Advice on 993 v. 996 or 997

I own a 2002 Coupe. If you opt for a 996, the 2002 and later model years are the way to go. If you're not wedded to the idea of a cab, a 40th Anniversary 996 is a nice car - it has the 345 HP engine and some other nice parts. If you're leaning toward a cab and don't object to AWD, a

996 C4S is a handsome car.

Per standard Porsche practice, the 997 is an objective improvement over the 996, although the greatest gains are observed in the Carrera S. Engine output wise, the standard 997 has a 3.6 and is up 5 HP from the

3.6 on 2002 and later 996s, while the Carrera S gets the 3.8 and 35 more HP. The Carrera S also gets the Porsche Active Suspension Management system as standard equipment.

If I were leaving my 996 it would only be for the Carrera S, but going from a 993 to a 996 or 997 gives you more leeway, since either is going to feature fairly significant changes from the 993. The 997 will probably feel more like your 993 handling-wise than a 996, if the car magazine reports are accurate.......

Happy hunting!

I think Jim has hit it dead on target. If you can afford it, a 997-S is the way to go. No question. Either way (996-997)...you're going to get A/C that really works and much improved creature comforts to go along with the obvious technical upgrades.

Thanks Jim, good information. I completely agree with your C4S comments which would be my #1 choice, but they are scarce and steeply priced, so probably not in my range. Any thoughts on resale value of the 996's? The

993 seems to be holding its value very well, even appreciate in the last year or so. Would love to know what its future value curve looks like!! My concern with the 996's is that they are many out there and feel indistinct, so next upgrade will be costly.

Alex

I'm not the guy to speak authoritatively about resale values since we ordered a loaded car from the factory, planning to keep her a long time. I simply haven't been paying attention.

I would think the introduction of the 997 generally won't help 996 values, because it follows the typical Porsche practice of improving the product and a lot of folks have to have the latest and greatest. The base 997 and the standard 2002+ 996 are 5 HP apart and the 997 of course has an updated interior, exterior, etc. For someone who would be content with the base 997, a used 2002+ 996 offers pretty similar performance. The folks who have to have the Carrera S probably won't be interested.

The 996s that might do well are the ones with the 345 HP engines - the

40th anniversary cars and any others with the 345 HP option which was available on U.S. cars starting with the 2003 model year. These cars are giving up 10 HP and some torque to the 997 Carrera S, but they're a little lighter.

The 993 holds up well because it is the best and last of the air cooled

911 family.

The 2002+ 996 is a heck of a car - 0 to 60 MPH in under five seconds, top speed well over 170, lateral acceleration over .9 G with standard suspension. The earlier 996 isn't that far off these figures, and both Porsche and the aftermarket offer suspension modifications that can make the cars handle just about any way you'd like. The 996 doesn't lend itself to significant horsepower gains through bolt-on modifocations, however.

If you haven't already, try visiting Rennlist.com. There are forums there for various Porsche models and it can be a good source of info on resale, etc.

Be sure to read this thread there:

TT

--------------------------------- Tom Tweed mailto: snipped-for-privacy@ucsd.edu La Jolla, CA, USA or snipped-for-privacy@san.rr.com

Heck, most any thread in the 996/997 will put you off buying one. There are more trouble posts for those cars than the 993s, which are closing in on 10 years old. A Christmas bonus put me within spitting distance of buying a 996, but I've had second thoughts... Emanuel

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I bought a 2004 996 cab with 3K miles on it and, so far, I love it!

Alex

For every post with a gripe about the 996, there's a bunch of us 996 owners just quietly enjoying the heck out of our troublefree cars........

Congratulations Alex!

Hope you have years of trouble free driving!

Mike

Which is part of the problem... E

It seems every Porsche (356/912/911) I've ever owned,from 1965 to 2001, was a "problem" car. The main reason was because I loved to play mechanic when I'm not one! THAT is the MAIN problem! :-)