Running Report 1 - May 2003

Finding my 964

Hello to you from sunny Wiltshire. This is my first owners report on this forum so bear with me. I’d always previously owned and driven mainly BMW’s but had finally come to the conclusion that although they were still nice cars they weren’t anything special on the road anymore – I mean every Tom, Dick and Harry has one these days, even your council estate boy-racer/drug dealer types!!

So the quest started, to find something a bit different from the ‘norm, something I could enjoy driving everyday (summer through to winter) and not see one pass me every other vehicle as I drive to and from work.

I’d never really considered a sports car until my wife made some comment about it – she has a family size company car, so I don’t really need to have a car myself that’s capable of carrying much more than myself. I started looking for something that wasn’t going to make me look like either a hairdresser (sorry, I don’t have anything personally against hairdressers-they do a fine job) or gay (nothing against gay people either-I have a couple of friends who lead “alternative” lifestyles). There was also the serious issue of being able to fit in the car (I’m 6’3” which is not that conducive towards sports car ownership).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to give into my inner child and go for a Porsche. Of course it had to be a 911 (I’m sure 924’s, 928’s and 968’s are great cars, but in my mind a Porsche is a 911). When I first started looking about a year ago, my budget was relatively low and I was looking at late reg SC’s (they all seemed to be crap what with age/mechanical/corrosion issues). I then upped my budget and started looking at 3.2 Carreras, but quickly came to the conclusion that for very little more money I could buy a more modern car (ABS, power steering and more modern looks) in the form of a 964. Yes, I read all the horror stories about leaking engines, flywheels and exorbitant servicing costs, but hey! - what the heck – you’re a long time dead as they say and you can’t take it with you…..

I was initially looking for a manual C2 but, after trying a few, came to the conclusion that I didn’t like the clutch action on them. I may have been unlucky on the ones I looked at, but they all seemed to have problems of one sort or another. They were all fairly heavy, some more so than others. A couple of them (including one that had only recently had a brand new OE clutch fitted) both seemed to get hot and bothered if stuck in traffic for any period. The car with the new clutch started juddering really badly after being in traffic for anything over 5 minutes! In view of this and the relatively short life that a lot of owners seemed to report, coupled with the extra expense of having to have the engine out for a clutch change, I decided to go down the Tiptronic route. I also reasoned that I could be certain I wouldn’t have any trouble with the flywheel issue either by doing this!

My last BMW had been fitted with Steptronic (the same thing, albeit a 5-speed version) and I’d liked it in that so I had no qualms about automatic cars in general.

I eventually found my present car living in a nice warm garage in Newport, South Wales. The price seemed good for the age and mileage (55,000 miles) and it had a full OPC service history and was in “excellent condition” (aren’t they all though, until you get there?!)

Thankfully, the journey over to see it wasn’t wasted. The car was and did exactly as it said on the tin. It was in fantastic condition having only averaged about 1500 miles a year over the last 3 years with the seller. It was just a third car, a toy for nice days and apart from needing a couple of new back tyres and a service it appeared virtually faultless. I had a PPI carried out by Merlin Cambria (OPC in Cardiff), which it sailed through without any serious problems so I bought it at the end of January 2003 and took it home.

I felt slightly guilty, having removed the car from its’ previously mollycoddled lifestyle of living in a garage, it now had to cope with the cut and thrust of everyday motoring. Gasp!! It even had to live out in the open on my driveway (yes, I know it does get wet but it doesn’t leak and so far the paint hasn’t washed off it either!)
 

100% Reliable - No Regrets

I’ve done around 3,000 miles since buying it. To date, I’ve put on a new set of tyres on the back (Michelin Pilots, £330 from Micheldever tyres near Basingstoke – ouch!). Soon after buying it, I took it up to Northway Porsche near Reading to have some minor bits and pieces sorted out (heater valve failed, intensive screen wash pump replaced, new gas struts on the bonnet and engine compartment lids, horn changed and distributor vent kit fitted with new distributor belt). The bill for this came to just under £400. I have replaced the sound system in the car. It was still fitted with the original Blaupunkt radio/cassette player (which was poor) and original speakers all round (also poor). These items have been replaced by a Blaupunkt radio/CD player (not bad) and Infinity speakers all round (very good value/quality for the money). The Infinity speakers also look good in the car too – not far off the appearance of the OE equipment. The audio upgrade cost me around £300 all in (doing the work myself).

The car had the misfortune to suffer a bullet-wound from a carelessly thrown-up stone the other day. This necessitated the windscreen being changed. I’m glad I didn’t have to do that job (3 hours of cursing by RAC Auto windscreens in Salisbury but well done – the screen replacement, not the cursing). I had to have a new screen seal fitted as the previous screen had been glued in (hence the cursing).

In the last week, I finally had the courage to have the car serviced (12,000 miler). Northways have done a good job on it. It does run noticeably smoother, and I’m getting more MPG than I did before (average 27 instead of 23). As well as the normal stuff i.e. plug change, valve clearances, filters and oil change, I also had the transmission oil changed in the gearbox, the fuel filter (which didn’t appear to have been changed since the early to mid 1990’s, judging by the 1993 date stamp on the old filter) and both the distributor caps and rotors. I think this last item has made the big difference in the smooth running and better mpg. The car also seems to start much better (not that it was a problem before). The car also had a new set of rear brake pads and wear sensors fitted. The sender unit for the gauge for the oil tank had failed recently, so that was replaced too. I had a new fan belt and alternator belt fitted as a precaution as these appeared to be the original items and were worn. All in the bill came to £936 (double-ouch!), but I am pleased with the work and Northway seem to know their onions.

The car has been 100% reliable to date and I’ve no regrets buying it (yet!). And yes, I can now drive to work without passing another Porsche (except for Boxsters, but they’re not really the same are they?!)

Watch this space…..

Running Report 2 - November 2003

Well, what can I tell you all about the last six months of 964 ownership? Well, boringly, not that much…the car has now covered over 65,000 miles being used daily. I now live in Southampton so the commute into Salisbury means I’m now doing best part of 50 miles a day. Obviously using more petrol than I was before, although the longer journeys I feel are better for the car (its certainly ALWAYS warmed up when I get there now!!)

Other than regular oil top-ups I’ve been fortunate to enjoy reliable motoring this year. The only noteworthy thing that I’ve done with car was to replace the rear spoiler curtain (which broke). This was a fairly simple process to do yourself (took me about an hour). Purchased the replacement curtain from “design911.uk” at Hainault in Essex. Cost me just under £50 with the postage, packing and VAT which wasn’t too bad I suppose (I dread to think what an OPC would have wanted!).

I went to the Porsche Club bash at Eynsham Hall in August which was a very enjoyable day out…beautiful weather and hundreds of porkers…what more could you want?!! Treated the car to some of the updated windscreen wiper arms (2 springs per arm, instead of the original single one) I thought at first it made a difference when it was raining, but I’m not that convinced now. Still, it was worth trying!!

The car’s due an intermediate service now, and I’m just trying to build up the enthusiasm to do an oil change myself on it…I’ll let you know how I get on in the next report!!! Happy Porsche motoring/daydreaming in the meantime…