[ds968]

As I look at all of my other cars which have been parked outside most of their existence ( a Mercedes and two Nissans ) which range from a minimum of 12 years to as much as 18 years , and being subjected to the various elements, not to mention neglected in terms of maintenance and interior condition upkeep..as opposed to the often pampered and garaged 968s..I came to the conclusion that Porsche builds crap !

That factor makes the car even more overpriced than it is. Not one of those other cars have a single crack on the dashboard top, not a single one has a discoloration of the window sills , not a crack or other noticeable excessive wear pattern in the leather of the seats, no delamination of the rear windows and hatches, etc, etc. And don't even get me started on the mechanical aspects - all original parts still functioning just fine . Brake pads and tires is about all I've ever replaced and those cars all have more than 150,000 miles on them ( each, not aggregate, lol ) . Now, by comparison to the 968 they are all dreadfully boring to drive so I suppose that's the compromise but I simply don't understand how a car which in its era was pretty damn expensive can be manufactured with plastic / vinyl or leather components which by all accounts is at best mediocre qualith . Needed to vent .

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[Rap]

Perhaps this was when Porsche was struggling and cut corners component wise. Our cars are 23 years old. Have you tried zanex or yoga. As Lou Reed once said" bend over we will stick it in you if you don't like it we can talk about it". Talk is cheap! By the way, enjoy life to it's fullest, you could be walking from Syria to Germany!

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[ds968]

Hey, hey..hey !! This is a Porsche quality bashing thread , not a Syrian quality of life refugee story .. Put that up for discussion on one of the political threads so we can see what our European friends have to say about it , lol .

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[Bulti]

Don't get me started. I'm pro Porsche quality but against half the Middle East coming over here whilst their own neighbours close their doors shut. But I already said too much :-0

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[Rap]

Ok slick there you go!!

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[flash]

back on topic - i don't see a build quality issue, when compared to other cars that are over 20 years old.  first, i would have to go out and hunt one down, which is hard enough these days, but when i do see a car as old this, it's either beat to crap, or pristine (because somebody restored it).  spend some time looking around at other early 90s cars.  i think you'll find that ours stand up pretty well

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[Darryl]

I completely agree with Flash....I see older cars come through my shop all the time and vehicles that are 15 or 20 years old always need some TLC, some much more than others.   I'm sure you can easily jump on Craiglsist in your hometown and find yourself a "really nice" 190E from the early 90's for about 800 bucks!  Did any of those last longer than a decade without completely falling apart?  If you prefer american muscle, you could opt for a 3rd gen Camaro or a C4 Corvette.  

 

I think you can always find an exception to the rule, but I think a 968 is pretty well built over all.  Are some of the materials a little sub par?  Perhaps, but for the time period, compare them to what else is still operating today.  Wasn't there something published a while back about Porsche as a whole having more running/operation cars on the road than any other brand?  

 

Bottom line is take care of your car and it should last just fine, but sure, it may need some care and feeding from time to time.

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[lbpesq]

There are no cracks on the top of the dash on my 57 year old Triumph TR3A. 

 

(Of course, there is no plastic there either - lol)

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[Bulti]

Does that one have a dash?


Sorry :-)

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[Rap]

I agree, take care of something and it generally lasts better!

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[wildcat]

I think Porsche is over rated too, always have but they also fulfill a niche and they can be (depending on the model) a heck of a lot of fun. That being said, I would also point out that its a "sports car" and that genre has because of size and demands of the type been notorious for complications of one sort or another.  Material wise you've got a strong point. The early years like 50's 60's they really were crap... then they got better then the gnomes got a hold of them and before you knew it strange elements were being incorporated.  Some people have blinders when it comes to Porsche. Its a LOVE story and they see nothing beyond this lovely perception of their Porsche (which Porsche marketing does an extraordinary job of encouraging.) They've got some awesome engineers but the gnomes make them do funny things. Well the same can be said for M.G. before is demise and apparently subsequent resurrection. But Porsche has perfected the illusion and those $3000 per rim don't hurt that perception one bit. Being utilitarian, I enjoy it for what it is, and don't make any bones about it.... But I swear if they spent as much on practical engineering and materials as they do on marketing they'd be a serious marque to contend with. But there's the mystique only its wearing thin for me at least. And while we're counting our blessings, thank GOD for the B-2 bomber...  B)

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[Waylander]

I went to an evening at a local dealership over here to listen to Derek Bell tell stories of his years with the 917 and other things, he had a gentleman with him who was from the factory, who happened to be the head of Porsche classic!


Real nice man and was quite willing to chat, he told me that 90% of cars sold in the UK in the last 30 years are still on the road and 67% of those have classic status


I did ask him what that ment exactly and he said "quote" when the last car of a model run reaches 10 years old the model designation then becomes a classic model in Porsches eye's


So in that case the last 997 will reach classic in 2024?


He was also committed to making sure that parts will be available for as long as possible and also manufacturing new parts if the demand is there, this must be partly true as they ran out of 944 sill panels a while ago they are now back in stock


Derek Bell was very entertaining as well, and he had his 924 GTS with him too


I will find a picture

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[ds968]

Well, there are no cracks in either of my 968s dashboards, although I keep reading that's a fairly common problem with these cars.  However, by comparison to the materials used in MBZs, or even higher end Japanese cars ( and we won't even mention Jaguars whose coachmanship is just below a Bentley or Rolls Royce )  you can plainly see, and actually feel  the difference in quality.  Mile for mile usage, when I touch the leather of the seats in the 968s  which  has been frequently treated with the best there is out there ( Leather CPR , M.O.C. , etc ) and feel how stiff , dry and brittle it feels and see all the hairline cracks getting deeper and deeper  as opposed to the same mileage MBZ or Nissan where the leather still feels soft, flexible and smooth with little or no sign of wear and creases, no one will be able to convince me that Porsche does not use sub standard materials.  Incidentally, the MBZ brand new in 2003 did not cost as much as the 968 in 1994 .. I would expect far better quality out of Porsches  given the price . I agree with wildcat, Porsche perfected the " illusion "   in terms of the cars  coachmanship quality its nothing more than a myth.                    

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[Rap]

How frequently do yo treat your seats? Is the car kept in the sun. While the dash in the track car is cracked, I purchased it that way. The white car is in mint condition because all the owners took extra careful care. So perhaps the question is do the parts Porsche use not hold up unless they are well maintained. We also have become so use to all the info that is available today that we sometimes use today's standards on yesterday's cars!

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[ds968]

I treat the 968 seats approx. every three months , the Mercedes seats maybe once a year . Both are exposed to an equal amount of sun , and the MBZ even has more miles on it than the 968. And the same big ass ( mine ) driving both cars all this time if you must ask.. Hey maybe the answer is the LESS you condition seats the better they keep..?! Lol

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[Ernie]

A good example is the 928 interior. If you don't bath that cow in conditioner, the interior dries and cracks like an Arizona desert! Why not use materials that are more durable? Just sayin!

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[Rap]

Well that scientifically proves that. Should we go back to that period in time where they were financially struggling and cutting costs by using inferior products?

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[ds968]

Not always during financially struggling times apparently ; one of our " missing " members, Ron ( aka midblu ) an individual obsessed with quality , was considering buying the first generation Cayman when it came out, but returned from the test drive horrified ( I'm using his words ) at how poorly built and how inferior the interior materials and accessories appeared to be. He said he was afraid to open the doors, or use any of the knobs and switches in fear they would break off. He was exaggerating of course, but bis impression of that car's coachmanship was as disappointing as it gets. That said, he absolutely loved the Cayman's performance, the handling, the ergonomics of the cabin, etc.

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[968Syncro]

Quality is such a broad subject.  It includes the quality of the design (visual and engineering), the quality of the car theme (the overall ambiance), the quality of the materials, the quality of the production, the service quality, driver enjoyment and pride, and much more.   It includes finding the sweet spot between in the classical engineering problem of balancing cost and quality/performance where Porsche did very well.   I get the point, there are a few materials that tend to break down in the hot western sun, but overall from a broad perspective most Porsches rate very high on quality.  I took my bullet proof 1982 911 to 295K miles without any internal engine or transmission work - that's quality.   But there was at least one dog -- the 924, arguably the 914 but those now go for 2-3 times their original price.  However consider the next step up in quality..... which would be ..... Ferrari or Bentley where the equivalent car costs 2-3 times as a Porsche.

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[ds968]

Not so sure Ferraris of that same era are of any higher quality whether we're talking about interior , or mechanically / parts . In fact hey may be below the 968 in that respect , and that's ( just as you noted ) at 2 or 3 x the price. Bentley is another story...different class altogether. But I'm referring to Mercedes, or Jaguar, or Lexus with similar mileage which seem to hold up so much better . I could be wrong, but at least that's my experience and observation of the few cars , including my own , which I have checked out ..

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