Internet stories now impacting my 911 ownership joy

So I picked up my 911 cab a week ago. As the days go by, the more I get into it, the more I hang out on these forums...and read about engine failures!! Now call me a mug for going for something a little older (99), without a PPI and without taking out some kind of warranty. I am where I am! The car has a full service history, but this seems meaningless in the context of engine failures. I used to have an Impreza before and loved every second of it without thinking the engine was going to go pop! Why o why can I not feel the same way about the 911 - it's infinitely more joyful to own...but I have this yin-yang feeling that something may go wrong and I am so paranoid I keep checking for changes in coolant levels (which appear to be evident) and oil levels. I'm hoping this is just a 'newbie' feeling and in a couple of weeks I'll become numb to this if the car is still working (and the sun is out!)

Yep. Given time, the worry will ease but the joy will grow :thumb:

I have empathy with the way that you feel!! I always do a thorough PPI including having the car up on a lift and going over it with a fine toothed comb. Even with all of this I always worry for a few weeks after buying in case something major happens. Usually after driving the car for a couple of weeks and doing a major service things calm down as regards worrying and I begin to really enjoy the car. Yes, you will read horror stories about 996 engine failures but people mainly report problems. Content and trouble free owners are the silent MAJORITY IMO SO...... As time goes on and you have the car serviced you will begin to settle i think. At the end of the day..... What will be will be ... And that applies to all Porsche's by the way. So relax and enjoy your car!

My advice - chill out and enjoy your car. There are numerous threads on this forum evidencing that engine failures affect only a small percentage of cars. Bottom line, you could have had (and probably should have had) some form of inspection done, but there's no guarantee that would have detected a likely engine failure. If you're looking for peace of mind, then get it inspected at your local OPC - it's a good health check anyway. Just be prepared for the fact that they may recommend some work (new discs & pads, for example). And don't rev your car beyond 4,000rpm until the fluids are fully warmed through!

Just enjoy it and stop been worried. As said above its very unlikely any of the PPIs would identify and predict an engine failure unless of course the engine has a major problem. Looking forward to see your comments and experience compare with the scooby. I know completely different cars but... Theo

Most don't have major problems, however, you will read about engine problems as this is a forum to get advice to address all manor of problems from people who have: a) first hand personal experience b) expert technical knowledge Doc Croc's advise is sound... you should have probably had some kind of inspection, however, it is unlikely an inspection would have picked up on any internal engine issues (unless the pressure was very low). If you want absolute peace of mind then you should consider a cylinder compression test AND internal visual cylinder inspection using an endescope... I say consider because if you do decide to go down this road and there is a problem then you will have some serious decisions to make! If your fluids are ok (particularly oil) and its not blowing smoke you probably have nothing to worry about... so enjoy!

Thought I was on some STD Consultants self diagnosis forum for a minute! And if you had mentioned gear knob I would have been worried :?: :grin: ACTUNG is right (oops I have agreed again!) few people post on the forums to say that everything is perfect - been through the same angst with other cars :dont know:

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As others have said, no guarantee that a PPI would have picked up an impending cylinder head/bore crack anyway, so don't beat yourself up about not having one done. If it's going to happen, there's nothing you can do to prevent it, except warm the car up really properly before using full throttle or more than 3500 revs. I ran my '99 C4 for 4 years and 65,000 miles with no warranty and had no problems at all in the engine department (it had 42k on the clock when I bought it). Personally, I wouldn't bother to take it anywhere to be inspected now... If you take it to an OPC they will convince you that it needs a new RMS (which it probably doesn't - unless it's pissing oil everywhere), new brake discs all round, new radiators, new MAF and God only knows what else! You own the car now, so there's no negotiating benefit to be gained and all that will happen is you'll either spend loads of money you didn't need to, or worry about not spending it! Just drive it and enjoy it - these cars are made to be driven hard (once warmed up, of course) and regularly... It is generally the rarely used, thrashed from cold, garage queens that go pop!

+1 Enjoy the car Raj - Wattie is bang on in his post above

I need to report some recent findings There is nothing wrong with my car I find myself spending thousands to maintain it and modify it. I am at peace with my Porsche.We don't worry about each other. I love it and it loves me back. Raj don't worry, you own the finest sports car ever made. I have a scooby in my household Utter waste of petrol Sounds nice- period..

You have developed an accute case of car hypercondria by the sounds of it. CHILL OUT !! Remember anything machanical can fail and break down no matter what make or model. Enjoy your car, stop obsessing over horror stories on forums, you must remember bad news travels and for every bad story there is hundreds of good ones that you dont hear about. Drive your car and enjoy it and if something breaks then get it fixed until then be happy you have a cool car.

I have experienced engine failure (well, the intermediary shaft bearings decided one night to take a trip out of the casing and distribute themselves all over the inside of the engine!!) but this didn't, nor has it since, prevented me from pushing myself and the car to the limit - on or off track. I've owned 2 4s's - and although this appears to be a 'known' issue - the stories of it happening appear to be buried mainly in "I hate porsche" forums!! I would agree with all here - the car is meant to be driven, you can't see inside the engine and any vehicle could possibly carry an inherent fault.. IMHO - forget it, enjoy it - the summer is coming, yee ha!! :thumbs:

Well said !! :thumbs:

Couldn't agree with the comments more - I started listening for all of the little noises and then just thought "b****s", enjoy it. I bought a higher mileage car and it seems to run better and more smoothly the more I use it - the Tracker engineer just said "they need driving!