98/98 996 - What are they like to live with ?

I'm considering buying an early 996 around the £15k mark with I guess up to 100k miles on the clock. This in theory sounds fine, I'm comfortable with the annual servicing charges....internet seems to suggest £500 is about right. Car will be living on the street and used at weekends mainly. So provided the stamps are all there in the book and the major services are done this seems quite straigth forward. Right or not right ? I wanteed to get a feel for what they are like to live with, are there major problems that need to be sorted ? What generally needs doing on top of the service, am i going to be expecting a bill for £2k each year? This doesnt put me off I just want to go into into 996 ownership with my eyes open? I did own an old SC a few years ago so aware of the potential for expense (ended up with a new engine at 140k miles). Can any owners or anyone who has recently bought one give me any advice ?

If you want to play it safe when going for a motor of that age then I'd budget to have at least £2000 left in the bank for a 'just in case fund'. They're great cars, and the do tend to be quite reliable (despite some of the internet hype), but it's not unfeasable that you suddenly find that you need new brakes, radiators and a new clutch within a few months. Bear in mind that a lot (not all, but a fair few) of people actually time the selling of their cars just before some big bills are due. As the owner they'll know what they've paid out for and what they're expecting needs work soon. It makes financial sense to move the car on before this happens - if you end up with one of these then you're going to have to foot the bill. If you're lucky enough to bag a sale from a forum regular here though, then I'm sure you'd be unlikely to experience that. Just remember, not everyone pampers the car to the same extent. When you're buying that old don't just focus on dealers. There's honestly little benefit to buying a car from "Dave's garage". One cavet to that is if they're well know porsche specalist, then it's probably worth paying a small premium. Do your research, and quiz any private seller to try and get an understanding of how well they've looked after their car (I always like to ask a few tricky questions which I already know the answer to, to gauge their level of understanding or see how honest they are). In all situations, get a PPI. Even if it's a dealer. The chances are the inspection will find something, either a fault or some work that will need doing soon. If this is the case than you can use this to negotiate a discount on the car (which will more than cover the cost of the PPI), if nothing is found then you've got total peace of mind (invaluable when buying a 10 year old performance car). Best of luck mate!

Given the prices of 996 I would pay a little more and get a lower mileage newer car. Early cars with RMS problems seem common, although i've not experienced this. I used mine as a daily drive and now as a weekend toy, never had any major problems. Servicing is cheaper than £500, and £2000 a year just shouldn't happen unless you have serious problems. If in doubt get an expert to check out the car before you buy.

So whats the deal with the RMS issue? I also understand that there are engine problems and have read stories of cracked head or blocks ? It's likely I wont be able to extend past £15k so am predicting an earlier car, budget is a limiter unfortunately. Should I be worried about some of the horrors stories? Or given the numbers produced is this in reality an issue that effects a small percentage but its onlt the ones we hera about ?

The rear main oil seal (RMS) should have been done by now that's been serviced by Porsche. I just bought a 2001 996, 2 owner car with 78k on the clock (backed up with all old MOTs) and searching through the service bills that came with the car and talking to the owner the RMS had been done 6 years ago.

Agree with what everyone says above, dont get too stressed re the RMS it's no big deal, I had a 98 996 which I sold in october had 2 years of trouble free motoring used every day parked out side long, short journeys it never missed a beat, that said I didn't scrimp on the costs - if anything needed doing it was done. - if your budgeting get a PPI done and get them to estimate outlay required over say 12 months to get an reasonably accurate spend forecast.

Yes I think thats a very sensible idea.. find a suitable car within budget, check it out my self, then get a PPI done.....and then as you say dont scrimp on servicing. I can handle up to a 1k per year servicing if needs be but really want the car to be reliable. Also sounds like a good idea to budget a couple of grand for stuff that needs doing but I suppose having the PPI will enable me to get the price down if thats the case. Thanks for the advice.....I wil undoubtedly be back for more.

The BIG service bills are for the 48K & 96K miles service, so make sure these have been done if you are looking at 100K mileage. Check through history to see if rads/condensers have been replaced as these are prone to corrosion and will set you back £1500. Coolant header tanks split and cost £300 or so to have replaced. RMS issues will have shown up generally around the 40K mark but are really not as common as poeple make out. At the end of the day you are looking at a 12 year old car and bits wear out, I do about 15K a year, car lives outside and It's a superb daily drive. TB

If only used at weekends you MAY have battery problems. Not everyone does, but a lot on here do seem to have some trouble with the electrics draining the battery. CTEK battery charger/conditioner seems very widely used (search for CTEK on this forum). Potentially tricky if the car lives on the street all week, and may not always be right outside your house?

I have a 1998 C2, bought it 12 months ago, yeah i did have a few probs with the car, but the warranty covered most of this, the dealer added new breaks and discs all round, new header bottle, and even a new clutch, most of this was due to the car standing around for long periods not being used by the previous owner, i now have a great car 48k on the clock and due for its next service in April. can anyone advise on cost, it did have a major service before i bought it

I think that £500 per service is very optimistic, especially for a high mileage car, I'd be surprised if you can find one that cheap that won't need new discs, rads, or something else pricey shortly, and any of those will push the first service up to around £1500-£2000. That said, I bought an '89 996 with nearly 70k on the clock, and it's been expensive but worth every penny. Mostly gets driven around town, sits outside, but I drove it down to Italy last summer, and it was perfect. Several thousand miles roundtrip. The fuel bill was horrifying because of the strong euro, and cost of high octane fuel in parts of Europe, but well worth it. And competetive with business class flights, and I know which I prefer! So, in short, I'd expect more like £1000 per service on average, you'll get some £500 ones, but also some reall eye watering ones. - Steve

48k is a major service in the book but sounds like you had this done early so your next service is a minor one which is mainly just an oil change and general check over, expect to pay £350 - 400 at a good indy.

Good thread and great advice :thumb:

Yeah all good advice. I guess differing opinions come from different opinions which means there is a degree of the unkown which you just need to go with.

Totally Agree. When I entered 911 ownership for the first time last year I found it to be a fantastic journey into the unknown. I don't think that you will regret it. And the guys on this site will cushion any of your falls. :worship: You're a long time dead. Go for it...carpe diem and all that :thumb: