911 (996)worth the risk over the 350z
26 November 2007, 01:54 AM
#1
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911 (996)worth the risk over the 350z
i asked a previous question about whether to get the boxter 3.2s or the 350z.
some people have said never mind the boxter go for the 911 and that they hardly depreciate and its a good buy but iam a bit worried that the engines would give up ive seen some advertised with new engines at resonable mileages so was just wondering what yous all think...is a 1998/99 911 worth going for or would i be just as well getting a 350z.i seen one on autotrader which says new engine 12k!!!!!
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORSCHE+911/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-180-4294967042-4294967213/advert.action?R=200736294151759&distance=13&postco de=G66+1QA&channel=CARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_p r=&max_mileage=
anyone here heard of engines giving up on 911's are they famous for it?
i just think its alot of money for something thats not new anymore and can get a 350z for alot less is a 911 that much better???
some people have said never mind the boxter go for the 911 and that they hardly depreciate and its a good buy but iam a bit worried that the engines would give up ive seen some advertised with new engines at resonable mileages so was just wondering what yous all think...is a 1998/99 911 worth going for or would i be just as well getting a 350z.i seen one on autotrader which says new engine 12k!!!!!
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORSCHE+911/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-180-4294967042-4294967213/advert.action?R=200736294151759&distance=13&postco de=G66+1QA&channel=CARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_p r=&max_mileage=
anyone here heard of engines giving up on 911's are they famous for it?
i just think its alot of money for something thats not new anymore and can get a 350z for alot less is a 911 that much better???
26 November 2007, 08:40 AM
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As with any other car a few will suffer engine failure. I can't give you a figure for the percentage that do. I suspect it is less than some internet forums suggest. As with anything you always hear the bad news. Not many people can be bothered to report that they have never had a problem and are entirely satisfied with their car.
I also suspect that a proportion of problems with Porsche engines are due to the way they are driven. They are essentially a high performance sports car and as such they probably don't benefit from a lot of 'stop start' driving and short journeys. And some probably get 'ragged' without sufficient warming up.
Anyway there is a long thread about reliability issues with 996 engines on Pistonheads.
996 wet-sump engine reliability: enter your statistics here!
As some of the contributors point out, most of the problems encountered were sorted out under warranty. Porsche offer an extended warranty for 10 years or up to 100,000 miles for just under £900 a year.
This guy runs a very well respected independent Porsche service set-up in Lancashire. If he says they are reliable, I would tend to believe him.
"hartech
390 posts
20 months
[report] Saturday 9th June
Good idea to try and establish numbers or percentages but I don't think it will mean a lot for all the reasons stated.
Previously, despite both the 911 and 944/968 range being gradually developed and modified over many years - there were still failures - but no Internet then when they were relatively new - so we didn't find out much about frequency. If we had there would have been outcries about 944 16 valve top ends, 944 big ends etc - but these are now regarded as very reliable bullet proof cars!
Now the 996/Boxster is not a gradual development but whole new car and concept yet many (most) are running well right up to and over 100K - perhaps with better cylinder compressions, bore condition and valve condition than anything that preceeded it.
Whether the few that fail are actually any more in number than previously we may never know - but the combination of the Internet forums and the engines being different with less people able or comfortable working on them - seems to have resulted in more focus on the problems than they deserve (in comparison to the older models).
With a Porsche warranty available up to 10 years old (and plenty taking it up - to pay for the few failures anyway) solutions are availble.
We have not yet come accross an engine we could not rebuild and are now doing so in whole or part for others - so if a serious problem does occurr fixing it is becoming easier.
Our own warranty/maintenance plan covers the labour to repair such faults and we even offer 12 months/12K cover with the 996's we currently have for sale (and a free service at the end of it), so there seems little reason to be too concerned about running one of these superb cars especially as we have no age or upper mileage limit.
It does seem to me a shame that some weak spots seem to be turning up on newer models again and again and never getting sorted but then again it is a very high performance sports car and not a family run about.
I guess we will eventually be able to suggest mileage limits to replace some weak and vulnerable internal items too avoid premature failures altogether - as all specialists now do for cam belts, rollers, cam chains etc.
They are great cars - enjoy and try to stop worrying too much!!!!!!!!
Baz"
Another quote from the same thread.
"noumenon
239 posts
7 months
[report] 08:13
Just to add to the earlier comments that only bad news gets reported. I was at a well known independent recently. On talking to their service manager, he says they see 2,000 cars a year and have replaced around 10 engines in the same time. "
From what I've seen of them 911s seem to be extremely well put together. So as always if you are in the market for one, buy on condition and provenance.
I also suspect that a proportion of problems with Porsche engines are due to the way they are driven. They are essentially a high performance sports car and as such they probably don't benefit from a lot of 'stop start' driving and short journeys. And some probably get 'ragged' without sufficient warming up.
Anyway there is a long thread about reliability issues with 996 engines on Pistonheads.
996 wet-sump engine reliability: enter your statistics here!
As some of the contributors point out, most of the problems encountered were sorted out under warranty. Porsche offer an extended warranty for 10 years or up to 100,000 miles for just under £900 a year.
This guy runs a very well respected independent Porsche service set-up in Lancashire. If he says they are reliable, I would tend to believe him.
"hartech
390 posts
20 months
[report] Saturday 9th June
Good idea to try and establish numbers or percentages but I don't think it will mean a lot for all the reasons stated.
Previously, despite both the 911 and 944/968 range being gradually developed and modified over many years - there were still failures - but no Internet then when they were relatively new - so we didn't find out much about frequency. If we had there would have been outcries about 944 16 valve top ends, 944 big ends etc - but these are now regarded as very reliable bullet proof cars!
Now the 996/Boxster is not a gradual development but whole new car and concept yet many (most) are running well right up to and over 100K - perhaps with better cylinder compressions, bore condition and valve condition than anything that preceeded it.
Whether the few that fail are actually any more in number than previously we may never know - but the combination of the Internet forums and the engines being different with less people able or comfortable working on them - seems to have resulted in more focus on the problems than they deserve (in comparison to the older models).
With a Porsche warranty available up to 10 years old (and plenty taking it up - to pay for the few failures anyway) solutions are availble.
We have not yet come accross an engine we could not rebuild and are now doing so in whole or part for others - so if a serious problem does occurr fixing it is becoming easier.
Our own warranty/maintenance plan covers the labour to repair such faults and we even offer 12 months/12K cover with the 996's we currently have for sale (and a free service at the end of it), so there seems little reason to be too concerned about running one of these superb cars especially as we have no age or upper mileage limit.
It does seem to me a shame that some weak spots seem to be turning up on newer models again and again and never getting sorted but then again it is a very high performance sports car and not a family run about.
I guess we will eventually be able to suggest mileage limits to replace some weak and vulnerable internal items too avoid premature failures altogether - as all specialists now do for cam belts, rollers, cam chains etc.
They are great cars - enjoy and try to stop worrying too much!!!!!!!!
Baz"
Another quote from the same thread.
"noumenon
239 posts
7 months
[report] 08:13
Just to add to the earlier comments that only bad news gets reported. I was at a well known independent recently. On talking to their service manager, he says they see 2,000 cars a year and have replaced around 10 engines in the same time. "
From what I've seen of them 911s seem to be extremely well put together. So as always if you are in the market for one, buy on condition and provenance.
26 November 2007, 09:21 AM
#3
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The worst Porkers are very often those with very low mileage. They seem to thrive on 12-15K - or more - per annum and being thrashed - but not abused.
I am always surprsied by the number of engine failures though as I thought Porsche were the pinnacle of automotive engineering.
Current sentiment says stick with air cooled cars, spend a long time looking, get an expert [there are several names that crop up in the forums and mags] to do a report on the car you feel you want, find yourself a local and well recommended independent to give it a service if the last one was three months or more ago so you feel you are on top of the maintenance straight away and also immediately do a 4 wheel alignment so its running true on the road.
But if you want a car you can jump in and thrash, get a 350!
I am always surprsied by the number of engine failures though as I thought Porsche were the pinnacle of automotive engineering.
Current sentiment says stick with air cooled cars, spend a long time looking, get an expert [there are several names that crop up in the forums and mags] to do a report on the car you feel you want, find yourself a local and well recommended independent to give it a service if the last one was three months or more ago so you feel you are on top of the maintenance straight away and also immediately do a 4 wheel alignment so its running true on the road.
But if you want a car you can jump in and thrash, get a 350!
26 November 2007, 04:34 PM
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I wouldn't worry too much. You can get hold of engines from breakers for quite reasonable prices, especially for the 3.4l version. A friend fitted a 3.6 to his Boxster and didn't pay as much as £2k for it. There isn't a big market for these engines as most owners get new engines from OPCs.
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