Hey, everyone! I'm new to the forum. Just bought a 2002 Porsche 996 911 Carrera Convertible with 68,000 miles on it in decent shape for $20,600. I'm 23 and this is my first major sports car purchase. Was it a good buy? What things do I need to watch out for? Only downfall of the car is it only came with 1 key. It's great otherwise!

 

Looks very clean! I'm a firm believer that one that buys a $20k used car that had an original cost near $80,000 should have resources in place to cover some serious maintenance and potential repair costs.

Did it come with service records? Manual or Automatic? If it is a manual I would imagine it either had the clutch done or may need one soon. Plugs are due around 60k according to this source. http://www.waltersporsche.com/servic...ice-intervals/

My personal advice is to forget that whole 15k oil service interval and change it every 5k or once per 6 months. Whichever comes first. It is inexpensive to do and you can examine the filter and oil each time.

Is your plan to drive it daily or occasional use?

 

996_911C2_Dhru Thanks a million for your response! Clean title but didn't come with much for service records. It's a manual and the clutch feels really good. I plan on driving it a couple days a week and about 5000K yearly or so and was planning on changing the oil once/year. I've also been keeping an eye on the oil level because I know they tend to eat a bit. The only other thing I'm not sure about is the IMS bearing. It hasn't been replaced to my knowledge and I'm wondering if that's worth addressing.

 

Don't wait a year between oil changes - change the oil every 6 months and send oil off for analysis and check oil filter for debris - if clean ay give some comfort re: IMS bearing. Nice looking car - congrats.

 

Actually I would say I agree. Run the oil every 6 months tops rather than a year. Better safe than sorry and we are not talking about a big expense.

As for the IMS bearing, there is plenty of information on the forum here if you search for it. For me I rolled the dice because I could absorb the cost of an engine failure. I'm waiting for my clutch service to handle the IMS, RMS and clutch.

For some, just spend the money now, get it done and drive with less worry.

For others (like me), they will point to the low likelihood of failure (albeit the failure is catastrophic and expensive) and want to ride it out until the clutch is being serviced.

Did you buy from private owner or dealership? Wondering if you can dig a little find out if the bearing and clutch were replaced already.

Mine is pretty similar to yours but a coupe. I added some exterior mods. Sideskirts, Turbo front bumper, LED tails and the simple 911 badge to personalize it a bit.

 

are you any good with a wrench, if not, you are gonna lose your *** paying someone to work on it. Just for reference it costs about 100 bux to change the oil in your garage. new front pads and rotors ~500 bones, etc. Not trying to scare you, just giving you some info. Nice car and good luck.

 

just remember if the motor dies its cheaper to drop a ls3 in it than a used oem motor!

 

Keep an eye on the the coolant tank. They are notorious for cracking if the tank look old & yellow. PITA to replace & cost $$$ if you take it to the dealer. The ignition switch is another thing to look out for. If it spin freely or have a hard time removing the key. Its time to replace the ign switch. Another PITA. Don't mean to scare you but **** happens & be prepare to empty your wallet when it does. Nice car & enjoy your new ride.

 

After a car purchase is the wrong time to ask if the car was a good buy.

You can pursue this line if you want.

As for what to watch out for? Everything.

But before I go on chances are not much will happen.

First unless you have paperwork showing this was done recently you should change the engine oil and filter. I recommend you stay with a Porsche approved (will have "A40" on the label). I don't know where you live/drive but if it gets cold -- -25C -- Porsche says you should run 0w-40.

Absent any paperwork this was done I would recommend a brake/clutch -- if equipped with a manual transmission -- fluid flush/bleed. This is supposed to be done every 2 years.

Also, absent of any paperwork this work being done plugs are due to be changed every so often either on miles or time. You don't have to do this right away.

On the subject of vital fluids, be sure all vital fluids are ok.

Keep an eye on the oil level and the vital fluids. Since the car is new to you it may have a leak you don't know about. (I'm kind of guessing you didn't do much of a pre-inspection of the car, but if I'm wrong that's great.)

Tires I hope are ok? Porsche says tires are due to be replaced after 6 years even if they have plenty of tread.

If tire wear uneven -- a common wear pattern can in horrific inside edge tire wear of the rear tires -- this is an alignment problem. Too much (or too little) rear toe in.

Be sure the radiator ducts are free of trash. These fill up with plant/trash pretty quick. The radiator fans when running suck in everything.

You may have to remove the front bumper cover and unbolt the A/C condenser -- one in front of each radiator -- to really get at the stuff that collects.

Be gentle with the condensers and radiators. For bumper cover removal there are DIY write ups around.

Be sure the body water drains are free of trash and keep them that way. There are body water drains under the front trunk on either side of the battery box, which is located in the center. You'll have to remove the plastic panel on either side of the battery box to expose the drain basins and drains. Be gentle cleaning these.

There may be rear body water drains too but I'm not sure where they are on the Cab.

There is a book: Porsche 996: The Essential Companion. Highly recommend it to you.

Here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Porsche-996-E.../dp/1845840968

Check for damp doors. Water can get inside the door and if so water can collect and cause electrical gremlins. If a door is damp along its bottom or worse you hear water sloshing inside the door card has to come off and the door membrane either reglued or replaced.

Have you had the car in the air to check for any leak sign? Common leak points are the RMS, water pump, from the camshaft covers, possibly around the spark plugs. The axle CV boots can crack and if they do this can ruin the CV bearings in no time.

Really though you need to check every gasket, seal, o-ring, hose, hose fitting, hydraulic line, line fitting, for leak sign. The radiators can leak too.

The coolant tank can leak from a split along its bottom seam. The coolant cap can leak. If the cap part number doesn't end in "02" or "04" I'd just advise you to replace this old with one that does.

Check the oil filler tube cap. These can leak.

The engine can smoke a bit upon cold start. Short trips make this more likely to happen. While the can smoke it should be brief, over about the time it starts and the engine should not manifest any untoward symptoms. If the smoking persists, the idle varies some, the engine idle is lumpy, that can be an AOS.

Get the Essential Companion. It covers the above and more that I don't have to cover here.

 

I would argue the ignition switch is not too difficult. I changed mine for $12 (VW part available on ebay) and used just a screwdriver.

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/R...on_Switch.html

 

yeah it's an easy DIY, but you have to be contortionist to get to it if you don't remove the seat. LOL

 

You can get those socketed drivers that are for using just your fingers and shave down the standard bit.