8yrs of being recon manager says that thread is wrong. Sure, the window regulators go bad. Oil seperator in a 911 every once in a while. Maybe a driveshaft in a cayenne. Had a head gasket in a 911 once. Targa top 911 is for sure going to break the targa top. Swing out cupholder is going to break eventually. Otherwise, they are solid cars. Lots of people blow the 996 bearing issue out of proportion. I've seen exactly one actual failing bearing.
Yes, but not compared to the original they replaced. OG's cost as much as the new ones are going for. That's gotta tell you something.
What's crazy is that there are several examples rolling around with 100k+ miles on them and they're doing fine. You'll won't get that from a Ferrari of the era.
Ha! I owned 2 Miatas, and I'm now on my second Boxster. I guess I like chick cars! Still, each of them has been sheer pleasure to drive.
I had a brand new 2006 LS430 Ultra (about $85,000 new) traded it in with 365,000 miles & spent $25,000 on repairs. Air springs were $9,000/$10,000.
Aren't all top-level exotics (La Ferrari, one of the McLarens, etc) hybrids now??? Personally, I think they did OK with that NSX, lotsa other cars I'd pick before that one but still a contender. I've been looking, on/off, for a 911 (mostly 996/997's) but got discouraged over the rod bearing failures........I can't recall if you shared your input on that subject when we had the discussion..... if you bought one, would you just drop the $2500 it costs to replace them for piece of mind or ????
Yes, the very top models are. I don't like any of them. I'm there for the driving experience. I enjoy testarossa's, ZO6's, cayman GT4's and boxster spyder's etc because they are amazing drives that push the right excitment buttons without having to be stupid fast to do it. Well, I've never heard of rod bearing failures nor experienced one here. The bearing in question is called an IMS bearing. It really only affect 996's. I think the 05.5 997 with the 3.6L might as well. Every single 996 buyer is concerned with it. Usually by this age if its gonna fail it has already. Had one customer so concerned he paid to have the bearing replaced. Pulled it apart and found a perfect, new looking aftermarket upgraded bearing already in there. Didn't save him any labor money though as the trans is already out. Personally, I wouldn't replace it unless there is a large tell tale showing me I need to, like metal shavings in the oil or knocking/grinding noises. Or buy a 997 3.8L or 996 turbo and don't even think about IMS anymore lol. well I mean mine's pretty glorious and all so I'll go with it.
I was just thinking that the best bang for the buck in a "supercar" is a 996 Turbo. You can find a decent one for $40K, and I've seen them as cheap as the low 30's. I saw one at Cars and Coffee last summer and it looked pretty damn good. Didn't even notice the headlights
My bad, it IS/WAS the IMS bearing that was problematic on that gen.....I'm getting bearing issues mixed up between that model and the M3 (E92). And thanks for sharing that tidbit about the 997 3.8L, may have to start giving that model a look! LOL....the headlights is the one feature I always hated on that gen....but I've heard they're still fun cars to drive so I think I can overlook it. Besides I'm pretty sure you can get a precut tinted stick on that hides that oblong portion pretty well.
Is Porsche that far removed from VW/Audi design and engineering to really warrant a completely separate quality reputation? Do people actually use a Porsche in the same way they would an Audi? Also curious how the Cayanne and weird wagon thing that are used in a more consistent manner stack up.
I totally get the love of driving them. Wish I could fit in them to do so There's just something about the styling of some cars that makes them chick cars however all of those I can think of are truly fun to drive.