I have found a 2006 Carrera 4S with 23,400 miles. The car is in excellent shape, has been certified and comes with a 2 year warranty. I drove the car extensively and did not find any issues. Not being overly familiar with the Carreras, I would appreciate input from the forum on issues that may come up with the 2006's or things I may need to look out for.

It comes with the Sports Chrono Package, BOSE sound system and Sports Exhaust. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

The only issue I have with my '06 997S is that I can't seem to stop driving it

On a serious note, the only issue I had so far was a leaky coolant tank. Other than that it's been a rock solid car.

 

RMS leak fixed under warranty, that's about it, nothing else wrong with it. These are reliable cars. Nothing to be afraid of.

 

Pay someone to do a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI). Ask them before hiring if they can read the car's computer and pull out the DME Ignitions. If they cannot, find another person.

You want this DME data to determine if the car has been abused. It will tell you the number of spark plug firings over redline and the last hour count that it occurred. A babied car will have very low numbers, nothing in ranges 3-6. An abused car will have high counts and non-zero numbers in 4, 5 and maybe even 6. Often 911's are tracked. Good drivers can track a Porsche without abusing it. Many tracked cars though are not driven by good drivers.

Don't be afraid to pass on any car as there are plenty of solid Porsches out there. Or better said, DO NOT FALL IN LOVE until the PPI comes back clean.

Here's the chart:

 

This. Right here. Times eleventeen billion. There were 44 TTs in my search area today. The deal. Not the car. That comes slightly later.

 

Thanks all for the input.

 

+44 billion on doing the PPI. Have them take it to another Porsche dealer than is selling it or to a Porsche/Euro specialist. Most Porsche specialists are also Audi shops, and many do VW too, and sometimes BMW, Mercedes, and other premium imports. But the ones to really look for are the Audi/Porsche guys in my experience. Normal price is $199 or $249 (with a few in the middle of course), and a few expensive ones that charge $299 (in Beverly Hills, NYC, etc).

I'd encourage you to go with another Porsche dealer unless you already have a Porsche shop you trust, or somebody on the forum knows of one with an excellent reputation. The dealer has an official PPI checklist, which is the same as they use for certified pre-owned cars, so I believe you get the most thorough inspection from the dealer. Yes, I know it assumes the technician actually does every step, but in my experience with about 10 PPIs between myself and close friends, every single time they found every issue, and also reported accurately on wear items like brake pads and tires, and you also get the full DME read-out you're unlikely to be able to get from anyone other than a dealer since the machines are about $30k I believe.

 

I have an 07 4S and it's been pretty solid at 49k miles. Only thing that went on me was the waterpump at 45k miles which seemed really early to me but as I learned from my Dealer's tech and this board, it's common at 60k or even earlier.

 

1. Your PSE can start to rattle, due to busted resonators .
2. Shifter cable will snap under continuous hard shifts, due to it being rubber not metal (only found in GT3CUP & higher, even GT3 has the same problem.)
3. the coolant tank leak which has already been mentioned



other than that, the car is absolutely problem/squeek free.

Love my 997.

 

nice car go for it!

 

Great feedback. Thanks all. I have already decided to purchase the car. I wanted to get information on thing to look out for. I am going to have the diagnostic done next week. The dealer will take care of it.

I have 2014 Cayman S on order. However, I have read so many great things about the 997s and I came across this one at a good price and in great condition. It will be in my garage in about 9 days - provided everything checks out!

 

Great car. Water pump replacement is a given and the RMS can be an issue. otherwise, an absolute pleasure to own.

 

I just hit 45k on my 4S. Are there signs for the failure of the water pump or is it just one of those things that it goes without warning?

 

Not sure how different the .1 water pump is from the .2 version but my .2 pump went with no warning at 34K miles. An assortment of lights on the dash and some smoke/steam from the back will get your attention. My -06 had 46K miles on it with the original water pump when I traded it

 

Thanks. I'm do for a service now...I will have my service guy look at it.