Opinion needed to detect if any bodywork has been done in this 996

Hello fellow Porsche lovers - I am evaluating a Porsche 996 4WD from year 2000 for purchase. After asking second time, I found out that the hood at the front had been repainted. I could not find the Option sticker under that hood. The seller is saying that the previous owner did it for scratches. I have a few photos of the insides of the trunk under the carpet. Can you please let me know your judgement if the panels have been body-worked due to any collision or denting ? What are those yellow bondo like substance. Is that normal in all Porsche 996 under the carpet? - Thanks in advance!

I�d say the frunk lid has been replaced. No options sticker is the tell. That and it appears the underside of the frunk lid is (primer) black and the car body is silver, based on the silver painted frunk cavity. Could be a light front hit that bent the frunk lid; would have likely also necessitated repainting front bumper. Look more closely for proof of repaint and repairs. Not necessarily a deal breaker on an 18 year old car if it was fixed properly.

And a visit to a good body shop should be part of your PPI plans to check for repair quality.

Thank you for response BoxsterSteve and az968gpw . The car color is Violet Chromaflair, supposedly from Factory. I am going to get a PPI in addition to my research. The shop said that they have a body shop guy as well. Seller and PPI shop is in different city so I can only hope they will do their job. Few more questions: 1) Do you know what is the that yellow bondo looking patch ? 2) Is that normal in all Porsche cars under the carpet? 3) If it is dent repairing bondo why would they put it inside instead of layering it from outside, sand it and repaint it? Does that mean the impact was heavy that it created a hole to put in a complete fiberglass fillers? Is the quarter panel of a 911 metal ? Then I can request a magnet test. Obviously, as you can realize I am not an expert in this matter. Best.

That yellow stuff is factory applied seam sealer. Nothing to be concerned about.

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I was worried about the same thing on my black 99 c2 cab - looks the same as the OP�s frunk lid (no sticker) - but I had a couple places look at the car and each one thought it was original paint.

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The front of my car has been resprayed for chips and I still have my sticker. I agree the frunk lid has been replaced. There's not even residue or a hint of an old sticker on the underside of that lid.

You can get a body shop to use a paint thickness gauge on panels to see if they might have been repainted. I had a guy come look at a 944S I had and was selling that had one, and he was able to tell that all the panels had what seemed to be the right thickness for factory paint. I’ve never looked at how costly they are, but depending on how much you buy and sell it might be worth looking into. i find it super interesting that your car is violet chromaflair (and the paint sticker clearly agrees with that), but the inside is arctic silver metallic ( or similar). Does anyone know if this is standard procedure for special colors - to have a body in a common base and then apply a different exterior finish? Also, just agreeing with others- the yellow stuff is seam sealer, and the factory seems to do a not so tidy job sometimes.

Pull the headlights real quick and inspect the area just below where the headlight mount assembly is. You should be able to get a better idea if there�s been any work. The headlights are incredibly easy to remove if the owner has the special tool in the car�s toolkit.

Seam sealer -the neatness all depend on if the guy applying it did it before or after the afternoon beer break. :-) If the hood and any front body work was done properly, shouldn't be an issue. But the only good way to be sure is to have a quality body shop inspect to check panel alignment and fit, any concealed damage. Sure looks like it had some work, but, may not be a problem, just something to look into. Name me an oscar-winning actress who hasn't had some body work done - lol !

Thanks folks for the information about seam sealer. I did not know about it! @ IslaTurbine - I passed on your tip about the headlights to the guys at the PPI shop. What should typically hint a bodywork there? @ cds72911 - The PPI body shop guy has a paint depth meter and I requested them to include the readings in my report. This car one of the millennium editions hence the odd color. I don't know, if the base needs to be black or arctic silver. I found a video on youtube about another car of the millennium edition where the owner opened the trunk but the inside color is still not clear: Check out from 3:30 mark in this video: You Tube

Also another question from you folks who have actually experienced the expenses from your own pocket. If I have to take the engine out in a 996 for an IMS bearing replacement, what are the other items that you suggest I should get changed at the same time since its an engine out exercise anyways. Why pay twice in few years right?

Yep, and a little PM will go a long ways toward keeping you happy. Water pump, AOS, coolant reservoir, belts, check motor mounts, etc. for starters.

also for some reason the turbo twist wheels of the car has been replaced by the 1st owner by a different set of wheels. Apparently it was not holding up the air. Not sure how that is possible. Let me know if you can think of any particular signs of wreckage that I should keep a look out for which can result in a Wheel change.

Here is the photo of the current wheel. Which model or year are they from ?

It's really hard for someone looking at pictures on the internet to give you an opinion about body work done especially if it was done well. The rim/tire not holding air and the hood being replaced tells me something might have happened. The guys doing the PPI will be your best bet to discover any previous work done. Looks like a nice car from what little I've seen. And for what it's worth, the original wheels have been known to have the chrome peel off on most of them. Good luck!

@ 808Bill - Yes I agree with you. I am just collecting all your insights and opinions so that I can I can have a meaningful discussion and ask the right questions to the PPI shop and point them to the right direction. I do hope this is a good clean car! At the end, in 17/18 years there can be so many reasons the wheels and lid can be replaced. Maybe some hoodlum punched the front lid or climbed on top of it and dented it and it had to be replaced. Maybe the 1st owner was not happy with the looks of the wheels to begin with and wanted to replace it. The reason can be so simple and I might be over complicating .

Yup, don't over think it. There is a Millennium group on here. Maybe ask over there about the silver base. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...stry-info.html

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Possibly the oil cooler, clutch, throw out bearing and flywheel as well.

Repaints are pretty easy to spot once you know what to look for. Paint edges, marring at the attachment points from removal and renstallation, texture and color differences, etc. Any body tech can show you in a few minutes how to Id them. Your pics show the entire tub was not replaced, but those crumply spots at the back bottom of the tub are of interest. If possible, examine a “known good” car so you can tell what’s normal. Finallly, $100 spent on a paint meter will give you piece of mind and also indicate to the seller that you are an astute buyer not to be trifled with.

The bonnet being replaced is not always an indication of a hit . its very common for people to put too much luggage etc in the trunk and then force the lid shut . this can creat hard to fix dimples from the underside . thats why protective liners for the underside of the bonnet/hood are commonly sold . once it's been damaged , painting and fitting a second hand one would be easier

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+1 on that. A friend had a heavy box fall off a shelf in his garage and land smack on the hood. New hood was way less expensive that trying to repair the old one. Just get the body shop guys where the PPI is being done (presuming they are good) to spend 30 min on the car. Then you'll know for certain. The PP{I tech can also look for new parts at the front end.

Have a body shop look at it as suggested, I do see some welds that are irregular shape in both sides which could mean repair work. Best way to check is to compare to another car. Also on both sides on the floor pan there seem to be some indentations on both sides, could be factory but I would investigate. Another tell tale sign is to look at bolt heads which will show marks if they have been turned.