Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Just wondering what is the thinking with regard to longevity on the 996. We now know that there are 924,944,928 cars with 150-200k on the clock and still running well provided they have been properly serviced etc.

Will the 996 engine perform as well in the long term??

There's no reason to suspect it wouldn't, it's the other components that don't seem to be as robust.

Such as?

You could say that about the 944, I have heard of insurance companies writing off serviceable 944s because of the price of replacement of the rear screen, the pre 2002 3.4 mtr has been slightly problematic, the 3.6 fitted to the face lift cars is far better but they are nearly twice the price, nice 1998 R C2/C4 coming up to 100k miles between £16 and £20k, but 3.6's still £30k+, early ones are becoming just that bit cheaper than 993's but then they are far more plentiful. I can't see them being that different to any other 911, the build quality was slightly down so they may break that little bit easier but that's still better build quality than the rest out there and the sweetener could be that there are so many out there that it will be worth the while of custom spare manufactures to start making quality replacement parts

But with so many 996's out there surely there are plenty of specialist breakers etc that spares will not be a problem. Looking for a 996 with good service history around the £18k mark when I move on from the 944 might be an interesting proposition

Go for it Paul. Thing is, the parts that usually wear out/break will be the same parts that wore out/broke on the scraped ones too.

They are a lot of car for what the earlier ones are fetching and they will get cheaper and cheaper.

997's are already in the low 40's and when the face lift comes out they'll depreciate even quicker.

996 TT seem really cheap with a glut of them in the mid 30's.

You say plenty at the breakers, but in comparison with other quality car makers there are very very few broken (Unless they are already very broken) as proof there are still more Porsche cars still on the road per cars made than any other volume manufacturer on the road I was also thinking that for Porsche the 996/986 Boxster and 997/987 Boxster have been made in such high numbers that when they are eventually in the affordable price band anything that is a frequently failing item, there should be enough demand for part manufacturers to tool up for it rather than paying through the nose at an OPC.
I have had one eye on tiptronic C4 with GT3 bodt kit fitted when my old scooby dies

Yes I agree that any weak design parts will be the common problem ones and common failures but as Paul D says these are likely to be available from aftermarket sources.
I think I'll start researching later in the year

check this out http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Porsche-911- ... dZViewItem

That's very cheap Looks too good to be true but its the sort of thing I have in mind for the next Porka

Must be a typo? More like £44k for a Turbo.

Thought it was cheap!!!

I spotted a 1998 Carrera at Porscheshop when I was getting the 928 belts sorted
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/ds_search.asp?did=114115&pageid=2&originalid=&gid=nogroup&tid=2 and must admit it looked like a lot of motor for the money.