NSX to Porsche - 911 Owners Help!

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LeftLane

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I need some advice, preferably from current 911 owners, or those who have made the change between NSX and 911 in either direction.

I currently have a 1995 NSX-T with 55k miles (currently for sale on this site). I really like the NSX, but I have always (and I mean always) loved the 911. I go back and forth on whether I want to spend the money, how practical it would be as a daily driver, etc...

Well, here's the decision I need to make. I can trade my NSX and a 2000 Suburban for a 2000 911 cabrio with 27k, hardtop, custom exhaust, upgraded wheels, and a few other options. The Porsche is very nice, but went out of warranty on Wednesday of last week (I'm not going through a Porsche dealer, so no CPO), so I'd have to buy an aftermarket extended warranty.

My wife is encouraging me to go for the Porsche because she knows I have coveted one forever. However, is it silly to trade a sportscar and daily driver that are both paid for and in excellent shape for one sports car that will also have to be a daily driver?

I don't necessarily need to hear about 0-60, 1/4 mile, etc...I want advice on the ownership experience, and if anyone has done this, if they are happy or have regrets. I've already read through previous threads on semi-relevant topics, but am looking for something more specific. I also spent a ton of time on www.rennlist.com, which isn't as thorough as Prime, but has a lot of good info.

I guess I'm a little afraid to realize the dream, for fear that it won't be what I've built it up in my mind to expect. I also realize that I get zero sympathy from anyone about my perceived "problem" in making this decision - I just don't want to impulsively make the wrong decision, because if I go forward, my wife will absolutely castrate me if I whine about it even once.

Thanks in advance for any insights, and please, no "NSX rules, Porsche sucks" comments, unless that is your personal experience.

Thanks,

Todd
 
I have had a 2002 996TT for about a year now and have had no problems with it. I am fortunate enough to be able to keep my NSX as well so I was not forced to make the decision you are considering. See if you can drive the car for an extended period of time and see if you really like or is it just something "new".

You may also want to look at www.6speedonline.com
 
I have owned many P-cars including a 996 aerokit coupe.

**** I will own more P-cars in the future, BUT I will never ever ever ever own another Porsche UNLESS it is in warranty*****

I had some serious rear main seal problems and had to have the motor out of my new $70,000 car 3 times in the course of the 6 months I owned it (and yes....It was new!!!). The bills totaled over $20,000 parts and labor and the car was still leaking oil pretty bad when I traded it back in.

It would not have been so bad, but I am 2 hours away from the closest dealer. I put 2000 miles on my 911 and 10,000 miles on their boxster/911 loaners over the course of the time it was going on.

The good news: if those cars did not leak oil I would never have bought the NSX and had the oil not stained my garage floor I would not installed the cool matting/checkered flag garage floor I have now :D

Aaron
 
Thanks guys -

Aaron, I have been most concerned about the RMS issue, as it seems to be endemic to the 996. I know it's only around an $800 fix, unless it screws with the tolerances and ends up as an engine replacement (high $$$). The guys on rennlist all bitch about it, as they should. The dealer where I'm having a PPI done mentioned that it would have probably shown symptoms by now (27k), but you never know. Thus, I would have to shell out $2k or so for an aftermarket warranty for peace of mind.

SCS2k - I'm working my way towards a TT, but that's a ways off. This is a Carrera 2 cabrio that I'm looking at right now.

Heart says go, head says slow (damn you, head!).
 
LeftLane said:
Thanks guys -

Aaron, I have been most concerned about the RMS issue, as it seems to be endemic to the 996. I know it's only around an $800 fix, unless it screws with the tolerances and ends up as an engine replacement (high $$$). The guys on rennlist all bitch about it, as they should. The dealer where I'm having a PPI done mentioned that it would have probably shown symptoms by now (27k), but you never know. Thus, I would have to shell out $2k or so for an aftermarket warranty for peace of mind.

SCS2k - I'm working my way towards a TT, but that's a ways off. This is a Carrera 2 cabrio that I'm looking at right now.

Heart says go, head says slow (damn you, head!).
Click to expand...

Just an fyi, I have done RMS's on 2 Porsche's - the 996 I was talking about above was new, but my 01 Boxster S didn't lose the RMS until 31,000 miles. There were no symptoms or leaks on the Boxster up until it just let go overnight in the garage one day. 1 week later the RMS on the Box went out again, the dealer said the tech must have laid the RMS on there wrong, apparently it's a really hard thing to get right.

Aaron
 
I've owned two 911's and probably would still own one if they were of Acura quality, but they're not. In fact I decided to get an NSX after noticing that nothing ever broke on my Legend and it never leaked a drop of anything. After actually driving and owning an NSX I've never even thought about another 911, but the fact that every dentist having a midlife buys one and consequently they are everywhere is part of it for me ( apologies to all dentists out there, but I'll bet that all you dentists with NSXs bought them on their merits not in an attempt to date women half your age so you don't count anyway) . I've realized that I really like the uniqueness and rarity of the NSX.

As long as you are willing to make the commitment in time and money ( unless you are a gambling man buy the service policy or even better a certified car from a dealer with a real warranty ) to more visits to the mechanic go for it; you may discover that you like it better than your NSX.

However - I used one of my 911s as a daily driver for quite awhile and really don't recommend going that route. The concept of selling a good sportscar and a good all weather daily driver like your Suburban to buy a Porsche as a daily driver is something you should think long and hard about. Neither option - never being able to whine or castration sounds good to me!!!:D
 
tucsonsx said:
However - I used one of my 911s as a daily driver for quite awhile and really don't recommend going that route. The concept of selling a good sportscar and a good all weather daily driver like your Suburban to buy a Porsche as a daily driver is something you should think long and hard about. Neither option - never being able to whine or castration sounds good to me!!!:D
Click to expand...

Thanks Tucson - What makes the most sense is obviously keeping the Burb and NSX, but I'm so damn impulsive and impatient (not a good combo, especially when it comes to cars).

I think I'll try to wait to see what the 997 intro does to 996 prices - there is definitely no shortage of Porsches around to choose from, so I guess I shouldn't be in any hurry. Also, the NSX reliability has absolutley spoiled me. I know the first time the 911 breaks on me, I'll start my patented "why me" whine, and my wife will immediately proceed with her Lorena Bobbitt imitation! ;)
 
I have owned a lot of Porsche's including a 911 C4. It was always wanting $1k to fix something. Not the most reliable Porshce I have owned. If I had to pick one (oh wait, I already did) the NSX is a much better daily driver. I owned the Porsche for 1.5 years and spent approx $6k fixing things. The Porsche is a beautiful car, but I would not trade a NSX and Burb for it. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your decision.

Rob
 
I'll give my .02. I have had 7 911's up to the 993 series.
I have never had a major problem on any of them. Had a 928 S4 and GTS, the s4 was a nightmare. The GTS was fine. I have not found Porsches to be anywhere close to unreliable. I don't own a 996 variant, I never will unless it were a GT2 or GT3, I have a 95NSX as well. As far as pricing, the 996's have dropped like rocks and will continue to do so. Every other series seems to be holding much better. The 996 were built with a build quality that seems to be inferior to the 993's. (JMO and a that of others) Look at the price of replacement engines, the 996 engine is dirt cheap to purchase. I am a porsche Nut, but the only 911 series car I would take over my NSX is a 3.6T,993TT or above, I would take the 993TT over the 996. I don't know the condition of your NSX or your SUV, but If you sold them they would net more than that Cab you are looking at will be worth. You can get 00 Cabs for as little as 45K with decent miles. There are 2 that I know of with under 20k miles for less than 48k. Again, I don't know anything about the labor and dependability aspect of the 996, never wanted one. But I have friends that have the 01's and up, and Porsche seems to have gotten it together on those years.
If I were going to buy a 996 cab, I would buy the newest one I could afford, step up to a 01 or better.
 
Last edited:
I have had a few (7) 996s from MY 99-02. I still have an 02 C2 coupe. I had a few issues on the 99 models but no problems at all on the 00, 01s, or 02s. I haven't kept any one past 10k miles so I don't know if my experience is a true indication of quality.

I have had a 97, 98 and 01 NSX-T and had one major problem with the locking system on the 98.

Nonetheless, my opinion is that the NSX is definitely more reliable. And I too would probably try to get some kind of warranty on a Porsche. Unless you have some local shop that specializes in Porsche but doesn't charge as much as a dealership.

One other note, do you definitely want to get a cabrio? The coupe handles a lot better than the cabrio. I have a C2 coupe but only b/c I have another convertible. If I didn't, I guess I would also get the cab. Also, if you can get an 02+, you can feel the 20hp difference. I think you can get 02 coupes (with low miles) for $55k and cabs for $60k. I didn't look up values of a 95 NSX and 00 Suburban but I would guess that combined you'd have between $55k and $60k in value.

On the question of practicality, the 996 is pretty refined. The ride is comfortable (so is the NSX), it has back seats which are ok for short distances, it doesn't draw as much attention when you park it, the 99-01s with sport exhaust and the 02+s all have a great sound. If you can, get one with PSM (Porsche Stability Management). Very impressive stability control in bad traction...probably the best non 4wd I've ever driven.

Good luck on your search.
 
Holy de ja vu batman.

nsxlover said:
I have owned a lot of Porsche's including a 911 C4. It was always wanting $1k to fix something. Not the most reliable Porshce I have owned. If I had to pick one (oh wait, I already did) the NSX is a much better daily driver. I owned the Porsche for 1.5 years and spent approx $6k fixing things. The Porsche is a beautiful car, but I would not trade a NSX and Burb for it. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your decision.

Rob
Click to expand...

Jeez, that's the same thing I run into witn my NSX.
 
"NSX is gone, C4 is here.... "

I saw this posted in the 964 board on rennlist...


http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=92323


about 1/2 way down he says:

Thanks for all the warm welcomes. I love Porsche owners, very few manufacturers have such an enthusiast following, perhaps Ferrari would be the only other to rival us. To answer a few questions. The NSX is a great car, slightly quicker than the C4, but truely superior in the handling department. The NSX is almost too good in my opinion, it never seemed to WOW me, it certainly wows the teenage boys as they always seemed to swarm around the car when I would take it out. It's still amazing how many people do not know what it is, or even know who Acura is for that matter ?? The 911 is so steeped in mystique and is probably the most recognized sports car on the planet, that is the allure to me, the sound, the feel, the quirks ( yes there are some ) the way the car communicates with it's driver. The NSX admittedly lacked alot of these traits. The Japanese seem to overly refine their cars. ( not always a bad thing ) Having said all that, I really enjoyed my time with the NSX, but will never have regrets selling it to purchase a 911. The NSX is fairly inexpensive to maintain. ( compared to a Porsche ) I replaced the T-belt, Aux. belts and waterpump for example in July and it cost $1400 CDN. Do the same thing on a 944,928,968 or a Ferrari and it can get ugly. Body panels are ridiculously expensive as the whole car is virtually aluminum. Some of the early cars had a snapring problem in the transmission, where the snapring would fail and a rebuild would be in order ($7000-$9000 US). Fortunately, my car was not in the snapring range and I would never purchase an NSX in the snapring range, unless the owner had it properly fixed. Honda does build the best gearboxes on the planet though. It is well known that Gordon Murry used the NSX gearbox as his benchmark for shifter quality and feel when designing the Mclaren F1. The NSX badly needs an overhaul, I would never consider buying a new one, had I the funds, as the new GT3 is similarily priced and would humiliate the NSX in all accounts. You gotta love an 8200 RPM redline in a Porsche !! and torque to boot. The Banff Springs Hotel was not used in the filming of "The Shining". It is heavily reputed to be haunted however. It is a beautiful Hotel !! Many a Celebrity has stayed there. There are not to many 964's in Calgary, I do see them and I know there are some in the Porsche club. We have a couple 964 Speedsters here as well ( Black and Speed yellow ). I look forward to getting to know you all. Best Regards, Brady
 
I'm getting the responses I pretty much expected to get - it would be a much smarter idea to sell both of mine outright and get the newest, lowest mileage 911 I could afford, with as much warranty left (or CPO) as possible. I was trying to justify the tax savings by doing a trade (the guy was offering me pretty much retail on my trades), but I just don't think this 911 is the one. I would be much happier if I could get one new, or almost new.

Thanks to everyone for your responses - it definitely helps assuage the impulsivenesss with which I usually act. :D
 
The resale of the P cars drop pretty fast as well, keep that in mind when looking for one as new as you can find.


LeftLane said:
I'm getting the responses I pretty much expected to get - it would be a much smarter idea to sell both of mine outright and get the newest, lowest mileage 911 I could afford, with as much warranty left (or CPO) as possible. I was trying to justify the tax savings by doing a trade (the guy was offering me pretty much retail on my trades), but I just don't think this 911 is the one. I would be much happier if I could get one new, or almost new.

Thanks to everyone for your responses - it definitely helps assuage the impulsivenesss with which I usually act. :D
Click to expand...
 
I have owned a 964 and drove a couple of 993 and 996 variants and short of a tin turbo or GT you would be hard pressed to get me into a 996. I would much rather spend the $$ of a prestine 993 that is OUT of warranty than a 996 IN warranty. The newer cars lost the air cooled charm, roar and classic good looks.

All that said though, I test drove a nicely preped variocam 993 thinking it would replace my NSX and walked away underwhelmed with the Porsche and quite pleased to be getting back into my NSX.

When I do tire of the NSX, some variant of a 911 will replace it but I don't know when that would be.
 
Nothing really to add other than whats been stated here. I make a habit out of studying depreciation in cars and you shouldn't touch any 996. Cars are depreciating objects anyway, but the 996 is getting hammered. From what I've learned on theRennlist and other sites/studies in my hunt for a 993tt is the mass production, boxter like looks in addition to the first few years of build quality issues has more than a few Porsche purists angered. When you can buy 01tt's and N/A 996 within throwing distance of the former air cooled models they replaced....that should tell you something.

Keep both your cars!
 

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