After reaching 40 years on the ball of dust I want to treat myself. I have a budget between $25k to $30K for a weekend driver. I am weighing the pros and cons of a 993 aircooled 911 vs a 996 water cooled 911. I know the early 996 have RMS problems. I looked at an Superformance AC (RAW Power), but I have small kids and don't feel comfortable with them in the car with me in case of an accident (thin fiberglass door panels). So I am now looking at something fun to drive on sweeping curves that will hold the road (and made in a real factory). I sold my 3 series BWM long ago and do miss the handling but not the lack of power. Any suggestions I can gather from this site would be most appreciated. The 996's seem to be more affordable than the 993 upfront, but I don't know about the long term maintenance. That said, it seems the 993's hold their value better. Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

you really can't compare these two cars. they are world's apart in styling, in the interior, in how they are regarded in the porsche community, in how they were built (the 993 was almost entirely built by hand including the engine) and what the resale value will be --- not 5 years down the line, but the day after you buy it. for a weekend driver, you can't beat a 993. i owned one for 10 years before i recently sold it and bought a 993tt. if i were you, this is what i would do:
1. be patient and start your search now and expect to take 9-12 months before you make your purchase.
2. look through autotrader and ebay and try to buy a car off a private seller not a secondary dealer. find a seller that was low-balled by a dealer when they went in to trade in their car.
3. for 30k you will be able to find a very nice 993 (with less than 50k miles) but if you bump up your price point to 35k, you maybe able to pick up a 2S and most certainly a 4S version. the S versions are the most desirable because they have a wider body -- their back end is in many people's mind the best rear in any porsche.
4. get on rennlist and start reading the threads on the 993. pay the 20 bucks for a year. the community there is very knowledgeable and if you're member they'll bend over backwards for you.
5. get a ppi done before you buy
6. buy a 95 unless you're certain that there haven't been any CEL problem from clogged port injectors -- a 95 is an obd 1 and you won't have the CEL issues
7. get a black interior only and preferably one with sports seats if possible
8. gauge how much you're offering to pay for your car by looking at how much they're for sale by the sales experts in this market: truspeed, sloan, rpm motors and willhoit
9. be skeptical of other people's mods: some add value but most don't.
10. get a car with 1 or 2 past owners not 4 or 5
11. don't buy a 996 unless you buy a 996tt (and the prices of these have come down to where you can find reasonably nice cars for around 40k plus or minus 5k). but if you buy a 996tt fully expect that you'll modify the car to no end and enjoy it so thoroughly that you'll want to make it your daily driver. it's an exciting time for you.

feel free to pm with any specific questions.

 

Thanks for the info. I am looking at a 1995 Carrera with 65K on it. It's a one owner car for $32,500, which seems high. It's hard to find dependable resale numbers. KBB and edmunds put these cars so low it's laughable. KBB has the car at $16K, edmunds is not much better. I was thinking about $27,500 for the car and I would be delighted. I think I will heed your advice and subscribe to the forum and see what happens. My gut tells me the 993 is the car for me. I want something that is old school, but with a newer outside design. Thanks again!!

 

dfwerdoc has been given you some great advice. You may also want to check on some past issues of total 911 magazine which have articles on 993, 996 buying guides and guides on choices of someone's first 911. My vote goes for a 993 although the 996 TT is a desirable car too.

 

27500 is plenty fair enough. i would hold tight. if you're not perfectly happy with the outside styling of 993 bump up how much you're wanting to spend to 35 -40 and get a 996tt. a huge plus that the 996's have over the 993 is the a/c. the a/c in the 993 is anemic. i bought my 996tt for 35k even. here's a pic of it. there are deals to be had; just be patient.

 

Beautiful car. The TT is out of the budget. I had to buy the wife a new Mercedes GL450 this year, so the budget is tight. I like the styling of the 993's, the prior models were what I was referring to. They look a little dated with the tall bug eyes. (I know I will get some grief on that last comment. Sorry!)

 

I've just gone through this process recently and have settled upon a low-mileage 993 from Sloancars.com. Don't have the car yet, but I've only had good feedback about them on this site, and Richard Sloan has been great to deal with. Check out their 993 inventory if you want to see some beautiful cars, some of which fit nicely into your criteria.
My experience the past several months has been that bargains are pretty tough to find in the 993s. People know what they have in their possession and they're not giving them away. Low mileage, pristine examples are getting harder and harder to find, so you're going to have to pay for it if that's what you're after.
996s are much more reasonably priced and are also much newer cars, with more modern comforts and amenities. If you like them cosmetically and are ok with a water cooled car, this is where the bargain is.

 

Having owned a 996na, 996tt and now a 993 I would have to say go 993. All have their own great attributes and it certainly depends on what you are going to use them for. Coming from 2 996s and getting in a 993, wow, its hard to believe that the same model car only a few years apart can be so different.

As far as maintence, I have found that the 993 is slightly less than the 996tt and the 996na was the least expensive. They all have the "could happen" expensive repairs, 996na RMS, some of the early cars had engine failure issues, 993 has the top end rebuild, and the 996tt has the built proof block but, expensive parts, such as turbos, etc that can go wrong.

The 996tt is brutal fast and the 993 will never match that. The 993 is a much more raw car than both of them, it forces you to learn to drive a more challenging car and as you master it (I am far from it) it is very rewarding.

The 993 is already considered a classic and I believe that will continue to cause values to stay strong and eventually rise one day, of course I didnt buy it to sit in a garage and wait for values to rise. Being a frequent PCA event attendee, I can say that even compared to a modded 996tt, the simple 993 c2 gets far more complements than the 996tt did.

The good news is they are all great cars and you will have great experiences with what ever you choose.

 

That's funny you posted this today. At dinner tonight I was talked into upping my budget to $35K and try to find a 996TT. I am still split. All the reasons you posted about the 993 are what I want (air cooled, rough around the edges, a driver's car) and the raw power of the 996TT is SO actractive. The 996TT is a supercar and that is very tempting. The 30K upper budget for the 993 will allow a base model, no turbo, no S and no TT. So here I sit in a slightly different spot, the 993 or the 996TT? I guess the market will decide for me. Whatever comes first.....Still hard choices.

 

you really can't go wrong with either car ...... the single best bang for your buck though in the porsche world is the 996tt. it's worth you knowing that the engine of the turbo is the same metzker GT1 block as the 993 and not the same as the problematic 996 engine. also if in the future you imagine yourself wanting to modify the car, the 996tt is vastly better than the 993.

 

I found a 996TT with 67k miles for $35k. Is the mileage too high for the price? It's a stock car. No mods. Ca car. What should I look for? Is the bearing issue that important. Should it have been fixed by this mileage?

 

that's a fair price for the miles. i bought mine with 76k miles and it runs like new. these are the things i would look at:

1. get a ppi done
2. make sure it's the color combo you want
3. find out why the PO is selling the car
4. look hard to make sure there is no 2nd gear pop out issue
5. clear car fax
6. keep in mind if it's a 2001, the front bumper warts just don't come off. the grill will have to be reworked
7. no paint work
8. post pics of the inside and outside here and we'll give you our gut feeling about the car.
9 . remember a tip and gray interiors have a limited market and desirability

i think you'll be infinitely happy with a 996tt at todays prices.

 

but you have said a couple of times that you want "old school". well there's nothing old school about this interior:

 

everyones 1st porsche should be air cooled, it will show you what the 911 is all about. You can get a nice 993 for $30k

 

Please point me in the right direction......I would love to find one for $30K