See update posts.

 

You mad bro? You asked for advice and we are going to give it along with jagged opinions too. Deal with it.

 

UPDATE 3: The car is going to Jake Raby to fix. It just makes the most sense. If he can fix it then the car is at least in the best shape possible for either me to keep or to sell. If its a goner, a new engine will be in order I guess. And then I am in the same, keep or sell, boat.

 

See update posts.

 

re-built engine (and new clutch) ?

i would advise u to keep the car for several more years and then sell it to get most bang for money (unless u can't financially handle other possible costs)

After all, don't u have to buy another car if u sell this Pcar ?

 

See update posts.

 

This is a good idea, it's obvious you can't handle another huge problem with the car. Fix it and sell it, you don't need that stress in life. Get something that you truly can afford w/o stress. Let this be a lesson to potential buyers. 2005 911 are cheap to buy now but still very expensive to maintain. My friends asked me this all the time. I see 911 like yours selling for 30 to 40K, it's so cheap. I tell them, it's still a 100K car to service and maintain. IMS is waiting to explode, can you handle a $20K engine replacement. They just pause.

 

See update posts.

 

i know a guy (very nice guy may i add) who was barely able to keep up with the 911 payments+maintenance, then tried selling the car for 3 years to make small profit/break even ... the car didnt sell.

so a few years later, the engine blew and he still had to make 4 figure monthly payments for over a year (while the car just sat).... it was killing him financially, it was painful for me just to even hear the story.

the engine fix+additional car payments (when the car was waiting for an engine) easily approached 25k if not more, pretty much NONE of which you get back upon selling the car on 9-10 year old used car market. to make it even remotely worthwhile (moneywise), you'll need to drive the car for a few more years (if not till it dies)

so you never know, sometimes cutting losses and moving onto something more affordable/practical could be the best case scenario.... and get another p-car later on in life when money isnt as tight.

 

I agree with this thinking, especially with a 2005 997. It sure seems like it is extremely difficult to sell these cars privately because of the stigma attached to the early 997 IMS issues. Justified or not, it is evident that many 997 buyers won't even consider a 2005, regardless of mileage or mechanical upgrades.

In any case, wish you much luck with this very difficult situation. I feel for you.

 

in my friends case, it was an 06, nor was it ims. actually out of all my friends on their second engines, the MY of the 911s are 05/06/06/07. none of which were ims failures (the 05, was late 05+ build so same imsb as 06-08). nevertheless it's pretty crazy still.

to the OP, do you know what the problem was as you stated not IMS? (if ims i dont think your car would be running).

i do feel or you and i agree that no car (esp a Porsche) should have complete engine failure at 82k.

 

It's just such a shame that the '05s carry such a stigma because of the relatively few cars that have had IMS failures. It just kills the market on an otherwise fantastic automobile.

 

See update posts.

 

I'm curious: How did you work out that rebuilding the engine would be the most cost effective approach for you? I would have thought that selling the car as-is would have minimized your losses?

 

See update posts.