Porsche 996 (with added Hartech goodness)
Discussion
I've been driving a BMW M135i for the last 18 months. A cheap lease deal (aren't they all? :-). Before ordering the BMW, I'd originally considered buying a Porsche 997, but had been put off by internet horror stories of problems with the earlier cars. A work colleague then bought (what looked like, on the face of it, an immaculate) 996 C4, with cylinder number 6 waving the little white flag within a few weeks of him owning the car. Now, no matter how many horror stories one reads, when you see this happen with your own eyes, it does kind of put you off.
With the lease deal on the BM approaching the last quarter, I started looking for something decent to replace it with. I considered (briefly) a Lexi ISF, an E46 M3, but decided that the real value right now is with the 996. The 997 generation 2 cars, are still a bit pricey for me. After doing some research, it was clear that a Hartech engined car would give the best peace of mind in regards to engine reliability. It was also clear that although there's very few offered for sale, when they do come up, they don't attract much of a premium (typically around £2000) over what could be a 'ticking time bomb'.
Luckily, one came up for sale not too far away from me, with a full Hartech rebuild complete with invoices and receipts, for over £11,000 worth of engine work. A quick phone chat with the seller, and I was on my way to view. Here's a couple of photos from the original advert.
The car checked out. The only disappointments being a cloudy windscreen, due to rain getting between the laminate in the corners, and a small section of paint damage due to overzealous use of a rotary polisher at some point in its life. Happy with the test drive, and after inspecting the paperwork with the attention to detail of a forensic accountant, we did a deal, with me receiving a fiver change from 13.000 of my hard earned pounds.
I'm delighted with the car. I've still got 10,000 miles left to drive on the BMW lease, but I've hardly touched it since I got the Porsche. I'm no expert on driving dynamics, but it feels like a nicely balanced thing to drive. In short, I just love driving it, and look forward to every journey. Whilst the BMW is a competent all rounder, I just never got that same feeling.
It's been fitted with a modern sat nav. It has bluetooth, and I'm able to play music through Apple Music, which I wasn't expecting to find on a Porsche of this vintage.
Since buying the car, I've carried out all the service jobs, plus fixed a few little things that needed doing, including: engine cover gas strut, new spoiler bellows, new cigarette lighter, gearbox oil change, and a few other bits and pieces.
I called on the Glassman to fit me a new windscreen. Anyone who's seen this craftsman fit a screen will already know about his incredible attention to detail.
The finished result is perfect.
The bmw will be returned in the new year, and the 996 will then be used as my daily transport. I drive approximately 20k miles a year. Mileage on the car is 98k miles, although the Hartech engine has only done 12k miles. So far, I'm surprisingly impressed with the cost of parts. Insurance was only £270, and tax of course only £230. I'm happy to report back on what these are like to live with day to day, if anyone's interested.
The number plate is in the process of being changed. That plate will be going back to the previous owner, with the car reverting to its original (R reg) age related plate.
It's booked in to have the door resprayed in the next week or so. It should be looking close to immaculate by then. :-)
With the lease deal on the BM approaching the last quarter, I started looking for something decent to replace it with. I considered (briefly) a Lexi ISF, an E46 M3, but decided that the real value right now is with the 996. The 997 generation 2 cars, are still a bit pricey for me. After doing some research, it was clear that a Hartech engined car would give the best peace of mind in regards to engine reliability. It was also clear that although there's very few offered for sale, when they do come up, they don't attract much of a premium (typically around £2000) over what could be a 'ticking time bomb'.
Luckily, one came up for sale not too far away from me, with a full Hartech rebuild complete with invoices and receipts, for over £11,000 worth of engine work. A quick phone chat with the seller, and I was on my way to view. Here's a couple of photos from the original advert.
The car checked out. The only disappointments being a cloudy windscreen, due to rain getting between the laminate in the corners, and a small section of paint damage due to overzealous use of a rotary polisher at some point in its life. Happy with the test drive, and after inspecting the paperwork with the attention to detail of a forensic accountant, we did a deal, with me receiving a fiver change from 13.000 of my hard earned pounds.
I'm delighted with the car. I've still got 10,000 miles left to drive on the BMW lease, but I've hardly touched it since I got the Porsche. I'm no expert on driving dynamics, but it feels like a nicely balanced thing to drive. In short, I just love driving it, and look forward to every journey. Whilst the BMW is a competent all rounder, I just never got that same feeling.
It's been fitted with a modern sat nav. It has bluetooth, and I'm able to play music through Apple Music, which I wasn't expecting to find on a Porsche of this vintage.
Since buying the car, I've carried out all the service jobs, plus fixed a few little things that needed doing, including: engine cover gas strut, new spoiler bellows, new cigarette lighter, gearbox oil change, and a few other bits and pieces.
I called on the Glassman to fit me a new windscreen. Anyone who's seen this craftsman fit a screen will already know about his incredible attention to detail.
The finished result is perfect.
The bmw will be returned in the new year, and the 996 will then be used as my daily transport. I drive approximately 20k miles a year. Mileage on the car is 98k miles, although the Hartech engine has only done 12k miles. So far, I'm surprisingly impressed with the cost of parts. Insurance was only £270, and tax of course only £230. I'm happy to report back on what these are like to live with day to day, if anyone's interested.
The number plate is in the process of being changed. That plate will be going back to the previous owner, with the car reverting to its original (R reg) age related plate.
It's booked in to have the door resprayed in the next week or so. It should be looking close to immaculate by then. :-)
Really can't stop looking at these and think they are such good value. For me I'd have to go for one with a rebuilt engine though, I couldn't stomach (nor afford) to run one without with it ticking away.
That looks lovely too in black, I think they are ageing very well and will see decent price rises in the next few years IMHO so enjoy the free motoring
That looks lovely too in black, I think they are ageing very well and will see decent price rises in the next few years IMHO so enjoy the free motoring
Cheers chaps. Yeah, I think history will be kinder to the 996 than the current general feeling towards them. They're in that kind of no mans land at the moment; Too old to be considered 'in vogue', and yet not old enough to be considered a classic. I remember this happening with the 964. These will come good again. I'm actually really starting to like the looks of the thing, even the runny egg headlights. Anyway, regardless of what they look like, they are lovely cars to drive.
The head unit was £600 just over a year ago. A tasteful modification, which makes it quite useable as a daily car.
The head unit was £600 just over a year ago. A tasteful modification, which makes it quite useable as a daily car.
I think you've done a good thing there. I would not mind a Hartech engined 996 myself, and if I ever get bored with my old 944 turbo then I can see one of these as the replacement.
Who is the Glassman, and how can I find him? I am very wary of letting the usual franchise windscreen mobs anywhere near my cars.
Who is the Glassman, and how can I find him? I am very wary of letting the usual franchise windscreen mobs anywhere near my cars.
You'll find a lot of love for the Glassman on PH. His company is http://www.glasstecauto.co.uk/.
It was interesting to watch the full process, and to see the detailed preparation that goes into fitting a screen. I probably could've tried to go through my insurance, but I didn't want one of the national chains working on my car. Once Paul started working on it, and I could see exactly what was involved, I was glad that I got him to do the job.
It was interesting to watch the full process, and to see the detailed preparation that goes into fitting a screen. I probably could've tried to go through my insurance, but I didn't want one of the national chains working on my car. Once Paul started working on it, and I could see exactly what was involved, I was glad that I got him to do the job.
what model is the stereo as been looking at a decent upgrade for my 996 and only one I've liked so far was an apple biased one and I'm an android man really
so interested to hear if any illumination can be made oe lighting colours etc
also quite interested in the Porsche labelled surround as couldn't find one of those when I was looking?
so interested to hear if any illumination can be made oe lighting colours etc
also quite interested in the Porsche labelled surround as couldn't find one of those when I was looking?
Nice work, I hope you enjoy.
Just more for your information, and not wishing to dull your excitement - but pre-2001 facelift Tiptronics were fitted with the ZF 5HP19 gearbox, with the later cars being fitted with a Mercedes box (for a very good reason...)
The ZF 5HP gearbox is basically not fit for purpose. It's a weak unit, and often develops faults. I owned a 2000 996 C4 with a ZF, and over four years and 40,000 miles, it was removed and re-fitted to the car 7 times. It just kept failing - and I wasn't doing trackdays or anything either.
I may well have had a particular lemon - but after the first four or five repairs, I finally found a proper specialist in Luton, who used to look after all the gearboxes in the Palmersport 996 Tips. He helped to develop mods and different software maps.
Even with his expertise, it still kept causing problems - and basically from the word go he told me to get rid of the thing whilst it was working, because he eventually realised how poor the unit was. I have to say, every time I visited him his workshop was filled mainly with other 996's and Audi RS6's, which also use the same box.
If your car is ok and you want to keep it - then at the very least, PLEASE observe regular servicing on the gearbox. Get the oil and filter changed regularly, and just try to go easy on it as much as possible. If you do drive the car like you stole it (like I wanted to with mine) then you may well get problems.
I hope this helps.
Just more for your information, and not wishing to dull your excitement - but pre-2001 facelift Tiptronics were fitted with the ZF 5HP19 gearbox, with the later cars being fitted with a Mercedes box (for a very good reason...)
The ZF 5HP gearbox is basically not fit for purpose. It's a weak unit, and often develops faults. I owned a 2000 996 C4 with a ZF, and over four years and 40,000 miles, it was removed and re-fitted to the car 7 times. It just kept failing - and I wasn't doing trackdays or anything either.
I may well have had a particular lemon - but after the first four or five repairs, I finally found a proper specialist in Luton, who used to look after all the gearboxes in the Palmersport 996 Tips. He helped to develop mods and different software maps.
Even with his expertise, it still kept causing problems - and basically from the word go he told me to get rid of the thing whilst it was working, because he eventually realised how poor the unit was. I have to say, every time I visited him his workshop was filled mainly with other 996's and Audi RS6's, which also use the same box.
If your car is ok and you want to keep it - then at the very least, PLEASE observe regular servicing on the gearbox. Get the oil and filter changed regularly, and just try to go easy on it as much as possible. If you do drive the car like you stole it (like I wanted to with mine) then you may well get problems.
I hope this helps.
The unit is a Kenwood DNX7210 BT.
I thought that the Porsche logo looked a bit scruffy, so I've since removed it.
Music streaming and phone functions all work well. I'm not sure if it's possible to get artwork or track titles to appear though.
I thought that the Porsche logo looked a bit scruffy, so I've since removed it.
Music streaming and phone functions all work well. I'm not sure if it's possible to get artwork or track titles to appear though.
Edited by Rocketsocks on Friday 31st July 21:47
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