budget 996 ? or false economy?

hi guys ... great site.. hope to be part of the owners club soon.. having had a stack of leaky lotus i am in the market for a 996 (or cayenne) i have read the OPC thread with interest! and at present don't do more than 2000 miles a year in the weekend car (mostly because it rains inside the car as well as outside) i have a friend of friend who works at a porsche dealership but dont want to ask a list of stupid questions and look like an idiot... (well not when i can do that on here!). budget 18k ish? so firstly ... is there such a thing as budget 996 ownership... seen many reasonable (15k) ebay priced cars. but having never owned one before am i lining myself up for trouble? should i get a higher mileage but later year car (as i don't do enough miles to worry) or lower miles and lesser year? dealer , garage or private ... or hang out for a trade in at friend of friends place? i am not a speed demon so i think extra styling and colour is important over s or 4wd.. (that is unless anyone can advise otherwise) many thanks in advance and sorry if i am a bit vague.. bye for now clemo

History history history and more history is the key. Be prepared to look at a few cars before you decide. Test drive a few Loads of good Indis for servicng and repairs around that will save you money as opposed to going to an OPC Worth spending the money to have an inspection carried out on a potential car and anything worng use it to negotiate the price if not serious Key is buy the best that you can afford Have fun looking and post up pics when you do buy Steve

Buy one! Sort out the spec. you want, then start looking. There are plenty of cars out there, but as the man says, they're all about history, history and a bit more history. No provenance - no purchase, no matter how good the deal looks. After a gap of a few years since my last Porsche, I've just brought a weekend toy 996 C4 cab., 92,000 miles with full history and 2 owners for £15k. I'd not consider any other make with this kind of mileage, but as my pleasure mileage is only around 3 - 4k p/a, this one should last me quite a while. Personally, I think that to be able to buy such a car for this kind of money is amazing, but you either understand Porsche ownership or you don't. Go for it!

thanks guys.. i need to work out which is my best route of purchase.. ie friend at porsche dealership... he may well know the car and can do a point check on it for me... or go private/ebay route , which i guess would be the cheaper route but prehaps not the most cost effective route in the long run? that said buy cheaper sell cheaper? or do many run a mile at private sales... also ( in the lotus camp its quite exceptable to add mods to your car) in the 996 camp is it a resale hinderance? i like the gt rear wing but cannot afford the gt! i have seen a few with extra body styling parts. in lesser marques this would be concidered as tricking it up which would make me run a mile as it would have been drivern hard ... a 996 should take it even though not the gt? but is it frowned upon? i know i am buying the car for me , so should not really worry to much about what others think but would appreciate your thoughts .. many thanks clemo

If you buy cheaper, don't get caught out having to spend loads of money getting it up to scratch. As i said before an inspection is worth its weight in gold, whether it be private, ebay or a dealer No problems with mods, but i would stick to factory parts where you can and don't go OTT as if you trick up a car too much you will limit the audience on resale. Might be worth having a shop around for a GT wing. I believe it is an optional bodykit extra from Porsche, although don't quote me ! Anyway good look with the hunt. I took me over a year to find mine as i wanted a pure car and one that hadn't got loads of flashy extras, but i do have the M030 handling kit

i see you have an 03. do you have the opc warranty ? and without wishing to be to nosey do you have the standard stereo system? i am trying to weigh up this warranty issue... if my car is older than 10 yrs i cannot have opc warranty anyway ? so a cheaper/older 996 may give me more leftover cash for putting bits right... i also i can do as i wish ( as in an i pod ) and am not tied / restricted... however should i wish to have the warranty then i will need to buy a car that is 03 ish in order to have 3 years of covered motering... (**** edit - for this i am learning that my budget i don't think is big enough*****) or should i just hope that these are bullet proof enough and i will only be doing low miles anyway ... having had the lots of trouble usually serious syndrome with my previous cars i have been hit hard in the pocket before and understand the price of ownership but am finding it difficult to find information on running and relability costs. as i write this i am actually answering some of my own questions! but as said any advise is greatly appreciated.... and helping my decision making . bye for now clemo

Well the cheapest facelift (02/03 Plate) i could find on Pistonheads is a 911 Targa with 48K for £18.5K http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1203600.htm Not sure if it would get past the OPC inspection for a warranty though. You would have to find out if everything is standard or Porsche fit optional extra Steve

Do your homework, research the known issues such as RMS and IMS failure, plus the bugbear of brake disc corrosion, and air con rads corrosion. Bear in mind you are buying what was a £65k sports car and budget for maintenance accordingly. Plenty of independents around so servicing costs can be kept under control if you buy right in the first place.

Hi Clemo, Welcome aboard ....... nearly! I have a 98/R 996 which has just sailed through its MOT with 115,000 on the clock. I do about 5/6k p.a. and its a weekend car, shopping car and a trackday car!!! And doesnt leak I have had mine for 5.5 years and had a few teething problems but nothing for a very long time. Tempting fate of course as it goes into OPC for service next week. Agree with the points above, make sure you drive a few from a dealer (indie as a main dealer wont have cars of that age) so you know a good one from a not-so-good one. Unless you know the car inside out then get an independent inspection. AA/RAC are OK but they are not specialist and its unlikely they will know common problems with a 996. Take it to an OPC (Official Porsche Centre) or look for a specialist advertising on the forum or Porsche mags. I would also suggest you check with OPC and find out the current age / milage limitations on a car as if its young enough you could get it checked out and purchase a years warranty with them. Will cost around £1000 but its peace of mind. When I bought mine from a well known indie it had history etc. but I still took out the warranty and in the first few years I had a new gearbox and a couple of RMS's (Rear Main Seal - a fairly minor and common problem with 996's - particularly manuals - where there is a very small amount of oil leaking from around the engine / gearbox area. Most leaks arent serious though and they dont even drip on a garage floor they are that minor). Since then, done some high / fast / fun miles and its been spot on! The age / milage you are looking at will give you a fairly limited range of performance models and looks. Probably a Carerra 2 or 4 (4 wheel drive), Manual or Tiptronic and either Coupe, Cabriolet or Targa. A Carrera 4S (Turbo bodied) is probably going to be out of that price range for a decent one. They will all have the same engine and very similar performance up to a 2002 when the 'facelift'model was introduced with slight styling differences (notably front lights changed) and the engine moved from 3.4 to 3.6 increasing power from 300 to 320 bhp. Wings & things were options on most of them and I would also agree try to go for original Porsche design. If you like the GT2 rear wing and side sills then try and find one with them on and preferably original fit from the factory. I retro-fitted my bits and very expensive and can be difficult to get a solid colour match. Dont forget, aftermarket bolt-ons make insurance more expensive and you have less choice of brokers. And dont forget, look at a good few and get a feel for the car and look for solid and verifyable history and get it inspected!!! All the best, Rob

Hartech Buyers Guide.... http://www.hartech.org/buyers.html

thanks guys.... any other top tips.... will pop down to exeter porsche to get a feel of what services they provide (not that i can afford anything they have!)

Read a buyers guide

any one in particular?

911 and Porsche World magazine regularly do buyers guides. Ask them for a back copy.