911 buying no history - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Been offered an 04' 911 40 anniversary. Its done 40k miles but the current owner has had it since 2008 and has only done 5k miles in it. It's only had an oil change in that time. Mot checks out and I know the person so no funny business like clocking etc. What implications are there for leaving a car sat there for so long with such little use. Also should it have been serviced if it wasn't doing any miles?

I'd say in 16 years it should definitely of had at least a couple of services, no matter how few miles it had done. That would be a tough sell on the open market and will be hard to move on.

I think that would a great opportunity to get the car back on the road. However IMO The car now needs a recommission service and build It’s not just engine oil All perishables, fuel lines, water hoses, oil lines tyres everything needs to be checked and most probably replaced Air con lines and rads Brakes Rubbers in the suspension The list goes on Some bits might be fine hopefully But I guess a lot will need sorting And also IMO needs to be done by somebody that really knows what they’re doing A thorough engine inspection too as the oil in the car now will about as good as water and I wouldn’t want to run the engine on that as engine wear/damage will occur very quickly. A bloody good independent like RPM, JZM, Hartech etc. Or just whack some new oil in and off you go and wait for the car tell what it needs. :-)))))

Monch said: Or just whack some new oil in and off you go and wait for the car tell what it needs. :-))))) This, its a modern Porsche not a 1960s aston. You are going to want new tyres though.

As has been said I would go in eyes wide open. You could very easily spend a five figure sum on that car in the first year of ownership. If the car has been used regularly and done say two or three drives a year you might get away with a few things being okay but I’d be staggered if you didn’t have some decent size bills.

It depends how much importance you place on it being an anniversary car. Personally I wouldn’t give this much credence and even more so if it’s not been maintained in a way you might expect for a ‘special’ model.

was8v said: Monch said: Or just whack some new oil in and off you go and wait for the car tell what it needs. :-))))) This, its a modern Porsche not a 1960s aston. You are going to want new tyres though. Wrong at the very least it needs a through inspection and if that's a few hundred quid better than the potential thousands you might be facing

You’ll very likely need perishables like tyres, brake flexies, engine mounts. I bought my C2 which had only done 6k miles over 8years prior to my ownership, it had been serviced annually. I had it PPId and sorted the bits identified, but within a few months various suspension bits had reared their head. I’ve spent more on it over the last 4years, 12k miles than it cost to buy and it wasn’t a particularly cheap one. Then it’d want to establish whether the lack of oil changes has done any damage (probably easiest via a boroscope of cylinder walls and analysis of the current oil), and if it has whether the X51 engine complicates the rebuild process. A call to Hartech should sort the last point. I’d probably only do it if I was planning to keep it for a number of years and put a decent number of miles on it or you’ll really struggle to sell it for strong money. Edited by HughG on Thursday 8th February 11:33

…or maybe call up wheeler dealers and see if you can make an arrangement to buy it after they’ve put in all the labour!

HughG said: You’ll very likely need perishables like tyres, brake flexies, engine mounts. As with any 20 year old car. My '99 was on its original flexies and mounts and that was a high mile daily. HughG said: within a few months various suspension bits had reared their head. I’ve spent more on it over the last 4years, 12k miles than it cost to buy and it wasn’t a particularly cheap one. As with any 20 year old car, you'll be constantly replacing bits and bobs. If you are paying someone to do the work it will cost a lot. As with any 20 year old car unless its been "restored". HughG said: Then it’d want to establish whether the lack of oil changes has done any damage (probably easiest via a boroscope of cylinder walls and analysis of the current oil), Its done 5k miles, if the pistons ain't moving the bores ain't scoring. Will be fine, crack on.

was8v said: HughG said: You’ll very likely need perishables like tyres, brake flexies, engine mounts. As with any 20 year old car. My '99 was on its original flexies and mounts and that was a high mile daily. I’m only relaying my experience - of needing to replace various rubber bits on my 22yo car after a period of little use. Rubber components don’t like standing still, one that is in use and being flexed and heat cycled will keep more malleability than one which is standing still. was8v said: HughG said: within a few months various suspension bits had reared their head. I’ve spent more on it over the last 4years, 12k miles than it cost to buy and it wasn’t a particularly cheap one. As with any 20 year old car, you'll be constantly replacing bits and bobs. If you are paying someone to do the work it will cost a lot. As with any 20 year old car unless it’s been "restored". Tell me about it! I’ve done a fair bit on mine myself, the gearbox refresh was beyond me, and after a battle with one of the eccentrics I let someone else do the other side. The only other bits I’ve paid someone else to do is the routine servicing to keep up its history. Maybe my post came across negative, but even doing a reasonable amount they can cost a lot to run. was8v said: HughG said: Then it’d want to establish whether the lack of oil changes has done any damage (probably easiest via a boroscope of cylinder walls and analysis of the current oil), Its done 5k miles, if the pistons ain't moving the bores ain't scoring. Will be fine, crack on. Again maybe I’ve been over-cautious, but to state categorically it will be fine isn’t giving the OP sound advice. When it did the 5k miles is relevant. I think the blocks are the same between the standard 3.6 and the X51, but like I said I would want to check that. The heads, and sump are different, and it has an extra oil pump. It’s not inconceivable a rebuild will be more on this than a standard (non anniversary/X51) car and more likely given its lack of servicing and use. .

IMO re-sale value will really be affected and there are fewer people who are prepared to take on a car like this. Edited by FriedMarsBar on Thursday 8th February 13:16

My 911 was off the road since the end of 2017 and I have just had it recommissioned by a good specialist at a very competitive price and that was £4k -only discretionary was discs and pads.

Suspect calls for the car to be rebuilt are possibly a touch overstated or at the very least not consistent with the advice that would like be given for cars of similar age that are, in reality, little different. Look at it this way. Let's say the car had done 10K or 15K miles since 2008 instead of 5K and a book full of stamps for services every other year or even every year, what would really be different? Would people assume such a car needed a major recommissioning? It would have a few more miles and perhaps fresher oil. But you'd probably still want to change the oil. The suspension etc wouldn't be any different. Nor, really, would things like fuel and brake lines etc. To put it another way, what's the difference between very, very little use, which by definition applies any low-ish mile car of this age, and very, very, very little use. I'd argue, not much. This car may need quite a bit of work. Or it might not. Just like any 40k mile 911 from 2004. Suspension might be fine. It might not. I think it's pretty hard to know based on the history we have.

Don't agree. 5k in 16 years means many of the stuff that goes when it ages, will not have been replaced. If you look at the history folders of 996s so much on them will now be new, many things being replaced for the second or third time. On a 2004 I would say more like 2nd. I don't think there is anything wrong if priced right, but expect to throw another £5k at it straight away if not a a bit more, anything less is a bonus. Then keep it and enjoy it. I do think moving it on may prove tricky though. If it has been genuinely laid up and mot history can show this, then a folder showing what has been done to get it back on the road could mitigate this and make it worth a bit more and make it a bit more collectible as the years pile on. But I wouldn't buy it banking on that.

The biggest question- How much is he asking? If it's near trade it could be a good deal. How hands on are you? A lot of the jobs could be done by a good diy mechanic, and as its effectively got 7 missing services it will hardly effect it's value. It will need- new tyres, and major service inc brake fluid, and most probably discs and pads (corrosion- depending on how well it was stored).

How much are you getting it for? 2 areas of discount should be factored in. 1) lack of service history. Impact say £5-10k? 2) potential for big bills to get it up to scratch. Impact say £5-10k?

New rubber everywhere. Porsche bushes have a shelf life of around 10-12 years based on the durometer of rubber they spec. When not used it means they won't have been changed because, well it hasn't been used, as soon as you start to use them they will start to go. This is a good £2k do do yourself, and considerably more if you pay someone else as these bolts fused into the hubs, frame etc. Good old steel and ally mixed. I bet the dampers will be fine. Then you have the hoses, the coolant tank, etc. etc. I would say to the OP, take it out, it should feel like new with such low mileage. Keep us updated too.

dba7108 said: Been offered an 04' 911 40 anniversary. Its done 40k miles but the current owner has had it since 2008 and has only done 5k miles in it. It's only had an oil change in that time. Mot checks out and I know the person so no funny business like clocking etc. What implications are there for leaving a car sat there for so long with such little use. Also should it have been serviced if it wasn't doing any miles? As anticipated you've got view from both sides - some to the extreme the cars knackered and not cost effective to repair. Get it inspected from a decent Indy and take it from there. A decent Indy will tell you what needs doing and what you can put off. Where it has been kept is key. If it's been in a dry garage I'd be more optimistic with less chance of serious corrosion. I'm assuming tinware and exhaust clamps and bolts will be corroded - if you get 4yrs out of these now you're lucky! Lack of history will be an issue for the next person if/when you sell it, but in reality the last service is the only one that counts along with the work you get done in your ownership. There are anoraks in this world that can't get past a service history that has a missed service from over 10yrs ago despite serviced regularly since Don't get hung up on the 996 Anniverary being a collector's car. It isn't, so a premium over a C4S is negligible

For clarity - I was not suggesting rebuilding it speculatively. Just going in with eyes open about whether there is potential damage, and knowledge about the extent of pain you are in for if it needs a rebuild at some point during your ownership.

Same here. The reality is, someone who hasn't used it for 16 years "probably" hasn't replaced the things that will need replacing now it is 20 years old. Most of us moan a bit when doing jobs on these older cars because it is just money being spent to get it back to standard, not improving it or anything, but at least we do most in stages which helps, with a car sat it can sometimes need loads of jobs doing at once, which is fine if you were expecting it, not so fine of you have bought a car and left yourself with no room for getting it sorted budget wise. The problem is, you can only point out the worst case scenario without more details.