what is an 'early' 3.4 996?

[Chris Stott]

My Indy wire brushes my brake pipes each service and greases them to prevent corrosion. Still original and never been flagged.

Brake pipe over the engine was inspected a couple of years ago when they dropped the engine... surprisingly still in good condition!

[deckster]

porkey said:

Judging the majority of posts it seems that the average budget for one of these cars is about £15k or so. At that price point I would expect the car not to be perfect and need some sort of work, whether mechanical or cosmetic, depending on how fussy you are.

Agree entirely - it's been a truism for some time that the 996 is a £20k car. Buying at £15k with a £5k repair budget will see you in a decently sorted car very quickly. Buying at £15k and expecting to not have to spend money for a couple of years just isn't realistic.

[MarcusPD]

I'm seeing some well maintained early 996's in the £15K bracket, but so far, none have ticked all boxes with regards to colour or distance.
The best ones seem to be linked or advertised on here.

It'll happen or I'll have to up my budget or lower my want list. To be honest, I definitely want a manual, but am not too fussed about it being a less popular C4, having a sun roof or even being a cabrio. All of these makes them less desirable than the general consensus of the usual want list of early C2 Coupe with no sunroof.

It's only a long term hobby toy for me, so I'm not in too much of a rush. I'm sure one will pop up soon, if not I'll change approach slightly.
I need something to do though, because the campervan is complete and the 4 bikes are nearly finished restoration, one of which will be sold soon to add to the fund. There are normally only ever 2 or 3 of this bike up for sale at any one time, but lock down has seen a few people like me restore them to keep busy, so there are 5 or 6 decent ones for sale at the moment. I'll wait for these to sell first.

[M5 London]

Hey Guys,

Any London guys or girls on here please?

Looking for some recommendations for a Porsche Specialist to have a look at my newly acquired car. Sort of want a post purchase inspection , to really see where I'm at and to plot a path going forwards with anything required. Yes I know I've done it all wrong.

98 C4 Coupe, Manual, Slate Grey metallic, on Black Leather (I think), and factory fitted 18" turbo twists. 77k miles and 3 previous keepers (last owner for over 11 years and who rather sadly passed away in May).

I haven't seen the car yet but the under bonnet sticker suggests interior code BL. I can't seem to find that Porsche designation online anywhere. Anyone know ?

I actually bought this car in auction. I was bidding on a nice Lapis Blue 996 Turbo Manual and got upto £31,500 and called it a day, went for £32,000 in the end..... 3 cars next was this C4 and I thought, oh what the heck, I'll buy this one. I am rational when it comes to most things in life, not so much with my cars though it seems

Thanks

Edited by M5 London on Saturday 4th July 14:42

[Chris Stott]

Congrats on the purchase!

If you can make it to Surrey, GTOne in Chertsey have looked after my car for years. Decent guys.

[TV8]

M5 London said:

Hey Guys,

Any London guys or girls on here please?

Looking for some recommendations for a Porsche Specialist to have a look at my newly acquired car. Sort of want a post purchase inspection , to really see where I'm at and to plot a path going forwards with anything required. Yes I know I've done it all wrong.

98 C4 Coupe, Manual, Slate Grey metallic, on Black Leather (I think), and factory fitted 18" turbo twists. 77k miles and 3 previous keepers (last owner for over 11 years and who rather sadly passed away in May).

I haven't seen the car yet but the under bonnet sticker suggests interior code BL. I can't seem to find that Porsche designation online anywhere. Anyone know ?

I actually bought this car in auction. I was bidding on a nice Lapis Blue 996 Turbo Manual and got upto £31,500 and called it a day, went for £32,000 in the end..... 3 cars next was this C4 and I thought, oh what the heck, I'll buy this one. I am rational when it comes to most things in life, not so much with my cars though it seems

Thanks

Edited by M5 London on Saturday 4th July 14:42

I am in south London / north Kent and have tried several of the local ones. The only one I would recommend is Precision Porsche in Uckfield. Also, join 911uk if you haven’t already done so. Lots of very helpful info on there.
Enjoy!

[M5 London]

Chris Stott said:

Congrats on the purchase!

If you can make it to Surrey, GTOne in Chertsey have looked after my car for years. Decent guys.

Thank you!

Yes interestingly I am aware of GTOne. They have been looking after my friend's 968 Sport for over 15 years now. He keeps telling me they really are a vey honest and decent bunch.

[M5 London]

TV8 said:

I am in south London / north Kent and have tried several of the local ones. The only one I would recommend is Precision Porsche in Uckfield. Also, join 911uk if you haven’t already done so. Lots of very helpful info on there.
Enjoy!

Thanks and yes I have come across Precision in some of my recent reading. I'll check them out.

Have been a lurker on 911uk for years, so will have another good look.

Also joined up with PCGB yesterday and on the FB group for 996 owners.

I am heavily invested, in terms of time and money, in BMW M cars and it's a refreshing change to be researching Porsches too now

[Speedgelb]

ATM said:

Oh no

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124241781188

Oh no indeed

Hideous light masks, mis-spaced plate, 986 bumper

[ATM]

Speedgelb said:

ATM said:

Oh no

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124241781188

Oh no indeed

Hideous light masks, mis-spaced plate, 986 bumper

I assumed the lenses were painted. Pray for no fog. And where is the front indicator?

[HughG]

I’ve put a deposit on Maxwellwd’s car subject to a pre purchase inspection, it’s a 99 Carrera 2. Hopefully Project Nine can do that next week and don’t find anything lurking. I had a good look over the car including on some ramps and in general it looks great.

It’s shod with Kuhmo ecsta 235x40x18Y and 265x40x18Y. The fronts a bit wider and the rears a bit taller than standard, but I see 235x40 is the size a 996 GT3 runs on the front.

Does anyone know where the car measures it speed from, so I know what correction is needed for the speedo?

[Smollet]

I’m bored so I thought I’d post a photo of my Lapis blue 2001 3.4 C2 manual with M030 sports suspension, Top Gear S/S 200 cell cat system, 997 gear shift, new IMS and lilac air freshener. Eat your hearts out or something like that

[Chris Stott]

HughG said:

I’ve put a deposit on Maxwellwd’s car subject to a pre purchase inspection, it’s a 99 Carrera 2. Hopefully Project Nine can do that next week and don’t find anything lurking. I had a good look over the car including on some ramps and in general it looks great.

It’s shod with Kuhmo ecsta 235x40x18Y and 265x40x18Y. The fronts a bit wider and the rears a bit taller than standard, but I see 235x40 is the size a 996 GT3 runs on the front.

Does anyone know where the car measures it speed from, so I know what correction is needed for the speedo?

Speed variance on those tyre sizes is irrelevant... There’s only around a 1% difference.

[HughG]

Chris Stott said:

Speed variance on those tyre sizes is irrelevant... There’s only around a 1% difference.

4% change in circumference on the rears by my maths. No PSM or 4wd to worry about so just the speedo if it measures from the rear.

[Chris Stott]

Just spotted the 40 profile rears... but even a 4% increase you’re speedo you’ll most likely only off set the under read.

How do the 40’s look on the rear? I’ve thought about running 265/40’s on mine to close the arch gap.

[HughG]

From the advert

[porkey]

Smollet said:

I’m bored so I thought I’d post a photo of my Lapis blue 2001 3.4 C2 manual with M030 sports suspension, Top Gear S/S 200 cell cat system, 997 gear shift, new IMS and lilac air freshener. Eat your hearts out or something like that

£15k's worth all day long.

[Chris Stott]

HughG said:

From the advert

They look ok...

My car is lowered 30mm, but I want the top of the tyre to sit right at the arch... equivalent to another 10-15mm lower, which I couldn’t do without coil overs. A 40 profile adds another 13mm of sidewall height, so would do the job. Just wondered if they might look a bit high compared to the fronts... which they don’t look to in that photo.

They are early 997 wheels, BTW.

[TV8]

M5 London said:

Thanks and yes I have come across Precision in some of my recent reading. I'll check them out.

Have been a lurker on 911uk for years, so will have another good look.

Also joined up with PCGB yesterday and on the FB group for 996 owners.

I am heavily invested, in terms of time and money, in BMW M cars and it's a refreshing change to be researching Porsches too now

It is said that Change is as good as a rest? I have been doing the older car thing for a few years and found it useful to run in parallel before changing. If you are lucky you have the space for many but I don’t, at least at the moment.

What made you join the owners club? Normally, I am a supporter of such things but not really considered this time or with the Boxster before.

[ATM]

Chris Stott said:

HughG said:

From the advert

They look ok...

My car is lowered 30mm, but I want the top of the tyre to sit right at the arch... equivalent to another 10-15mm lower, which I couldn’t do without coil overs. A 40 profile adds another 13mm of sidewall height, so would do the job. Just wondered if they might look a bit high compared to the fronts... which they don’t look to in that photo.

They are early 997 wheels, BTW.

Give it a go Chris. I think the standard rears can look a little stretched - more so in the 17. You could even go 275 40 18 as thats a common enough size so lots to choose from.