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Porsche 996/997 - views/advice from owners


ellis

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When I was after one of these I got a lot of advice and ended up not wanting one. The RMS thing was prevelent in both pre and facelift models.

 

I am not sure if Stevieboy is still a member on here but at JAE 2008 he turned me white with some of the stories. He said from an engine point of view the GT3 and the Turbo were the only ones to have. All others C2 & C4's could be costly if you get a bad one..!!

 

H.

 

Yes - from what I understand the Turbo doesn't suffer from these issues, but can be costly in other ways. I don't want to put Ellis off by any means, as long as you go into it with your eyes open and know what you're buying then you should have no problem. Even despite the large bill I had, it's still been a great car that I've enjoyed owning... if I were to buy one with the knowledge I have now, it would be one with an upgraded IMS and the other weak points already upgraded, then they are pretty bomb-proof.

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One final thing I'll add - Richard Hamilton over at the Porsche forums is a 'Guru' of all things Porsche, you could also contact him for some advice, I've always found him very helpful :)

 

Excellent, cheers. I'll get myself registered on the site.

 

£13 - £14K eh!! :eyebrows:

I'm assuming yours is a 6 speed then?

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I tried the 996 against a couple of others, i ended up with a 964. Was more fun to drive, sounded better and gave you an instant testosterone boost!

They dont really go wrong either if you find a good one, apart from the odd oil leak.

And it feels like a real proper car in comparison, the 996 felt a bit like everything else out there.

A mate of mine just bought a 996 which seemed to be an immaculate example, he is now faced with a 2k bill for odds and sods!

I suggest try a 964 against a 996 and see for yourself!

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Ok, the most important thing with these is a Pre Purchase Inspection. Ideally with an independent garage, followed by Porsche themselves. £200 - £250 is the going rate and will give you a very good idea of what you are buying.

 

A C4S is a bit of a bargain in today's market, a 911 with pretty good performance with far better looks than the poverty spec ones. Deprecation is no longer too much of an issue with them any more.

 

Budget 2k a year for maintenance.

 

Look at lots.

 

Then go and look at lots more.

 

They should be in very good condition, however some peoples "mint" is different from another's.

 

The trick is to get a mechanically sound one along with the interior you want.

 

They will have all had some kind of paint somewhere along the line.

 

Expect a fair few owners, they change hands around every two years.

 

The Tips are not bad although the ones I drove were Turbo models and have a different box. Try both transmissions.

 

The NA's do suffer from major problems, failure rate is around 5%.

 

Try to get one with the spec you want - Retro fitting and parts a very expensive. This will massively limit your choices by the time you come up with a shopping list. If it falls in the desirable category (Black with Black interior) you may have to stump up a few more dollars.

 

FSH is a must. It doesn't have to be Porsche all the way, a specialist is fine just make sure its not some back street garage as to work on them requires a lot of knowledge.

 

My advise would be to find a couple of locals and take them for a drive, you hate it. Whilst it has the mod cons its very much so a raw car under it all. To an extent, they rattle, are noisy and you feel every bump in the road.

 

Once you have driven a couple then start to look as as many as possible, even ones over and under budget. It will give you a really good idea as to the variety of condition out there and will give you a good indication as to what you should be spending rather than what you want to spend. Pick a lemon and you could end up with a 5k bill straight out of the box. The PPI is a must. Contact a local specialist if you are serious about the car and take it to them with the buyer. Research the PPI place on the forums too.

 

That should get you started. :)

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Don't kid yourself into thinking a 993/964 is trouble-free motoring, they have their own set of problems and are still expensive to run/maintain and very expensive when they go wrong... Daman has some good advice... aside from mentioning 'poverty spec' Porsches when he owns the chestwig version :p ;) :D

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Don't kid yourself into thinking a 993/964 is trouble-free motoring, they have their own set of problems and are still expensive to run/maintain and very expensive when they go wrong... Daman has some good advice... aside from mentioning 'poverty spec' Porsches when he owns the chestwig version :p ;) :D

 

That said, Daman does have a chest wig...!!

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I detected a hint of sarcasm in your post! I don't think any car is immune from the advice above - we all give the same advice to folks looking to buy a Supra when they come on here. Spend in haste, repent at leisure is the mantra for all car buying, particularly at the highly tuned end of the market. I've set aside 12 months to a) learn all I can, b) got to Porsche meets, speak to folk and (hopefully) see some good cars and c) get some dosh together. If there's a car available at that time then great, if not I'll just keep looking.

 

Looking forward to the learning though, already got some great PDFs downloaded from the Porsche Club GB Forum and the Hartech site - make for interesting reading and will become my buying 'Bible'.

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At the rate 997's are dropping in price, you could always look at one of these instead:

 

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3515827.htm

 

That's nice. The 997 thankfully did away with the 'fried egg' headlights and, quite rightly, went back to the trad 911 ovals. Still a bit rich for me (on current budget) so we'll see where they sit in 12 months time (probably about £5K lower all being well!)

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Don't kid yourself into thinking a 993/964 is trouble-free motoring, they have their own set of problems and are still expensive to run/maintain and very expensive when they go wrong... Daman has some good advice... aside from mentioning 'poverty spec' Porsches when he owns the chestwig version :p ;) :D

 

Sorry, poverty should have been in in inverted comma's :)

 

That said, Daman does have a chest wig...!!

 

I dont know what you are talking about :innocent:

 

http://www.wardrobecostume.co.uk/admin/uploads/300/2054_22413_-_Chest_Wig_300.jpg

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