Hi all, I’m new to forum and this is my first post although I have been watching and reading for the last couple of weeks, also this could well be my first Porsche purchase so please be kind.

I’m looking at buying a 996 c4s 2004yr currently with 100k miles on the clock up for £15k. I went to see the car last weekend, its a dealer who trades form his own home selling Bentleys, Mercs etc. I took it for a test drive and loved every minute of it. The noise, the sound, the pick up, the handling etc but have a few questions and concerns before committing to £15k of car.

Firstly the good points, all electrics seem to work, no wear on the tyres, engine is immaculate (almost to obsessive levels). Hood is in good condition etc

Now the concerns/questions. The A/C control panel is a bit patchy, you can read what it says but looks a little scrambled when changing the temperature up & down. Is this a common fault? Can these be replaced? Can I replace it myself or is it best to pay Porsche repairs prices?

Ashtray wont stay shut, this doesn’t bother me as I was looking into the ashtray delete kit for coins (I’m a non smoker).

It has a 50pence size ding on the rear wheel arch and a scuff on the wing mirror. They offered to get this resolved by calling the 'dent man' in before collection so im unfazed by this.

Both door sills show signs of bubbling, this is front end rather than where my butt would be but the various forums seem to suggest it’s the carerra plate was fitted without a gasket or buffer. Is this correct, is this a common issue and is it repairable or is there a hidden terror I’m unaware of?

And finally there is a clear plate (plasti-glass) under the bonnet on the driver side that doesn’t hold any info. The glass is about 4 inches long. On other vehicles I’ve owned this might normally contain the VIN or chassis number but in this case it is empty. To be honest it doesn’t look the most secure places to store this info……..again should I be concerned something is missing from this clear plate?

And that’s about it, be honest but not to brutal with your faults as I love this car and I don’t even own it yet. It’s a big investment for me, £3k down and the rest on finance. Don’t worry I can afford it and still live comfortably even with service charges and upkeep.

Thanks

Barrie

 

Hi all, I’m new to forum and this is my first post although I have been watching and reading for the last couple of weeks, also this could well be my first Porsche purchase so please be kind.


First welcome!


I’m looking at buying a 996 c4s 2004yr currently with 100k miles on the clock up for £15k. I went to see the car last weekend, its a dealer who trades form his own home selling Bentleys, Mercs etc. I took it for a test drive and loved every minute of it. The noise, the sound, the pick up, the handling etc but have a few questions and concerns before committing to £15k of car.


Price seems good, I have a C4S. The C4s was one of the best made in the 996 line IMO, sans turbo, 100k translates to 10k per year, not bad. Get a good PPI.








Firstly the good points, all electrics seem to work, no wear on the tyres, engine is immaculate (almost to obsessive levels). Hood is in good condition etc

Now the concerns/questions. The A/C control panel is a bit patchy, you can read what it says but looks a little scrambled when changing the temperature up & down. Is this a common fault? Can these be replaced? Can I replace it myself or is it best to pay Porsche repairs prices?


Yes this can be replaced, if you have any skills or know someone who does, buy on off of ebay and DIY.




Ashtray wont stay shut, this doesn’t bother me as I was looking into the ashtray delete kit for coins (I’m a non smoker).

It has a 50pence size ding on the rear wheel arch and a scuff on the wing mirror. They offered to get this resolved by calling the 'dent man' in before collection so im unfazed by this.


Don't sweat this just have them fix it.




Both door sills show signs of bubbling, this is front end rather than where my butt would be but the various forums seem to suggest it’s the carerra plate was fitted without a gasket or buffer. Is this correct, is this a common issue and is it repairable or is there a hidden terror I’m unaware of?


Have them check it when the PPI is done, this can also be fixed DIY.






And finally there is a clear plate (plasti-glass) under the bonnet on the driver side that doesn’t hold any info. The glass is about 4 inches long. On other vehicles I’ve owned this might normally contain the VIN or chassis number but in this case it is empty. To be honest it doesn’t look the most secure places to store this info……..again should I be concerned something is missing from this clear plate?


There should be a factory sticker with the VIN on it, if there is no factory sticker verify there was no front end damage, be careful with this because if the car hood was replaced it's probably due to an accident. PPI should reveal this, have them use a paint meter over it and the whole car.






And that’s about it, be honest but not to brutal with your faults as I love this car and I don’t even own it yet. It’s a big investment for me, £3k down and the rest on finance. Don’t worry I can afford it and still live comfortably even with service charges and upkeep.

Thanks

Barrie

 

The only deal breaker I see is the bubbling under the door sill which can hide a lot more things. He's a broker or reseller so he probably wouldn't know the previous history or care as his primary motive is to just shift cars as fast as he can.

Better to find a car from an enthusiast owner with known history and one that took care of his cars. Bubbling or rust isn't too common on these cars unless it's been in an accident or severely neglected somehow.

I would venture to guess this might even be a slice job where they grafted the front and back halves from different cars due to previous accident. There seems to be a lot of those going around in the UK.

Who knows also if you can get this past MOT the next time around for various reasons.

The last thing you want is a Porsche paper weight regardless of price.

My $.02

 

I think you have some good suggestions here, a good PPi will be able to denote these. If the bubbling is in the plastic this could be nothing, BUT, if it's in the metal bad news and stay away, in fact any bubbling in the metal is bad news. These cars have great rust protection so if it's in the metal something is wrong.

 

Many thanks for the warm welcomes - nothing that has been said concerns me overly. I don't think it's had front end damage but the checks will ascertain this I'm sure. The seller/dealer claims it was a part exchange which may of may not be accurate although his range rovers panameras bentleys etc do suggest higher valued cars so a PX is plausible.

Just another thing worth mentioning is the manual gearbox felt a little awkward (stiff perhaps but not quite the right description). Now bear in mind I had just driven my lexus 4 hours to see the car I'd imagine I would struggle to find gears due to closeness of the gates etc. should this be a simple fluid movement or am I just comparing to the lexus?

The dealer is also offering up to 2 year warranty at a cost of course. He must be confident at least in part it's not a dud right?

Also re: vin number there was a sticker under the actual bonnet itself, can't remember what it said or even it it was worn or ripped. Previous owner is transferring the private plate so I can check the Credit and damage history based on his plate but likely not to get the info prior to this plate change. Personally my gut feel is it's all legit but am I just convincing myself

Cheers

 

The gearboxes on these cars can tend to be notchy, I know mine is and the dealer has no concerns. If there is an original faded sticker under the hood then you can eliminate front end damage.
The warranty is a good idea. Get a good PPI and see what comes of it. YOU pick who will do it as they are working for you not the seller. If anything come out you can use it to negotiate the price? If you decide to pull the trigger, IMO I would have all the fluids changed.

 

The warranty is undoubtedly from a third party and unless you shop around to find out what they cost, you'll probably find he's making a tidy markup on it. Do yourself a favor and see what similar aftermarket warranties will cost and equally important weekday they will and won't cover. Too often they're not worth it.

 

If the plastic lens you are talking about is close to the firewall, it is indeed a "window" to the VIN# etched into the chassis about 25mm below the plastic lens. It is hard to see as the area is usually dirty. To properly inspect the VIN# usually requires removing the plastic panel that contains the lens, after removing the battery cover panel in the middle.

You should throughly aquaint yourself with the AutoFarm website & utilize their services as much as possible.

 

Hi all

Well she checks out, no outstanding finance, no hidden history, mechanic checked and said shes all sound....and now shes mine. My first Porsche, thanks for the assist's. i feel i fully belong here now......

May i present my new car

 

Very tasty! Now you just need to change your name to Baz and you'll be all set

 

Congratulations and welcome Great looking car!

 

Ditto, welcome. Everyone here had their first Porsche purchase and understand the feelings. Enjoy your car. I'm sure you can find a mechanic who can repair that steering wheel for you (move it to the left).