Looked at a 993 targa

Following the C4 and some thinking I went to see a local-ish 96 C2 targa. It had high mileage (120K) but was cheaper than others at around £18K. We went for a drive and all seemed ok, but it was untidy and dirty inside with loose bits of trim. When we stopped smoke was pouring from the rear arches - a sign of leaking cam covers - a well know problem. I was very honest with the owner about all these points, thanked him and walked away.

Fell at the final hurdle

Thanks to my Adrian Streather book on the 993 I did some ID checking on the C4 to discover that the engine number did not match what was on the documents and the HPI check. The seller did some investigation with Porsche UK and they confirmed that the engine in the car was not the one it was built with - hmm, I don't like that for the sake of resale. It turned out that the original seized engine had been replaced with a used one, albeit by a respectable independent Porsche specialist down south. The seller did his best to get as much history but it came to a dead end with the engine having unknown mileage on it.

I was very close with this one and even had my cheque book in hand to pay the deposit, but I walked away. Oh, well carry on looking.

Test drove a local Porsche 993 Carrera 4

Having fun in my other cars for now and enjoying the summer. Spotted a Carrera 4 locally in a dealer near Knutsford: http://www.autoperform.co.uk/ and have been to see it for a test drive. It has a few issues - air conditioning is non functional which I hear is not unusual on a 993. It's a manual but has had a recent new clutch. All seems good so I'm considering a move on this car.

Busy, busy, busy

Just still saving hard for the 993 and have been distracted by work (damn it) and my Ferrari Dino springing a few leaks. So I'm in the garage over the next few weeks working on that one. My target is to be able to buy a 993 by the end of summer.

First 993 viewed

Went to view a local 993 because it was a) local, b) reasonable price and c) it was a targa like this one (picture copyright its owner)



My preference at this moment is for a Targa as I like the idea and miss having a big hole in the roof with my Ferrari 308.

The car was nice and well cared for with just two owners and 90K miles. We went for a ride and all was good, but I didn't feel the colour was right for me as it was silver with a light grey interior - all a bit tool light and in some way ordinary. Proper advice is to buy the car which is in the best condition and don't worry about the colour - but you still have to live with it so I bid the owner good luck and walked away.

Having said that it was a good exercise in testing my knowledge of 993's and on reflection I did realise that I didn't know enough - back to the Streather book.

Save, save, save

911's aren't cheap so for the past 6 months I've been saving real hard looking at loans. I figure I want a 911 now so credit is ok, but I'll put in as much as I can.

Just been reading the Streather book on 993's

See 5th November post, I've been casually reading the Streather book and I think I know lots about 993's now - at least enough to spot the usual problems when I start looking at cars. It's winter now and I won't really be looking until the summer. I do keep an eye on the usual dealers to see what's available and what they are asking. Carrera S (RWD) seem expensive and on a par with Turbos approaching and into the £30K mark. Carrera (just rwd), Targa and Carrera 4 models are about the same, ranging from high £10K's to mid £20K's depending on condition and mileage. Cabrios soom to be a few thousand less then the others too coming in sometimes at the mid teens.