996 Targa

I've been waiting for the a late 997 in the right spec and manual to come up. I've given up waiting, but have found a nice Targa for sale. Its a 2002 66k miles, the guy bought it from a non OPC garage 5 years ago approx, and has since self serviced it. Its a standard spec it seems, but I'm not an expert. It has its original IMS bearing and clutch, and has paper work prior the purchase from the reseller but no other paperwork. Its not too far away from Harlow. The problem as such, is and I think with any 911, as I found when selling my 997, was you can sell to trade and minimise the hassle, its often easier than selling to Jo public. I'm not sure I have time to arrange a PPI, and hope to view tomorrow. I'm thinking it will still be a nice car, that will handle well, maybe it may need a suspension freshen up. So dilemma is, do I go with my gut, or loose the car from waiting for a PPI, and as its not big money, I can't see the guy wanting to deal with the hassle and will just sell to the trade. I'm guessing I'll need to budget for a clutch and IMS? Also resale in the future, I won't have the last 30k miles service history, just past MOT's, so I think the price reflects this, but may be hard to move on in the future, as any Porsche enthusiast will want to see the paper work. As these cars are getting on, surely its more likely they won't have paper work, and will be self serviced? The Targa roof has not been used regularly, do these need a service too? Normally I'd walk away, but sounds an honest guy, and I could be walking away from a car. And being honest I can purchase a 996 without a loan and be happy that I own it outright. I'm going to get the original plate so I can check the MOT's. It's a car which is 16 years old so its getting on, I can get it up on the ramp which is happy about, so there are no alarm bells ringing I just won't know what to look for, bar any obvious leaks. Thoughts?

Ill just mention the Targa roof as i specialise on them .. Car running operate it and it will slowly go fully back then fully close it .. it should run the complete way without stopping .. it will be slow though . If at any point it stops or you have to pull the roof to close then from past experience your pretty much into a cable replacement. If it makes any grinding noises then theres a fair chance you will need motors as well . The original cable setup has been modified , if you pull off the back interior panel and the cable guide tubes are gold then its original .. if silver then it has been replaced and thats good . Seeing as the whole point of a targa is the roof then i kinda think this is one of the more important parts to focus on . There is no " greaseing / lubrication " that will make it faster .. yes perhaps in the short term but Lub collects dirt and that will in turn jam it up . prices .. if lucky a cable replacement is a about £2200 .. with motors its another £700 .. if the front frame seal has split then at the same time thats about £350 .. ill not mention the drive linkage as ive probably already scared you . On the plus side .. you only tend to do this once in a cars lifetime .

Hello, I must admit I went against the consensus of getting a PPI. That may haunt me at a later date, but time will tell. There are a couple of bits that you may want to double-check: 1) You say he self-serviced it, but has no paperwork! Surely he would have some evidence (receipts with dates that show appropriate intervals (or link to mileages you can check (via the MOT history) to know if its been looked after? 2) I tested a 65k C2 (was nr Hemel Hempstead), where it was on the original clutch. The bite was very high and the gear-change wasnt pleasant.....which is apparently a sign that a new clutch is an imminent requirement. This put me off the car (i ended up buying one that had just had a new clutch), as he wanted the same money as ones with the clutch done..... Conscious I am shooting from the hip here, but I would be nervous of this car. If its been owned by an enthusiast (as suggested by the self-service aspect) then surely they would have the sense to keep the documentation (invoices if bought online????). Also, (hopefully not too up-front) you mention that you dont want to inconvenience the seller, in case they revert to selling it to a dealer. In this market cash is king, so you should feel entitled to ask for checks if you want them done. If the seller says no, that is suggestive (but not conclusive). Either way, good luck with the viewing. I love looking at cars and chatting about cars, so usually enjoy a viewing.

Thanks for the replies. The car sold to a dealer today, the price was good, so I am bot surprised it sold swiftly. I did also learn that the roof did have problems closing, so maybe it was a bullet missed from what I've read on this thread. I would of just bought with my heart as I do with cars so it was good to learn that the roofs can be problematic. I did not know there was a viewing today, so I'm a little disappointed, but I guess thats how it goes with private sales

When buying a Targa then a roof check and a budget for say £3k is in order .. Ive done 19 cable replacements so far in about 10 years .. we currently have 4 enquirys with 2 of them booked which seem to need a replacement of the cables. These cars are getting older now and the roof seems to be failing more often. As said though .. it will only need doing once .. ive never yet worked on one with the modified cable tubes .