993 Porsche 1998
 

Has anyone here ever owned a 911 air cooled Porsche? I enjoy my 2010 370 Z. However, I'm thinking about purchasing a 1998 911, the last of the air cooled 911's.

A German car that old? Fun if you have lots of cash for repairs and parts. Go check the planet9 website for all Porsche discussions. It's a great site to ask questions and search on models and typical repair and replace costs. Its mostly gruumpy old white guys, so don't ask dumb questions or they get all pissed off.

from owning a 944s (a little different i know) i can hoestly say that u will not be disapointed. but as DCNISMO stated repair cost will be very high. also, they are very difficult cars to drive 10/10th's if tahts what you're looking to do. lift off oversteer is very common, and they dont give u hints when they are about to lose traction like our z's do.

BUT, porsche's are soooo much fun to drive, and you will absolutely love ripping around in it.

The 993 911 Turbo is my absolute favorite car. I'd love to be able to own one, but any one that has relatively low mileage in AZ is $90k -$120k.

Never have even ridden in one, but somehow I just love the looks of it.

993's have a lot of nostalgia in the community so are holding their values where as you can get a 996 or even a 997 for song in comparison.

Really depends how much of a Porsche-phile you want to be. Though the 993 has better interior quality (subjective to many) you can get a late model 996 for less money and have a better overall car (not necessarily a better Porsche).

So start your reading and get lots of opinions at Pelican, Planet-9 etc...the 993 is pretty bullet proof from an engine point of view but you are looking at a near 15yo car. Any car of that age is going to be needing some service items.

As much as I like the 993, i opted for a CPO Cayman this past year to join the Z in the garage. Just a general rule of thumb for any Porsche: buy the newest one you can afford :)

- b

Friend of mine sold his 98 air cooled a few years ago, said he was thrilled to sell it. Describes the car as very unpredictable to drive and horrible to work on. If you can't do the work yourself be prepared to pay out the arse for maintenance/repairs.

I test drove a 1997 993 turbo. The ergonomics of the car just doesn't feel good compared to the Z. Power is amazing when the turbo kicks in. Before that it feels similar or maybe a little more powerful compared to the 370z.

They are absolutely great drivers car, but they are noisy, not comfortable, feels like you are in the 80s. I had a chance to autox and track one a few years back, absolutely loved it. The lift oversteer is no joke, but I never felt threaten by it as I wasnt on the street

Agreed. I drove a 1995 993 for a couple of years. If you drive constantly on open highways, it's a dream car. If you have to commute like the rest of us working stiffs, it will eat itself. The car is engineered to run fast for long distances. Stop and go traffic eats up the brakes, rotors and clutch, not to mention never getting beyond 3rd or 4th gear. Unless you have a good buddy who is a Porsche mechanic, repairs are absurdly expensive, and no, you can't do them yourself.

The car's cabin is MUCH noisier than the Z, and uncomfortable for the passenger. My wife hated everything about it.

That said, it was a pretty freakin' awesome machine to drive, but only under the right conditions. If you have a lot of $$$, and this can be a second or third car to drive occasionally, go for it. It's just not reliable daily transportation.

I was about to disagree with that statement due to personal experience, then it sunk in that my friend is a Porsche mechanic. I'm pants on head retarded sometimes.

There's a purity and cool-factor about an air-cooled Porsche 911.

I'd think they are out-dated to use as a daily driver in stop & go traffic, but fun to drive occasionally.


Do you prefer a 993 for some reason ?

I remember riding in my Dad's 1984 Carrera Targa when I was about 7 years old. It was so fun (!)