Porsche 911 LOL

[RyM3rC]

997s have the window switches on the door instead of the center console, which is very annoying. BMW did the same thing, at least with the e36 the switches are on the center console where they belong.

 

Check the pricing on current porsche short blocks- for a good while there they were under $5k for the 3.6 m96 short blocks and these were brand new engines not remans. Looks like they're back up in the $7k dollar range.

 

Shame the 2 year warranty is supposedly only good if a dealer does the replacement

[Robochan]

Eye spy 996 owners and people who fear monger without owning them.

[Mace1647545504]

So you want one in white..the reason...white weighs less..just heard that fact on barrett-jackson---lol

[cdk 4219]

Eye spy 996 owners and people who fear monger without owning them.

 

I own a 997 turbo, a 996 convertible, and have owned a 996 turbo and 996 coupe. The 996 convertible now has an LS1 in it. Eye spy someone that doesn’t have a 996 or 997 don’t eye?

Not fear mongering, just the facts that the 996s both had engine failure, the 996 turbo had the coolant tubes blow out and the cayenne turbo coolant tube failure twice, and starter failure from the coolant tube failure. After you get by the coolant issues, the 996s have failures that include radiators , headlight switches, cooling fan resistors and such. Definitely a better car with an LS1, as the rest of the car is pretty reliable.

 

I have quite a few vehicles , and all are operational, the Porsche’s are definitely the most time consuming and costly to repair. Coolant tube repair on a 996 or 997 turbo rims about $5000 or so for a shop to do. Porsche owners defend their brand to the end, and will fix these cars and pay the money to do so, just because Porsche.I suggest you jump in you may get a good one, but it has been said before that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche.

[Miller]

[cdk 4219]

Just wanted to inform from experience rather than internet wisdom like some. The 7k short block I didn’t know about, so that’s good info. I would certainly consider IMS upgrades and water pump and cooling fan resistors to a running car in good condition. The air cooled guys I know definitely said that their cars didn’t need as much attention as the water cooled 996 and 997. I’ve never had one and probably won’t, but they have a great following.

[bdhill]

996 ims bearing issues are very rare. Clearly a large aftermarket for improved IMS bearing. 997 Gt3 is the car I would love to have

[RyM3rC]

prices on the GT3s are still laughable, can get a turbo for considerably cheaper. Shame you can't just buy a mezger motor for $15k and spend a couple grand making it work.

 

If I could get a 996 with an ls1 swapped, and everything worked, it didn't overheat on track and didn't starve for oil.. I'd pay $10k for that swap to be done

[cdk 4219]

996 ims bearing issues are very rare. Clearly a large aftermarket for improved IMS bearing. 997 Gt3 is the car I would love to have

 

Production numbers for these cars are very low, so yes it is rare in that sense, but much higher in a percentage game. Do you have a 996 or 7?

[Geeto67]

Production numbers for these cars are very low, so yes it is rare in that sense, but much higher in a percentage game. Do you have a 996 or 7?

 

How much of a percentage do you think it is? Porsche reported a 1% failure rate for all types during the warranty period for affected cars (2000-2005), and projects 10% total outside warranty period because the situation is aggravated by poor maintenance, aggressive driving, and time wearing out the oil seal. That doesn't sound like a lot to me. I've been searching for the "right" 996 for a while now (c4s manual coupe in any color that is not silver, black, or white, and under 100k miles) and all the owners and shops I've spoken too say the number is around 5% actually fail or show signs of failing. You are the first person I've heard say it's a "significant" percentage.

 

Additionally, the majority of cars I have seen on PCA forums, Pelican, Craigslist, eBay, et al have the IMS bearing retrofit (often the LN engineering), because the cost is low enough to justify to maintain sale price of an older car, so how much of an issue can it be going forward?

 

I've seen way more blown up boxsters and caymans than 911s and the owner profile of those cars suggests that they just aren't maintained like people who own 911s, I also see fewer with IMS retrofits because I imagine it's harder to justify a $2500 fix on a $7500 boxster than on a $20k 911.

 

No car is perfect, and cooling problems are something Porsche shares with BMW and Audi, but again its managible with proper maintenance.

[greg1647545532]

Someone on GRM detailed his experience owning a "cheap" 996 over a few years, scared me away from ever considering one. Matches up pretty well with what cdk describes. He was paying for labor but even still, parts prices are nuts.

 

And calling the 996 interior Taurus spec is an insult to Tauruses. It's pretty clear it was developed in the lean times, before Porsche had all that Cayenne money to throw around.

[Geeto67]

Someone on GRM detailed his experience owning a "cheap" 996 over a few years, scared me away from ever considering one. Matches up pretty well with what cdk describes. He was paying for labor but even still, parts prices are nuts.

 

I've read that thread before, notice, while the IMS gets talked about a lot, there isn't an IMS failure or signs of one. It's a lot of deferred maint stuff, and honestly typical of German cars where you have to take care of it right away or it makes your life hell later on. My wife's audi has stuff like that - coil packs that crack every 30K, a cam follower that chews itself to pieces every 30K miles, coolant hose fittings that are plastic and crack and have blind fasteners holding them to the block that you remove by feel....but that being said, it's been a really reliable car for the 100K miles we have put on it, and while parts are rape you expensive at the dealer, buying from third party parts houses like ECS, BavAuto, and Pelican can keep the costs in check.

 

I learned this with my old bmws - if you are going to own a German car, you have to be prepared to do a lot of maintenance items yourself, and know a good specialist for the things you can't do. There will invariably be at least two $2500 repairs and one $5K repair if you aren't keeping up on the maintenance.

 

the IMS bearing issue is a distraction, everybody is so busy looking for that to be taken care of that they don't look for things like timing chain guides, or lifters, or water pumps, or coil packs. Hence why a PPI is so important on these cars.

 

And calling the 996 interior Taurus spec is an insult to Tauruses. It's pretty clear it was developed in the lean times, before Porsche had all that Cayenne money to throw around.

 

The original design of the 996 was headed by Pinky Lai. I don't know if that means he designed the interior as well or just oversaw it's design by an underling, but he gave final approval. Pinky is responsible for the Design of the E36 bmw as well as having been in Ford's design department and worked on the Ford Sierra - the inspiration for the First generation Taurus. so it's no accident that all three cars carry that oval bubble aesthetic in some of their elements. Also that design element didn't age post the 1990's. The two thing I can say about the 996 interior is if you find one with the leather package, it's still a nice place to be and if you find an all black interior, some of the more dated items (like the center stack buttons) are less offensive.

[RyM3rC]

LOL, that GRM dude bought an autotragic, convertible, carrera 4? LOL man-card revoked!

 

Water pump job is fairly easy and under $100. Coil packs are also easy but they'll cost you few hundred. The AOS is a bitch, haven't seen that mentioned yet. If it cranks slow when it's really hot- will need the starter and/or starter cable done- bout $250 for that job. I could go on. If you're used to working on Audis, working on Porsches is a delight.

 

Anyone who's surprised when their $80k 15 year old car has deferred maintenance items needs to give it away and go back to their accord SPORT with the factory 18" blacked out wheels and nurbugring edition steering wheel and deviated-stitching lipstick holder.

[cdk 4219]

How much of a percentage do you think it is? Porsche reported a 1% failure rate for all types during the warranty period for affected cars (2000-2005), and projects 10% total outside warranty period because the situation is aggravated by poor maintenance, aggressive driving, and time wearing out the oil seal. That doesn't sound like a lot to me. I've been searching for the "right" 996 for a while now (c4s manual coupe in any color that is not silver, black, or white, and under 100k miles) and all the owners and shops I've spoken too say the number is around 5% actually fail or show signs of failing. You are the first person I've heard say it's a "significant" percentage.

 

Additionally, the majority of cars I have seen on PCA forums, Pelican, Craigslist, eBay, et al have the IMS bearing retrofit (often the LN engineering), because the cost is low enough to justify to maintain sale price of an older car, so how much of an issue can it be going forward?

 

I've seen way more blown up boxsters and caymans than 911s and the owner profile of those cars suggests that they just aren't maintained like people who own 911s, I also see fewer with IMS retrofits because I imagine it's harder to justify a $2500 fix on a $7500 boxster than on a $20k 911.

 

No car is perfect, and cooling problems are something Porsche shares with BMW and Audi, but again its managible with proper maintenance.

 

Again how many Porsche’s have you owned? Nothing like hearsay, like you say, to get the good info. 5% failure would be around 5000 failures in 996s. Like I said buy one and maybe you will get a good one, but as usual you make conclusions from internet education, very transparent.

[cdk 4219]

LOL, that GRM dude bought an autotragic, convertible, carrera 4? LOL man-card revoked!

 

Water pump job is fairly easy and under $100. Coil packs are also easy but they'll cost you few hundred. The AOS is a bitch, haven't seen that mentioned yet. If it cranks slow when it's really hot- will need the starter and/or starter cable done- bout $250 for that job. I could go on. If you're used to working on Audis, working on Porsches is a delight.

 

Anyone who's surprised when their $80k 15 year old car has deferred maintenance items needs to give it away and go back to their accord SPORT with the factory 18" blacked out wheels and nurbugring edition steering wheel and deviated-stitching lipstick holder.

 

Again this is assuming you can work on the car yourself, lots of people don’t have the time, space,skills,or tools to do so. Putting an ls1 in automatic Carrera without a kit and having it for my wife’s daily driver is no big deal to me, but it is for some. Porsche guys are like 3rd generation RX7 guys they love their rose colored glasses to look at their cars. They also won’t give you the true evaluation of the car, except for the fact that they love it.

[Versluis]

My father had an 03 C4S 6spd that he found in CA with 11k miles. He had it shipped out, did the IMS to be safe, fluids, tires (originals were still on it) and replaced some hoses and all in he was at $35k. He sold it two years later for $37k. It ended being a really fun car to drive and I enjoyed it very much. The seats were great (I'm 6'4) and you could really hear the engine. Always enjoyed looking into the driver side mirror and seeing those wide hips. It was fun to drive a car like that without all the electronics that come in the cars now too.

 

If it wasn't for the grey exterior and interior I think he would of kept it longer. It is now out in Iowa with a 70 year old man. I wouldn't hesitate owning a C4S in a heartbeat as long as you understand that general upkeep is more than a Honda.