911 vs RCF

Dave400SE · December 15, 2019

I suffer from the mid-life crisis disease (apparently) of constantly looking at AutoTrader etc and wondering what other cars may be like to own.

So, has anyone owned an RCF and a 911, and have any constructive/comparative feedback on the ownership experience?

I know reliability/costs can be an issue with the 911, but I've had my RCF for 4 months and I'm just not as attached to it as I was with my ISF, and I quite like the look of a 997 Targa or Convertible in White......save/help me.....

NothernDan · December 16, 2019

Big Rat has owned both.

Seem to recall the message was you know where to come if you want reliability as mileage increases and it ain't the German one.

The reason you feel like that about your RCF is cos nothing beats an ISF 😁

BlueJ · December 16, 2019

I had a 997.2 GTS manual coupe for a year and 10,000 miles. The 911 has superb steering - you appreciate it almost as soon as you start rolling - and is very quick on a back road as you can carry plenty of speed in the twisty stuff. I also enjoyed having a 911 for a period and it was good to 'tick the box'. The main downside for me was noise - there is a lot of tyre roar, and wind noise around the windscreen from about 60-70 ; on the motorway you had to crank the volume up on the radio, or slow down to have a normal conversation on the phone (hands free of course!). Overall it didn't work for me as a daily driver hence just one year, but they'd be a great weekend toy.

I also had a couple of issues - clutch switch left me stranded on the drive and the horn stuck on once, which was embarrassing! It was taken away by the RAC twice during my ownership.

The RC F is a much better daily driver but not as much of a drivers' car. Horses for courses!

Flytvr · December 16, 2019

I think, as a petrol head, sooner or later you'll find yourself drifting back towards Autotrader. Moving on to the next car is inevitable. I suspect for most, the Lexus F brand (outside of the L-FA) doesn't give enough to keep ownership interesting forever. But that's true of most brands.

In an ideal world, wouldn't we all have several garages and at least 10 cars? 🙂

Regarding Porsche. I owned a Boxster S and drove lots of 993s and 996s. As already said, the steering is mega and being a Porsche, they do feel special, but I certainly wouldn't want to drive one as a daily.

PhoeNicks · December 16, 2019

I wouldn't go from an RCF to an 997 for a daily, these are old cars now, the youngest being almost 10 yrs old!

Apart from reliably concerns, the tech is really really old too. For a comparable model 911, you'd be looking at a 991.

Bluethunder · December 16, 2019

9 hours ago, BlueJ said:

I had a 997.2 GTS manual coupe for a year and 10,000 miles. The 911 has superb steering - you appreciate it almost as soon as you start rolling - and is very quick on a back road as you can carry plenty of speed in the twisty stuff. I also enjoyed having a 911 for a period and it was good to 'tick the box'. The main downside for me was noise - there is a lot of tyre roar, and wind noise around the windscreen from about 60-70 ; on the motorway you had to crank the volume up on the radio, or slow down to have a normal conversation on the phone (hands free of course!). Overall it didn't work for me as a daily driver hence just one year, but they'd be a great weekend toy.

I also had a couple of issues - clutch switch left me stranded on the drive and the horn stuck on once, which was embarrassing! It was taken away by the RAC twice during my ownership.

The RC F is a much better daily driver but not as much of a drivers' car. Horses for courses!

Are the back seats usable? Leg room compare to the RCF? Thanks.

BlueJ · December 16, 2019

16 minutes ago, Bluethunder said:

Are the back seats usable? Leg room compare to the RCF? Thanks.

Haven't tried them in either, but the 911 is definitely smaller in the back. I put my work bag (laptop / briefcase size) behind the driver's seat in the RC F, it used to go on the back seat in the 911. The roof line of the 911 also tapers off more quickly so headroom is lower.

Flytvr · December 16, 2019

2 hours ago, Bluethunder said:

Are the back seats usable? Leg room compare to the RCF? Thanks.

Nope. Get a baby seat in there, but I wouldn't try much more

B1RMA · December 16, 2019

I tried a 911 997 Turbo, it was what they called the 1.5 version. It was very quick indeed and the turbo engine was more or less bombproof too. This one had a problem with the convertible roof not closing down properly. The seller wouldn't do a deal despite my pointing out the roof problem. I really, really liked the car it was monstrously quick. I then arranged with my local Porsche dealer in Portsmouth to test drive one they had. Whilst at the dealership they had just taken an SL63 in as a part exchange and I asked to test drive it, I preferred the SL63 to the 911 Turbo and bought the SL63 on the spot. It might be worth just trying an SL63 as well as the 911.

It's still an itch I'd like to scratch but the image always rears it's head, justified to a certain degree from personal experience too.

Killysprint · December 17, 2019

The missus used to have a 911 convertible as her daily...... just saying. It was black not white as I had to drive it sometimes.

we ran 911’s as her car, 993, 2x996, and a 997 for the best part of 10 years.
All reliable, all 2wd as they steered better, and costs were as you’d expect of a car in that price bracket.
When I used one of the cars for a period, due to the arrival of my daughter- it lunched a set of rear tyres in 4000 miles. You could do that in the rcf.
servicing was every 2 years or 20000 I think and always was around the £1k mark.

on the 996/7/coxster they eat rads and condensers for fun, they need to be cleaned regularly to stop corrosion from accumulated debris around them.
Had a 996 turbo S too, fast, but didn’t fall in love with it.

when I sold my 993 for the first 996 - after a couple of days I thought what’ve I done. It was like driving a fast BMW. Had lost its soul.

nearly bought a 991 a couple of years ago, but outside the dealer saw a turbo cab with WAG driving it - sort of summed it up. Might be a great car but lost its way and now as easy and forgiving to drive as a shopping cart.

so bought a nasty 993 instead. And it’s brilliant, scalpel sharp, fast enough, and sounds like a 3.8 flat 6 chainsaw. Will chew you up and spit you out if you don’t respect it.Love it. Oh and the missus won’t drive it......

Flytvr · December 17, 2019

Hated the 993. Bloody pedals. And it was like driving a tractor!

Watch out for RMS on 996 etc and bore scoring.Frightening!

Killysprint · December 17, 2019

2 hours ago, Flytvr said:

Hated the 993. Bloody pedals. And it was like driving a tractor!

Watch out for RMS on 996 etc and bore scoring.Frightening!

Must be driving it wrong then 😜 as I’ve got size 13 feet and have no problems....

mines not a tractor.

Richard Kenny · December 19, 2019

I ran a 911 (996) Targa for about a year. All that has been said above is true, noisy, really positive steering, cornering was like you were on rails, much more than the RCF... but

Car squeaked and groaned constantly, Targa roof lowers rigidity (apparently normal those nice people at Porsche Solihull said), I ended up vaselining the seats because it ****** me off so much....

The call it a 2+2 but its not....unless your friends are all 4ft 1in and have poker straight backs..

As @Flytvr says if you are going to get a manual you need to get it borescoped, this is less of an issue in the automatic (the tiptronic is also crap) even slower than the paddle shift on the RCF.

The real kicker for me was, one day at the Porsche I ended up talking to a guy who had a 996 4S who had just spent 12.5K getting his engine repaired due to IMS bearing failure....this was over 10 years ago so the amount of info online was a lot less but what I managed to glean is that there was design change in the standard 3.6 engine which resulted in a flaw, that was the subject of a class action against Porsche in the US but not in Europe (as far as I remember). So I sold mine ASAP and bought at the time an Audi.

Don't quote me but the IMS was a problem in the 996 and the early 997.1...by the time the gen 1.5 had come out the engine design had changed (I think they also at that time introduced the DSG so the gear change was better). I also remember it was not an issue with the Turbos and the GT's (again don't quote me)...

I would also say parts and servicing are horrendously expensive and the main dealers attitude are what you expect from an overpriced German brand.

Finally, I also travel a lot and I have left my RCF at the airport for 20 days + get in turn the engine and there is no decay of Battery power as I see it, did two weeks with the Porsche and the Battery was nearly dead, also ran out of power totally once and trying to get into the car was like the Crystal Maze....

To quote Lindsay Buckingham.......Been down one time, Been down two times
I'm never going back again

Flytvr · December 19, 2019

On 12/17/2019 at 5:29 PM, Killysprint said:

Must be driving it wrong then 😜 as I’ve got size 13 feet and have no problems....

mines not a tractor.

Don't get me wrong - the 993 (C2s wide body was the car I was referring to) looks the dogs b, but I'm afraid it's quite agricultural and pretty unforgiving.

Re pedals - I was referring to the nature of the way they hinge from the floor.

At the end of the day - each to their own, and no offence meant :)

Dave400SE · December 24, 2019

Thanks all. I fell suitably scared off the 911 idea, at least until I can afford a newer one with a (long) warranty. Still not sure what to do with the RCF though - maybe I'll go back to an ISF oncr I get my arse in gear after the festive break....?