My first Porsche: 997TT or 993TT?
 

I am debating whether to get a used 997TT or 993TT as my first Porsche. Anyone who has owned both? Which is more suitable for daily driving? Any other advise for a prospective first time Porsche buyer?

Thanks

Daily driving, 997TT hands down. You could certainly do it in a 993TT but would you really want to? Keep in mind the 993TT is over 10 years old and even with a clean ppi there could be legitimate issues. Top end rebuilds are not uncommon, they will run about 5K done correctly. The 993 is a wonderful car, epitomizing the peak of the air cooled Porsches, but a DD it's not IMO. With the current 997 market, you can pick up a used car for a good price with the factory warranty intact. The 997s are wonderful DD cars.

couldn't agree more, as a DD with out a doubt 997TT, as a garage queen 993TT.

Does air-cooled turbo feel different than water-cooled to the driver? I just assume that Porsche went to the water-cooled engine to improve the performance? I see "air-cooled" mentioned frequently when comparing past to present-day 911s, but I don't understand why this is such a big deal. Please explain.

Thanks

The purists always think their Porsche is the last "real" Porsche, this goes all the way back to the 356. I wouldn't worry about it. There are volumes of information about this online and in the books. I would suggest "The 911 Story" by Paul Frere as a good all around resource.
Basically all Porsches up thru the 993 were air cooled, the same basic car hadn't changed much in many years. The air cooled cars will feel much more raw compared to the newer cars. They are wonderful cars, I would love to have one someday. Porsche has used water cooling on their racing engines since the 80's, the 959 was also water cooled in the cylinder heads. At a certain power level it became advantageous for Porsche to use water cooling. Better milage and less emmissions are also benefits.

997TT... if you want to drive. The 993TT is going to be _very_ expensive to maintain/fix etc...

You are correct on this, did anyone forget that if you find a 993TT in a very good shape you will be paying about what you can own an 07/08 stock 997TT???? i seen them as much as 100k +. Just an FYI...

Buy a 996 turbo they are inexpensive and well built.

^ Great point
I almost bought a 993tt istead of my current car, love 993's, but as a DD the 997/996 is king.
993tt also cost a fortune to fix, things like valve guides which were resolved on the later engines. Do a search on rennlist on the 993tt board.

I've owned a 993, a 996 & 2 997s. For a DD - the 997. Forget the 996. There is a reason they are such a bargain. Of all the cars I've owned (I'm 58 so the list is long) there are only two I would like to have back and one is the 993. I don't agree it could not be your DD but it will have some costs associated with it. Mine was extremely reliable - had no problems with it but the 997 is 10 years or so newer so stands to reason there would be less potential for problems.

Can't think of any reason why the 996TT is such a bargain other than there being a lot of stock and not a current generation.

I owned both . I still miss my Polar Silver 993tt . What an amazing car it was . At the time it was so ahead of anything in its price range .

Tough choice . I love my 997tt too.

If you plan to save the car and keep it stock and can even find a 993tt with under 10K miles .. and make it a garage queen it would be hard to argue the choice .

But if you want more modern and warranty availablity the 997tt is agreat car .

It really depends on you .

I would take a993tt over a 996tt any day of the week . The quirky offset pedals anf traditional five dials plus its last air cooled engine make it one of the purest 911 Turbos of all time .

The 996tt can be a very fast car . Not because of the car itself ... but because the tuners have had years to improve and develop its aftermaket parts .

The base car (996) itself is a pile of junk . I bought two of them too but at least I passed on the Turbo. I waited.

hands down 997 turbo

Like most guys my age, I fell in love with the 993 Turbo and swore I would own one. Then, when it came time to buy....it is a 12 year old car now.

Go 997 for sure. Very comfortable drive, and performance to spare. And these guys are all correct. Air cooled = huge maintenance costs.