996 advice

Hi guys, wonder if you can help me out. Over the past 2 years or so I've fell more and more in love with the 996, and I'm now finally in a position to look at weekend (and any other free time I might find) playthings. The only drawback is that the wife wants me to stick to a £10-15k budget. While I've seen them advertised at this price, is it folly to think I can get a good quality 996 for this price? If not, is there anything specific to these cars that I would need to pay more attention to? Many thanks

The £15k end will get you a fairly good 3.4 996 privately that has been well looked after. I sold my own 76k mile '99 Carrera Tip last year for £13k with a full service history including interim oil changes 6 monthly and all remedial work done including new brakes, various suspension arms and bushes, radiators and paint professionally detailed. Re what to look out for, best to buy Peter Morgan's book on pmmbooks.co.uk as the 996s have some common problems and potentially some expensive ones. The forums may scare you a bit about engine problems but remember that usually only bad news gets reported. Most other minor traits and problems are fixable by a competent DIYer. Hartech's website is a good place to start re potential engine problems. This month's GT Purely Porsche magazine has an article about 996 engines.

I am fairly new to the Porsche ownership business myself but that has not stopped me drawling for the past 28 years! Anyhow onto mor important things.... Philip Raby, the columnist for Total 911 has his own dealership and saying he is knowledgable about Porsches is like saying Hitler was slightly mad! You can contact him direct via his web site www.philipraby.co.uk

Hi, i can help you out here. I bought my '99 996 for a fiver under 14K, from motordepot of all places. I had peter morgan/one of his assosiates check it over for me and he said it was a good little motor. No sign of the infamous RMS or IMS leak. It only had 45k on the clock as well. It just needs some minor stuff what you would expect a car of that age to need such as a rusty exhaust(not blowing but on its way), possibly new suspension as people seem to reccomend it changed at 50,000. I'm not trying to put you off btw my car is great just dont look at the fuel pump when you fill up[ ]. I don't know if you could get a good one for 10k tho that might be pushing it a bit. At least a 996 gives us people a slightly cheaper entry into the 911 market as most other models don't seem to be widely available for less than 20k. Hope this helps you.

Check out Dove House Motors, they have a couple at moment. Always quality cars there, based in Rushden, Northants. Don't know where you are geographically from them! hth Paul

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I certainly wouldn't be looking at the bottom end of that budget but didn't really know whether it was feasible to expect Porsche quality at the top end. Other than styling and engine size, is there a considerable difference with the later 996s? Would it make sense to save those few extra pennies for a good 3.6, or are the early models still very highly regarded? And this is before I get into such conundrums as coupe, cab, targa! The longer term plan is to eventually move up to a turbo but that's a few years away yet.

I was looking at a 996 pre facelift as I was surprised at the price of them. My budget initially was upto £15k. There are some great examples out there. I then started reading about the facelift models and started seeing the difference - engine size, interior, looks from the outside. I decided to up the budget a bid and found a 2003 for under £20k. I too had it inspected by Peter Morgan as I did not have a clue about what to look out for on Porsches and I must admit his report was great and will help me as a sales aid later on. I always wanted a cabroilet (some like them, some hate them) but saw a couple of sexy Targas as well. Good luck in the hunt

You should certainly get a good 3.4 996 for that price, as they have all fallen a lot in value over the last year or so. Mine is a 2000 model C2 in very good condition, 73,000 miles and with full history... yet I have only been offered £10K trade in against a GT3 - so if I were to be selling privately (which, I hasten to add I'm not at the moment), I can't see it getting much more than £12K in the current economic climate. As for the comment about petrol pumps, I usually get 29 to 31 mpg on longish runs, so not bad at all for a 170mph, 300bhp vehicle. Good luck in your search.

i was incredibly lucky finding my 2000 996 c2 last november. Its a tip with 75,000 on the clock with good service history but a little bit neglected in areas. The guy selling neeed some dosh quick and i relieved him of the car for £10k. However, and i would advise doing what i did. I had an independant check done on the car which turned out good and also had a major service including tip oil, plugs, coil packs etc as well even though it had been serviced recently. I did it so that i knew it was in top service nick from my first day of driving it. I have spent about £2000 on service, brakes and some good secondhand rear boxes ( thx forum) but for £12000 i reckon i have got a wonderful car that i simply love getting into ! Hope this helps AngusR

I have to say it took me about 2 years looking for a 996 before I ended up parting with my cash. Ive started the search for a possible turbo and have seen one or two very close to seeing me part with increased cash. Whilst mine is a 99' car, used daily, with 90k on the clock, it is fully serviced with full receipts and is still in outstanding condition. Any niggles that have occured over my 4 years of owning the car have been dealt with. Whilst some are being sold at ridiculously low prices I would take your time as I believe that some are buying these cars and keeping them up until they require a service or indeed something goes wrong. Purchasing is one thing, maintaining it is another. I think the only thing preventing me at the moment purchasing the turbo is the fact that the current market price to me is unacceptable. I know some would say that you would benefit as the turbo price will have also declined but unfortunately the turbo I have my eyes on is k10 more expensive than similar models elsewhere! What to do!!!!

I too would like a turbo (who wouldn't[ ]) but they seem to start at £30kish and as much as I want one I couldn't justify it right now. Maybe for my next car[ ]

All I can say is take your time!. When I was looking I saw a lot of summer racers. People buy em, keep em for a bit just to say they have had one! and neglect the servicing etc.