Carpark inspection Cat-S 911 997.2 GTS impulse purchase!
Discussion
So I read a lot about what not to do when buying a 911...... Then carefully manage to do it all just a few weeks before a Global Pandemic!
Write off - check
No inspection - check
Carpark meet - check
Anyway here's the story with more to follow when I've got some more time
So small inheritance and around 30k to spend on a fun car I’d spent plenty of time on YouTube and Pistonheads trying to decide what to get…
Went all the usual suspects from Lotus, German usuals, Jaguar etc…. Needed something to work with my daughter so not a true 2 seater.. wanted something fast enough to be exciting … rear wheel drive … having spent my life in old manuals happy to have a DCT or good auto for a change.. tempted by classic but it needed to live on the street and be reliable enough as spent my life fixing old VW’s!
Long story short bit boring but a 911 seemed the obvious choice.. RS3 or M2 or M140i all felt a bit too boring to spunk 30K on…. After more research it seemed a leggy 997.2 seemed the safest bet with decent bang for buck.. But much looking and I could never really commit to a 80k plus miles 997.2 C2…
Then up popped on Autotrader a Cat-S 997 GTS for under 40K with only 42K miles! Full OPC history recorded. Quick email to the seller and photos provided of the damage and repair it all looked worth a punt.. light O/S rear quarter damage repaired by being pulled out and skimmed rather than a ‘proper’ rear quarterbacked repair.. but it looked 99.9% good and the seller said if I met him on the Saturday I’d jump the cue of all the sensible folk who wanted a full Indie or OPC inspection he had booked in the following week.
Arranged to meet that Saturday in car park on the M27… blagged a mate for the ride .. quick history check backed up the sellers story and milage..
So Saturday PM there I am with over 10K cash in my pocket and a 25K faster payment lined up ready to go.. Car looked ace.. clean as and drove perfectly …. I peered around underneath as far as possible ..checked the repair carefully … looked through the history printout and thought lets doit.
Amazing drive home feeling like I was in a rocket ship.. bear in mind the fastest stuff Ive ever driven are old Mk1 Golfs with tuned 8v, Mk3 VR6, Audi 2.5 tdi... hahahaha 400 bhp 911 was quite an eye opener..
So got home and had to wonder how much a risk I’d taken.. Was it straight? Were there serious structural issues hidden away.. was the PDK box about to implode!
Popped round to my dads and took him for a spin… he was suitably scared with the full throttle kick down and 7.4rpm scream….
After a few weeks nothing had gone wrong … loose heat shield on the O/S cat but that was spotted on purchase and the worst thing was an irritating rattle on the overrun at 2k rpm which seems linked to the PSE as its much worse on and on sports mode.. tyres are old Bridgestones and although they have plenty of tread they are definitely old and hard.. I’m hoping that’s contributing to the rather scatty motorway handling and nothing more serious..
1st Job Tire pressure check proved to be tricky and involved angle grinding an alloy valve cap of the front tire.. with the blade a few cm from those expensive centre lock wheels!
On my list of to do’s
1. Tires and tracking - bit worried about this one incase there’s something nasty being hidden.
2. Spare key need sourcing and coding
3. Log book sent to all the OPC to get it all re-stamped again for future purchaser.
4. Get an OPC major service carried out for future resale and 111 point check.
5. Exhaust to be sorted…. And probably upgraded for some better sound as its only really good above 6krpm
To be continued
Write off - check
No inspection - check
Carpark meet - check
Anyway here's the story with more to follow when I've got some more time
So small inheritance and around 30k to spend on a fun car I’d spent plenty of time on YouTube and Pistonheads trying to decide what to get…
Went all the usual suspects from Lotus, German usuals, Jaguar etc…. Needed something to work with my daughter so not a true 2 seater.. wanted something fast enough to be exciting … rear wheel drive … having spent my life in old manuals happy to have a DCT or good auto for a change.. tempted by classic but it needed to live on the street and be reliable enough as spent my life fixing old VW’s!
Long story short bit boring but a 911 seemed the obvious choice.. RS3 or M2 or M140i all felt a bit too boring to spunk 30K on…. After more research it seemed a leggy 997.2 seemed the safest bet with decent bang for buck.. But much looking and I could never really commit to a 80k plus miles 997.2 C2…
Then up popped on Autotrader a Cat-S 997 GTS for under 40K with only 42K miles! Full OPC history recorded. Quick email to the seller and photos provided of the damage and repair it all looked worth a punt.. light O/S rear quarter damage repaired by being pulled out and skimmed rather than a ‘proper’ rear quarterbacked repair.. but it looked 99.9% good and the seller said if I met him on the Saturday I’d jump the cue of all the sensible folk who wanted a full Indie or OPC inspection he had booked in the following week.
Arranged to meet that Saturday in car park on the M27… blagged a mate for the ride .. quick history check backed up the sellers story and milage..
So Saturday PM there I am with over 10K cash in my pocket and a 25K faster payment lined up ready to go.. Car looked ace.. clean as and drove perfectly …. I peered around underneath as far as possible ..checked the repair carefully … looked through the history printout and thought lets doit.
Amazing drive home feeling like I was in a rocket ship.. bear in mind the fastest stuff Ive ever driven are old Mk1 Golfs with tuned 8v, Mk3 VR6, Audi 2.5 tdi... hahahaha 400 bhp 911 was quite an eye opener..
So got home and had to wonder how much a risk I’d taken.. Was it straight? Were there serious structural issues hidden away.. was the PDK box about to implode!
Popped round to my dads and took him for a spin… he was suitably scared with the full throttle kick down and 7.4rpm scream….
After a few weeks nothing had gone wrong … loose heat shield on the O/S cat but that was spotted on purchase and the worst thing was an irritating rattle on the overrun at 2k rpm which seems linked to the PSE as its much worse on and on sports mode.. tyres are old Bridgestones and although they have plenty of tread they are definitely old and hard.. I’m hoping that’s contributing to the rather scatty motorway handling and nothing more serious..
1st Job Tire pressure check proved to be tricky and involved angle grinding an alloy valve cap of the front tire.. with the blade a few cm from those expensive centre lock wheels!
On my list of to do’s
1. Tires and tracking - bit worried about this one incase there’s something nasty being hidden.
2. Spare key need sourcing and coding
3. Log book sent to all the OPC to get it all re-stamped again for future purchaser.
4. Get an OPC major service carried out for future resale and 111 point check.
5. Exhaust to be sorted…. And probably upgraded for some better sound as its only really good above 6krpm
To be continued
I'm consistently amazed at how much risk folk are willing to take! I wouldn't have gone anywhere near that without a full inspection report.
"the seller said if I met him on the Saturday I’d jump the cue of all the sensible folk who wanted a full Indie or OPC inspection he had booked in the following week" - that would have set all kinds of alarm bells ringing with me
Cracking motor though, and if it all turns out good, you've played it well!
"the seller said if I met him on the Saturday I’d jump the cue of all the sensible folk who wanted a full Indie or OPC inspection he had booked in the following week" - that would have set all kinds of alarm bells ringing with me
Cracking motor though, and if it all turns out good, you've played it well!
Edited by TheJimi on Friday 7th August 16:51
Re: Inspection.
I'm playing devils advocate a little here.. I'm over 40 years old with years of experience with old vans and vw's.. I'd looked at a few 911's before this one and I had a reasonable idea about what to look out for. The main issue was no ramp so I was limited but sometimes you have to go on the 'vibe' of the seller and the back story. The car had an obviously now void but previous OPC warranty in place until 2022 ... it was immaculate, well detailed with good PPF and a decent ceramic coat in place... It was clearly once someones pride and joy and I felt worth the gamble... if I'd tried to get an 'proper' inspection Id have missed the sale.. so it was all or nothing really
I'm playing devils advocate a little here.. I'm over 40 years old with years of experience with old vans and vw's.. I'd looked at a few 911's before this one and I had a reasonable idea about what to look out for. The main issue was no ramp so I was limited but sometimes you have to go on the 'vibe' of the seller and the back story. The car had an obviously now void but previous OPC warranty in place until 2022 ... it was immaculate, well detailed with good PPF and a decent ceramic coat in place... It was clearly once someones pride and joy and I felt worth the gamble... if I'd tried to get an 'proper' inspection Id have missed the sale.. so it was all or nothing really
Ob 1 said:
Re: Inspection.
I'm playing devils advocate a little here.. I'm over 40 years old with years of experience with old vans and vw's.. I'd looked at a few 911's before this one and I had a reasonable idea about what to look out for. The main issue was no ramp so I was limited but sometimes you have to go on the 'vibe' of the seller and the back story. The car had an obviously now void but previous OPC warranty in place until 2022 ... it was immaculate, well detailed with good PPF and a decent ceramic coat in place... It was clearly once someones pride and joy and I felt worth the gamble... if I'd tried to get an 'proper' inspection Id have missed the sale.. so it was all or nothing really
All power to you dude! Hope works out for you.I'm playing devils advocate a little here.. I'm over 40 years old with years of experience with old vans and vw's.. I'd looked at a few 911's before this one and I had a reasonable idea about what to look out for. The main issue was no ramp so I was limited but sometimes you have to go on the 'vibe' of the seller and the back story. The car had an obviously now void but previous OPC warranty in place until 2022 ... it was immaculate, well detailed with good PPF and a decent ceramic coat in place... It was clearly once someones pride and joy and I felt worth the gamble... if I'd tried to get an 'proper' inspection Id have missed the sale.. so it was all or nothing really
You're definitely a braver man than me
I did a HPI check which confirmed the story and mileage and dates of the accident. MOT record backs the mileage as well.
The seller shared the photos of the damage and the repair.
I was happy with the standard of the work in the photos and in person... so it felt a justifiable risk in my mind.
I’ve got a full service booked in at Exeter OPC so I’ll report back.
Fair play to you and your massive b
ks.
Great cars. I am lucky enough to own one (mine is a manual though). The best exhaust options is the Sharkwerks cross pipe. The engine is an absolute peach...revs out so much nicer than the standard engine because of the power kit that came as standard on the GTS.
ks. Great cars. I am lucky enough to own one (mine is a manual though). The best exhaust options is the Sharkwerks cross pipe. The engine is an absolute peach...revs out so much nicer than the standard engine because of the power kit that came as standard on the GTS.
Cheib said:
Fair play to you and your massive bks.
Great cars. I am lucky enough to own one (mine is a manual though). The best exhaust options is the Sharkwerks cross pipe. The engine is an absolute peach...revs out so much nicer than the standard engine because of the power kit that came as standard on the GTS.
ks. Great cars. I am lucky enough to own one (mine is a manual though). The best exhaust options is the Sharkwerks cross pipe. The engine is an absolute peach...revs out so much nicer than the standard engine because of the power kit that came as standard on the GTS.
Cheers! I’ve got an exciting exhaust plan lined up shortly. It will involve deleting the middle silencer for sure 
Busy few weeks here.. 1st of all was paranoid with only one set of keys as I've been know to literally loose keys walking from the drivers to passenger door! So set about sorting it.
Ordered a replacement fob from Car Keys Online who can cut a key form a photo to my surprise. SO one photo and 3 days later a repayment key fob.
Then quick visit to the lovely people at Williams Crawford in Saltash I have a brand new coded spare key for well under the OPC quote
Next thing was this:
Not actually very serious just a puncture in the NS rear.. I discovered you can drive a fair way on a flat at 25 mph on those tires as the sidewalls are so thick! Any this pushed forward the purchase of Michelin MP4S which everyone's been raving about.. shame as I wanted to trash the old tires first with some umm 'driver training practice' but hey there we go...
Next of course is the pain of centre lock wheels but after ringing around a fair bit I discovered the local lads at AMS in Paignton claimed they could handle centre locks so of I trundled at 25mph and a few hours later I had not only new boots... but the positive news that all 4 wheels pointed in the correct direction and the car was straight as far as the geometry went so one of my major worries appeased.
A quick spin later and the new rubber and revised Geometry has sorted all high speed 'nervousness' and the car now feels very sorted and stable at speed. Phew..
Next plan is a full service at Exeter OPC and getting the replacement log book all stamped up to date. Need to check the PDK clutch fluid has been changed as well and get that sorted a the cars at 43k now.
Ordered a replacement fob from Car Keys Online who can cut a key form a photo to my surprise. SO one photo and 3 days later a repayment key fob.
Then quick visit to the lovely people at Williams Crawford in Saltash I have a brand new coded spare key for well under the OPC quote
Next thing was this:
Not actually very serious just a puncture in the NS rear.. I discovered you can drive a fair way on a flat at 25 mph on those tires as the sidewalls are so thick! Any this pushed forward the purchase of Michelin MP4S which everyone's been raving about.. shame as I wanted to trash the old tires first with some umm 'driver training practice' but hey there we go...
Next of course is the pain of centre lock wheels but after ringing around a fair bit I discovered the local lads at AMS in Paignton claimed they could handle centre locks so of I trundled at 25mph and a few hours later I had not only new boots... but the positive news that all 4 wheels pointed in the correct direction and the car was straight as far as the geometry went so one of my major worries appeased.
A quick spin later and the new rubber and revised Geometry has sorted all high speed 'nervousness' and the car now feels very sorted and stable at speed. Phew..
Next plan is a full service at Exeter OPC and getting the replacement log book all stamped up to date. Need to check the PDK clutch fluid has been changed as well and get that sorted a the cars at 43k now.
Edited by Ob 1 on Thursday 13th August 10:07
Excellent, with a 30k budget i bet you never thought you'd be in a GTS! You sound like you buy cars in a similar way to me, you get a gut feeling whether someone is an honest seller or not, touch wood it's not bitten me yet.
Bodywork is body work, better that its had some damage and been repaired than having an engine thats about to grenade itself but good bodywork, obviously youd want the best of both worlds but it would be another 20k+! I hope you get many miles of enjoyment from it!
Bodywork is body work, better that its had some damage and been repaired than having an engine thats about to grenade itself but good bodywork, obviously youd want the best of both worlds but it would be another 20k+! I hope you get many miles of enjoyment from it!
scottos said:
Excellent, with a 30k budget i bet you never thought you'd be in a GTS! You sound like you buy cars in a similar way to me, you get a gut feeling whether someone is an honest seller or not, touch wood it's not bitten me yet.
Bodywork is body work, better that its had some damage and been repaired than having an engine thats about to grenade itself but good bodywork, obviously youd want the best of both worlds but it would be another 20k+! I hope you get many miles of enjoyment from it!
Exactly that! It’s will never not be equivalent value wise to a non accident damaged car.. but it is still an honest repair which looks 99.9% original and I’m sure will provide me with many miles or driving pleasure! Bodywork is body work, better that its had some damage and been repaired than having an engine thats about to grenade itself but good bodywork, obviously youd want the best of both worlds but it would be another 20k+! I hope you get many miles of enjoyment from it!
It was somewhat closer to 40k I must admit. But I’m hoping that with the work I have planned and getting an engineers report from
Autolign Inspections will provide any future buyer more security and reassurance!
Not that I’ve got any plans at all to sell in the visible future... slight hankering for a manual 997 turbo
Ok positive progress. Full Exeter OPC major service carried out including Sparkplugs and the 111 check list.
Car came out with a clean bill of health. The best news was the PDK clutch fluid was changed at 32K miles. Which is a result
And shows the car was well maintained before the accident.
A few minor issues with the typical Porsche mild steel exhaust fittings and heat shields which I was already aware of at purchase. Also a rusty coil pack heat shield.
I was aware of the exhaust issues on my own limited inspection and as I want to upgrade the pretty conservative 997.2 exhaust system this is not an issue.
So combination of a group buy at 911uk.com for Top gear valved sports back boxes, centre silencer delete and more exciting 200 cell sports cats from Gert at Carnewal in Belgium means the car will have all heat shields replaced. Stainless exhaust fittings and hopefully a much improved exhaust sound. Hopefully a little increase in power as well!
Car came out with a clean bill of health. The best news was the PDK clutch fluid was changed at 32K miles. Which is a result
And shows the car was well maintained before the accident.
A few minor issues with the typical Porsche mild steel exhaust fittings and heat shields which I was already aware of at purchase. Also a rusty coil pack heat shield.
I was aware of the exhaust issues on my own limited inspection and as I want to upgrade the pretty conservative 997.2 exhaust system this is not an issue.
So combination of a group buy at 911uk.com for Top gear valved sports back boxes, centre silencer delete and more exciting 200 cell sports cats from Gert at Carnewal in Belgium means the car will have all heat shields replaced. Stainless exhaust fittings and hopefully a much improved exhaust sound. Hopefully a little increase in power as well!
Edited by Ob 1 on Sunday 30th August 15:03
Edited by Ob 1 on Wednesday 11th November 22:27
Also picked up a DSC Sports PASM controller in another 911uk group buy. These things have pretty epic feedback and I could not resist trying one on my car. Easy to fit and so far I’m very impressed. Comfort mode feels much better, more supple and soft yet more planted under load.
Sport is definitely now usable on the road but if not had a chance to explore it fully yet due to August traffic in Devon.
I also had great success with my replacement log book. Several phone calls to various OPC and then then book sent off with a host of addresses envelopes and my log book went on a tour to the 3 OPC who had carried out all intermediate and full services on the car. Including the important centre lock recall and the PDK clutch oil changes. So I now hold the complete history for the car again. Which explains its excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition. Yay
Sport is definitely now usable on the road but if not had a chance to explore it fully yet due to August traffic in Devon.
I also had great success with my replacement log book. Several phone calls to various OPC and then then book sent off with a host of addresses envelopes and my log book went on a tour to the 3 OPC who had carried out all intermediate and full services on the car. Including the important centre lock recall and the PDK clutch oil changes. So I now hold the complete history for the car again. Which explains its excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition. Yay
Edited by Ob 1 on Wednesday 11th November 22:26
So update time...
Got the sports cats and Top Gear exhaust fitted at the excellent Williams Crawford in Saltash. Also replaced cat heat shields and coil pack heat shields. And all stainless fittings.
Very pleased with the results. Sounds epic both with the valves closed and howls when opened up. Definitely realised a few extra horses and urgency as you reach 5k upwards.
Got the sports cats and Top Gear exhaust fitted at the excellent Williams Crawford in Saltash. Also replaced cat heat shields and coil pack heat shields. And all stainless fittings.
Very pleased with the results. Sounds epic both with the valves closed and howls when opened up. Definitely realised a few extra horses and urgency as you reach 5k upwards.
The last weekend got an early morning drive across the moors with a mate in his mapped Audi S3. Weather was filthy but both cars handled it with ease. Pilot Sport 4S just seemed to find grip..
we were fairly evenly matched in straight line drags up to legal motorway speeds then I think I had the legs on him but obviously we could not really test that. In the twisty and across the moors the 911 excelled through the twisty sections and the new exhaust just sounded superb. Fantastic car and really impressed me.
we were fairly evenly matched in straight line drags up to legal motorway speeds then I think I had the legs on him but obviously we could not really test that. In the twisty and across the moors the 911 excelled through the twisty sections and the new exhaust just sounded superb. Fantastic car and really impressed me.
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