Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

996 coupe or cabrio?

Lee Bollom

Well-known member
Joined
21 Dec 2005
Messages
190
Hello all, I'm new on here so firstly a big hello ;-)

I'm looking at getting a 996 carrera 2, i'd love to keep it for longer but the likelyhood is that I'll just keep it till October time this year.

A couple of questions:-

1) performance wise, is the cabrio much heavier? i can't seem to find info on it.

2) does the cabrio handle well? i'm not thinking of tracking a car this year so it doesn't have to be race perfect.

3) is the cabrio a nice car to drive? does it leave a smile on your face?

I originally was looking at coupes but seeing as I probably won't have the car for ages, I figured I'd like to pounce about abit in a nice cabrio, never had one before.

I've currently got an 99 Audi S4 which I'm trying to sell if anyone knows anyone who's interested in a nice tidy s4.

thanks

Lee


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44554
 
Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Lee Bollom on 01 February 2006
Hello all, I'm new on here so firstly a big hello ;-)
I'm looking at getting a 996 carrera 2, i'd love to keep it for longer but the likelyhood is that I'll just keep it till October time this year.
A couple of questions:-
1) performance wise, is the cabrio much heavier? i can't seem to find info on it.
2) does the cabrio handle well? i'm not thinking of tracking a car this year so it doesn't have to be race perfect.
3) is the cabrio a nice car to drive? does it leave a smile on your face?
I originally was looking at coupes but seeing as I probably won't have the car for ages, I figured I'd like to pounce about abit in a nice cabrio, never had one before.
I've currently got an 99 Audi S4 which I'm trying to sell if anyone knows anyone who's interested in a nice tidy s4.
thanks
Lee

Welcome to the site lee,

Cabrio lose a little to the Coupe because of weight, however you would have to be a very enthusiastic driver to notice.

With regards your S4, it isnt a dark green estate with Cream leather interior by any chance?

Daz.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 44557
 
thats great news about the cab, just what I wanted to hear.

nope, mines silver saloon, with the blue alcantara/black leather interior.

thanks


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44563
 
Lee, sounds like you really want the cab, in which case the decision is made as far as i can see.

BUY THE CAB! :)

Promise not to make any references to your skills with cutting hair... :wink:


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44564
 
very funny.

I know I know, but hey, cruising around in a 911 cabrio at 23 sounds like good fun to me ;-)

I'll give you a free hair cut* if you like.



*i'm an accountant and make no promises over the quality of the hair cut ;-)


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44568
 
I toyed with the Coupe/Cab debate and in the end decided to buy whichever one first came along that was ticking all the right boxes........and that happened to be the Cab - in every day driving it's great (and well sound proofed with the hard top).......

Can't right to get the roof down in the not too distant future to do some posing.........sadly I have a feeling mine will have to go in the summer though :(


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44573
 
Lee,

Just a word of warning, if you are only thinking of having a 996 for such a short time you will take a hammering in depreciation. The 996 and boxster values are still in freefall with no sign of it bottoming out.

This is mainly due to over supply, new models and the changing demographic of Porsche ownership, as well as a few well Documented issues.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 44574
 
If you only plan to keep it till Oct... get the cab, enjoy the spring/summer/autumn and get real air conditioning! (well, at least conditioned with diesel fumes around here... :( )

Migration info. Legacy thread was 44575
 
why do you only want to keep it for such a short time ?

just being nosey :oops:


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44576
 
tbh i think i'll end up trying to keep it for as long as I can. Basically comes down to money, i can afford it now for this year but not so sure about long term, don't want to start running into repair and high servicing costs, plus other priorities like getting a house will probably be more on my mind next year.

And I'm planning an elise s2 for next summer which would be dead cheap in comparison.

After having a few cars, i've realised there's always a better car than the one you own, hence no point looking really far ahead with any car. I get bored within about 18 months normally.

ps: i have thought about the depn side of things, a decent 60k 2000 cab is roughly £28-30k now, by the end of the year, probably £26.5k to £28k. What you guys think?




Migration info. Legacy thread was 44577
 
Depreciation, what a horrific thing it is.

You would think what you have written would be the case but it just isnt.

It depends on several variables, desirability, rarity, condition, who you are buying it from, who you are selling it to, milage etc etc.

Let me give you a good example, friend bought a 996 C4 2001 pre facelift model begining last year for £38.5k from OPC, with 23k miles, silver, Xenons, Sound Upgrade Sunroof, GT3 Wheels, CD Stacker, Embossed seats, full leather.

Thought he had bought the right car not to depreciate to much, he has added approx 14k miles, kept the Service History and the condition good so as to maxamise future value.

So he looks in the all the adds, web etc for a guide price as to what his car should sell for, and quite a few similar cars selling for approx £34k ish dealer.

Reasoning that he would like to p/x for a new car he goes allong to the local OPC thinking he will be offered £32k against a new car (997), he is told that the milage and age of the car puts outside the OPC selling range and as such they will have to trade the car out, the highest bid they are offered for the car is £27k!!

Or he can take his chances and sell privately, where he will probably get £31 - £32k

So he will have lost at least £7k, in a year with 12k miles added, maybe if he part ex's he will lose £10k.

So the moral re depreciation,

If it is rare and desirable it falls outside this parameter, however otherwise.

You hve to try and buy private at well below trade prices (you see trade prices mean nothing and are just a guide, this is what traders will tell you), and you have to buy a really good desirable car in the right colour, if you are lucky you will then sell that car on privately in a year or sos time for a loss of approx £5k if you are lucky.

As a benchmark for you if you buy a £30k car from a dealer/OPC run it for a month, they will offer you £25k tops for that car if you want to give it back to them.

Buy private, buy well and face the very real reality of depreciation.

good luck.

Daz.


Migration info. Legacy thread was 44579
 
Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Lee Bollom on 01 February 2006

And I'm planning an elise s2 for next summer which would be dead cheap in comparison.
:?




Migration info. Legacy thread was 44580
 
ouch, i think it depends on the market. Very true and I can believe that easily is the case, because its only recently that I've realised I can probably afford a 996. I was looking around about a year ago and I'd have been lucky to afford a nice 964 for £24-£26k. They're now about £16-20k. (not really kept a close eye on them tho)

I got evo magazine at the international autosport show at the NEC and they had a feature on how to buy a 996 c2 for £25k.

I guess I'm just getting impatient, I;ve seen a nice cab which I'm going to see on saturday and a probably being blinded by the "i can't wait to get a 911" vision.

If I get a good part ex for the s4 then I may go for it, if not, then I'm waiting to sel the s4 first and then looking at private sale 911's instead of trade and use JZM to check it over.

Holding back on buying one seems silly, if I don't get one now, my mum or my girlfriend will talk me out of it next year ;-)

If I take a £5k hit in a years time, i'll just have to lump it.

One other question. Are cabs generally more money than coupes? most cabs are being advertised at around £28+

sorry this post is a bit "bitty" having to keep dipping the screen at work ;-)




Migration info. Legacy thread was 44584
 
Lee - you do know what Lotus stands for - dont you?

Migration info. Legacy thread was 44586
 
Lee,

I may had sounded all doom and gloom, but thought I should flag up the depreciation issue as it has not been thought that a Porsche will lose a lot of money, which has changed a lot in the last year or so.

If you want a cab, go for it and enjoy. Personally I would buy a 993 coupe :)

Now I have gone and done it and let my bias come out, damn, sorry could not help myself :) :wink: :twisted: :D :D

Migration info. Legacy thread was 44589
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,359
Messages
1,439,511
Members
48,719
Latest member
Porsche Die Hard
Back
Top