Is it me or are they becoming a bit of a bargin now? Lots in the trader and on piston heads for under 35k with sensible miles and history etc, and from what I have read very easily tunable to over 500bhp reliably!!

I didn't really like them a while ago, but slowly starting to think it might be a good move to chop the 2 cossies in and have one

 

You wont regret buying one!

 

Just to help make up your mind Wil
They will make around 500 bhp with a remap to 1 bar and a exhaust system, with K24/18g turbos they will do 600 at 1.2 bar.

 

Do you miss your escort at all Neil?

 

Nope
I have done more miles in the beetle in the last 6 months than i did in the last 2 years of owning the escort, mainly as its always ready to use and not in bits getting fixed or upgraded.

 

That looks stunning in white.

Wish I could afford to buy and run one, awesome cars
(ironically I probably could if I stopped spending on all the other cars I have which are totally inferior to one, lol)

 

The ONLY regret you will have is that you did not do it YEARS ago.....

Porsche 911 Turbo or Ford Escort?

Proper everyday supercar or a mass produced and OLD shopping car with a great engine?


welcome to growing up by the way

 

Chip running costs arent that bad for normal day to day running , if something big goes then yes it will be exspensive but no mora so than a 500bhp cosworth. 3K for a gearbox and a low milage engine can be had for 5K, servicing is around the same as any newer BMW,Audi or Merc.

One of the front rads went on mine , i ended up changing the two outers while i had the bumper off so ended up costing around £550. Only other thing i have done to mine is change the coilover springs to a lighter set costing about £100

 

they are great cars for the money,just never been a fan of the 996's

i love 993's and 997's but just think they got the looks wrong on the 996

porkies and neils ones look nice though

 

Is an Esc Cos an old shopping car,let alone mass produced?....yes a 1,4LX is....but the Esc cos shell is a tad more refined and advanced than a shopping car IMO!....all be it OLD....just like the 911 concept.

But a 996 911 is a seriously good bargain these days...
i was tempted to buy a 911(993) turbo years ago....the last proper 911(as porsche fanatics say)...i wish i had.as they have rocketed and 996's have dived.....which is a plus for people that could never have owned one from new...

I think these cars are a must for people wanting to have atleast double the power Ford gave you standard from an Esc Cos...with no issues...i wonder what would happen if you tried doubling the power of a 911?,,,,,would it be reliable?????????? hmmmmm..............

 

Im sure you would get bored with nothing to do lol

Steve

 

I had a ride out in JJs, so effortless and smooth

Steve

 

but you know its how you do it as much as what your doing.

You could get 800bhp from a 996tt but the cost! would be eye watering.....
well it is as you would expect for trying to get double the power out of a £90k ish car. (when new)

as above you'll see 600bhp relativley easily and thats 600 german horses they tend to stay where you put them in Porsche Turbo's lol

but make sure you have a good drive of one as some people dont like how they fidget about when driven hard

short answer yes get one!

 

What makes me laugh is everyone says the 996 is the black sheep. But all the Porsche enthusiasts think the 996 GT3 RS was one of the last pure sports cars Porsche made.

 

Yes, this is the problem, I enjoy spending my weekends doing work on my cars, and inventing things as I go along, but the 996 is already "finished" so I would have nothing to do.
Great for later in life when ive got a family and dont want to spend all weekend under a nova though I guess

 

Im sitting here nearly in tears the ammount of money i blew on my saph & 3 door i could be in one of these with under 30 thousand miles. I feel like a complete tit.If i add up all the money over the years i have wasted on fords i could have bought one new. Live & learn ehh. Defo the way forward i know if i ever come into money again thats the road i will go.

 

Porsche's are great cars, and to use daily are not crazy money

Mike

 

i just wish i liked them,,, but they just do nothing for me

 

Weird that someone who appreciates engineering normally cant appreciate one of the finest examples of it!

 

I cant see what there is not to like?

 

for me its the style,,, i just cant like it!

i know they do EVERYTHING that a performance car should be,, but i just dont think they look right

 

ferrari 360's are fast approaching £30,000 now.

 

a 996t is a much better car than a 360 though, and alot more useable

 

Really?

 

to me thats dont help with your point LOL

 

Bang for buck best supercar with pedigree and class money can buy?

 

But every time you drive the 360, or even step into it, you just know you're in something special.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the 996's superiority in many ways, but it's horses for courses. If you want a usable everyday car with exceptional performance, but retains some degree of practicality, your money is going to go on the Porsche.

If you already have a usable everyday car that you're happy with, but want something special to live in the garage and come out on nice weekends etc, the Ferrari wins hands down every time.

The 996 is hugely capable, but won't excite you like the 360 would.

I would wager that very few Ferrari 360 owners use it as their everyday car, whereas most 996/997 Turbo owners probably would.

 

Depends what you want it for, so be careful about what you are lead to believe .

I get to drive ALL sorts and my advice would be, if you are looking for a road car, then as has been said, you're a muppet for not having done it sooner - a 500bhp Cossie is a pathetic comparison to a 500bhp 996 Turbo in this environment (IMO).

BUT, as an occasional road car, mainly track car, there is no way I would have a 996 Turbo over my Escort (and I have driven Lee's Manthay Racing suspended 500+bhp version) on the track at Dono, where it just didn't float my boat (too understeery) and lurched around a bit as the transmission shuffled the power between the front and rear wheels. It felt too remote and a bit out of it's comfort zone (in the same way my Escort is as a "nice" road car).

Don't get me wrong though, as I AM a Porsche lover (as you can see from my choice of "Supercar" on that thread) but if you have £35k to spend, I would still buy a BMW CSL (and have change for APs and KWs) over a 911 GT3 MkI (as the BM is faster around the Ring (standard) and can carry four people - but that is what I personally want from a car ). However, if you ever want a car to grow old with, it would be a GT3 from 997 on wards, but everyone knows that and so they are holding their values (as in costing almost what they were new ). Lottery win material or get a job like Lee's .

 

you are preaching to the converted as im the buggest ferrari fan ever!!

 

Might just have been the fact that it was the turbo version. I'd much rather have the GT3 over the M3 CSL and both over a Ferrari 360 as they're much cheaper to run and engines aren't so delicate! As you say at the ring the Germans car's of choice seem to be GT3 + RS (and all the turbo cars are UK cars - normally found propped up against a barrier) and stripped M3's and it's probably exactly for this reason. Although in my eyes the M3 CSL is probably more comparable to the GT3 RS.

If you've ever watched the VLN racing at the ring the Porsches seem to be the cars of choice and they fly!

 

Yes, but a GT3 RS isn't in the same price range as either the 996 Turbo or CSL, I think Will would prefer to stick to a £35-40k price range , where you would need to add another £15-20k to even get a 996 GT3 RS.

And the CSL is a better (faster) car than the 996 GT3 MkI, which is in the same price bracket as a mint CSL....

 

Totally agree with that

 

Stunning porker neil,liking these more and more.

 

A decent 360 is more like 45k, which would be a bit much for me really! 355's are in the 35k area, but you are back into older car/ expensvie running costs compared to a 996 or 360 imho!

 

30k ?? you would need 45 - 50 for a decent one

 

I prefer the 355 to the 360 if i'm being honest

 

thats a 997 turbo mate pmsl

 

as someone said the side rads are a comon fault on em but you can get em from eurocarparts for around 130 quid i think last time i checked,,,,, you would be suprised how many "specialists" use em aswell they also seem to eat there "coffin arms" but all 911's do that and alternators seem to fail a bit,,,, but apart from that its the ONLY 996 to bother looking at as the block is based on the 964 and not a 996 like the n.a 996's ( with the exception of the gt3 as that also has a 964 block)

pukka cars,,,,, but are very expensive to maintain if they need work done as most jobs require the engine dropping off the subframe and specialists are cheeper than main dealers,,,, but they aint a back street garage

if you need someone to work on your car give me a shout as i deal with a few specialists ( well my colleges at work do, i just make the tea and sweep the floor pmsl)

 

i no a bloke sold his business retired and bought a 360 - hated it ended up get a 600 bhp+ monarvo

 

I'm glad a 360 owner commented, lol, as I've never actually driven one. Been a passenger in one and driven a 355, so made a fairly educated comment based on that, lol!

Also, another point kind of touched on above, £30k would probably get you a decent enough 996 Turbo now, but £30k for a 360 would be scraping the bottom of the barrel surely?