Looking for my first 996.

[dopsonj]

Hi All,

I am looking for a Porsche 996 to purchase;

2001-2004
Under 60k miles
Full Service History
Black/Grey/Blue interior - Sensible Interior/Exterior colour combination
Manual

Budget of up to £15/16,000

Have gone through PH, AutoTrader, eBay, 911 Virgin, RSJ, Car & Classic, Mr 911 etc etc and continually looking. Posting here if anyone is considering selling. Happy to travel for the right car, based in East Sussex.

Upgrading from a 2002 986 2.7 Boxster with 60,000 on the clock.

Thanks!

Jack

[agtlaw]

Forget about 60k miles. Get one with a rebuilt engine.

[mollytherocker]

agtlaw said:

Forget about 60k miles. Get one with a rebuilt engine.

+1

[dopsonj]

Further more to the suggestions of rebuilt engine, I plan to do about 10-12k a year (daily driver).... now higher miles with rebuilt doesn't much bother me, but when I come to sell the car in 4-6 years time I imagine resale value will be greatly different?

I would prefer a car that has had IMS & RMS done and documented but no point to be to picky in my requests.

[mollytherocker]

dopsonj said:

Further more to the suggestions of rebuilt engine, I plan to do about 10-12k a year (daily driver).... now higher miles with rebuilt doesn't much bother me, but when I come to sell the car in 4-6 years time I imagine resale value will be greatly different?

I would prefer a car that has had IMS & RMS done and documented but no point to be to picky in my requests.

The difference in value in 4-6 years time is going to be negligible. In fact, the rebuilt engine will be more important at resale.

It has to be accepted that if you buy a 996 on its original engine and drive it that sort of mileage over 4 to 6 years then there has to be a reasonable chance of a rebuild being needed. 8k+

Its a no brainer to me!

[dopsonj]

mollytherocker said:

The difference in value in 4-6 years time is going to be negligible. In fact, the rebuilt engine will be more important at resale.

It has to be accepted that if you buy a 996 on its original engine and drive it that sort of mileage over 4 to 6 years then there has to be a reasonable chance of a rebuild being needed. 8k+

Its a no brainer to me!

Solid points and suggestions... Obviously other components will wear with more miles (even with a rebuild) so is there a realistic limit to milage or I guess it just depends on upkeep work thats been performed.

Well then I open the floor to those with a well loved 996 having had an engine rebuild in it's life!

[mollytherocker]

There was a guy on here recently that said his 997 had been reliable and his engine fine over 5 years.

He then dropped that he had spent 5k per annum on maintenance! Thats 25k!

Any 911 costs money to run, and age only increases the cost unless you can do work yourself.

Common sense and a bit of care goes a long way. Try not to buy the cheapest car, buy a good car in the first place then maintain it properly and care for it. It will likely pay you back in the long run.

[pmac32]

I have a c4s I've owned 3 years with 53,000 miles. Silver, hardback sport seats, Porsche sport exhaust, full service history all opc except last two with specialist. Always been under Porsche warranty until recently. Just had big service and new discs and pads and all brake lines replaced. Would let it go at £17500 if you can stretch your budget!

[dopsonj]

5K a year... Thats extreme.... I will have a slush fund for maintenance and having already had a boxster and being well aware already of a 911 and it's pitfalls money is aside for preventative maintenance rather then reactive.

I would love to stretch to 17.5K for a C4S as I love the stance of the wide body but at this point it is not realistic, which is a shame as PSE has to be one feature i'd love which is missing from 98% of all C2's...

[JulesV]

You should have bought my old one!

[YoungMD]

JulesV said:

You should have bought my old one!

Fantastically helpful comment........

[dopsonj]

YoungMD said:

JulesV said:

You should have bought my old one!

Fantastically helpful comment........

Wasn't it just! I should explain that before we rip into Jules, I know him outside of the forum and he let an 52 plate with 40k on the clock, FPSH, go for well under budget... And now I come to find myself wanting one I get the "told you you should have bought it!"

[JulesV]

dopsonj said:

YoungMD said:

JulesV said:

You should have bought my old one!

Fantastically helpful comment........

Wasn't it just! I should explain that before we rip into Jules, I know him outside of the forum and he let an 52 plate with 40k on the clock, FPSH, go for well under budget... And now I come to find myself wanting one I get the "told you you should have bought it!"

Always glad to be of assistance!

[dopsonj]

I have emailed TWG about this vehicle they have listed;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Has anyone had experience with buying from them?

[dopsonj]

TWG Haven't yet responded... Pretty slow which is disappointing but it's much easier to email and have a list of everything I need to know...

Did Porsche ever do a factory white C4S like this that has appeared on Auto Trader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Not overly keen on it as 300miles away but never seen in white?

[monthefish]

dopsonj said:

TWG Haven't yet responded... Pretty slow which is disappointing but it's much easier to email and have a list of everything I need to know...

Did Porsche ever do a factory white C4S like this that has appeared on Auto Trader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Not overly keen on it as 300miles away but never seen in white?

Whilst it may have been painted white from the factory (the build sheet will confirm this), it is very unlikely they painted the Carrera badge red or that they painted the wheels white, which suggests to me a high level of modification. No bad thing in itself, just be careful on what you are being told is original/factory

e.g the car you listed above, they state it is "the GT3 kit".

It's not a GT3 kit, it is actually the Aerokit 'Carrera'


The factory fit Aerokit 'Cup' is the one that resembles the GT3 mk1..



...but the car advertised is a 996.2, of which the GT3 model loks totally different again...

[dopsonj]

monthefish said:

Whilst it may have been painted white from the factory (the build sheet will confirm this), it is very unlikely they painted the Carrera badge red or that they painted the wheels white, which suggests to me a high level of modification. No bad thing in itself, just be careful on what you are being told is original/factory

e.g the car you listed above, they state it is "the GT3 kit".

It's not a GT3 kit, it is actually the Aerokit 'Carrera'


The factory fit Aerokit 'Cup' is the one that resembles the GT3 mk1..



...but the car advertised is a 996.2, of which the GT3 model loks totally different again...

I was rather skeptical about the badge and wheels, but always nice to have someone who know's exactly what they're looking at confirm.

Kit mates sense, you'd have thought it would be listed as such but there you go. With regards to the rear bumper trim and skirt, is that an option that could be specified not to have? I ask because if the kit was factory fit this would have been included no? If yes then would that open up suggestion to the possibility of a new rear bumper at some point due to damage?

[monthefish]

dopsonj said:

I was rather skeptical about the badge and wheels, but always nice to have someone who know's exactly what they're looking at confirm.

No worries. I'm no expert, I just know a little bit about a little bit.

dopsonj said:

Kit mates sense, you'd have thought it would be listed as such but there you go.

When I was searching for a car, I was amazed at how little the dealers knew about the cars they were selling, but then again, selling cars is just a job for many of them, whereas we on PH are car nerds for free.

dopsonj said:

With regards to the rear bumper trim and skirt, is that an option that could be specified not to have? I ask because if the kit was factory fit this would have been included no? If yes then would that open up suggestion to the possibility of a new rear bumper at some point due to damage?

Which car?

[dopsonj]

monthefish said:

dopsonj said:

I was rather skeptical about the badge and wheels, but always nice to have someone who know's exactly what they're looking at confirm.

No worries. I'm no expert, I just know a little bit about a little bit.

dopsonj said:

Kit mates sense, you'd have thought it would be listed as such but there you go.

When I was searching for a car, I was amazed at how little the dealers knew about the cars they were selling, but then again, selling cars is just a job for many of them, whereas we on PH are car nerds for free.

dopsonj said:

With regards to the rear bumper trim and skirt, is that an option that could be specified not to have? I ask because if the kit was factory fit this would have been included no? If yes then would that open up suggestion to the possibility of a new rear bumper at some point due to damage?

Which car?

The TWG one;




It's missing the rear section of the aerokit carrera?

[thegoose]

It's worth checking out the white car if you like the look of it. It has the very rare (perhaps because they were so expensive) Sport Techno wheels and some colour coded interior bits and a Turbo steering wheel (again pricy options). The lower parts of both bumpers & sills have been painted white, which I'm not sure the factory ever offered as an option, but they may have done. It could have been a very expensive extravagant purchase when new.