Hello. New here, lots of good info. I'm looking to buy my first 911 soon and today I drove a Meridian Metallic 2001 C4. It's a 2 owner 16,000 mile car that is pretty much immaculate inside and out. I know to watch out for the RMS issue and the owner said something to the effect of "early on it had an oil leak and the engine had to be taken out but it was fixed". I'm thinking this is the dreaded RMS leak? If it was fixed early on is it something to be worried about in the future, or is the problem over and the car is now in the clear?

He also had the Oxygen sensor replaced recently, as did the first car I looked at (a '99 C2). Is this common? He rarely drives the car, could this be a result of it sitting most of the time?

Lastly, what's a "good" price for this car? I was thinking around $40-$43k? He's a family acquaintance and most likely is trading in the car to the dealer, who will in turn sell it to us for no markup. I'm thinking that will drive the price down a little since the dealer isn't giving him $50k (which I think he thinks the car is worth).

Thanks for any help.

 

Why do people call this the "dreaded RMS" it is a $600 repair (from an independent) $1000 from the dealer. $100 or so in parts. I just read werea guy paid $1400 to the dealer for a new MAF. Not every car has or has had an RMS problem. Is it something you need to consider? Yes however if you can't afford a $600 repair this is not the car for you. Also the RMS leak will give you the opportunity to change the clutch for the cost of parts ($400) and swap out your fly wheel for a Light weight version if you so desire.

I would call it the when is going to happen to me RMS leak LOL!... Hopefully about the time I need a new Clutch.


The car is worth probably between $45-50K PP 16K miles is very low. Also what options does it have. Options like the Aero kit and Full Leather tend to do add to the resale value. Not a whole lot but when looking at cars those two options on cars seemed to demand higher asking prices.

 

For some reason I couldn't reply the day I made this thread but everything seems to be ok now...

First off, I called it the "dreaded RMS problem" because, as far as I can tell, it's the single most talked about thing to watch out for when buying these cars, isn't it? It's not a question of being able to afford the repairs, it's a question of why should I have to? At this point in the process I'm not looking to mod the car with light weight fly wheels or a new clutch, so I can't possibly look at having an RMS problem as a good thing like you seem to be (desirable RMS problem?). I'm more concerned with the car being reliable, this one doesn't seem like it will be.

I talked to the dealer and he said that it was definitely an RMS problem and was fixed at around 10,000 miles. The MAF was also replaced, as was the Oxygen sensor and a few other small repairs. None of these things showed up on the carfax. Since this car already has this history of problems I told the guy that I wasn't interested.

 

that does not sound like a "history"...2 repairs? And if you were getting it through the dealer, get the warranty and be happy....In my research, I have found RMS most common on cars not driven alot.....makes sense. So if he drove 16K miles in 6 years, thats not alot of driving....