New Member Wants To Buy 996

Hi I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks reading up as much as the information I can about the 996 model as I really fancy owning a Porsche and with a little windfall I think I could afford to buy and run a 996. Now for the last 20 years I've just leased company cars for my job, so I've not stepped into the world of buying cars so have no real experience of the transactions involved, so I've a number of what will seem pretty basic questions for you guys. I live within the North Circular in London which after next year will be inside the ULEZ so which of the 996's will be exempt from the charge? In loads of the posts I've read it's suggested to get the car checked out by an independent specialist....how do you go about a) finding one b) getting the seller to agree to having it done ? Finally if I've found the perfect car how do you arrange a safe and satisfactory payment for the car? Thanks in advance for your kind advice.

Welcome Moko. Great group on here with lots of super advice. I believe the later 996 are ULEZ exempt (or at least my 2003 Targa showed up as being exempt on the site checker!) There are some good cars advertised on here - so that would be a good starting point. Most sellers will be happy to have a car inspected - and if not, that should be a warning sign. Most porsche specialists will do a PPI for you and there are many of them so you can find someone fairly close to your seller. Otherwise you could always buy from one of the trusted specialists like 911 Virgin etc. Good luck with the search! C

Welcome and good hunting! Any idea what model you are after? Any proper dealer or private seller will allow a comprehensive PPI (as to who - Sid at Porsche Torque at Uxbridge is spoken of highly on here). Either the car is taken to the specialist for inspection, or some will travel (though this may limit the inspection, for example a bore scope may be hard to do without a lift). Otherwise, buy from a respected specialist... as said, 911virgin or any of the traders that are 911uk sponsors. Payment is simply a matter of paying by debit card (at a dealer) or by transfer. Obviously if its a private sale do the necessary due diligence to satisfy yourself that it is the vendor's car to sell and there is no outstanding finance (run an HPI check). If there is, I would recommend paying the finance company the outstanding balance and receiving confirmation that they will release their charge on the car rather than relying on the vendor to do this. A private seller is unlikely to offer a test drive unless you arrange or have comprehensive insurance for the car. See the V5, make sure details check out, look at the MOT history, ask to see and test all keys.

Thanks guys some really useful information there to follow up. Well due to the ULEZ it's going to have to be a latter 996 series 2, I really like the C4S with its red reflecter across the back and the big red brakes....but I also like the skinner models as they seem more like the early 911's which are sadly well above my budget. Reading the forums most people seem to love the Manual two wheel drives....but living in London I think maybe a Tiptronic might be more suitable. I've no idea about the four wheel drive but there seems to be loads out there so it may just come down to the best condition trumps my fantasy wants and likes

:welcome: to 911uk moko For driving in London a tiptronic would make great sense. When you venture out of London just flick the lever over to manual and use the buttons to get the best of both worlds. :thumb: C2, C4 and C4S are all great cars. In damp conditions you will find that the awd cars give you bit more confidence. Happy Hunting :thumb:

Tiptronic is slower on acceleration and the 3.6 is prone to bore-scoring on the tip more than manual.

Are there any figures on the Tiptronic causing more Bore scoring? Is it something that effects lots of cars or is like the IMS issue ? Would a rebuilt engine with new cylinder liners solve the problems?

In a word, yes. But that does depend on the quality of the rebuild. You could live to 100 or you could drop dead at any moment. A 996 is pretty similar.

I was hoping a 911 would be a little more healthy than me and hopefully more reliable :roll:

Tiptronic will pull away in second. I've more seen the problem mentioned on 997s myself. How much do you plan to spend?

Hahaha, well I guess we need to go on a case by case scenario. I think realistically a 996 is no less reliable than any other performance car of a similar age. I have 2 other cars that are 17 and 28 years old and sometimes they just break while sat in the garage doing nothing. Consumable parts don't seem massively more expensive than similar cars. The big cost is a rebuild that could or couldn't be required. You need to buy accepting the fact you could face such a bill or have to break a car to cut your losses. As a side note, I struggle to understand why a rebuild costs so much.

...rebuild costs grow once the engine is opened...mine ended up at about £14k...we replaced just about everything from tandem pumps to cam actuators, oil pumps etc,etc...really simply to mitigate future failures... The internals from Porsche are expensive...pistons and rings are a couple of three grand for example... There isn't a cheap way to rebuild these engines. Once you are in, you are in for big money ! They remain a risky purchase proposition;some win,some lose...[/list]

Hi Moko - you have PM, not sure if you can access them with 4 posts or not!