Porsche 911 (964) Need Advice!

James6 · 7 Jun 2004

Hey Guys,I am looking to buy my 1st Porsche and has found this on the site this morning:
http://www.911uk.com/car.asp?stockid=106475

Can someone tell me a little more about this model (reliability, servicing etc) as I know some models can be troublesome.Any advice would be appreciated!!!Thanks in advanceJames

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giles saville · 7 Jun 2004

Hi James,

I've recently bought a 964 coupe as a dialy driver and have so far been pleased with it. I've covered 4.5k in the last 4 months and have had to replace a few 'bits' such as the battery (they eat these every 2 yrs ish), fuel filter and a relay. I also had a idling/stalling issue i had to get sorted which cost me £800 at a specialist. Whilst they are great cars to drive and look great (esp the Cab) they are not cheap to maintain in all the research i did before buying. However i've offset this by the potential low depreciation for a well cared for car.

I bought my car from a import dealer as its originally a LHD german import but very well cared for. I also had a detailed PPI carried out by an independant specialist which is an absolute must (and i cant stress that enough) as it was my first Porsche also. These cars are now 11/12 years old and need extra care and expenses but for me its a hobby aswell as transport. The car you mentioned is a 92/93 year which means it should have had any issues which effected the early 89/90 cars soted out as mine had. These included cyclinder head gaskets issues and secondary distributor ventilation kits etc. Cab roofs and mechanisms are an expensive fix if they go wrong or tear. If you do decide to buy a 964 i'd get a good buyers guide sorted and buy Adrians Streathers excellent enthusiasts companion (which has already save me money). Join/look at the Rennlist porsche site, Smartgroups Porsche 964 site and John Miles' dedicated 964 site which has alot of info on everday ownership, running reports etc. Depending on your budget if its around £20k then you may not be far off LHD 993 territory which are even better sorted cars. Theres a comparison in Porsche world magazine between the models i believe this month.

In conclusion i'd say they are great cars but are expensive to maintain compared to 'mass produced' cars but depreciate less. They certainly turn heads and look/drive great but MOT/service times are not cheap or free from worry. I'd budget 2/3k a year for maintenance etc if its a daily drive or less if a 'Sunday car'. Make sure you read thoroughly all the sites i've mentioned if you hav'nt already and you'll get the overall picture very quickly. Also dont discount LHD as you'd get the same car for 2/3k less and have the money to put problems right as somthing will occur whether major or more likely minor in the first few months. Finally once again whatever you do get a full PPI preferably from a specialist firm before you buy and walk away if its too long a list or expenive to sort, there are good cars out there and you can then enjoy the car as it should be.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Giles.

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Porsche · 7 Jun 2004

didn't the recent April 04 issue (or was it May 04 ??) of porsche 911 & world have a 964 buyers guide ?

worth a read...

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Chris H · 29 Jun 2004

James

I bought a 1993 964 last year and so far (touch wood) have had no problems other than making rather heavy contact with the central barrier while leaving the Brussels ring road.......sidewards. I become another C2 statistic.. A couple of grand put her right and she is looking better than ever..

I agree with all of what Giles writes. I too had the same questions when buying mine but have had no regrets whatsoever...

My biggest advise is go for the latest year of 964 manufacture (this being '93). They had a lot of problems with 88/89 and 90 models (most of which would since have been repaired by owners). By 1993, all problems seem to have been sorted resulting in a much more reliable car.

Only consider buying something with full service history and make sure the early services were done by porsche or reputed specialists. Buy something fully loaded with options as this always gives the car better selling value. I took a look at the one you are considering and it looks great.... Go for it mate, it'll be the best 20k you'll ever spend.

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Porsche 911 (964) Need Advice!

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