996 C4S - Potential New Owner

I'm sure you have seen this many times before - so sorry in advance. I am looking to purchase a 996 4S TIP so would be grateful for any tips. I am aware of the usual issues IMS etc but was wondering what else I need to look out for? I have identified a couple of cars that I like the look of. These are at dealers that have good reputations and I will have an inspection undertaken by Porsche Inspections. One question I have in that one of the cars has had some individual features added and different (non-turbo) wheels. -- 1) Would this impact the car long term? & 2) should I px the wheels back to the original? Additionally, should I stick to plain interiors, or would say a camel interior put people off for resale? and I like white dials too!! The other vehicle was had a significant engine rebuild (good firm have done the work) - This might sound like a silly question - but is this a good thing? It is also more expensive.... Any help is most appreciated - thanks

:welcome: to 911uk If you are aware of the IMS bearing issue that can affect these cars you've obviously dome some homework and have probably heard about bore-scoring too. Beyond that there's nothing significant to look out for and certainly nothing that a professional PPI wouldn't find. Before you pay out for the PPI do what you can to establish the service history and check for as many recent consumable replacements as possible eg, rads, pads etc. Non-standard wheels on the C4S are unusual but down to personal preference as is the colour combo. 'Camel' would almost certainly be 'Savannah' or possibly 'Sand'. Most buyers would prefer something more common - most are black, grey or dark blue - but again it's a personal choice. If you like it you might pay less. A full rebuild by one of the known specialists would be a desirable thing. Partial rebuilds and work done by n.e.one ltd don't add much value if any. Others will be on to add their 2p, you've had mine. Whilst you're waiting have a good scroll down the 996 sub-forum and you'll find plenty of thread titles that you should find of interest. Good Luck :thumb:

Hello and welcome. It depends on a number of factors, the most important is "do you like it" Don't worry about options fitted. Condition is all. Just a few things: 1) Service history - post 2003 is every 2 years but a decent car will have a annual service 2) Brake Lines - if not replaced these are a bitch of a job. Easy to look under the car to see what they are like - esp around the clips. 3) Manifolds - horrible job and expensive if you get a garage to do it. 4) The best upgrade you will ever do is RSS engine mounts. Cheap and will transform the car. Often these aren't replaced and huge sums spent on suspension instead. The biggest thing - don't worry too much. A 996 C4S is a glorious thing. Lots of forums overplay problems. Just try and get the best for your budget and enjoy it.

thanks both :thumbs:

I'm not technically a 996 owner yet so I'm definitely not an expert but I'm currently in the buying process and had many useful tips from other members. It might be better to get a PPI from a good independent specialist rather than a OPC since they tend to work on older cars more regularly and maybe tend to take more pride in their work. (I'm going with nine excellence due to location and lots of recommendations on the forum). Ask for a sample PPI checklist to see what they are and are not checking. I'm particularly cautious so I made a list of common faults and sent them to 9e but obviously they know a lot more about these cars than I do and they were all already getting checked (but not on the checklist) In case you're interested these were: - Air Intakes/radiators + air-conditioning radiators - Bump stops /shocks/ drop links - Fluid was leaking from power steering/ clutch assembly - Engine mounts - Rear wing hydraulics (not relevant for a 4s) - Extent of rust in wheel arches underneath - Coolant/aircon pipes - General look over to see if panel gaps look ok (I'm buying a turbo so there are some differences) Also pretty obvious but get an HPI check verify the VIN numbers in multiple places and upload the VIN number + V5 number to the HPI website and they'll give you £30k worth of insurance if the car is a clone, unknowingly financed etc. Good luck!

Get a professional pre-purchase inspection and with the 4S instruct the inspector to do a borescope examination ( this car has the wide body of the turbo but not the Mezger engine). The non-Mezger 996 4S engine (M96) can suffer scored bores and potentially a £10k - £12k engine rebuild. Be prepared to walk away if the inspection reveals too much work required. There is a possibility the car is being offloaded because it needs a shed load of work and money throwing at it. Sadly, whilst prices are considerably lower than they were, the servicing and maintenance costs are not lower. Parts prices can be high, and typical indy specialist labour rates have been climbing steadily in excess of CPI or RPI. Expect labour rates at around £90/hr + VAT (£108/hr including VAT). Some jobs require engine out due to lack of room and there are lots of hours of labour for parts costing £100 - £200. As always, caveat emptor.