An overlooked Porsche legend for £11k? It’s time to buy a 968

Gearbox: On manual cars, feel for clutch slip (a new clutch is expensive) and sticky or stubborn changes. The Tiptronic box thrives on regular fluid changes. Check for leaks from this unit and for any problems with kickdown, often caused by a faulty switch.

Suspension, brakes and tyres: Floaty handling and wheel shake can be traced to, respectively, worn/leaky shock absorbers and worn lower control arms or anti-roll bar drop links. Badly balanced or mixed front tyres can cause the steering wheel to tremble. Matching premium-brand tyres all round suggests cherished ownership. Brake calipers can be sticky and brake pipes corrode.

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Body: Galvanised body can rust at the rear arches and around the rear trailing arm bodyshell mounts. Check for filler, overspray and, inside, damp caused by failed seals (water can wreck the under-seat ECU). Be sure boot and cabin carpets are in good condition and that every feature works. Check the cabrio hood fits snugly.

Also worth knowing

Thanks to a strong following, the 968 is well served by a thriving parts community. Among the leading independent suppliers is Design911, based in Essex. A spokesman said many parts are still available, with more challenging ones taking around three weeks to come through. However, some interior trim, including seat fabrics and carpets, is becoming harder to source. Other parts suppliers include Porsche itself. It claims to carry more than 80,000 Porsche Classic Genuine Parts at any one time and publishes a detailed online catalogue.  

How much to spend

£11,000-£14,999 Good choice of regular 968s, some benefiting from recent specialist overhauls.

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£15,000-£19,999 Sport-trim cars at this money, plus nice regular models, most with mileages around 150,000.

£20,000-£34,999 Very clean, low-mile (80k or so) regular cars and Sports here.

£35,000 and above Your choice of the peachiest Club Sport cars

An owner’s view

Lee Fryatt: I’m selling my 968 cabrio, a 1994 car with just under 110,000 miles on the clock, after four years’ happy and uneventful ownership. I wanted a Porsche but something different from my friends’ 911s, and being rare, the 968 fitted the bill perfectly. The 968 also represented the peak of Porsche’s expertise with front-engined transaxle cars, as demonstrated by the car’s wonderful balance and handling.