What are the issues I should look out for? I did a search for RMS (the only issue known to me) on the forum, but I can't tell what the symptoms are .

Thanks.

 

RMS is a rear main seal leak. The only sympton I know of is an oil leak under the car. Maybe Newport, Daytrader or AsianImage can chime in about cab specific issues.

 

Thanks bud. I'll have to take a look, and I'm looking forward to more responses .

 

I have had a good and bad experience, but since my car was under warranty its all been good from my perspective. I bought a 99 C4 Cab....it was a VERY clean car...had 47k miles on it when I bought it....I got it as a CPO car from a Porsche dealer. Its my daily driver, and I drive 100 miles a day roundtrip...So 2 1/2 years later, It has 121k miles on it. The car has held up EXTREMELY well....I have modded it to where I want it. I am just about done...I have about 2 things left on my long mod list unchecked. It had the engine replaced at 60k miles. After that it was smooth sailing...the car is amazing, fun, comfortable, reliable. It had a coolant intermix problem in the engine. No warning, just some gunk in my coolant tank...Took it to the dealer and they said, leave it...gave me a loaner, called me the next day and said, the engine would be replaced under warranty, 2 days later, I had it back. So it was fairly painless....for me. If it wasnt under warranty, then it would be a 10k bill....I would buy a car that I could see the service records from day 1. I would buy at a Porsche dealer and get a factory warranty. Then find the best car I could afford....RMS is overblown....I have had 2 Porsches, neither had RMS...just check to make sure it has never had it. I would NOT buy a Porsche from a private party....if you find a good car and negotiate well, you can get just as good of a buy from a dealer...i bought my car for BELOW private party blue book, and that included a factory warranty....I see lots of people bypass the dealer because the asking price is 3k more than a private party asking price...but never try and negotiate the price down...so they but the cheaper car, only to post on here about how the car needs so much work so soon. A CPO'd car HAS to have the following done to be certified. Tires replaced if under 50% wear, brakes replaced if under 50% wear. Clutch replaced if under 50% wear, all services brought up to date. 100+ point inspection of the car. So you are sure that you wont be buying tires, brakes, clutch or anything else for a while. With a private party, they are not gonna do all those things and THEN sell the car. no way...thats my advice, good luck!

 

I have a 99 cab and love it. HOWEVER... I have had to replace the RMS $1500 and then the engine blew POrsche paid 50% but it still cost $8200. I would not recommend one unless the engine had been replaced ALL 1999 - 2001 are susecptable to engine failure due to design issues. Mine now has a 24month unlimited warranty from Porsche so should be good.

Chris

 

There are plenty of high mileage 99-01 996's out there with the original engine. so thats not a completely true statement...also there are various kinds of failures, not just one. I have also seen the same failures on 02+ cars, so its not just 99-01's. The best advice is get a CPO car and if it goes it'll be covered. It may cost you a few thousand more than a "bargain" 996 but in the long run, it'll pay for itself.

 

I have an 02 3.6 liter.

I have had one engine replacement and it is now in the shop for it's second RMS repair (out of warranty).

Considering what these cars cost I would have expected better durability out of these motors. The new engine and first RMS were done before the supercharger.

 

I'd recommend looking at an 02+ simply for the above mentioned reasons. Aside from that, prices are dropping significantly, whats the price your looking at on the 99 cab?

i currently have a squaretrade warranty, which is only powertrain, so when my CEL came on and I needed to replace some minor gascap stuff and other minor evc issues, i still had to pay like 300 bucks.

gluck. other than that, just a fun *** car to drive.

 

I have a 00 C2, original engine, 77k miles, no RMS leak, supercharged at 60k, runs real strong, daily driver.

I think the trick with these things is to actually drive them.
I've heard about so many garage queens pissing oil all over the place, whereas most of the workhorses I've seen around here (some well over 100k) have been as good as gold.

 

Exactly what design issues are you talking about ?

 

I got a new motor at 92K and actually the price for a new motor for these cars is similar to the cost to do a top end rebuild (all of the stuff above the block basically).

The nice thing is that the new 3.4's incorporate the most recent manufacturing techniques etc.... so its kind of new-old stock....

It seems the 99-01 cars are "modern classics" so maybe that weighs into your decision.

 

Those are 2 ridiculous statements, especially coming from a guy who is SELLING HIS OWN 911 ON THIS VERY BOARD!

If you take the time to have a PPI done at a dealership or reputable indy shop, you will be fine. The powertrains on these cars are bullet proof and can last for hundreds of thousands of miles. RMS and coolant expansion tank leaks were 2 issues I had w/my 99, and the dealer fixed them both once and I never had another problem with either.

Funny how a lot of the problems are on cars modded to hell and back.

 

any updates jizzZ? did you pull the trigger? =)

 

Haha, I created this thread at the beginning of 2007. I ended up with a 2003 Z4 3.0 (which is for sale). Of course, after about three months, I realized this really isn't what I wanted...and actually I'm looking at a 2000 996 Cabriolet at lunch today. Quite coincidentally, this thread was brought back up at around the same time .

So hopefully, I'll pull the trigger this time. The only problem I have with the 2000 is that it doesn't have heated seats or a changer. After getting used to those on the other cars, I feel like I don't know what to do without them. I know the changer is an easy option to install, but heated seats, not so much .