Why are 996s so cheap?
Discussion
From my point of view as someone who has owned three 996s now, all of them purchased for not a lot of money, I think they are cheap because people are easily led and let's be honest everyone loves to knock a German sports car. Tales of them exploding right left and centre are common, just look at the first page of this thread! Some specialists are a little to blame as well as the "prevantative" engine rebuild no doubt helps their cash flow on occasion.
My first 996 was a 98 3.4. It had been used and abused massively and covered 133K miles. I then proceeded to stick another 22K miles on it with the same approach and sold it for £500 more than I paid for it. In the 22K miles the total bill was service bits and tyres plus a clutch - at the same time I did the RMS and IMS bearing, the one which came out was 13 years old and 145K miles old, it had no play and looked pretty perfect!
My next one was an Aero kitted C2 3.4 which was lovely and had Bilsteins etc. on it, this was originaly a supercharged car and I purchased it on the cheap after the previous owner had nicked the supercharger for his new to him 997 and traded it in. This car had quite a trick Autofarm engine with steel liners etc. etc. I put 38K miles on it without a single issue. It didn't feel any different power wise to my previous one or used any more/less oil.
The one I have now is a 3.4 C4 again with Aerokit (I'm a bit of a narrow body 996 fan) and has covered 101K miles as of last weekend. I borescoped it over the weekend and it is as close to mint as I would dare describe 100K miles worth of engine. No reason to suspect it won't do another 50 - 60K without much issue. Again when it's due a clutch I'll do the RMS and IMS at the same time but have no reason to suspect the IMS won't be as my last one - it's £90 of bits so hardly worth not doing.
I think in total the cars which have had serious issues with bore scuffing, ovality and IMS failure is around 5%. At 12 years old and 100K miles odd most of the ones left will either have been fixed previously or are very unlikely to fail by this point. They are a truly lovely thing and at the prices they are now rediculously good value for money. Yes you should keep a slush fund to one side just in case but the just in case is far less likely to happen than on a Speed 6 TVR, E-gear Gallardo etc. etc. in fact when stacked up agaist other performance road cars of similar vintage the 996 is actually a pretty reliable and cheap to run thing.....
My first 996 was a 98 3.4. It had been used and abused massively and covered 133K miles. I then proceeded to stick another 22K miles on it with the same approach and sold it for £500 more than I paid for it. In the 22K miles the total bill was service bits and tyres plus a clutch - at the same time I did the RMS and IMS bearing, the one which came out was 13 years old and 145K miles old, it had no play and looked pretty perfect!
My next one was an Aero kitted C2 3.4 which was lovely and had Bilsteins etc. on it, this was originaly a supercharged car and I purchased it on the cheap after the previous owner had nicked the supercharger for his new to him 997 and traded it in. This car had quite a trick Autofarm engine with steel liners etc. etc. I put 38K miles on it without a single issue. It didn't feel any different power wise to my previous one or used any more/less oil.
The one I have now is a 3.4 C4 again with Aerokit (I'm a bit of a narrow body 996 fan) and has covered 101K miles as of last weekend. I borescoped it over the weekend and it is as close to mint as I would dare describe 100K miles worth of engine. No reason to suspect it won't do another 50 - 60K without much issue. Again when it's due a clutch I'll do the RMS and IMS at the same time but have no reason to suspect the IMS won't be as my last one - it's £90 of bits so hardly worth not doing.
I think in total the cars which have had serious issues with bore scuffing, ovality and IMS failure is around 5%. At 12 years old and 100K miles odd most of the ones left will either have been fixed previously or are very unlikely to fail by this point. They are a truly lovely thing and at the prices they are now rediculously good value for money. Yes you should keep a slush fund to one side just in case but the just in case is far less likely to happen than on a Speed 6 TVR, E-gear Gallardo etc. etc. in fact when stacked up agaist other performance road cars of similar vintage the 996 is actually a pretty reliable and cheap to run thing.....
Out of curiosity - is it safer (specifically re IMS & scored cylinder linings) to buy a higher mile 996 than a lower mile one?
I once recall speaking to a well regarded porsche specialist and they thought if the car had made it past 80k miles, it was probably fine. At least in terms of said pitfalls.
I once recall speaking to a well regarded porsche specialist and they thought if the car had made it past 80k miles, it was probably fine. At least in terms of said pitfalls.
steveo3002 said:
996TT02 said:
NNH said:
Durzel said:
Also, they're old. They stopped selling them in 2005, and the 997 is imo a pretty substantial step forward mechanically and aesthetically.
They're old and they made lots of them. Still, it's a lot of car for the money and the IMS/RMS thing can be put off for a long time by adding oil. I loved my 2002 996 dearly, and took it up to 100,000 miles before I traded it in.Source: ran a 996 NA engine to 100,000 miles, including an RMS change at 60k. I now run a 987 which is at 60,000 miles, and I keep an eye out for oil drips on the drive.
jayemm89 said:
I don't mind it so much, it means I could afford one
What a superb car it was and, in my opinion, vastly better than the 993 in all the ways that really count.
Except one, 993s are so very pretty, most attractive 911 to date IMO, 996 possibly the least.What a superb car it was and, in my opinion, vastly better than the 993 in all the ways that really count.
To drive, I'd take a 996 every time.
FeelingLucky said:
GC8 said:
Bibbs said:
DanielSan said:
slipstream 1985 said:
eh? subaru flat 6?
From the SVX. Hungrymc said:
We'll be seeing Evoras in the high 20s by the end of this year.
But they'll be in unwanted specs or high mileage. Good ones will still be a fair bit more. I've been watching prices for a while, waiting for them to come down to a level I can afford, and don't think they'll drop significantly for some time.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff