will never think about it again.
 
hi mark yes the C4 is the car in question there,its attractive for the fact that it has just had tyres and discs and pads too,i may go down and see the car ! time to sell the beloved jap machinary i think :( ...... :D
 
James,

I don't have much to add to the above (people on here have owned 993s for far longer than my 2 1/2 years), but I can give you some advice if you're on a tight budget. Take your time looking, buy the best car you can for the money you have, and if the best you find still needs work then consider walking away.

Any 993 "project" car will cost you far more than you expect, although if you do a lot of the work yourself you can obviously bring that down. I bought a project car with my eyes wide open, having done the same with a 944 Turbo, and although it's now pretty much sorted it's taken a lot of time, far too much money and if I had my time again I would have bought a 'sorted' car. It would have cost much less in the long run.

Having said that, of course, I'm quite obsessive about a number of things, so I've gone over the top in various areas (full respray, etc) so I only have myself to blame. Besides, I really love the car and use it as a daily driver!

Cheers/John
 
ORIGINAL: redbull

guys what do you think to this car price wise and how the advert reads.someone at work today showed me there p plate 993 c2,whats the different to the C2"S"?? i loved the car and the only strange feeling thing was the seat being offset to the pedals and steering wheel nothin to bad to get used to though!

linky here
http://www.bakerbrothers.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=21247&pageid=1
thanks james
Click to expand...
I went to Russell (the owner) about this car a few weeks ago... It drove very well... once the rear tyres were at the right tyre pressure... he did say he was going to get the 3 "NOKIANS" change at sale time (for me)... we were £500 difference in our respective offers but at the end, the thought of NOT buying a widebody meant I decline to take the matter any further with them... Luckily, my guardian angel was looking down on me cos I found and bought a 1996 C4S a few days later at a dealer that was not that far away !!

Good luck with your search REDBULL... it took me nearly 1 year agonising over 993 vs 996 (widebody versions of course) before taking the plunge again... I still love the air cool engines too much to take on a water-cooled just now !!

Rgds - Kenny



 
hi there guys i have been to finally test drive a midnite blue 993 and a 996 albeit a cabriolet with a hard roof. after much debating i found the 993 to be the car for me.it had a better feel to it the newer 996 felt to me like a very modern assisted car which could have been an m3 or a merc sl where as the 993 that i drove had a clutch from a combine harvester a strange positioned brake pedal to that of my supra .a smell of leather from the mid nineties and a sort of feel round bends like it was on rails and i have to say I LOVED IT!! so after a test drive with a very nice gentleman from this club i beleive called KEN over at JZmachtech porsche in kings langley an offer was placed and i now await to see whether the owner (sale or return car) accepts this offer i have posted a picturee of t he car up for your views i have offered a little under the asking price,i took my peter morgan 993 book with me a checked all of the "fragile points" listed for that of the model and the car looks in fine order!

http://www.jzmporsche.com/porsche-993-C2-Coupe--18.html

james baughan
 
It does look good - let us now how you get on with the negotiation!
(Not sure about the purple[&:] turbo (or S?) to its left in the pictures!!)
 
Go for it James !! Good luck with the negotiations -

I've owned my 993 C2 for 7 years now, and loved every minute !

 
hi there guys just to bring you upto date with goings on with the 993 negotiations etc...i heard back from the very helpfull director of JZMactech he had carried out a full inspection on the 993 that i have my eye on.turns out a very very clean car still bought up a few faults these were the followin:
1:Aircon needs a re gas
2:car may benefit from a full Geo allignment
3: rear discs need resurfacing
4.two front caliper plated have lifted (common 993 fault i understand)
5.the clutch cross shaft and bearings are worn and hence the clutch squeaks replace plus clutch.
they quoted around 1900 for this so he was then kind enough to factor this into the cost from the guy selling the car
the fella then said he wouldnt take under 24k for it ? but upon the list being read out i have settled on 22k and ill pay mactech the 1900 to make the car sound for use !

deposit has been paid and the work has commenced,so should have a new 993 in about 3 weeks! cant wait!
 
Well done James - they will feel like a very long 3 weeks!

What is a "clutch cross shaft" - I've not heard of that?
 
the 3 weeks is taking so long to go by allready! the cross shafts are to do with the linkage from clutch pedal to the clutch in the bell housingmsome sort of needle bearing that over time pitts the shaft and causes it to squeak when the pedals depressed....ill try and find out more and post it up here.
 
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