A cheap 997.1 Carrera 4S - what could go wrong?!
Discussion
I don't know if it was because I felt too financially stable, or because my 2005 Discovery 3 has been too reliable recently, but I obviously needed some stress in my life. So here it is. It's a manual, 2007 Carrera 4S with 95k miles.
I didn't have a pre-purchase inspection, it's not had an engine rebuild, it's not been bore scoped, it's got a partial service history, it's got Nankangs all round. Oh, and half of it is f
king orange.
I absolutely love it.
It was the cheapest 997 on eBay, for obvious reasons, and the seller wasn't particularly keen to engage with anyone as he was inundated with aggressive messages and felt overwhelmed. But he seemed to like me and we stayed in touch, agreed for a local friend to view it, and he eventually accepted my very low offer (based on said friend's report), and a week later I was heading from the snow-filled Midlands to the smog-filled south for a 12 hour round collection trip.
The first challenge was getting it on my drive. I couldn't. We live on a narrow, steep, non-maintained road, and I couldn't get up in the ice. (At this point, I also wasn't sure I'd be able to get up with no ice without scraping the front.) So I rang a neighbours intercom, one with whom I've never spoken to before, and asked if I could dump my car on their drive for the night. They said yes so happy days.
When everything thawed, it turned out I can just get it on my drive, so that's a relief.
Jobs done so far:
We've had a poke around and mechanically it's seems pretty sound. So the plan is to tidy it up (interior needs sorting, bumpers need spraying), and then enjoy it. I'm well aware a ruinous bill could be lurking around the corner, but at the price I paid I could have a full Hartech rebuild and still break even.
Wish me luck!
I didn't have a pre-purchase inspection, it's not had an engine rebuild, it's not been bore scoped, it's got a partial service history, it's got Nankangs all round. Oh, and half of it is f
king orange.I absolutely love it.
It was the cheapest 997 on eBay, for obvious reasons, and the seller wasn't particularly keen to engage with anyone as he was inundated with aggressive messages and felt overwhelmed. But he seemed to like me and we stayed in touch, agreed for a local friend to view it, and he eventually accepted my very low offer (based on said friend's report), and a week later I was heading from the snow-filled Midlands to the smog-filled south for a 12 hour round collection trip.
The first challenge was getting it on my drive. I couldn't. We live on a narrow, steep, non-maintained road, and I couldn't get up in the ice. (At this point, I also wasn't sure I'd be able to get up with no ice without scraping the front.) So I rang a neighbours intercom, one with whom I've never spoken to before, and asked if I could dump my car on their drive for the night. They said yes so happy days.
When everything thawed, it turned out I can just get it on my drive, so that's a relief.
Jobs done so far:
- Removed orange wrap
- MOT (failed on a wheel bearing)
We've had a poke around and mechanically it's seems pretty sound. So the plan is to tidy it up (interior needs sorting, bumpers need spraying), and then enjoy it. I'm well aware a ruinous bill could be lurking around the corner, but at the price I paid I could have a full Hartech rebuild and still break even.
Wish me luck!
Nice buy, as you say, even at that price even with a rebuild you're still breaking even but with the added benefit of being able to choose where the rebuild is done. There is one at AMS Porsche that was advertised at the ebay price pre engine fix and is now £26k post engine fix and it is an auto!
Look forward to seeing pics post tango.
Look forward to seeing pics post tango.
SpunkyGlory said:
I didn't have a pre-purchase inspection, it's not had an engine rebuild, it's not been bore scoped, it's got a partial service history, it's got Nankangs all round. Oh, and half of it is fking orange.
I absolutely love it.
Feckin' brilliant. Way better than the hand wringing and bed wetting that goes on in some threads seeking reassurance on a used purchase...king orange.I absolutely love it.
jamie w said:
SpunkyGlory said:
I didn't have a pre-purchase inspection, it's not had an engine rebuild, it's not been bore scoped, it's got a partial service history, it's got Nankangs all round. Oh, and half of it is fking orange.
I absolutely love it.
Feckin' brilliant. Way better than the hand wringing and bed wetting that goes on in some threads seeking reassurance on a used purchase...king orange.I absolutely love it.
The best way to buy a money pit.
Will be following the tread, and I've just found the cheap Continental R thread so looking forward to both over the winter
That was a good buy OP.
I have a saved Porsche search, but it's only auction listings. Not that I'm in the market as far as Mrs T is concerned - 'you've got a Porsche, why do you need another one?'
I won a week in a 997 C2S on here back in 2008 - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - same silver and wheels as yours.
I have a saved Porsche search, but it's only auction listings. Not that I'm in the market as far as Mrs T is concerned - 'you've got a Porsche, why do you need another one?'
I won a week in a 997 C2S on here back in 2008 - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - same silver and wheels as yours.
Oh my word you are brave. I had a 996.2 and of course I had issues with it, in fact everyone I knew had an issue with theirs so these days I warn everyone I can about them being absolute money pits.
Every time I drove it I would genuinely be worrying what's going to go wrong next and the ownership experience was absolutely ruined for me because of that.
That said the 997.1 you have is a lovely looking thing and seems like you've done incredibly well - good shout getting rid of the random orange bits!
Every time I drove it I would genuinely be worrying what's going to go wrong next and the ownership experience was absolutely ruined for me because of that.
That said the 997.1 you have is a lovely looking thing and seems like you've done incredibly well - good shout getting rid of the random orange bits!
I have a 996.2 and it's been awesome. Nothing ever goes wrong but it has been well cared for and I ensure everything is sorted.
It's a fabulous driver's car.
People buy these cars, run them on a shoestring then complain about costs when they get a big bill..
It's a fabulous driver's car.
People buy these cars, run them on a shoestring then complain about costs when they get a big bill..
Edited by 911Spanker on Saturday 7th December 10:05
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