1998 Porsche 996
Discussion
So been looking at replacing my current weekend car a E46 M3.
And test drove a early 3.4 996, I enjoyed the test drive and it’s sitting on the list as a contender.
However the car I drove was a Cat S, it had 90k miles and full history. I have photos of the damage which does only look like panel damage, however I believe being a Cat S means there was some structural damage.
No IMS has been carried out, but has a very comprehensive service history
I’m finding it hard to place a value on what I should pay, does anyone have an idea on what would a decent price to pay?
And test drove a early 3.4 996, I enjoyed the test drive and it’s sitting on the list as a contender.
However the car I drove was a Cat S, it had 90k miles and full history. I have photos of the damage which does only look like panel damage, however I believe being a Cat S means there was some structural damage.
No IMS has been carried out, but has a very comprehensive service history
I’m finding it hard to place a value on what I should pay, does anyone have an idea on what would a decent price to pay?
I'm sorry I can't help with Porsche values, but would say that although Cat S is supposed to relate to cars that have Structural damage in reality it just seems to mean some call-centre operative has been told to classify it that way! (Cat N or S only began in October 2017).
I worked in the Motor Insurance claims industry in the late 70s/80s and early 90s and every car that was a potential total loss was physically inspected by an in-house engineer or a qualified independent firm, and plenty of the claims handlers were petrolheads like me. Whereas now they are on minimum wage and drive cr*p like 1.0 litre Seats Arosas, Kia Piccantos, etc. And have no interest in or knowledge of cars.
A relative of mine had a bump in a BMW E46 in 2018 and based on a couple of phone photos the call-centre of the insurer (with a high Naval ranking) decided it was Cat S when the only panels it needed were a bolt on front wing and a bonnet. There was absolutely no structural damage so it should have been Cat N, but the insurer wouldn't budge and wasn't prepared to pay out until that issue was resolved so as my relative couldn't afford to get into a prolonged debate about that their "guess" was accepted.
Anyway the salvage was bought back and fixed with a few quid to spare, and while the replacement bonnet was bought used on Ebay the repair included a new wing for the other side as it was also rusty and a complete front end respray.
This doesn't look structural to me:-
But sadly having a Cat S marker will always affect any future value so unless you plan to keep it forever you probably don't want to pay much more than 50% of a "clean" one.
I worked in the Motor Insurance claims industry in the late 70s/80s and early 90s and every car that was a potential total loss was physically inspected by an in-house engineer or a qualified independent firm, and plenty of the claims handlers were petrolheads like me. Whereas now they are on minimum wage and drive cr*p like 1.0 litre Seats Arosas, Kia Piccantos, etc. And have no interest in or knowledge of cars.
A relative of mine had a bump in a BMW E46 in 2018 and based on a couple of phone photos the call-centre of the insurer (with a high Naval ranking) decided it was Cat S when the only panels it needed were a bolt on front wing and a bonnet. There was absolutely no structural damage so it should have been Cat N, but the insurer wouldn't budge and wasn't prepared to pay out until that issue was resolved so as my relative couldn't afford to get into a prolonged debate about that their "guess" was accepted.
Anyway the salvage was bought back and fixed with a few quid to spare, and while the replacement bonnet was bought used on Ebay the repair included a new wing for the other side as it was also rusty and a complete front end respray.
This doesn't look structural to me:-
But sadly having a Cat S marker will always affect any future value so unless you plan to keep it forever you probably don't want to pay much more than 50% of a "clean" one.
Edited by Mr Tidy on Saturday 11th July 23:47
Well this one matches your description and is £11k. 
It’s a good spec and the description suggests it’s all together. If it was non cat S I’d guess at £13k-£15k depending on what really needs doing. One sold recently at £13k, similar spec, suggesting the one above is priced reasonably.
C2 manual coupes are the most desirable spec (personal of course but that’s what the market wants most). The early 3.4s have gathered quite a following and they aren’t making any more. There is an unwritten rule that the 996 is a £20k car. That’s what you’ll pay for one needing nothing, or put into one in total to get it up to scratch. There’s a lot to check for on these, and putting things right, even DIY, takes its toll. Rust, brake pipes, a/c, suspension wear and a pesky thing called an Air Oil Separator (AOS) are all candidates at 20 years / 100k miles. Then there’s wear and tear and items like clutch and brakes.
I can’t recommend or not a cat S car. Personally I feel there’s enough to worry about without adding the standard of a previous repair and the stigma when it comes to sell, but if it’s cheap it could be a good owner/driver. I’d say - all else being equal - £11k is a reasonable starting point, £10k would be better £8k would be a steal.
Keep us updated!
It’s a good spec and the description suggests it’s all together. If it was non cat S I’d guess at £13k-£15k depending on what really needs doing. One sold recently at £13k, similar spec, suggesting the one above is priced reasonably.
C2 manual coupes are the most desirable spec (personal of course but that’s what the market wants most). The early 3.4s have gathered quite a following and they aren’t making any more. There is an unwritten rule that the 996 is a £20k car. That’s what you’ll pay for one needing nothing, or put into one in total to get it up to scratch. There’s a lot to check for on these, and putting things right, even DIY, takes its toll. Rust, brake pipes, a/c, suspension wear and a pesky thing called an Air Oil Separator (AOS) are all candidates at 20 years / 100k miles. Then there’s wear and tear and items like clutch and brakes.
I can’t recommend or not a cat S car. Personally I feel there’s enough to worry about without adding the standard of a previous repair and the stigma when it comes to sell, but if it’s cheap it could be a good owner/driver. I’d say - all else being equal - £11k is a reasonable starting point, £10k would be better £8k would be a steal.
Keep us updated!
griffter said:
Well this one matches your description and is £11k.
It’s a good spec and the description suggests it’s all together. If it was non cat S I’d guess at £13k-£15k depending on what really needs doing. One sold recently at £13k, similar spec, suggesting the one above is priced reasonably.
C2 manual coupes are the most desirable spec (personal of course but that’s what the market wants most). The early 3.4s have gathered quite a following and they aren’t making any more. There is an unwritten rule that the 996 is a £20k car. That’s what you’ll pay for one needing nothing, or put into one in total to get it up to scratch. There’s a lot to check for on these, and putting things right, even DIY, takes its toll. Rust, brake pipes, a/c, suspension wear and a pesky thing called an Air Oil Separator (AOS) are all candidates at 20 years / 100k miles. Then there’s wear and tear and items like clutch and brakes.
I can’t recommend or not a cat S car. Personally I feel there’s enough to worry about without adding the standard of a previous repair and the stigma when it comes to sell, but if it’s cheap it could be a good owner/driver. I’d say - all else being equal - £11k is a reasonable starting point, £10k would be better £8k would be a steal.
Keep us updated!
That is indeed the very car in question. It’s a good spec and the description suggests it’s all together. If it was non cat S I’d guess at £13k-£15k depending on what really needs doing. One sold recently at £13k, similar spec, suggesting the one above is priced reasonably.
C2 manual coupes are the most desirable spec (personal of course but that’s what the market wants most). The early 3.4s have gathered quite a following and they aren’t making any more. There is an unwritten rule that the 996 is a £20k car. That’s what you’ll pay for one needing nothing, or put into one in total to get it up to scratch. There’s a lot to check for on these, and putting things right, even DIY, takes its toll. Rust, brake pipes, a/c, suspension wear and a pesky thing called an Air Oil Separator (AOS) are all candidates at 20 years / 100k miles. Then there’s wear and tear and items like clutch and brakes.
I can’t recommend or not a cat S car. Personally I feel there’s enough to worry about without adding the standard of a previous repair and the stigma when it comes to sell, but if it’s cheap it could be a good owner/driver. I’d say - all else being equal - £11k is a reasonable starting point, £10k would be better £8k would be a steal.
Keep us updated!
I did notice some rust appearing on the under which adds to my thinking.
I've been looking at these myself over the last couple of weeks, with a view to trying to gauge the market, read up on the issues they have etc, I'm sure you will have done the same but my personal opinion given the no trace of IMS replacement, Cat S etc I would say it's a 10k car at the most and as someone said above I'd want to have a strong cash reserve to want to put into it.
If you are capable of doing your own work it may well be worth a punt but otherwise I'd be looking to spend more on a good one, I think the market probably will go up on the 996 but a Cat S will struggle to keep up however good the repairs maybe
If you are capable of doing your own work it may well be worth a punt but otherwise I'd be looking to spend more on a good one, I think the market probably will go up on the 996 but a Cat S will struggle to keep up however good the repairs maybe
Jamescrs said:
I've been looking at these myself over the last couple of weeks, with a view to trying to gauge the market, read up on the issues they have etc, I'm sure you will have done the same but my personal opinion given the no trace of IMS replacement, Cat S etc I would say it's a 10k car at the most and as someone said above I'd want to have a strong cash reserve to want to put into it.
If you are capable of doing your own work it may well be worth a punt but otherwise I'd be looking to spend more on a good one, I think the market probably will go up on the 996 but a Cat S will struggle to keep up however good the repairs maybe
Yeh I do think you are right, although I believe the early 3.4 have a dual bearing, which is apparently more robust than the later 3.6 which only had a single. If you are capable of doing your own work it may well be worth a punt but otherwise I'd be looking to spend more on a good one, I think the market probably will go up on the 996 but a Cat S will struggle to keep up however good the repairs maybe
But yeh these appear to bit a bit of a chocolate engine, with warped cylinder, bore scoring (I think later model again) and de chunking, I think just them would stop me enjoying ownership then couple that with it being a Cat S.
I took my M3 this afternoon and fell back in love with it, so think I’ve decided to keep it, maybe make some changes to it, to freshen it up and get me excited about it again
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