PH made me do it - the "Cheap" 911
Discussion
Do you ever wonder whether PH is exerting too much influence over your life?
Anyone frequenting this site over the last year or so will have seen countless discussions about the merits and pitfalls of buying a 996-era 911. There was even a PH buyer's guide:
www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-guides/pors...
All of this has been playing on my mind recently, until the itch got to a point where it just needed scratching.
So putting aside all thoughts of catastophic IMS failure, cylinder cracking, D-chunking, and leaky oil seals I started to look for the mythical cheap 911.
My personal perspective is that, while it is technically possible to buy a 996 for around £10k, you don't half have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one! The problem is that they have fallen out of the bottom of the Porsche specialists and into the hands of the cheaper-end "prestige" car dealers who may have some mid-range Mercs, Beemers and Range Rovers in stock and have somehow got their hands on a 911. These guys don't really care about the car and certainly aren't catering for the keen-eyed enthusiast. Most of them are just trying to move the cars on to unsuspecting punters so aren't particularly scrupulous about ensuring they have bullet-proof service histories and they don't appreciate the 101 detailed questions asked by a clued-up buyer.
The other main source is the private market. This is split between the keen enthusiasts with hundresds of receipts and the above mentioned unwary punters who got lumbered with a smokey dog of car they don't know how to look after.
Wading your way through all these possibilities is time-consuming and occaisionally quite disheartening. There are some real dogs out there - all very optimistically described. I was really starting to wonder if I was going to find anything half-decent.
Then I stumbled across this:
Advertised at an independent Porsche specialist a couple of weeks ago. The dealer mentioned that he hardly deals in any 996s these days because he struggles to find good ones. However, he'd been servicing this one for the last 5 years or so and had just taken it in part-ex for a 997.
So at last I'd found one with a fantastically comprehensive service history. It's been serviced every 12 months for pretty much it's whole 18 year life. 89,000 miles, but with a new engine (fitted at Porshce main dealer) at 56,000 miles. Sports suspension, sports seats, LSD (very rare), extended leather and all in fantastic condition. Here are a few more pictures (all from the dealers website I'm afraid - I've been too busy driving for the last couple of days to take pictures!).
And the price? Well let's just say "12-and-a-bit". Nothing close to £10k came up that looked half decent to me, and this one is by far the best that I saw. I'm happy with the price.
And how does it drive? Bloody marvellous! The engine pulls really smoothly and makes a hell of a noise when you properly get up it. It's my first 6 cylinder, my first boxer and my first car over about 160hp so it feels intergalactically fast. Steering is light and precise and the brakes, although they need a bit of a shove bring the car up pretty briskly.
My conclusion - if you have loads of time and patience and don't mind dealing with countless clueless tossers you might find a decent 911 for ten grand. Otherwise be prepared to pay a bit more for the right car.
Apologies for getting carried away with the word-count and thanks for reading!
Anyone frequenting this site over the last year or so will have seen countless discussions about the merits and pitfalls of buying a 996-era 911. There was even a PH buyer's guide:
www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-guides/pors...
All of this has been playing on my mind recently, until the itch got to a point where it just needed scratching.
So putting aside all thoughts of catastophic IMS failure, cylinder cracking, D-chunking, and leaky oil seals I started to look for the mythical cheap 911.
My personal perspective is that, while it is technically possible to buy a 996 for around £10k, you don't half have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one! The problem is that they have fallen out of the bottom of the Porsche specialists and into the hands of the cheaper-end "prestige" car dealers who may have some mid-range Mercs, Beemers and Range Rovers in stock and have somehow got their hands on a 911. These guys don't really care about the car and certainly aren't catering for the keen-eyed enthusiast. Most of them are just trying to move the cars on to unsuspecting punters so aren't particularly scrupulous about ensuring they have bullet-proof service histories and they don't appreciate the 101 detailed questions asked by a clued-up buyer.
The other main source is the private market. This is split between the keen enthusiasts with hundresds of receipts and the above mentioned unwary punters who got lumbered with a smokey dog of car they don't know how to look after.
Wading your way through all these possibilities is time-consuming and occaisionally quite disheartening. There are some real dogs out there - all very optimistically described. I was really starting to wonder if I was going to find anything half-decent.
Then I stumbled across this:
Advertised at an independent Porsche specialist a couple of weeks ago. The dealer mentioned that he hardly deals in any 996s these days because he struggles to find good ones. However, he'd been servicing this one for the last 5 years or so and had just taken it in part-ex for a 997.
So at last I'd found one with a fantastically comprehensive service history. It's been serviced every 12 months for pretty much it's whole 18 year life. 89,000 miles, but with a new engine (fitted at Porshce main dealer) at 56,000 miles. Sports suspension, sports seats, LSD (very rare), extended leather and all in fantastic condition. Here are a few more pictures (all from the dealers website I'm afraid - I've been too busy driving for the last couple of days to take pictures!).
And the price? Well let's just say "12-and-a-bit". Nothing close to £10k came up that looked half decent to me, and this one is by far the best that I saw. I'm happy with the price.
And how does it drive? Bloody marvellous! The engine pulls really smoothly and makes a hell of a noise when you properly get up it. It's my first 6 cylinder, my first boxer and my first car over about 160hp so it feels intergalactically fast. Steering is light and precise and the brakes, although they need a bit of a shove bring the car up pretty briskly.
My conclusion - if you have loads of time and patience and don't mind dealing with countless clueless tossers you might find a decent 911 for ten grand. Otherwise be prepared to pay a bit more for the right car.
Apologies for getting carried away with the word-count and thanks for reading!
).Welcome to the 996 club. PH made me do it too!
I too recently searched for and eventually bought a 996 C2 manual. They are a lot harder to find than I thought they would be.
How does it feel after your lightweight sports cars?
Will you be tracking it? I track mine and haven't seen anyone else out in a 996 as yet. I am enjoying how friendly it is out on track and the power is very sufficient. Great engine (common issues aside).
I too recently searched for and eventually bought a 996 C2 manual. They are a lot harder to find than I thought they would be.
How does it feel after your lightweight sports cars?
Will you be tracking it? I track mine and haven't seen anyone else out in a 996 as yet. I am enjoying how friendly it is out on track and the power is very sufficient. Great engine (common issues aside).
Given the title I was expecting the silver Tiptronic with the brown interior.
Within the month before that I did a quick search on eBay and it found a silver RWD 996 with LSD and sunroof that had been serviced at Hartech, but hadn't had a Hartech rebuilt motor for about £10K.
I'll follow your ownership experience with interest.
Within the month before that I did a quick search on eBay and it found a silver RWD 996 with LSD and sunroof that had been serviced at Hartech, but hadn't had a Hartech rebuilt motor for about £10K.
I'll follow your ownership experience with interest.
jimbobs said:
Do you ever wonder whether PH is exerting too much influence over your life?
For me it's more like Chris Harris said:http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/te...
But yes, the reason I was searching flat 6 Boxsters and 911s on eBay a few months back was the £3K Boxster thread and all the useful information in that and subsequent threads.
Tiger Tim said:
Now go watch the beginning of Gone in 60 Seconds.
I've never seen it so have just watched the opening sequence.Edited by carinaman on Monday 9th February 23:29
parmley said:
Welcome to the 996 club. PH made me do it too!
I too recently searched for and eventually bought a 996 C2 manual. They are a lot harder to find than I thought they would be.
How does it feel after your lightweight sports cars?
Will you be tracking it? I track mine and haven't seen anyone else out in a 996 as yet. I am enjoying how friendly it is out on track and the power is very sufficient. Great engine (common issues aside).
It's amazing how the number of hits in the PH classifieds rapidly dwindles when you filter out "tiptronic", "C4" and "Cabriolet" - the C2 coupe manual driver was vey much in the minority in the late 90s!I too recently searched for and eventually bought a 996 C2 manual. They are a lot harder to find than I thought they would be.
How does it feel after your lightweight sports cars?
Will you be tracking it? I track mine and haven't seen anyone else out in a 996 as yet. I am enjoying how friendly it is out on track and the power is very sufficient. Great engine (common issues aside).
I will do the odd trackday, but it'll be more like one or two a year compared to the 5 or 6 a year I've done previously. My main priority is to keep this car looking and driving spot-on so I'll shortly be researching "IMS upgrade" options in detail.
The main difference i've noticed so far is under braking - I'm definitely conscious of the weight moving around. I think it'll take me a little while to get full confident on the brakes...
Love it mate.....sounds like you've got a corker there 
I had a 98 C2 back in 02 that had the dreaded IMS fail out of warranty, a horrendous experience and I promised myself I wouldn't go near a 996 again. However I enjoyed it so very much that I find myself inexplicably drawn back to them and I'm trying to nail down a good 996 C2/4S/Turbo or E90 M3. I think with a good history and a new engine or Hartech rebuild you can't go too far wrong, enjoy
I had a 98 C2 back in 02 that had the dreaded IMS fail out of warranty, a horrendous experience and I promised myself I wouldn't go near a 996 again. However I enjoyed it so very much that I find myself inexplicably drawn back to them and I'm trying to nail down a good 996 C2/4S/Turbo or E90 M3. I think with a good history and a new engine or Hartech rebuild you can't go too far wrong, enjoy
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