Scratching the 911 itch

[steve 944t]

Well, after 9 very happy years with my 944 Turbo I have finally taken the plunge and bought my first 911 - a 3.6L 996 Carrera 2. When I bought the 944 I only ever planned to keep it for a year or so anyway and then "upgrade" to a 911, so I suppose the 944 has been on borrowed time for the last 8 years []

Part of the reason it has taken me so long to get into 911 ownership is that I am so attached to the 944 and couldn't bear to let it go. So I casually mentioned to my wife one day that a 911 is perfectly capable of being used as the main family runaround - child seat fits in the back, pram fits in the boot, what more do you need? [] Her failure to instantly veto the idea was taken by me to mean full approval so I am now the very happy owner of 2 of Stuttgart's finest (ok, many people will not consider the 996 as one of Porsche's finest creations but never mind [:-])

10 days into ownership and I am over the moon with it - the looks, the drive and the noise. Wow. Totally hooked.

Having said that, if I had to get rid of one of them I am really not sure which one I would choose...

 

[Frenchy]

Nice one Steve, keep them both if possible, i bet the Turbo S is worth more in a few years time, i personaly like the 996 model.

 

[Ewan]

Snap!

But having bought a Maserati and a Mini and a Navara in the last few weeks I now find myself thinking that either my 944 or 996 should go. But having spent about £15k upgrading and servicing the 944 during the last year it seems sensible to keep that and move on the Carrera.

If anybody here wants a blue 996 C4 Coupe (3.6lt mark 2 version), please contact me.

I can't believe how cheap these cars are now. Beautiful, practical, fast etc, and for peanuts. A late 996 like mine is now only worth what I spent on servicing my 944 turbo last year!!! Frightening.

 

[George Elliott]

Congratulations Steve

Having said that, if I had to get rid of one of them I am really not sure which one I would choose...

Totally understand

reached the conclusion there is no right answer[8|]

George

 

[DavidL]

Excellent choice Steve. Persoanlly I prefer the 996 shape to those that come immediately before and after.
I have to admit the engine worries would concern me especially as its hard to get a grasp on just how common they are. Certainly it seems that if IMS rears its head your bank balance suffers!
Would a warranty cover it other than an OPC one?

 

[Neil Haughey]

You know I have come to the conclusion that the 996 is like the 944 turbo and S2 was 10 years ago. Its the go to modern Porsche for value for money performance, the value on them is crazy, less in real numbers (not real value after inflation) than ppl were paying for 944 turbos at the same age.

Still though if I was personally going to scratch a 911 itch per se it would be older and air cooled, the 996 is just such a different car but one I could easily see myself owning.

 

[steve 944t]

Thanks for the positive comments guys []
The 996 is not everyone's cup of tea but for me right now it is perfect. The whole IMS thing is a concern, but there are upgraded IMS bearings available and it is a cost-effective job to have this replaced at clutch time. My car is on the original clutch at 49k miles, so I plan to have the clutch, RMS and IMS all replaced in the next few months for peace of mind. Other than that the cars seem to be pretty reliable and barely more expensive to maintain properly than the 944 T. Not sure whether any non-OPC warranty would help in the event of IMS failure -I would imagine a warranty company would happily pay out for a new IMS bearing but would not cover the resulting engine carnage [:-]

I would ideally have gone for a 964 as I just think they are the nicest looking 911 of all. But the 996 is a better "family car" prospect - my wife doesn't drive so the 996 and 944 between them have to cater for all our needs. Both individually are compromised but hopefully between the 2 it shouldn't be too much of a problem []. Time will tell.

Jim - I think you are dead right about future values. I reckon about 2 years from now the 944 will be worth more than the 996 (not sure whether that is because 944s are shooting up in value or because 996s are still plummeting!) In any case, the 944 is the special one and so gets the garage while the 996 has to languish outside in the rain!