Buying Dliema 99 33k or 00 46k

[m_springham]

Hi,

I have had 2 cars inspected by a Porsche specialist garage and one by an apparent specialist Porsche mobile inspector.

I would appreciate anyone’s opinion on which car would be the better buy, I intend to buy one of the cars tomorrow.

Car 1

X / 2000 - Porsche 911 2wd - 46,000 miles, dark blue

Inspection reported

Leak from rear main seal

vibration from engine evident in cock pit and at low speed

due a major service

aircon not blowing cold

nail in rear tyre

This car is over wise immaculate with brand new tyres and virtually new discs on the front

mixture of Porsche main dealer and non Porsche history

The inspector recommended that the car was a god buy and in good condition for its age.

Tax

Price £24,500

Car 2

T / 1999 - Porsche 911 2wd - 33,000 miles sliver

Inspection reported

Leak from rear main seal

vibration from engine evident in cock pit at idle and slow speed

original brakes are OK, legal tyres

body work is fine

No Tax

The supposed inspector (that cost me £270) advised me not to buy the car based on the vibration from the cockpit, however I have since found out the inspector isn’t a Porsche specialist. I have now test driven about 6 or 7 cars between 98 and 00. All cars have had a cockpit vibration to a lesser or greater degree.

When inspected the car was due a major service, it has now had a full service with Porsche, the owner has increased his asking amount to £24,000

[woogie]

what is this cockpit vibration all about? i have a 996 (2000) and i have no vibrations?

[m_springham]

I have been told that the vibration that runs through the car is normal, it certainly has been in all of the cars I have looked at. Its not a significant vibration, it generally shows most at idle and pull away, seeming to come direct from the engine.

Is this not normal?

[woogie]

m_springham said:

I have been told that the vibration that runs through the car is normal, it certainly has been in all of the cars I have looked at. Its not a significant vibration, it generally shows most at idle and pull away, seeming to come direct from the engine.

Is this not normal?

Only ever driven mine and I have no vibation so not sure if it's normal but I prefer it without .

[sleep envy]

if you find a flat 6 which doesn't vibrate at standstill, turn the key to position 3 abd release when it catches

they all do that due to the piston layout

[m_springham]

so its normal to feel vibrations through the seats etc?

[sleep envy]

[997gt3]

m_springham said:

Hi,

I would appreciate anyone’s opinion on which car would be the better buy, I intend to buy one of the cars tomorrow.

IMO, (and you may not like it), I wouldn't bother with either! What's the rush? If you can wait a couple of months you may have a bigger budget and they could be more cars available.

For 6 year old Porsches those two dont sound ideal.

If i HAD to chose one, then the first.

[2something]

Do you have the service history for both of them in detail ?

There are a couple of threads in the last month or so on what constitutes a full service history ...

[Dr S]

997gt3 said:

m_springham said:

Hi,

I would appreciate anyone’s opinion on which car would be the better buy, I intend to buy one of the cars tomorrow.

IMO, (and you may not like it), I wouldn't bother with either! What's the rush? If you can wait a couple of months you may have a bigger budget and they could be more cars available.

For 6 year old Porsches those two dont sound ideal.

If i HAD to chose one, then the first.

Would second this view. They appear to have quite a bit of issues and the prices don't look like on a "can't refuse to buy it" level

[ballcock]

Car one will probably cost the guts of £2k to put right on the rms and a/c front (OPC prices).
If you can agree a price with the seller to include these items and then put it on an OPC warranty , you'll have a good value '00 imo.



My 996 also has engine vibration at idle .. Seems to happen more when the oil is warm and the engine is idling lower... Adds to the whole experience really.

[woogie]

ballcock said:

Car one will probably cost the guts of £2k to put right on the rms and a/c front (OPC prices).
If you can agree a price with the seller to include these items and then put it on an OPC warranty , you'll have a good value '00 imo.



My 996 also has engine vibration at idle .. Seems to happen more when the oil is warm and the engine is idling lower... Adds to the whole experience really.

weird that I have no vibration at all , must be a problem, I best take it to the OPC and complain

[jamesb300]

ballcock said:

Car one will probably cost the guts of £2k to put right on the rms and a/c front (OPC prices).
If you can agree a price with the seller to include these items and then put it on an OPC warranty , you'll have a good value '00 imo.



My 996 also has engine vibration at idle .. Seems to happen more when the oil is warm and the engine is idling lower... Adds to the whole experience really.

I'd definitely be wary of the first for the reasons that ballcock highlights. You should definitely ask around at independent dealers (or OPC) to see what you are letting yourself in for with that aircon problem. Plus the major service and RMS means you will probably end up throwing another couple of grand at the car and suddenly its become a £26-27K car. There's a big choice around this price level.

James.

[kayc]

Both cars appear to be very poorly looked after and i wouldnt buy either,imho of course.

[supermono]

Interesting that both have rear main seal issues. I wonder if you can buy an ordinary carrera which isn't peeing out oil or about to start doing so.

I honestly don't think so.

When matey at my local OPC was trying to sell me a 997 C2S I said I don't think so -- RMS issues are too dear/too much of a worry. And he looked -- with a straight face -- to the service girl and asked how many 997s have been back with RMS, none she said.

If that's true they must have cracked it. But too risky on 996s especially early ones where there are (arguably) other engine issues.

SM

[jamesson]

I'm sure there was a thread a while back about a 997 with only a couple of thousand miles on it with RMS issues. There are bound to be a few, even if it's not the same as 996 levels.

Regarding the original question, I agree with others who say neither sound especially appealing. Wait for something better to come along.

[diesel130]

The RMS isn't a big deal if you have a warrantee ... mine's just passed its inspection and didn't have any leaks (mechanic showed my underneath it too).