Agreed Tarz. I have owned 3 911's and that Boxster S over the last 20yrs. And when the Boxster exploded, I told myself I would never own another Porsche. Bought an S2000 and have been pretty happy with it. But every time i hear that flat six go by, my head snaps around like a kid hearing an ice cream truck coming down the street. I mean, if they still had ice cream trucks.

I am with you. Once you get the taste, nothing else will do.

 

I'm currently looking at a '99 with only 15K - 6-spd, aero kit, 18's, at a very decent price,,,

Going to see the car this weekend, but have a little concern over the 5-10% of early 996's that experience the IMS & cylinder problems...

If it's clean, I'll probably end up buying it...

Anybody want to talk me out of this?

Cheers,
Ken

85 911

 

Get it. You can read all kinds of stories about almost any car. And for 15k you can't buy anything even close. Yes for a bit more you can get a 4s.. And for a bit more a turbo.. Right?

Get it.

 

If it were $15k for a car with 15k, I would probably be in. But I think CarreraKen meant 15k on the clock.

So... can I ask what you think you can get this car for? 15k mi is sweet and the car is probably like new. But for me, after being burned on the Boxster S (I bought it with 17k on it, thinking it was essentially new), I will probably wait for a 996 with a documented updated motor. The only thing more horrifying than hearing your motor explode and watching the oil and smoke gushing out in your rear view mirror, is being handed an estimate of $15k to repair it. And that was only for a Boxster.

And to the question of whether you need a new motor due to RMS failure, sometimes you do. There is evidently a prob with the castings in the early 996's. Porsche dealers start with repairing the RMS, but sometimes it does not seal. Next stop; new motor. They are out there, believe me.

btw - there are plenty of 996's out there for under $15k tho. I don't think I'd have the courage to touch one, but they def on Craigslist from owners and dealers.

 

If you know the VIN, someone will know if it falls within the trouble time period or not. If you're getting a warranty or enough of a savings on it to save up a healthy emergency repair fund, I'd say go for it as it's hard to find newer 996's with the Aerokit.

Does it also have the Sport Seat, LSD, rear wing options?

You should drive both e-gas and cable throttle models if you haven't done so just to make sure that you're comfortable with either or.

 

"Frequent" might not be the right word as the frequency is usually only once per car. However, as you've read from other posts, there can be a problem.

The incidence as a percentage of the total engine build is unknown and it certainly has shaken the 996 MkI and Boxster owner base. The IMS failure issue has also shaken a lot of folks' confidence in the Porsche brand. Porsche appears unmoved as they have yet to admit publicly to an issue.

All that said, you will read on here and on RennTech that there are tons of very happy 996 (and 986) owners who have never had a problem. I have a 99 996 with 60,000 on it and have never had a drop of oil on the garage floor. I had the RMS upgraded when I put in a LWFW and clutch and had the IMS bearing inspected. No problem!

I beat the car on the street, track it, autocross it and generally abuse it with minimal maintenance.

Where else are you gonna find this kind of performance (and babe appeal) for around $20,000?

Buy it and drive it like ya stole it!

 

If a warranty was affordable, I would def do that with one of these cars. Anyone have any idea what it would cost to put a '99 on a warranty that would cover the drive train? I'll bet it isn't pretty.

 

IMHO, yes and no. Of course there are lots of happy 996 owners. No one said this happens to the majority. But I would suggest that once you've seen your low mileage pristine car blow apart, you probably do not spend much time on Porsche forums (well, except the ones that can't go too many years without a Porsche. Like me). But you touched on the real problem. The factory never publishes nor admits to, the number or type of warranty failures they cover. Bad for business. But after my incident, I spoke to a number of dealer mechanics, including the shop manager at both Sonnen and Reno Porsche at the time. They both said there were a shocking number of failures in the first watercooled motors (the guy in Reno said there were flats with new factory motors delivered weekly), but it cleared up dramatically in 2002+ cars. Tho I will say, that a few guys claimed that if the engines will go south, most will do it <40k.

But if you still think these stories of motor failures are an anomally, take look on Craigslist and eBay. It is surprising how many posts that reference new or rebuilt motors in cars with well under 100k mi. I dunno. Can't be good.

 

If you're going to worry about IMS and RMS issues (reasonable concerns I think), just spend an extra $2k and have them upgraded after you buy the car. That's what I did.

 

Yeah, I am sure that is smart and probably obviates most of the risk. The cause of death in my motor was what the garage called "slipped sleeve". Was told the problem was resolved early in the watercooled motors build, as the barrels were notched? I don't remember exactly. But it is why I was thinking of waiting for a later 3.4 motor. Assuming the RMS, IMS and barrel issues were taken care of.

 

btw - could I ask how much the IMS upgrade cost? I am looking at a car with a 9 year old motor, 35k on it. The RMS and slipped sleeve issues should be resolved, but I don't know about the IMS.

 

+1 My 99 C2 just turned 45K on the clock. Absolutely no issues to date. Nonetheless, I am starting to think: new clutch kit soon. At which point, I will replace both IMS and RMS regardless of condition or cost. Ain't nothing like piece of mind.

 

Yeah, I am with you.. Except, new clutch at 45k? An upgrade, or is the clutch failing?

 

Yes, my post refers to 15K mi on the clock.

The guy is asking $25K, I don't have details on the other options on the car other than what I listed plus carbon fiber interior bits. I'll find out more this weekend.

The owner has several other sports cars, hot rods, plus a late model F car and is selling this car because he just doesn't drive it much.

Is $2k about right for the LN engineering IMS upgrade and RMS update?

Thanks,
ken

'85 911

 

I've heard that if you have a 6-speed and are having the clutch done, the IMS is about another $1k or so. In my case, I have a Tiptronic and I had the the IMS and RMS done and added an X51 Oil Pan and low temp thermostat for around $3k. I don't know if any of these changes were necessary, but the peace of mind (justified or not) was worth it to me. It included an oil and filter change.