Engine rebuild / good prospect?

Having recently sold my 996 C2, I am on the hunt to upgrade to a 996 C4S, buying into a market that favours the buyer currently, I hope I am able to be selective on spec / condition to suit my budget. However, there are not that many cars available that are manual, with generally good spec / history to include PSE. And pricing ranges from 15-30k...? How many were originally built for the different models/spec? Is there somewhere that lists this info for all models? I usually check this forum, eBay & autotrader, is there anywhere I else I am missing? I'm aware of the usual 996 engine concerns (IMS/borescore), and wondered what is the consensus on buying a car with an engine rebuild to overcome this? And should I consider higher mileage cars to be reset, with an engine rebuild? Ie. 100k miles, with rebuild at 95k, could effectively be considered a 5k mileage car? Ignoring other parts (suspension/brakes/clutch/etc)

I think your logic makes sense, a proper rebuild will rectify the engine troubles. by the time the car has got to 100k most of the parts will have been swapped.

It may be a buyer's market, but I'm sure fewer cars are being advertised, and transaction volumes are very low. Therefore I don't think you've got the choice you would have in normal times. At the moment it's hard to discern the effect on prices or what will happen over the longer term. In terms of where to look, add PistonHeads and carandclassic to your list. You can also try Trovit which is a bit like the Google of car ads. You can also just Google for cars for sale to find those between the cracks. I've no idea on number built / specs, or where to find out. That kind of info is rarely available IME. PCGB would probably be your best bet. Personally I don't subscribe to the reset theory, but plenty do. There's certainly value in a proper, documented rebuild but take the rest of the car on merit. 100,000 miles is still 4 times round the world over 15-19 years! Good luck with your search. With luck and diligence you could do very well.

Another forum member has just done similar with a 997.1 which could have been a 4S also ? His has done 100k and the bores look near new, this was a manual as well. He had it PPI'd and it came back with a few advisories, There are some well kept and cared for cars out there but these will be the upper end that you have seen, I'm in the mind set of staying well away from something which requires at least £10K on an engine and possibly several other expensive items like disks and pads, tyres, suspension components and shocks, they are out there though as owners sometimes grimace at the prospect of spending thousands to get through an MOT ? If your going into it knowing that you've got cash to spend on an engine rebuild then it's kind of like an extra insurance policy ? If you can get a fully rebuilt engine in one then that's a bonus, these cars seem to be the go to option at the minute so I'd expect these to start creeping up in price !

996C4S Coupe production numbers were: MY2003 = 7388 MY2004 = 4365 MY2005 = 725 I'm pretty certain that you won't find a split of Manual v Tip anywhere or any further details re colours/spec etc.

There's a growing swell of opinion that a 996/997.1 with an engine rebuilt by a recognised Porsche specialist is worth a significant premium over an original car. The mileage of a car is what it is, and many will still be put off by one with high mileage, but really it is the engine's mileage that is of most concern and a car with a low mileage rebuilt engine would be a sound buy. Happy Hunting. :thumb: