When people ask me what year my 911 is I tell them it is a 2001 996 C4 and then they smirk. Is it me or am I missing something? I know it is the first gen water cooled and has unique headlamps but still? It is a 911 after all. What is the joke?

 

There is no joke. You just need to hang around a better class of people.

However you are always going to encounter some bozos who delight in making negative comments about your car. There is some envy involved and there's nothing you can do about that.

When I get a reaction like you did, or a negative comment from someone about one of my Porsches, I just ignore it.

OTOH, I get a kick out of people, like one guy, when I stopped to fill up at a gas station on I-70 in Missouri, who came running over to my Boxster screaming I love these cars and was gushing all over the thing.

Or the time I was attending a Porsche get together at a restaurant in KS just south of KC MO and after the thing was over came out to a parking lot full of Porsches and passed by a young woman talking to an older guy about Porsches. She knew more than I did about the cars. Had I not been pressed for time I would have offered her a ride in my car.

 

With all due respect, the 996 with its fried egg headlamp is the he least favorite of the newer 911s. It may still be a 911 but the appearance did not catch the hearts of A lot of people.

Too bad someone did not make a retrofit kit for its headlamp. I always theorized that it would have transformed the car.

I like the 996 turbo. I think the turbo body washed away the sight of the fried egg.

Enjoy the car. I, for one, don't care what they say about my rides.

 

There's nothing wrong with the 996. If you don't care for the "fried egg" look change the bulbs I had one guy come up to me in a parking lot and comment " I really don't care for Porsche's but this one I like" so as always there are lovers and haters. It's your car so who cares what anyone else thinks. And as mentioned there is always a certain amount of jealousy.

 

There is a guy making a very nice headlight update for our cars - If I could just get the guy to answer my PM, I'd be a happy camper. It is a very long thread, but really interesting!

http://986forum.com/forums/diy-proje...ng-finish.html

 

Dang... 48 pages. I noticed that the thread is in the Boxster section. Is he also making an upgrade for the 996? Just the bulb or the whole headlight assembly?

 

Goes the other way, too. I walked up to a guy in a parking lot and say "Hey nice 996!" He looked down at me and said "It's a 911." LOL!

 

It is a headlight retrofit that fits the 996 also. It is not just a remove and swap, you have to take the lights apart, but it certainly looks worth it. I'll be the guinea pig if I can get the guy to sell me one. This is what they did with a 986 headlight...

 

Opinion based.
I think if you look at the poorest presentation of a 996 vs. the best you can see how people formed a negative opinion about it overall. Here is a comparison of worst to best 996s based on my opinion. (Sorry for the hatred on green )

Exterior:
Worst: I'd personally call the 1999 996 C2 in this green color one of the worst exterior examples. The masses will call out the lack of hips or protruding quarter panels. The yolky fried egg headlights and the front bumper is not at all aggressive.



Best: GT2 > (Turbo/C4S). These models address the lack of hips in the rear, they feature aggressive front fascias and fix the headlight problem significantly. In some ways these headlights (MK2) look more advanced than a standard oval like a 997. (See the Cayenne and Panamera which still have them)


Interior:
Worst: The wood trim green interior doesn't quite do it for me.


Best: A nice darker color that can be set off by alumalook or artic silver trim.


I think some of the lower end versions that rolled off the line played a roll in creating the stigma. All this said, bang for your buck. There is no better quasi-exotic for the money. Factor in performance, prestige, pricing, future slow decline in value and cost to repair/maintain. (Sure they took a massive hit up front but they have held since). The only other car I'd have considered a bargain in terms of all these categories is an older NSX.

 

For me I personally love the look. It actually started when I saw the Movie, Gone in 60 seconds. Efter the first 2 minuts I just knew, someday, somehow, I have to own a silver Porsche 911, modell 996!

 

Tell them to F off

Most people who see my car love it. The people who think the 996 doesn't have the cache of the air cooled models don't know that the 996 will beat any air cooled car every day of the week.

The 996 also has the IMS issue that has been beaten to death on the internet and when somebody blows an engine the whole world knows about it. Ignorant people don't know that 997's also have IMS issues until model year 2009.

 

I have to chime on here. I own a 2003 996 Coupe.
I just attended Watkins Glen international raceway opening weekend festivities.
Two PCA clubs, Corvette, Ferrari etc.
There was 1 outstanding car, 2014 GT3 in white.
We buy these Porsches , whether a 914, 944 Boxter, whatever, because we like them.
If you look at an eclectic group of sports cars there very may well be some that stand out, but still it is a matter of opinion, period!
To say to someone, that owns a Porsche 996, that the headlights look like "fried eggs", is just wrong.







QUOTE=silverfizz;4331404]For me I personally love the look. It actually started when I saw the Movie, Gone in 60 seconds. Efter the first 2 minuts I just knew, someday, somehow, I have to own a silver Porsche 911, modell 996!


[/QUOTE]

 

Everyone has their preference. The air cooled cars were nice, for sure, but keeping them on the road was a chore, and talk about oil leaks....


As far as the INS issue....about 2% of the cars, think about this for a moment....in the last, let's say 4 years how many recalls on other cars have you read about, i.e. GM ignition switch.


If you like your car, and it brings a smile to your face when you drive it, that is ALL that counts.

 

I don't really see a lot of negative attention towards the 996 from the general public. I'll get your typical " ugh another Porsche" from Porsche haters at car shows.

I do however find the negative comments from other 911 owners, mostly the older 911 guys. As such I met a 993 targa owner, thought my car was a 997 until I brought up it was a 996... he was pretty much done with the conversation at that point.

 

Besides the headlights that look like a Boxster, the '01's in particular can have a single row IMS if you're unlucky or double row if you're lucky. The '01's also had the most fragile cylinder heads out of the 996 series. With that said, I have an '01 with 125k miles on original motor/IMS and I constantly beat on my car but runs like a top.

I have the headlight retrofit talked about in the post above. I just haven't had a chance to do it yet.