what is an 'early' 3.4 996?
Discussion
I’m in the market for a 996 to accompany by 2005 SLK 55, so I went to see a 1998 C2 manual without sunroof. The car had a noisy sports exhaust and the bodywork was near perfect for a 25 year old car. It also looked lowered but the owner didn't have a clue having bought it 6 years ago.
This was my first time in a Porsche 911 and the car still had some poke in it - not quite SLK 55 poke but brisk all the same.
That said, the history wasn’t what I’d call comprehensive. There was a service from 2021 that listed a whole heap of advisories (not MOT advisories) including oil and transmission oil leak. Water ingress into rear footwell, coolant leak, missing under tray, yada yada. I’m sure there was more but I kind of switched off thinking that the car wouldn’t be for me. No IMS bearing swap and 114k miles young. It was priced at £14k and is ULEZ non compliant, although that can be resolved I understand.
As one that’s always looking for deals I’m tempted to make an offer but I need to figure out the potential costs of this basket case. What do you folks thinks or is it best to look at a newer car?
This was my first time in a Porsche 911 and the car still had some poke in it - not quite SLK 55 poke but brisk all the same.
That said, the history wasn’t what I’d call comprehensive. There was a service from 2021 that listed a whole heap of advisories (not MOT advisories) including oil and transmission oil leak. Water ingress into rear footwell, coolant leak, missing under tray, yada yada. I’m sure there was more but I kind of switched off thinking that the car wouldn’t be for me. No IMS bearing swap and 114k miles young. It was priced at £14k and is ULEZ non compliant, although that can be resolved I understand.
As one that’s always looking for deals I’m tempted to make an offer but I need to figure out the potential costs of this basket case. What do you folks thinks or is it best to look at a newer car?
Not newer necessarily, but better maintained…
And don’t get hung up on the IMS… loads of cars on here with more miles than that and original IMS.
Oil could be RMS (likely one of the leaks is this)… coolant could be anything from the expansion tank to rads to coolant lines… water ingress is probably blocked drains… all of them could be relatively minor, or cost a grand a piece to fix… and if stuff like this hasn’t been addressed what else hasn’t been sorted?
And don’t get hung up on the IMS… loads of cars on here with more miles than that and original IMS.
Oil could be RMS (likely one of the leaks is this)… coolant could be anything from the expansion tank to rads to coolant lines… water ingress is probably blocked drains… all of them could be relatively minor, or cost a grand a piece to fix… and if stuff like this hasn’t been addressed what else hasn’t been sorted?
maz8062 said:
I’m in the market for a 996 to accompany by 2005 SLK 55, so I went to see a 1998 C2 manual without sunroof. The car had a noisy sports exhaust and the bodywork was near perfect for a 25 year old car. It also looked lowered but the owner didn't have a clue having bought it 6 years ago.
This was my first time in a Porsche 911 and the car still had some poke in it - not quite SLK 55 poke but brisk all the same.
That said, the history wasn’t what I’d call comprehensive. There was a service from 2021 that listed a whole heap of advisories (not MOT advisories) including oil and transmission oil leak. Water ingress into rear footwell, coolant leak, missing under tray, yada yada. I’m sure there was more but I kind of switched off thinking that the car wouldn’t be for me. No IMS bearing swap and 114k miles young. It was priced at £14k and is ULEZ non compliant, although that can be resolved I understand.
As one that’s always looking for deals I’m tempted to make an offer but I need to figure out the potential costs of this basket case. What do you folks thinks or is it best to look at a newer car?
If there was a list of advisories that haven't been done that would ring alarm bells for me, solving issues in these cars can be expensive so you want them to have been kept on top of not left. On each of them though briefly:This was my first time in a Porsche 911 and the car still had some poke in it - not quite SLK 55 poke but brisk all the same.
That said, the history wasn’t what I’d call comprehensive. There was a service from 2021 that listed a whole heap of advisories (not MOT advisories) including oil and transmission oil leak. Water ingress into rear footwell, coolant leak, missing under tray, yada yada. I’m sure there was more but I kind of switched off thinking that the car wouldn’t be for me. No IMS bearing swap and 114k miles young. It was priced at £14k and is ULEZ non compliant, although that can be resolved I understand.
As one that’s always looking for deals I’m tempted to make an offer but I need to figure out the potential costs of this basket case. What do you folks thinks or is it best to look at a newer car?
Engine oil leak - they can be dry, by equally it isn't uncommon for them to leak from the chain tensioner spring covers, spark plug tubes, and mist from the AOS bellows.
Transmission oil leak - haven't come across this.
Water ingress - the window regulators are a common failure and the door membranes should be replaced after being removed, if it isn't then they can leak into the car. I've also heard of the inner rear screen seal splitting and leaking into the car. Inner rear screen is a glass out job to replace.
Coolant leak - radiators rot at the base, a fairly easy DIY job but bleed the (huge volume) of coolant can difficult. Coolant can also leaks from the oil cooler (which is water
il and on top of the engine not accessible), but I've only heard of that on mine. Undertrays are £90-120, there are 4 in total.
My advice is to buy the best you can afford.
Mines bust a front brake pipe after it's MOT brake test, it passed the test then started dripping when pulled off the rolling road. It's the one that goes from the junction on the near side front across the car to feed the offside front and looks like the sub frame needs dropping for access. My front to backs have already been done in the past. Suppose 25 year old steel pipes are all on borrowed time.
maz8062 said:
It is ULEZ non compliant, although that can be resolved I understand.
Depends Do you mean London / TFL or the new Clean Air Zones / CAZ springing up around the UK?
I have a 1998 and also a 2001. I have the documents for both of these showing emissions from Porsche - certificate of conformity. They are very different.
Trying to keep this short but TFL seems friendly to the 2001 emissions comparing other similar cars but not friendly to the 1998 although I have not gone through the process personally with either of these cars.
CAZ is a completely separate system and they can choose a different outcome to TFL. In general i get the feeling, not sure why, that they are less friendly across the board than TFL. I did get my 986 reclassified as exempt by CAZ. This is how I learnt what I now know.
So in summary I think you might get a less positive outcome with a 1998 car but of course it's different between CAZ and TFL and you might get lucky.
Edited by ATM on Friday 21st April 18:05
So...headlights. A subject dear to the heart of many 996 owners, as in they're terrible.
I've tried a few things. New bulbs, LEDs, scoured my lenses more often than I care to count. But they're still rubbish.
So I bit the bullet and spent some money. I was quite surprised to see very little, anywhere, about Nordlicht replacement lights as they seemed to be a really good solution - drop-in, plug & play, modern lights and at a (relatively) decent price, certainly less than new Porsche units. Without any real information out there, I was a bit worried about ordering on-spec but I had to do something, as my headlights were so awful they were frankly dangerous.
Well I'm happy to report that having shelled out for replacements for my 996.2 (£2k including VAT from Design911 for two front headlamp units) they are excellent. High quality, they work exceptionally well, and genuinely drop-in replacements. It was quite honestly easier to install these that it is to replace a bulb. Take the old ones out, slot the new ones in, and you're done.
And then there's the performance. It's a cliche I know but - night and day, literally. Just no comparison. The pictures here actually make the old lights look better than they were; frequently I wasn't sure if they were actually on or not. But the new ones - so much brighter, with a crisp cut-off, and I can actually drive on dark roads again. Totally, totally worth it.
Worthless without pics, I know. So here's a few.
The old puddles. And not even that when driving.
Compared to new, proper lights
Just slot them straight in
Old, knackered
New & shiny
And, whilst I was at it, I did the rears as well. Again just dropped straight in.
So all in all, a pricey but incredibly effective upgrade. Actually being able to use the car at night is a revelation.
I've tried a few things. New bulbs, LEDs, scoured my lenses more often than I care to count. But they're still rubbish.
So I bit the bullet and spent some money. I was quite surprised to see very little, anywhere, about Nordlicht replacement lights as they seemed to be a really good solution - drop-in, plug & play, modern lights and at a (relatively) decent price, certainly less than new Porsche units. Without any real information out there, I was a bit worried about ordering on-spec but I had to do something, as my headlights were so awful they were frankly dangerous.
Well I'm happy to report that having shelled out for replacements for my 996.2 (£2k including VAT from Design911 for two front headlamp units) they are excellent. High quality, they work exceptionally well, and genuinely drop-in replacements. It was quite honestly easier to install these that it is to replace a bulb. Take the old ones out, slot the new ones in, and you're done.
And then there's the performance. It's a cliche I know but - night and day, literally. Just no comparison. The pictures here actually make the old lights look better than they were; frequently I wasn't sure if they were actually on or not. But the new ones - so much brighter, with a crisp cut-off, and I can actually drive on dark roads again. Totally, totally worth it.
Worthless without pics, I know. So here's a few.
The old puddles. And not even that when driving.
Compared to new, proper lights
Just slot them straight in
Old, knackered
New & shiny
And, whilst I was at it, I did the rears as well. Again just dropped straight in.
So all in all, a pricey but incredibly effective upgrade. Actually being able to use the car at night is a revelation.
Filibuster said:
Hippea said:
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