Just a little more info :

The 993 was the last of the 'hand made' cars, and as such is quite a bit more old fashioned than the 996/7 cars, where a lot of automation was deployed to cut manufacturing costs.

This is no bad thing as it means there is more scope for diy.

The 993 engines came in 2 generations 271 and 285 bhp, with the later having variocam timing. They are all prone to valve timing gear slippage which basically just saps performance, but is quite expensive to correct.

Servicing costs for the 993 were significantly higher than for the 996 cars, my average service for the 993 was in the region of £1k, with the 996 nearer £400.

The 993 is fully depreciated and a classic, gets my recommendation.

Oh, one last thing, dont buy tiptronic ! as it saps loads of performance and its basically an automatic, the New PDK gearbox is awesome but youll need 60K + for one of those !

Try www.pistonheads.com for some window shopping :D

They divvy up the 911 range quite nicely.

993, 996, 997, with a few sub groups as well.

Ray.

Erm, not quite sure the 'variocam' thing is right.

the later engines have 'varioram' induction to alter inlet tract length, and so boost bottom end torque. Your right, it does take power up to 285bhp though.

they use hydraulic tappets, and its common on leggy engines for some of these to lose pressure overnight, meaning a slight tapping at initial startup. Its not too costly to get fixed if you go to a decent non franchised dealer.

My 993 costs have never exceeded 400 quid, but agree if you have a major service done which is all of the plugs (12 of them !) that takes a serious amount of labour. I chose to do them myself, it only takes an afternoon.
Asside from that the most expensive part of the service is the oil.
You can buy all the parts to do a diy service for under 100 quid (pollen filters, air filter, oil filters (yes there are two), and some other stuff I've forgotten).

Every time I drive the 993 it puts a smile on my face. I jjust don't get the same experience from driving the newer ones.

Another vote here for 911virgin.com too.

Its definitely VarioCam !

http://www.qv500.com/porsche993p2.php

Sorry, but there are a number of errors on that web site, or rather, things I do not believe to be true.

for a start, the engine did not up its capacity to 3.8L when going to 285bhp. the only 3.8s (as standard anyway) were the RSs, although the larger barrels can be brought as performance parts upgrades.

the information here: http://www.idee.demon.nl/
is taken directly from the sales literature.

Also, here: http://www.performance2and4.co.uk/993_1_n.htm
refers to it as varioram, which from memory is written somewhere on the engine (probably induction).
Here are details of how it works: http://www.instant-g.com/Products/36...sion/VRAM.html

Hope that helps.

....so the porsche manual that i have in my hand must be wrong then !

Crikey, us Ducati owners really know our stuff :rolleyes:

I don't think this is really helping in terms of buyer information, but since you asked here goes.

I can only think your referring to a 996, as the 993 definitely does not have variable cam timing.
I was so certain that I have gone and checked the owners manual for my car, and the various porsche books I have.
The real killer though is that I happen to have a full set of original porsche service manuals, and can categorically confirm there is one cam per cylinder head, one drive sprocket per cam, and each cam is driven by its own dual chain from the intermediate shaft, which is directly driven by the crank.
no variable valve timing anywhere in any of that.
if you want to check, this is Volume 1 - general engine, section 15. There is a nice diagram on page 15-15.

Now in the same volume of the manual, in section 24, page 24-11, there is an exploded diagram of the varioram sytem and it is entitled '911 carrera [RS] engine with varioram induction system'.

I also have a copy of PorschePET, the electronic parts catalog. nowhere does it have a link to 'variocam' for the 993 when searched.

FYI Variocam adjusts the timing between the intake and exhaust cams, as first used in the 968, and then used in the 996 (a different type of system though, called variocam-plus). Given that the 993 only has 1 cam per cylinder bank it is imposible for it to have variocam ;)

try doing a google for 993 variocam and it saysdid you mean varioram...

Do I win a prize for being technical geek/pedant/tosser (delete as appropriate) of the week :D

:o :o

Thanks for all that, I now the in's and outs of the engine.

What are people getting in terms of fuel economy, which I think is a mad question if you want to own a Porsche. But at 20K miles a year it can make a difference.

Cheers

Get one, but IMHO not a boxster. May I suggest one of the last air cooled 911's (3.6 flat six, 280bhp) around M reg, for your budget you may stretch to get a really good model, but you won't be disappointed.

If you pick the right model, a Porsche will provide as reliable a super car as one good wish for.

Soft tops are all typically well engineered, and fuel a econmey not bad at all, say 20-26mpg ish.

Regards.