99-00 996 vs 01-02 Corvette?

Others with much more experience will surely chime in. From my limited knowledge I can tell you that the early 996's were plagued by a problem with the rear main seal. Many of these seals failed early and, in many cases, Porsche replaced the engines under warranty (although I have read part of that was done so Porsche could tear down the engines in hopes of coming up with a cure). I have read in some articles that the failure rate was as high as 50% in the early years. In cases where an engine swap was not called for, the repair was relatively cheap (I think around $1500.00). In later years, an updated seal (from what I understand) brought matters under control and fails became less frequent and catastrophic. From what I have read, by 2004, the problem was brought almost completely under control. Aside from that issue, the 996s are excellent cars from a reliability standpoint. As I recall, in designing the 996, Porsche sought the help of Toyota engineers. As a result, the engines and associated mechanicals are much easier to get to and the electronic systems are very reliable. Finally, the cars last FOREVER. Unlike American cars, I have seen a lot of high mileage 996's that ride like new. All and all an excellent car. Yes, it will be more expensive to maintain than a corvette, however their service intervals are long and the maintenance costs are not astronomical like in Ferrari land. Yes there are reasonable and well qualified mechanics in most areas of the country that will save you a bundle over most dealers. I spent a good deal of time looking at 993s and 996s while I worked up the nerve to get my Ferrari. I have nothing but love for them. However, if you have always wanted a Corvette, then you should get a Corvette.

With all of that said, consider my comments merely a place holder until the real 996 owners and experts kick in.

 

Wesley: Are you handy? Have you also looked at earlier P-cars? The 996 is not quite as loved as some of the earlier cars, partly because it is water-cooled, partly because it had those fried-egg style headlights, and had some things in common with the Boxster (which, by the way, is no criticism in my book). As a result, the cars have depreciated alot, which may make them a pretty good buy if you want a relatively modern car. (Me, I keep going earlier for my kicks, but that's another story).
If I wanted a 'cheap' Porsche, and had the ability to do some work myself, I might try to find an early 911 with a bigger motor, or a 930 (but the Turbo might just be a nightmare, dunno- it is a very cool car, though, for the money).

I would shy away from the Tip and go with the stick in all events.

BTW, I didn't buy my first Porsche until i had already had 6 Ferraris. Go figure. They are fabulous cars. Currently driving a 993 as a semi-daily.

 

I had a 1999 996. I used it as a daily driver; the car had 102,000 miles before I sold it in the mid-20's $. I would have continually used it as a DD, had I not decided to get a race car and tow vehicle. I even started to buy track bits for this car as I was getting the itch to race again, but decided not to go the route of building a compromised race car. I really liked the car more than I expected. For further context, this was my first water-cooled P car and my 9th Porsche (911S/SC/Carrera, 930, 964, 914s, etc.). I was skeptical in the beginning.

In terms of maintenance, I didn't have non-scheduled issues with the car except for a cracked plastic coolant tank, dead battery and non-charging alternator. The alternator and battery were probably ok; my mechanic did not identify right away an oxidized wire connection to the alternator. Overall, I was impressed with its comfort and reliability as a daily driver; equipped with a roof rack and snow tires, it was used on snowboarding and cycling trips. One time, I asked my mechanic how come my car has been dead reliable, while I keep hearing horror stories about early 996s. He just shrugged and said that it was probably because the car is driven regularly.

Just one data point for you...

 

We have both a 1996 993 Porsche, and a 2004 Z06 Corvette. My stepson really wants to change from the Z06 Vette to a late 996, probably about a 2004 with low miles.

Two points: There is a night/day difference in the driving experience and quality between the two. First, there is not enough performance difference to worry about. Even the Z06 is not really all that much faster than a manual 996 to worry over. (I am talking about the normal road, not track or strip) Also, the Corvette comes in a wide variety of setups - many of them were automatics with base engines and IMHO barely qualify as a sports/performance car - really they were more a 2 seat personal cruiser. A C5 Z06 is a pretty brutal proposition both in ride, handling, and noise...this is why my stepson is ready to move into a Porsche. This is why I gave it to him for his daily driver and kept my old 993.

Second: A Porsche will be a little more expensive to maintain, but it will also have that Porsche floor of depreciation. A C4/C5 Vette with middle to high miles is just a junk commodity on the market - there are a million of them around and they are not much wanted unless they have some super-special worth (a Lingenfelter engine, a ZR-1, or something). Otherwise, even a Z06 is yesterdays news.

Our 52,000 mile Z06, for example, will trade now for exactly the same money (low 20s) as our 993 with over 99,000 miles on the clock. And both cost about mid-forties when I bought them some years back.

So, drive both on the same day if possible and compare: It is, after all, your money and your long term ride.

James

 

First, the information I got from my Porsche mechanic (they are a sponsor here) is that not all of even the very early cars had this problem. We are looking for a 996 to replace the C5 Z06 Corvette - he advises just for money value and general satisfaction to go with a later 996 - maybe a 2004.

The 996 in general seems to be worth less than a 993 with similar miles and condition - so they could be viewed as a good value in the Porsche world.

BTW, you can lose an engine in a Vette, too - rare, but it does happen. My 1996 LT-4 spun the front main bearing TWICE (the second time on a brand new short block supplied by GM under warranty). That was the one-year 330hp engine meant as a stop gap between the last ZR-1 cars in 1995 and the upcoming C5 and Z06 cars. I believe that it had an issue with either the oil feed or the crankshaft fore-aft clearances.

That was when we moved to the Z06 2004 and have had no troubles - but now the stepson wants to move to Porsche.

 

I have a '00 996 C2 right now as my daily driver I love it. I had previously had an '04 996TT as my daily driver and did over 50k miles in it over 2 yrs, then went to the C2. I also have a '03 C5 Z06.


I honestly tried to drive the C5 Z06 as a daily driver, but I only lasted about a month with it. While I won't sell it, and the car is a lot of fun, I just dont enjoy driving it everyday. Thats how I ended up picking up that C2. I had already gotten rid of the turbo and 996 prices had dropped so much, it seemed cheap enough to get another to DD.

As far as reliability goes, the 996TT was bulletproof over the 50k miles. I did nothing special except the factory scheduled maintenance. I drove it everyday, and I was in NH at the time, so there was a lot of snow! It was unstoppable with snow tires and I drove through blizzards on my 75 mile (one way!) commute.

The Z06 is a garage queen for me. Mainly just because I have it and I dont drive it too much. It has 4k miles on it. As far as reliabilty for the Vettes go, just go read some of the corvette-forums. You will see that electrical problems are really common. I had a very common abs issue, and I can tell you it has been a real PITA fixing it. The abs control module is a common failure, you can have it rebuilt cheap for $150, but that doesnt always fix the problem and if you need a new module its $600.

My C2 I've only had for a few thousand miles. It has had the rear coolant tank leak. This is another common problem. I think its about a $400 fix. There are lots of common problems and you can do tons of reading on rennlist forums. The 99-01 cars (3.4) may have a higher incidence of engine failure (about $12-15k to get re-man porsche motor + labor) compared to 02-04 (3.6) cars. If you must go early car, finding one with a re-manned motor with a warranty is a good thing.


So overall, either car can potentially have problems. Drive them both and buy the one you like better, They're both pretty fun.

 

FYI, the turbos use a different block than the regular 996's. From EVERYTHING I have ever read, the 996 turbo is completely bulletproof. It is undoubtedly one of the best performance/reliability bangs for the buck out there on the used car market. Wholesalers are getting them in the 40s!

Otherwise--agree 100%

 

Very similar experiences here - both of us tried a C5 Z06 as a DD and ended up with a Porsche. In my case 993. The Z06 is more of a halfway to track car type experience. I also have a 1995 ZR-1 Corvette, and it would make a very satisfactory daily driver, except that it is a rather rare car (especially the last 1995s) and is garage queen status beside the Testarossa.

Honestly, taking it from both Nijiman and myself - don't let all the bottom power and glory of a Z06 fool you into picking it over the Porsche until you have driven them both extensively (or at least thought it over long and hard).

 

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