I've got my eye on a 1996 993 with 30,000 miles.

What should I watch out for?

Cops!

Had a '95 for a couple of years. Great car and very fast. '96 is supposed to be better because of "varioram" (whatever that is!)

You have to learn to eat Quiche, drink coffe lattes with pinkey extended.....sex change required if it's an automatic....

Variable intake runner length. I think Mazda had it on a few track cars before it got banned?

993 huh? You won't regret it. IMHO, the best 911 model ever built. Go turbo!

I had a '95 993. great car all around. there is a wiring harness issue with that year that was fixable under recall, so make sure they did the update.

wish I never sold mine, (1997 C2S) you won't regret it. Lot of car for the money now.

best looking of the modern era 911s, awesome motor, too.
The wiring recall was pretty widespread, I watched my mechanic
in LA fix several of those over a 4 year period.

Good cars, my 95 c4 cab is nice although a bit heavy. I would look into a'96 c2 over a 996.

QUOTE (Porsche Rescue @ Jan 17 2005, 05:33 AM)

'96 is supposed to be better because of "varioram" (whatever that is!)

it's called VarioCam

this system manipulates the timing of the intake camshaft by a chain
the engine runs better and gets better torque over rpm

... I wonder if you get the point

it's actually called varioram in the states.

The last few years there's been a ton of articles and letters in Excellence on the 993's having some sort of valve guide problem resulting in oil blow by of some kind which causes the check engine light to come on? I'm not sure about the particulars on this, but I remember that some west coast shops were saying that many of these cars will require valves and top end work (4-8k worth!) at 60 or 70 k miles?? anyone else know the specifics?

valve guide problems have been around since the 84 carrera

every car has its little defects but the 993 is a safe bet, just find a nice low mile example.

varioram started on the 993 in '96 and all have had it since. Uses intake with different size and length chambers to flatten the torque curve. You can really hear it wail at around 5k rpm when it kicks in.

As noted above, it's VarioRam for the 1996 993s, which added the same technology introduced to the 911 line in the 3.8-liter 993 Carrera RS. All 1996 3.6-liter NA engines got the same feature, which varies the intake runner lengths to tune the torque across the powerband.

The technology was introduced in the 1992 968, and slated for the last 928s (possibly) but the OBD II requirement killed any chance for a 1996 968 or 928 -- which is why Porsche went to just the 911 for the 1996 model year.

VarioCam came in with the 986 and 996 motors (and then the "real" flat sixes in the 996 Turbo, GT3, GT2) and allows the cam timing to be altered. In very basic terms, two versions of VarioCam have been introduced so far -- two-stage and "infinitely (within a range, of course) variable."

The 1995 993 motors are known to be less problematic with regards to the cylinder heads (because 1996 also introduced OBD II and the Check Engine light that means you MUST do a top-end refurbish in order to get the car past smog). Hard to say, but the big thing with 993s seems to be finding a car that was not trundled around town -- you want a car that was brought up to full operating temperature and really run to prevent any coking up in the cylinder heads' passages.

As with the 1984-89 3.2-liter valve-guide issues, not all 993s will need cylinder head work or valve guides. A fair number seem to (judging by all the correspondance and attention), but it's hard to figure out how many quiet owners who never had a problem there are for every loud one who did have a failure...

Get the car, you'll probably LOVE IT!!!! But the best mod may be Euro 993 RS suspension. Almost 914 like....

pete

QUOTE (horizontally-opposed @ Jan 17 2005, 05:02 PM)

Almost 914 like....

except for that extra 1000 pounds

i have a '91 C2, nice car and fun to drive....I now wish I had payed the extra money for a 993...they are that much better

[QUOTE] except for that extra 1000 pounds



And 200 extra horsepower.

pete

QUOTE (horizontally-opposed @ Jan 17 2005, 06:20 PM)

And 200 extra horsepower

depends on whose 914 your talking about

Kinda bending the topic, but 996's seem to do much better than 993's at our short track series. Why is the 996 teated so poorly at most Porsche sites? Headlights and wasserboxer stuff?

993's are great cars. Pretty much all of the issues have already been pointed out by other posters. If you are really serious pay for a PPI at a Porsche dealer or well respected independent, it's money well spent.

Before you jump though, did you know John Swanson has his car for sale???

Folks prefer the curves of the 993 over the 996. That and the last air cooled status of the 993 make it a fave. The 996, from all that I've read is a great car, just slightly plain looking.

the interior on a 996 is vastly different too, more like a family sedan. the 993, with the flat dash, feels like you're driving a very fast vintage beetle.

QUOTE (tommy914 @ Jan 16 2005, 09:30 PM)

What should I watch out for?

You should watch out for the period of time that immediately follows the realization that the 3.6 deserves a better home.

I own a 1996 993 Cabriolet Tiptronic C2.
I've owned it for a little over a year.
Its an awesome car and its my daily driver.
Its my daily driver because it has powered everything and AC.
Its also alot quieter for Business cell phone calls.
The maintenance on it is a hassle considering you don't have to adjust the valves.
It has two oil filters that are a bitch to get to and the list goes on regarding other things.
Look for low mileage, maintenance receipts, etc.
Get a PPI from some place you trust.
Don't trust Car fax etc.
Make sure all fenders, hood etc. line up.
If its been repainted be very afraid.
Test everything electrictal in the car.
Especially the top if its a cabriolet.
Check out http://p-car.com/ for more information on maintenance etc.

If you have other questions let me know.
I love the car and I will never get rid of it as long as I'm employed.
If I got layed off I would sell the 993 and keep the 914 because the 914 with the 3.2 still puts a bigger grin on my face.
The 914 handles better and its still faster to 140 mph.