(Tidy) 997 911s for ~£20K. Buy or no buy?

[daveofedinburgh]

As per the title, sensible miles and good history 997s hanging around the £20K mark. It may be my imagination, but these weren't as abundant at this price point a year ago...

I'm well versed in the potential cost/ bork involved in 911 ownership, but can't shake the feeling that this can't be a terrible place to put £20K if your after this kind of car.

Interested to know if PHers would agree that these are a buy if you can sneak one at ~£20K- would they rather spend afew £K more for a (perceived?) lower risk 997, or even afew £K less for a loved 996?

Or should I just buy an M3 and forget the whole damn thing?

[Second Best]

I had a 997.1 that was about to grenade it's engine after 12k of not-entirely smooth running. A friend had a 997.1 that did grenade it's engine.

I had a couple of similarly priced M cars which were good as gold.

I'd pick the BMW every day. Just down to personal experience. YRMV.

[PorkRind]

Id not touch a 996 or 997 unless it was a turbo or gt3/gt2, the other engines arent worth the gamble id say, and dont produce that much power per litre / torque per litre as more interesting cars..

[Belle427]

I have the same thoughts as the 911 is a boyhood wall poster car for me that i can now afford.
I dont think id risk buying one with a problematic engine, even if it had been rebuilt, but i cant see an issue if its had a reputable rebuild.
The 997/2 im led to believe does not have these problems but you pay a lot more for one.
As much as i love Bmw M cars if i had the choice between the two it would be the 911 all day long.

[CraigJ]

If you are well read on the potential issues and are happy with a small risk then go for it.

I bought my second 911 in 2014 after owning a 996 3.4 for 18 months. I went for a 997 C2S.
Was a fantastic car and i do miss it. Apart from a bit of a tidy up it was a great car with no engine issues. When i sold it to start my company a year later the new owner paid for a PPI at Strasse Leeds and they found no problems. They did a bore scope check and all was found to be good. Mileage was mid 70's.




Edit to add, i paid 19k for mine in 2014 and sold it for 19k in 2015.
I replaced the exhaust boxes (common failure) as they rot around the seams and blow. second hand of ebay. cost a few hundred quid.
set of tyres
oil pressure sender, was about £40 from porsche

I'm on the look again right now but we have a 16 month old Daughter so need a bit more space but a 997 is still on the list but a Maserati GranTurismo is just above it.

Edited by CraigJ on Thursday 18th October 08:37

[rustyuk]

£20k is right at the bottom end for a 997. Not sure I would risk it without a PPI

[Sebba]

I was also thinking about this.....I agree with others - I think if you know the potential issues and have budgeted for it then it makes sense but my question tilts slightly differently....

If you had a budget for potential repairs etc, would you be better off using the difference (& probably a touch more) and getting a 997.2 which is supposedly more reliable and has better build quality -

It's a tough one -

Get the 997.2 which is supposedly a better car/build/reliable with a fresher feel or
Get the 997.1 and mod if when it goes wrong to be a better car?

[ZX10R NIN]

If you'd be happy with a 3.6 then the bork issues are lessened significantly, also add a K&N air filter & the throttle response improves, you're also more likely to find a well looked after one, if you can live with an auto then you'll find some very good low mileage examples.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Auto

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Paddymcc]

Owned a 3.6 version approx 6years ago and ran it for almost a year. Bought it with 40k ish miles and it was 6yr old at the time.

Drove nicely however they werent the quickest things in the world. This had been serviced by Porsche regularly and one thing that annoyed me for a supposedly premium product was the quality of certain things. Coil packs exposed to the road, coil pack heat sheids rusted through, exhaust system that basically needed all gaskets/brackets/bolts replaced, window mechanism that snapped a couple of months into ownership. Once i had restored it back to its full glory a couple of months later i noticed oil weeping from a chain tensioner crush washer, again exposed on the road side. Pig of a job to do correctly.

Even back then too the radio/headunit system was really dated.

Compared to the E46 M3 i had at the same time for 4 years i experienced a failed power steering pump.

About 11 months into ownership i couldnt be arsed with the niggles and sold it on. They do look great though in guards red

[davek_964]

Paddymcc said:

...Even back then too the radio/headunit system was really dated.

That is a real annoyance of mine with Porsche - they always seem to be about 5 years behind the stuff you'd get in a Nissan Micra.