Buying first 911 need some help please

[Fitz]

hey all, I need some help. I am close to buying my first 911 and need some help. My wife kindly knocked the Boxster on the head due to 2 seats so now I have a chance at the car I want.

ok - can you guy ( and girls) help me as I am looking at a 1999 911 as in my price range but is the 3.4 litre. I guess everyone has a horror story even if you own a Mazda or a ford. I want this car for about 50 % daily use and will maintain to the max but what is the truth about this 3.4 . I am looking at around 140 kms well maintained. Should I put a war chest of money aside for maintenance or are the forums just showing the bad stories? Love to hear feed back before I buy.

cheer s 

Fitz 

[bear924]

Hi Fitz,

Welcome to the forum! I'm far from a 996 expert however the general rule of purchasing Porsches is to buy the best one you can afford. When you think you've found a good one, make sure you get a PPI (pre purchase inspection) done by a Porsche specialist. This might cost you a few hundred bucks, however the amount it could save you is huge. Be fussy, try to find a car owned by an enthusiast and try not to get sucked into the game of "If I spend another $10k I could get a xyz". If you play that game your next post will be about how you've just purchased the 959 that's currently advertised on Pickles.

Lastly, don't be scared to tinker if you want to learn more about your car. It is surprising what you can do on these cars with a little thought. That said, find a good specialist, the forum is your friend in that regard.

[Rod C]

Hi Fitz,

 Make sure you do your homework on the particular model your chasing and read reviews, get a good insight into the car and get a PPI.

The 996 can represent some of the best value Porsche ownership to be had.

Goodluck

[DJM]

You will find lots on line about engine issues with these cars. But find a good one, get it PPI'd, buy it, maybe a little preventative maintenance (IMS) and go and enjoy.  Can't go wrong at the price of a 996 nowadays. 

[hugh]

Hi Fitz,

Where abouts in Melboune are you located? 

[Fitz]

Thanks guys - appreciate the replies. I am pretty patient  so will wait for the right one to come on the market. Cheers 

 

I am in Essendon area hugh.

have a good weekend. 

[Coastr]

Always remember very few people go onto a forum to post 'another 10,000 trouble free kms done'.  You can get a skewed view of the world reading forums.

All cars have their design weak points and the 3.4 engine is well documented in that regard.  Use the information you've already got to your advantage when looking at cars and look for evidence of work completed or pending issues.  Get a PPI and tell them what area you want them to spend their time.

Still a lot of 996's getting around so they are not all ticking time bombs.  Get a manual and hold out for the right one and happy days ahead.

[hugh]

I am in Essendon area hugh.

Not my side of town unfortunately. Anyone have any recommendations for a local mech? Maybe a good way to introduce yourself and get a local contact to check out any cars you are interested in. 

Professional advice is well worth the investment - but it has to be from someone who knows these cars really well! 

[symsy]

Just remember ... there aint no substitute for tyre kicking , go see em , drive em and  gain a perspective

Also remember there is a ratio of about 99% talk to 1% or $1 dollar actually spent on forums .... 

Just add up how many cars we all bought in the last 10 months since the slow time of Xmas vs pages of banter.

As for IMS etc , just keep some reserve in ya back pocket 

[Mike737]

At 140km mark if the following hasn't been done, put aside some money for water pump and air oil separator. Gearbox oil should have been replaced by now. Suspension, engine mounts and clutch might also need a little bit of a revamp depending on condition and when/if anything has been done to them.

996's are great cars and definitely still an underdog in the Porsche market along with Boxster 986's. Best part about it is that they share parts which means some parts are insanely cheap compared to the air-cooled days.

Definitely keep an eye out for any forum member who puts their car up for sale as a number of people will be able to vouch for the car instead of just some old private sale on carsales where nobody but the owner and maybe a mechanic know the history of the car.

 

[Ozvino]

I have owned two 996s (2000 Carrera 4, 2004 GT3), they are awesome cars and totally under-valued; even until 2 years ago the mighty GT3 fell into that category. I think the 996 was the first car to fall victim of the Internet and all of the BS that gets distributed. Yes, the IMS can be an issue but statistically the number of failures I believe is low. When I had the IMS replaced on my Carrera 4 the factory unit was perfect. If you ask me the interior quality and wear is a bigger issue.

Running costs are very reasonable, they are super reliable and if you address or buy a car that has addressed the IMS you are set.

Buy a good one and you wont be dissapointed

[Spectre]

Not my side of town unfortunately. Anyone have any recommendations for a local mech? Maybe a good way to introduce yourself and get a local contact to check out any cars you are interested in. 

Professional advice is well worth the investment - but it has to be from someone who knows these cars really well! 

Michael Garner in Preston 

[Thommo66]

Hey Fitz.  I just went through my first P purchase experience over the last 8 months.  Most of the fun was actually in the searching and the driving of many different cars. 

I totally agree with the wise words from symsy  ...ie.

Just remember ... there aint no substitute for tyre kicking , go see em , drive em and  gain a perspective

You need to actually drive alot of different cars to find what you really want.

I became very confused during the searching process.  One moment I had my heart set on a 993.  The next it was a 997 and I even seriously contemplated a late model Cayman S.  The reality is that there are many great models if you can find one that truly puts a smile on your dial when you drive it and very importantly - with great service history and well cared for and mileage you are ok with within your budget.

I went with a great 996tt manual.  But I almost bought a very sweet 993 CS manual.  Very different cars. 

To the point that bear924 made above .... it's VERY easy to tell yourself a story to just spend another 10 or 20 or .... ! 

My strong recommendation is to set yourself a budget range and an upper limit in your budget with wiggle room of ~5k in negotiation and then drive a bunch of different cars to try narrow down the model / series / years / k's etc.  Take your time and enjoy the different P model driving experiences.

Finally as everybody recommends ... get the PPI done.  I handed over some hard earned twice at Porsche on 2 different cars. Both had issues highlighted which prevented me from moving ahead.  I still feel comfortable that it was money well spent.

The experienced guys on this forum offer great insight so you've come to the right place for online well thought through opinions.

Good luck and enjoy the journey !

 

 

 

 

 

[Fitz]

Thanks for the replies is a really big help. I am test driving 2000 911 next week that has been  serviced by hartech auto mordialloc. I will check back in on here when closer to closing the deal. One question to put the ims issue to bed : if it does fail/ let go is it true that it trashes the engine? I will speak with the mechanic in question for this first car aswell 

 

[firstone]

Yes. Total loss if the ims goes.

[Fitz]

Cheers thanks very much for the info. 

[Pokiou]

Having owned my 1998 996 3.4 manual for 1 year i can tell you a few things i have learnt.

1. DRIVE THE CAR.

2. Dont worry about the IMS, with good oil and servicing it wont die. I know people with 500.000 miles on the car without changing IMS or opening the engine. I myself have never opened it and i've got 167000 on the clock and don't plan on changing anything.

3. When buying the car have a look at where its been parked and look for stains on the ground. Not all leaks signal an issue, it could be aloose clamp or split cheap hose.

4. When going to look at the car ask him to NOT start the car that day, so go early in the morning and start her up and see how she cranks and if there is any scary noises. I wouldn't worry about the guides chatter on startup as that goes away with in a few seconds once oil pressure builds up.

5. I've never cared to much about interior as that's an easy fix or a small dint here and there... but most importantly make sure the car drives and changes gears perfectly smooth. No matter what Porsche you look at whether its new or old it will cost you lots to fix.

Once you get the 996 you WILL love it, you will love driving her everywhere, they love revving. It really is the most underrated car in the 911 range, its so much 911 for so little and its a pitty because of the stigma the car has and as a result people tend to stay away, Their loss and and our gain.

The only issue people have with the car is the IMS and RMS and Headlights.. sad really such a pathetic thing to complain about. Considering the 997 has the same engine but with Round lights lol.

I honestly regret one thing about my 996 and that's not getting one earlier in my life. Mind you its the lightest of all the 911 from the watercooled era.

I dont ever plan on selling my 911 EVER. something ill give to my daughter in 18 years. 

Buy one and enjoy it!

[Fitz]

Thanks and good info. I took my first 911 2000 cabriolet for a test drive this week and booking another in over the weekend. The first one has been in storage for a while and just run down the road for a bit. I spoke to the mechanic that has serviced it and he said nothing to Warrant walking away from it. Definitely needs PPI but he recalled a good service history with nothingThe ims hasn’t been done he said about $3k if we do that, New tyres as he said they might be hard and crap after sitting for several years and cosmetically the interior needs some work with a couple of plastic panels and a dodgy 1990s hands free kit looks average. It drove well- sports exhaust- hard top. Anyone know approx price to get some new or second hand mags that are original as these ones were really ugly after markets? The mechanic said they are strong cars but I will go and test a couple of others.