thinking about changing my car

Joined
14 February 2003
Messages
472
Location
south wales,UK
hi all,
well im thinking about getting rid of the X and getting myself a porsche 911(996).
can anybody on the website who owns one of these give me any info about them.E.G tiptronic or manual or carrerra 2 or 4 and any problems you may have encountered with your particular car.
i may not even like one to drive but obviously a test drive will confirm this(after all the NSX has just about the perfect driving position).
if any of you are wondering why im thinking of changing its because of cost.i really think the porsche will be cheaper and easier for me to maintain.
there are only about 4-5 NSX main dealers in the uk and there are none within about 150 miles of where i live,whereas there is a porsche specialist just 10 miles from my home who will charge me a third of the labour costs that honda want to work on my car.
nearly every time i want to get something for my car i have to import it from the USA at no small cost and yet it still works out at a cheaper price than getting it from honda(get this 560GBP $1042 for a water pump)from the main dealer over here.
anyway any help will be appreciated pros+cons of porsche ownership.
thanks,
james.
 
Carrera 4s are understeering pigs... go for a C2. I would also personally rather go for a 993, the 996 has always struck me as a step in the wrong direction for the 911.
 
I think you're posting the wrong question on the wrong forum on the wrong website. Comparing a porsche with an NSX on a website full of NSX fanatics is a flame-war waiting to spill over. :(
 
I don't think the question is irrelevant. He wants opinions from people that have owned both cars that can give a comparison. If he goes to Rennlist, he will find plenty of 996 owners with few, if any NSX owners.
James, I have owned a few Porsches, but not the one in question. Have have spent some time behind the wheel of my brothers 996 Cab TIP and feel like there is too little driver involvement with the TIP. I guess it is the same for all paddle shifts/TIPs etc...
The "wow' factor is not quite as much because every day you see a Porsche on the street. Since I have had an NSX, I have yet to see another on the road in my city which is pretty large.
 
I loved my 911... next time around I am buying a 993. But I agree with the last post that you will lose quite a bit of curb appeal.
 
good luck with your porsche. One piece of advise, the early 996's(3.4L) have oil starvation issues on the track.

This might not apply to you if you buying new, or not plannning on tracking the car.
 
thanks for the replies guys,
nothing is written in stone.as i said earlier i may not like it to drive.
as for the 993 i havn't ruled that out either but i think that the 996 is the better looking car without a rear spoiler,and i dont want to go down the modding route again.i have seen a 1998 996 in zenith blue with 72000 on the clock with maindealer history and looking at the photo it looks like it has the GT3 kit fitted already,so if i can get a fair price for mine as a trade in then i may just get it.
 
As one that has driven all 3, stay away from early 996's and tiptronics. The early 996 did have maint. issues and was a better car from 2000 on. The 993 is a blast w/oversteer fun if you like that sort of thing. Just hang it out an point it straight. As was stated head to the Rennlist. Tons of info and links. From what I remember the concerns w/the Porsche were , seals, poor interior build quality, shift linkages. 993's can be had cheap w/good maint. and history even the Turbo's.

Also, and new 997(?) is in the works and yo could see some further depreciation which will add to you buying power.

Good luck
 
jaytip nsx said:
if any of you are wondering why im thinking of changing its because of cost.i really think the porsche will be cheaper and easier for me to maintain.
That's a very unusual reason to go to the trouble of selling an NSX to replace it with a Porsche 911. I have to wonder if they are truly that close to being equal in your mind, or are there other contributing factors. I.e. reasons you want to sell the NSX anyway and would prefer a change to another car over buying a 2nd NSX? I would have said you could not find a more reliable exotic than a Honda. As for labour costs... hmmm... I have not known Porsche dealerships to be budget-minded. When you say your Porsche specialist charges 1/3 the cost, are you serious that a Porsche specialist bills out at 1/3 the rate for a Honda NSX tech?!? Is Honda using their published hours for each task? :confused:
 
Re: Re: thinking about changing my car

CokerRat said:
That's a very unusual reason to go to the trouble of selling an NSX to replace it with a Porsche 911. I have to wonder if they are truly that close to being equal in your mind, or are there other contributing factors. I.e. reasons you want to sell the NSX anyway and would prefer a change to another car over buying a 2nd NSX? I would have said you could not find a more reliable exotic than a Honda. As for labour costs... hmmm... I have not known Porsche dealerships to be budget-minded. When you say your Porsche specialist charges 1/3 the cost, are you serious that a Porsche specialist bills out at 1/3 the rate for a Honda NSX tech?!? Is Honda using their published hours for each task? :confused:
hi CokerRat,
with regards to the cars being equal,no. i think the NSX is rarer,better handling,and unless you have a really nice looking porsche then the NSX is better looking too.build quality:i have never owned a porsche so i dont know from first hand expreience,but from comparisons i have read in A LOT of car mags then the porsche is at least the NSX's equal.labour costs:if i were to take the porsche to a main agent then yes the porsche would cost me as much to have work done on it,bit im talking about a specialistporsche center,not the main dealer.
 
With you, Ken

ChopsJazz said:
Why does everyone call it an "X"? WRX? Nissan Pulsar NX? Nissan ZX? Why does everyone call it an "X"?

I've never understood the "X" nickname either. To me, it's just my "NSX" or my "Big Car". There're so many marketing Xs out there, even in the Acura line: which X? MDX? TSX? RSX? Of course, in context it's clear, but I don't really get it.

Anyway, to the OP: go ahead and buy the Porsche. You'll be back... They always come back.... (Right, G-man?)
 
staying with the NSX

i test drove a 996 and a 964(which i was told is practically the same as a 993)and i will be staying with the honda.
the reasons why:the 964 was really uncomfortable in that on a right hand drive 964 the peddles are waaaay offset to the left and i found it too uncomfortable.the dash layout is shocking(it has made me appreciate the NSX's all the more.what i will say though is that the sound it made was nice,not NSX nice but still nice.
the 996 was a very different drive.it was smooth,quick,less road noise than my car and it felt quicker lower down the rev range,but the engine was so muted i could hardly believe it.at 100 mph i could barely hear it,which was why i didn't realise i was doing 100.what put me off the most was that the seats were REALLY uncomfortable.even my partner at a hefty 52kg found them too restricting around the back.the salesman said the same thing when he drove it.the boot/trunk is also really,really small.much more so than the NSX.in all it was a nice car,BUT it wasn't £17000 PLUS my NSX nice,my car is just too nice to drive to justify spending that much money on a car that was less comfortable than mine to sit in and drive.
last thing,have any of you ever been out on a test drive in a £35000($64500) car where the salesman just gives you the keys,tells you where to go(about a 7 mile loop road)tells you to take your girlfriend/wife and just carry on.i was very suprised.surely thats not normal practice is it?
 
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