I've been thinking a bit more of picking up a 99-00 911 but my main worry now is I can afford the car...but I don't know what to expect in maintaining the car. Are there any issues or costs that I should expect for a car around 50K miles? I just want to make sure if I do buy one, I'd be an excellent caretaker of her as well. Generally they seem to be pretty reliable.

TIA.

 

I don't think that the 96 is any more expensive in maintenance as any BMW or MB.....60K cost me $850....rear tires $300 a piece....and if your engine blows...well than you are screwed, because this runs about 15K....anything else is a couple of 100 left and right....the mods on the P will be more expensive than the maintenance....but don't spend your last penny on a P...because you don't want to have it sitting in the garage with something broken and no money to pay for the repair...unless ofcourse it is a 2nd (weekend) car...

 

Agreed. Most of the guys who have torn down high mileage M96 engines (the engine in all non turbo, non GT3 996 Porsches) have found very little wear in the critical areas (valve train, etc). Mechanically, these are pretty reliable (I say this after watching my C4S hauled off on a flatbed today with some massive engine failure, though...). The RMS failure is more of an annoyance than anything, and you could probably live with it, rather than fix it with very minor problems. If you get a good deal on the car (and they're down in the 30's now), go for it. Assume a grand a year on tires (or more if you track it or drive a lot of miles aggressively), and $70-100 per oil change.

Bodywork is pricey if you damage it, so be well insured.

 

$70 to $100 for an oilchange?? I pay $185 at an independent shop. What happend to your C4S..keep us updated....knowledge is power!! Goolduck with it hope you get the P back soon!

 

From what I can see on this forum, they do seem pretty reliable which makes the idea of owning one more realistic for me. It would be a second car but I still don't wish to buy something which is going to be in the shop more than a few times a year. Tires and oil changes are expected so I have no problem paying those. I'm just not sure what else needs to be done around 50-60K miles. When do the belts and whatnot usually need to be changed? I know some cars it 60K and some it's more around 100K.

Also, someone had mentioned to me that I should stay away from the 1999 911s. Something about the first year it was water cooled and there have been some motors that have blown.
Is this more of a hit or miss issue? I see some cars with 40K+ and don't appear to have problems. Someone had also mentioned his 1999 failed at 6K miles due to the motor going.

Thanks for the inputs so far.

 

s14roller

99 996 Carrerra coupe daily driver here (and all the dings to prove it). ~80k miles, no major issues. Still has plenty of power throughout the power band and I enjoy driving this P-car immensely (easily cruises at 95). I believe these cars were made for driving and not sitting in the garage. If you are jumping in, try to drive it frequently.....
And try to negotiate for the lowest price possible. (something i didn't do) .
Good luck.

jorge

 

I have owned my 03 996 Targa for three years, I drive it daily like I stole it - 41K miles and not one problem, not ONE ! Rock Solid -

 

You are very brave taunting the car gods like that...

 

Haha...so far sounds great. I'm surprised no one has really ran into issues. I guess I always assumed although the German cars had awesome style, power, and handling, there was always going to be issues of reliability.

Was the thing I heard about the 1999 versions wrong then?

 

Thanks. I was cruising on the highway, got off, and halfway up the off-ramp, the car suddenly got really loud (I have PSE, so it's not quiet, but this was really loud, like the muffler fell off), and a flashing CEL came on, followed by ABS and PSM failure messages, and a massive loss of power. I pulled over and debated whether to drive to the dealer or go home, which was closer. I started to drive home, and the engine died at idle a couple of times before I got it going, and cruised noisily home. I was fine on the highway, but any grade whatsoever, and it just wouldn't do it. I'd drop it to second, and floor the gas, and it would barely crawl up a gentle hill. Eventually, I got it home and it literally died in the driveway, accompanied by the smell of burning electronics. Flat bed to the dealer yesterday, and I'm still waiting to hear what the problem is.

And the best part? My warranty expires on June 13th. Sweet. Squeaked in before the door shut.

 

I think I heard they had a tendency to have porous engine blocks.

 

an additional note.

The 996 i have has never tracked. I don't track it as I don't have a race team to maintain it afterwards (not enough $$).

IMHO, sportscars are high performance machines and not race cars. You just can't track a car over the weekend and expect it to perform flawlessly as a daily driver during the week. Maybe some reliability issues (i mean mechanical, excluding obvious manufacturing flaws, i.e., porus blocks,etc) are accellerated due to tracking. Just my 2 cents worth.

jorge

 

Does anyone have a sheet of what needs to be done at what miles? IE...on average when will the timing belts need to be done, alternator, radiator, etc.

Thanks. I'm hoping in another month I'll find what I want...

 

Mine is my daily driver, love it. And I really do hate seeing it just sitting in my garage. I just have to drive it. If you are very handy, its easy to maintain the car. Just find someone that you can trust if something happens that its beyond your knowledge.

 

Nothings expensive unless you have to replace it....

-Eli