sti-04!!

........ i dont no what to go for, dont really know much about them but one things for sure i dont want a boxster, i have got 30k to spend (maybe more if its got the wow factor), its really for the mr's but ................. well you know what i am saying.
It has to be a daily commuter (so not overly greedy)/

Your views please !?!?

Stephen .....

sti-spec-a

Stick with the STI ............. anyway the Porsche bbs is full of snobs .............

Cheers Grant

DaveMiddleton

£30 K will get you a nice 993 C2 or better still a C4. I just traded my 1997 C4 in against a 993 Twin Turbo. Both these cars were/are my everyday car. Very reliable and wonderful pedigree.

what would scooby do

Yup a 993 C2 or C4 - go for the later ones with the updated engine

Chris L

Totally agree with Dave - fab cars. True thoroughbred sports car. I was out in my neighbour's 996 last week - what a fantastic car The sound with the Porsche sports exhaust was magic You might have guessed, I like them

Have a look on Stuttgart 9s - a totally snob free Porsche board It's run by Cem, who you might know as BlowDog - a regular on Scoobynet. Lucky git has a GT3 on order.

Few other sites to give you some idea of what you can get for your money:

Paragon Cars
Paul Stephens
Northway Porsche
Shirleys Garage
Cridfords
Portiacraft
RSJ Sportscars
Camtune
911 Virgin

There are a couple of good magazines available too. My favourite is GT Purely Porsche. If you get hold of the current issue (April - featured on the website), they have a buying guide for all models of 911s.

Cheers
Chris

Incidently - I understand why you want a 911, but don't discount a Boxster S - it's a sublime car. Beautifully balanced, with handling to die for. Well driven it is a very fast car.

sti-04!!

sti-spec-a - the Sti is staying but going (hopefully) for some mods end of may, i pick up my new warrior next friday(comes with the new job), so the mr's was wanting something & with me basically only owning a M3 evo convertible for a day (which she kinda took 2) i feel its only my right to treat her to something nice, to be honest i want her to get an old 911 carrera for the w/kends & an decent audi for commuting but she aint for having that, she doesnt like the boxster as her friend has one & shes not impressed says it too VAG Groupish, so back to the drawing board !!!

sti-04!!

Chris L

Ah well - 993 it is then

Perhaps I could interest sir in the following

993 Targa Tiptronic at RSJ

Early 996 at Shirleys

Both these cars are priced at around £33K. 993s have been holding their value very well - being the last of the air cooled 911s. Beware though, you can over pay for a 993 unless you know what you are doing. 996s are likely to come down a little as the new 997 comes out later in the year, although you are unlikely to lose much to be honest, as the 996 is always going to be a highly desirable car.

Portiacraft have a very good selection of 993s and early 996s - right in your price band.

Chris

terryb

If she's anything like my missus then she'd prefer something a bit newer so I'd shop around for a 996. Would keep beter residuals too and they look fantastic.

Chris L

Residuals are stronger on 993s at the moment - hence the reason that many late model 993s (especially C2S and C4S) are more expensive than early 996s. 993s are not just the last air-cooled Porsches, they are also considered to be the pinnacle of Porsche's design and development.

Rock solid cars, with very few problems (and probably the best looking 911). I'm also a big fan of the 996, but if you can, avoid the very early ones, as they were known to have a few build problems and the build quality of the late 993s is generally considered better (although the ergonomics of the cabin are much poorer than the 996 and the handling of the later cars is generally considered a little safer).

Chris

camk

There is a big difference in the quality of the interior between 993 and 996. If its a car for your wife you need to make sure she sees the interior, the 993 is not exactly modern or comfortable in comparison to a 996.

MarkCSC

Have a look in to running costs as well. The 993 costs a lot more to service than the 996.

Chris L

Hello Mark Very true. A lot of specialists will do fixed price servicing on these cars - Camtune do I think. So at least you can budget to a certain extent. Neither car is exactly cheap to run, but realistically, not much different to a Scoob all things considered. It would also be worth having any potential purchase looked over by a specialist (especially if you are buying private) to make sure you are covered.

Chris

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Not much different to a Scoob ?

My 996 is going in for its service in May & new brake discs & pads all round......£1,840

Ro.

ADP

993 is the last of the real Porkers, I have a friend who re trims these for a living, he tells me the build quality is FAR superior on the 993 to the 996.

993s are also holding their money well, the right car can be hard to find as they are snapped up quick. The 2s and 4s (turbo bodied) seem to be like hens teeth to find particularly, Id love one and was planning to get one however now moving jobs doing 60 miles a day puts it out the window

sti-04!!

Well folks .......... she's done it, just went & ordered herself wait for it .................. a Saab 9-3 vector convertible (turbo) , in w@nky yellow she picks it up on saturday
So thanks for all your help but all i can say is women eh ?????

Stephen !

camk

Got to disagree , build quality is not poor on the 996. After 4 years of ownership and only a loose screen wash pipe and a new PSM unit(replaced free 12 months out of warranty). Any person would be pretty satisfied. The 993's look very 80/90's and those with the big wing are seriously starting to look dated. The cars themselves are getting old and the interior is absolutely ridiculous in comparison to a 996(996 switchgear excluded ).
So often I see this almost evangelical 993 is better than 996 on BBS's , air cooled versus watercooled(its not like you see the internals of the engine) or 996 is tamed by electronics(not dangerous enough ). Its no different to the Classic versus bug eye debate that raged on here a few years back. The 996 was and is a step forward in evolution for Porsche in the 911 line, its like everything, some people struggle with change.
I'll not start on emissions requirements, noise regs, maintenance costs or safety.

Dapster

A spanking Porsche would only have got all the laydeez swooning as you drove past which would have got on your wife's nerves so its a good job you settled for the Vectra. Er, I mean Saab. :-)

sti-04!!

Saab aint for me m8, i have got a MY04 Sti & i am picking up my new warrior L200 on friday, just thought i could have had an occasional blast in the porsche but shes done her usual (spoiled c@w) & changed her mind and went for something bizarre but on another note i wont be left with the kids as its got room in the back

Stephen

ADP

have you ever stripped your car down internally to the metal??

no I thought not, if you had youd understand about the quality difference between a 993 and a 996. I have spent a great deal of time working on site with my mate who re trims the cars, there is no comparison between the way they are put together.............I have nothing against the 996, I love all Porkers. Porkers are without doubt more mass manufactured than they used to be, this is evident in the grade of leather they use alone and the techniques/materials they use to put the cars together with. If you take an old Porsche seat to pieces (it is like a full mechano kit) you will find they used horse hair to bolster the seats!!

what would scooby do

sheesh - one car I would never buy new would be a 9-3 - they depreciate like a used condom

I just sold my 1999 9-3 turbo - really enjoyed it but it did handle like a banana..

I think the newer ones are much better though

Skittles

Keeping with this example.. I'm sure this has been replaced by more economic materials, but I'm also sure they are as good. What are the special properties of horses hair over newer man-made stuff?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Has a 993 and loves it to bits.

Better value than early 996 when depreciation is taken into account.

Also a more involving drive. 996 is very, very good. The 993 excellent.

993 better brakes, less likely to suffer oil surge on track. 996 better all round road car, but not so good at the edge of the performance envelope, especially earlier cars.

Would take a Gt3 or a turbo 996 tho!!

Rannoch

ADP

no idea why horse hair was so good, but times do change. All Im sayiing is there was a lot more craftsmanship in the older cars. For example if you take a 996 to bits internally, most of the panels are press fit(snap in plastic) the 993 on the other hand basically unbolts like a mechano kit. Its all about a cost / quality trade off, they have dipped the quality slightly to make it a more cost effective/profitable car. The quality is still great I mean it craps on Fords and Vauxhalls, its just not what it was! But times change.

Skittles

ADP: Yeah I do see what you mean, but Porsche has had to keep with the times. Maintenance costs on a 996 as a result of the 'snap-on' bits are slashed!

Chris L

Well there has to be a reason why Porsche is the most profitable car company in the world. They've been very clever with their design and marketing. My neighbour's 996 is a sublime car - better built than most cars I know with fantastic performance and rock solid residuals. I find it very hard to fault.

Regarding maintenance costs, Ro's example was pretty extreme (that said the cost of my last service on the Scoob and replacing all 4 discs and pads was over £1100). I guess my point was that neither car is cheap to run, but then neither are exactly everyday runabouts.

The air cooled / water cooled debate has been raging for years - Porsche knew that they had to change. At the time of the 993, the Japanese were putting 16 valve engines into 10k superminis. Air cooling simply didn't allow Porsche to do this. Hardly cutting edge sports car technology when you can get more up-to-date engines in a Toyota Starlet is it?

Porsche also knew that they had to change their cars to continue to sell them. As Rannoch said, the 996 is a more rounded car - it appeals to a wider audience. There is always a danger that the purists will say that you've sold out, but they aren't running the company!

Incidently if anyone believes the 996 has lost its soul, just listen to one fitted with the Porsche sports exhaust - as good as any 993 IMHO.

The Zohan

Please do not discount the Boxter S

It is a hell of a car

Chris L

I did try