996 inspection results - advice please
Discussion
I have paid a deposit on 1998 996 C2, subject to inspection. I arranged for the car to have an inspection by a specialist earlier this week and I have just received the report.
There are a few things that were picked up in the report and alarm bells are ringing slightly.
1. "Issues of Primary Concern: The engine is quite wet with oil. This could be down to the air oil seperator, the spark plug tube, rocker cover it could be one and all.
The gearbox is also wet with oil that could be residue from previous mentions of faults or could include the rear main seal and intermediate shaft seal."
2. The tyres are as follows:
N/S/F 3.6 outside, 4.8 middle, 2.9 inside
O/S/F 3.8 outside, 5.3 middle, 3.4 inside
N/S/R 4.3 outside, 4.2 middle, 3.2 inside
O/S/R 4.6 outside, 4.8 middle, 4.2 inside
Does this show uneven wear and approximately how many more miles will the tyres last using normal usage (no track action)? I realise that this is subjective, but just want to check i won't have to replace the tyres in the next few thousand miles.
3. The brakes are as follows:
Front discs 28mm
Rear discs 23mm
Front pads 45% worn
Rear pads 50% worn
Is any of that cause for concern?
I realise that the car is 14 years old and therefore do not expect it to be perfect, so I am not quite so concerned about some of the other observations in the report.
I am aware that the engines on these cars have issues, but are any of the above (particularly 1) reasons not to buy the car?
I really like the car and have been offered a good part exchange on my car, but I am aware that there are plenty of 911s around although not so many good examples these days.
Thanks in advance for any help that is given.
There are a few things that were picked up in the report and alarm bells are ringing slightly.
1. "Issues of Primary Concern: The engine is quite wet with oil. This could be down to the air oil seperator, the spark plug tube, rocker cover it could be one and all.
The gearbox is also wet with oil that could be residue from previous mentions of faults or could include the rear main seal and intermediate shaft seal."
2. The tyres are as follows:
N/S/F 3.6 outside, 4.8 middle, 2.9 inside
O/S/F 3.8 outside, 5.3 middle, 3.4 inside
N/S/R 4.3 outside, 4.2 middle, 3.2 inside
O/S/R 4.6 outside, 4.8 middle, 4.2 inside
Does this show uneven wear and approximately how many more miles will the tyres last using normal usage (no track action)? I realise that this is subjective, but just want to check i won't have to replace the tyres in the next few thousand miles.
3. The brakes are as follows:
Front discs 28mm
Rear discs 23mm
Front pads 45% worn
Rear pads 50% worn
Is any of that cause for concern?
I realise that the car is 14 years old and therefore do not expect it to be perfect, so I am not quite so concerned about some of the other observations in the report.
I am aware that the engines on these cars have issues, but are any of the above (particularly 1) reasons not to buy the car?
I really like the car and have been offered a good part exchange on my car, but I am aware that there are plenty of 911s around although not so many good examples these days.
Thanks in advance for any help that is given.
Oil could well be rear main seal, when its done you should do the clutch and maybe the IMS bearing.
Brakes -expect at that age the caliper bolts will be in poor shape or seized so will need thread inserts. Then also at that age the caliper pistons will be in poor shape ie leaking seals, remember there are 16 pistons, perhaps a third might need changing!
I own a C2 98 now.
Brakes -expect at that age the caliper bolts will be in poor shape or seized so will need thread inserts. Then also at that age the caliper pistons will be in poor shape ie leaking seals, remember there are 16 pistons, perhaps a third might need changing!
I own a C2 98 now.
PaulHogan said:
IanOE said:
and alarm bells are ringing slightly.
Then walk away.You also mention you are worried about the tyres lasting more than a few thousand miles. It is a C2 911 so rear wheel drive only - you will be lucky to get another 3k miles out of the rears on those measurements
markyboy911 said:
+1
You also mention you are worried about the tyres lasting more than a few thousand miles. It is a C2 911 so rear wheel drive only - you will be lucky to get another 3k miles out of the rears on those measurements
And if you are new to 911s you must realise that the tyres especially rear (due to RWD in this model and all that engine weight) will only last a max of 10k I think - and that's if driven like a baby. So, the ones on this car are about half worn by those measurements, so you will possibly get 4-5k miles I would say.You also mention you are worried about the tyres lasting more than a few thousand miles. It is a C2 911 so rear wheel drive only - you will be lucky to get another 3k miles out of the rears on those measurements
Enough oil to be termed 'wet' would worry me. I would try to clean it off and run the engine for a bit to see where its coming from.
Tyres are completely consumable with these cars.
To be honest I have always replaced tyres and brakes if not obviously brand new, and carried out a major service after buying my cars. Good chance to inspect the parts of the car that are going to get you out of trouble on the road.
Tyres are completely consumable with these cars.
To be honest I have always replaced tyres and brakes if not obviously brand new, and carried out a major service after buying my cars. Good chance to inspect the parts of the car that are going to get you out of trouble on the road.
Thanks all for the feedback, it is all very vague about the oil leak, which is what concerns me most and is leading me to consider walking away (after getting my deposit back of course). If it was something specific that could be replaced then I'd feel happier.
With regards to the tyres, they sound okay to me, I realise that there will be consumables that will need to be replaced in the future. I don't do a great deal of miles, so they won't be needed that soon.
With regards to the tyres, they sound okay to me, I realise that there will be consumables that will need to be replaced in the future. I don't do a great deal of miles, so they won't be needed that soon.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
It was PSR Automotive that carried out the inspection and I believe that they are familiar with this type of car , I wanted to make sure that it was someone who knew with these cars to do the inspection.anonymous said:
[redacted]
I think I'll speak to them in the morning to get their opinion on it, in case there's anything more they can tell me about it.The dealer that's selling the car don't mind fixing some things on the car, but as the oil leak is quite vague at the moment it's difficult to know what to get them to fix.
If you take the decimal points off the tread depths (which are frankly not needed) then the wear doesn't look too bad but I'd always recommend a full geo at decent specialist if you want the best from the car.
The brakes show some wear - but they are a consumable part, so it's no issue.
The oil wetness warrants looking into but unless it's something really serious I'd say you have a report that's better than average for a 98 996 and you could spend a lot of money on inspections (not to mention your own time viewing etc) before finding something that comes up better, and all the while you won't have a 911 to enjoy.
The brakes show some wear - but they are a consumable part, so it's no issue.
The oil wetness warrants looking into but unless it's something really serious I'd say you have a report that's better than average for a 98 996 and you could spend a lot of money on inspections (not to mention your own time viewing etc) before finding something that comes up better, and all the while you won't have a 911 to enjoy.
My advice is to to walk away.
The oil leaks scare me. Spark plug tube leaks are not that expensive to address. An RMS/IMS leak requires the transmission come out.
To replace an AOS, this ran about $700 for my Boxster. (It is on its 3rd one.)
The camshaft cover reseal requires about 5 to 6 hours of labor and some parts. (Camshaft cover micro-sealed bolts for one, which are not reusable.)
I do not know the market value for these cars in your area. But come up with a market value for a similar car that needs nothing.
Then get quotes as to what is wrong and needs doing. Get prices. Adjust the price of the car down to reflect what it would cost you to bring the car up to some reasonable level of condition.
The problem is you need to be very sure of the diagnosis and quotes. So you want to have the car inspected by someone who really knows these cars and does not have an interest in seeing you buy the car.
When I had my Boxster in recently for some service I reminded the tech about a suspected camshaft cover leak. With the car in the air we both looked at the engine and he's convinced and he convinced me the leak is a camshaft cover and not a spark plug tube. But the leak is not bad. The engine is not wet anywhere with oil. There is no oil hitting the ground, which the tech told me is almost always a 'requirement' before a leak will be fixed under warranty, and no oil is getting on anything it shouldn't. So we decided to wait another 5K miles.
Anyhow, with the cost to put the car right, adjust the price down and make an offer. I bet the seller will balk.
Frankly if he does, he's doing you I think a big favor.
If he doesn't that would scare me too... for I would wonder what he knows I don't know about the car.
My experience with my Boxster and my Turbo is with a proper alignment I can get around 20K to 25K miles from the rear tires, and double that from the fronts.
Brakes are original on the Turbo, and have over 92K miles on them. The Boxster brakes are long wearing this go around but I do not recall the miles at which I replaced the brakes.
Sincerely,
Rockster.
The oil leaks scare me. Spark plug tube leaks are not that expensive to address. An RMS/IMS leak requires the transmission come out.
To replace an AOS, this ran about $700 for my Boxster. (It is on its 3rd one.)
The camshaft cover reseal requires about 5 to 6 hours of labor and some parts. (Camshaft cover micro-sealed bolts for one, which are not reusable.)
I do not know the market value for these cars in your area. But come up with a market value for a similar car that needs nothing.
Then get quotes as to what is wrong and needs doing. Get prices. Adjust the price of the car down to reflect what it would cost you to bring the car up to some reasonable level of condition.
The problem is you need to be very sure of the diagnosis and quotes. So you want to have the car inspected by someone who really knows these cars and does not have an interest in seeing you buy the car.
When I had my Boxster in recently for some service I reminded the tech about a suspected camshaft cover leak. With the car in the air we both looked at the engine and he's convinced and he convinced me the leak is a camshaft cover and not a spark plug tube. But the leak is not bad. The engine is not wet anywhere with oil. There is no oil hitting the ground, which the tech told me is almost always a 'requirement' before a leak will be fixed under warranty, and no oil is getting on anything it shouldn't. So we decided to wait another 5K miles.
Anyhow, with the cost to put the car right, adjust the price down and make an offer. I bet the seller will balk.
Frankly if he does, he's doing you I think a big favor.
If he doesn't that would scare me too... for I would wonder what he knows I don't know about the car.
My experience with my Boxster and my Turbo is with a proper alignment I can get around 20K to 25K miles from the rear tires, and double that from the fronts.
Brakes are original on the Turbo, and have over 92K miles on them. The Boxster brakes are long wearing this go around but I do not recall the miles at which I replaced the brakes.
Sincerely,
Rockster.
If you're purchasing from a dealer, you are covered by the sale of goods act should anything unexpected go wrong (acknowledging its age, mileage, what you paid for it and what you were warned about at time of sale). Additionally, if you pay by credit card, you have additional security from your card issuer. Your issue however is that YOU had it inspected and you now know its faults. If you buy and one of those anticipated faults come's to pass, your ability to hold the trader responsible is weakened; this is the often unappreciated cost of having a PPI carried out. Good luck!
That list of problems found does not look to bad to me.
I looked at a few C2's and a specialist basically told me 'Its an old Porsche and they weep oil, only if it is a very serious leak worry and sort it out'
All 996's I looked at had 'misting' from the RMS IMS area.
The car I ended up buying has it, I know a very very well respected one man band specialist and he can sort both the RMS and IMS for an excellent price.
PM me for more details, I don't want to post prices here because the non believers and keyboard warriors will start.
I looked at a few C2's and a specialist basically told me 'Its an old Porsche and they weep oil, only if it is a very serious leak worry and sort it out'
All 996's I looked at had 'misting' from the RMS IMS area.
The car I ended up buying has it, I know a very very well respected one man band specialist and he can sort both the RMS and IMS for an excellent price.
PM me for more details, I don't want to post prices here because the non believers and keyboard warriors will start.
Thanks again all for your help, you have brought up some good points.
I will speak to the specialist that inspected the car to see if they can tell me any more about the oil leak/s. I will then speak to the dealer selling the car to see what they're prepared to do to investigate and repair the oil leak or drop the price accordingly and then see what to do from there.
The car is generally in nice condition and has been serviced every year by OPC or Porsche specialists and comes with quite a large history folder with invoices for work previously carried out, that's why I am keen to not walk away from the car yet...
It's also good advice about getting a full geo when I buy a 911 (this one or another one), that is something that I will look to do.
I will speak to the specialist that inspected the car to see if they can tell me any more about the oil leak/s. I will then speak to the dealer selling the car to see what they're prepared to do to investigate and repair the oil leak or drop the price accordingly and then see what to do from there.
The car is generally in nice condition and has been serviced every year by OPC or Porsche specialists and comes with quite a large history folder with invoices for work previously carried out, that's why I am keen to not walk away from the car yet...
It's also good advice about getting a full geo when I buy a 911 (this one or another one), that is something that I will look to do.
Porkupine said:
And if you are new to 911s you must realise that the tyres especially rear (due to RWD in this model and all that engine weight) will only last a max of 10k I think - and that's if driven like a baby. .
Not true.. I put Mich Pilot Sport N3's on and got 16K from first set of rears (24K fronts) and now still have a couple of mm left at 13K miles on the 2nd set.Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff