hello all. porsche technicion here. i know all of you are pissed about the insane amount of engine replacements. yes it does suck but you have to understand porsche is the only car line that is still owned by porsche and no one else so they dont have the money as the bigger car lines. porsche is a stubborn car company and it takes a miracle to get them to change a design. i have replaced many engines failing from the same problem and the only thing porsche wants us to do is remove the complete engine and ship it back to germany so they can examine it. they are trying but they are breaking faster than they can fix them. the problem they have been having on earlier 996"s and boxsters is the engine casting was poorly made and some vehicles where experiencing cylinder sleeves breaking loose from the block causing the engine to explode itself and lockup rendering it only good for a boat anchor. they managed to get that solved. the other common problem was the intermediate shaft bearing (located on the flywheel side of engine under the crankshaft) was failing. you would here a grinding noise for a while until the bearing couldnt handle it anymore and the engine would die. this caused damage to internal parts and the block was being filed away when there was no more bearing left. it sucks but they are replacing engines until they can come up with a fix. they probably already found one and it is being applied to the replacement engine. there is no way to determine which vehicle will have the concerns


Hope this helps. I have seen these post many, many times. I did not write this.

 

i sold my 01 M3 for my 01 911 Aero - I am much happier.

 

You should test drive both, you'll feel the difference.

There's nothing like driving a rear engine car! Carrera is Way more appealing than m3's, and for the price difference you can supercharge the engine.
Porsche all the way!!

 

Both are amazing drivers cars, but the BMW //M3 is so ubiquitous. Ill drive by the Intel near my house and I can spot around 3-4 //M3 or modded 3-series in the lot. Just too plain if you ask me. Porsche 911's on the other hand are eye catchers in most areas.

 

I have both . An Evt700 997tt and an 08 M3. I also had an 07 997S .

No comparison . I would buy a 07 or 08 low mi 997S .

The M3 > 04 996 -- but I don't know why you are comparing thse two as the price gap is significant. I wouild buy the M3 over the 996 . I owned two of them (a 00 and 02) . They were good cars but the M3 is that good too.

The M3 is a great daily driver yet it lacks the character of the 997S . The gearbox is sloppy, the car is heavy , and styling reminds me more of a sophistcated muscle car than the Porsche which has finesse .
It is comfortable , fits in parking spaces , has space, and is fast .

It's just not a 997S.

 

Ha really? Your sig says you own a 911. In what aspects is //M3 preferable?

 

I do own a 911, but comparing a 04 996, vs a new M3 isn't much of a choice IMO. To be fair, it's not really an apples/apples price comparison, you could get an 07 997S for the price of an M3, in that choice I'd opt for the 997S, but not an 04 996.

 

I would look at a 05 or 06 997S with CPO instead of a 04 996. That price compares to the E92 M3.

Do you want a GT or a sports car? I think you should answer that question first.

 

First decide if you want a sports car or a sports sedan.....

Once you've made that decision the next decision is easy.

 

This is bull****, since the base Carreras don't have cylinder sleeves or liners, they can NOT breake loose. I think published opinions like this by socalled "mechanics" is the big problem, not the engines in Porsche, since many people takes this as the truth even if what is said here is not technically possible.

 

Really, so i guess the RMS issue is fake also?

 

+1. Like many here, a new M3 is hard to compare to a 996. A 997 or 996TT, I would take those over any M3. I had 335 before my 996, and I am much happier with the 996.

 

I wouldn't put too much faith in someone who can't spell their job title.

 

You better read the post a little more carefully. I haven't mentioned the RMS issue at all, which is real but not dangerous. But the simple fact is that a 996 Carrera engine don't have cylinder sleeves. It should then be easy to understand that the reason given for engine failures by the socalled Porsche tecnichian cannot be correct, and when people (like you) obviously takes this as the truth I think that is a much bigger problem for the Porsche community and the reputation of the 996. 997 engines does also blow up.

 

Then why is the resale value of the 996 so bad? Look at the resale price of the 993. Price a 4S of a 996 and 993. Listen, i'm a Porsche fan i just sold my GT3RS and it was the best car i have ever owned and i have had over 15 Porsches but the 996 just didnt cut it. The price of the Porsche and the M3 are not even close. You could buy the 996 and have a lot of cash left over.