'01 996 Questions

Hi, New member, and first time poster. I'm coming out of a G35 Coupe, and looking to buy my first Porsche! I have wanted a 911 for as long as I can rememebr, and have found a Silver '01 996 C2 with 35k (PSM, Turbo-look wheels, Tiptronic). Clean Carfax, and was sold and serviced by the same dealer since new. They are looking for $28k. I have read about the RSM / IMS issues, and this one has had the RSM replaced, but not the IMS. I guess my questions are: - Is there anything else I should be aware of, or common problems? - I think $28k is a bit steep. I'm think more like $25k? - What would the IMS cost to replace, and should it be done proactively? - Do you think I could get an extended warranty on this, and do you know of any reputable companies? I know it'll be sifference coming out of the G, but I just don't want to get hosed on my first Porsche! Thanks in advance guys for any thoughts.

IMS bearing replacement from LN Engineering or flat 6 inovations runs around $600-900 depending on which kit you get. Can be done with engine in the car but trans has to be dropped out. Lots of work to put in. Best done when a clutch is put in. Cost of clutch job and IMSR is around $3k. It will be a lot more for a Tip car as you have to drop the whole engine and trans, I believe. Read up on the LNE website and F6I for a lot of info. There are warning signs, but you must stay on top of it to catch it. I would offer more like $23.5 for a car with Tip.

Welcome! Try searching.. similar topics are covered ATLEAST once a week.. By the way, Are you a DIYer?

Somewhat. I can do the basics, but don't have the knowledge or tools for anything advanced. That's why I was thinking about the extended warranty in my questions. This purchase won't be a daily driver (live in the city), but will be my only car, so needs to be reliable.

Quotes source post: 8540886

Gotcha, well the guys that know a bit more about CPO's need to chime in.. Reliability shouldnt be an issue. My 996 has 100k and still starts everyday (except last year.. it liked to not start after refueling.. problem solved though)

Quotes source post: 8539689

From another post you made after this one I don't think you're going to find an 01 with any CPO warranty on it. My info is the time limit is 8 years after a car was sold so the '01 if it had even the newer version of the CPO would have had its coverage expire on time in '09. (My 03 came with a 2 year, 100K mile CPO warranty when I bought it in June 09 and with 10K miles. The warranty expires June of these year.) Now some dealers offer an aftermarket warranty. I forget the name of the company (but Fidelity seems to come to mind and not the mutual fund company either). I looked into it but just the basic coverage is expensive, IIRC running around $2K/year, and while I didn't read the fine print in much detail I could see to get better coverage (more things covered) the cost went way up. But check into it and read the fine print and make up your own mind. Sincerely, Macster.

28 is way too much. if u can go with 6speed, i would advise u to avoid tip. (i am a 2001 tip owner) those cars need to be driven, after i moved back to city 2 years ago, i only drive around 2k mile in 2 years. i had the following gone bad: coolant tank, alternator, front trunk release, MAf sensor. not sure if its a timing thing, but when i daily driving my car, i only had to change one lower control arm.

The Porsche "experience" cannot be had with a Tiptronic. Some would say not even with water-cooling. Buy an "original" Targa, '83 or later, and drive that for a year or so.

I didn't buy an aftermarket warranty with my 996, and it is my daily driver. Aside from wear items and normal things like battery replacement, it has never needed any extensive repairs. The worst one I can think of was bushings and strut mounts for a rattling suspension, but that probably wouldn't have been covered by a warranty anyway. FWIW, I bought an aftermarket warranty for the Cayenne that extends it to 8 years or 100K miles. It was expensive - something like $3,200. I haven't used it once, and now I'm at 7 years and 82K miles. I'm guessing that decision will end up being a waste of money.

Welcome DRW, While reliability is not a major issues for these cars, it is a completely different animal than a G35. These were $75k+ or so cars brand new and as such, maintenance and parts are very expensive. There is no driving up to a Jiffy Lube for $19.95 oil change and a $49.99 4 wheel alignment. Also, I am not sure if this is a daily driver for you or not, but be prepared for lengthy down time for repairs and maintenance. This is a 10+ year old car. This is not to scare you but to have you face the reality that is P-car ownership.

Welcome! Its low miles which is attractive What other options does car have? Any pics/links for the car? I will start in the $23k range

$28 is too much for a tip. They're fine for people who want an automatic transmission or who can't figure out a clutch, but in no way worth a premium over a 6sp manual. As far as maintenance goes...things go wrong just like any car. Mine has been no more expensive to maintain then any other car I've had, cheaper in some ways, but I do my almost all my own work and the things I don't do I tell my guy exactly what I want done and how many hours I'm willing to pay to get it done. If you're taking just it in to a shop and telling them to fix whatever is wrong then expect to get really screwed by unscrupulous mechanics...especially at a dealership and especially if it's a tip. It's called the Porsche tax and no you don't have to pay it. I'm daily driving mine and loving every minute of it.

You are looking at a nearly 10 year old car. Expect something to break/go wrong. Could be minor, or could be major.. could spend THOUSANDS on an aftermarket warranty or use that money to "self insure". Life is full of risks. There are no guarantees. For a car that will sit most of its life, consider a battery tender or a frequent buyers plan . When a car sits, rubber seals dry up, leaks occur, pressurized lines get used to not being pressurized etc. Tires can flat spot. These are things that happen to ALL cars.. just that when they are Porsches, the parts tend to cost more and the dealer rates are higher .

I say search around for a bit. Don't buy an automatic unless your have a reason to. The market has really dropped for the 996 and there are quite a few for sale at a great price. Offer them 24K and not a penny more if you really like that car...and make them show you the maintenance proof that they are telling you. Just my 2 cents.

Howdy. Welcome. Just bought my first 996 recently and went through a similar experience. Decent mileage; you want it to be driven 5-8K/year at a minimum, so at times the low miles is not a benefit. Cars not driven have trouble, as you've read above. Issue is that the 2002 and prior 996 cars had more problems, and in truth until 2004 the cars were not truly "fixed." Even then still some issues. Put a few dollars away in case you have the likely problems that you will have. You can search IMS and decide whether it's worth the extra cash upfront for the fix now, or wait for disaster (like I did). You may have an outstanding reason for wanting a tiptronic; the best is that you don't drive manual! Although it's probably true you won't get the same experience, there's plenty that you will get. The earliest tiptronics were sub-par (not an expert on this), and clearly the more modern dual-clutch manutronics (PDK) are worlds better, but if you want an automatic, and you don't want to pay a ton, you're looking at relatively early versions. Others on this board can tell you more about the tip, and when to avoid it. Probably. Macster's got it right; no CPO, but third-party. You'll pay a lot (as did I) and not get much (just like me). Which means that you should have 100% of the service records, a definite plus. One-owner, well cared-for makes a difference. Of course they are; it's a low-mileage dealer-serviced and sold car. As you've read, it's high/overpriced, but that's because of who's selling it. Not surprised at that price at all; for a 2001 C2 tiptronic that's been under-driven, that is likely too much, specifically because you will pay $4K for the aftermarket warranty. So, if you want an early 996, automatic, serviced car with records in hand, from a dealer, and are willing to pay more than 10-20% higher than you "should," plus you probably then get the benefits of dealer purchase (if they're good, they can continue to service it, give you a loaner, etc), and you have spare cash, and you've done your research, go for it. If not, I think the consensus is learn more, do more research, drive a ton of these cars, and then come back to this one (it will still be there at the dealer). Good luck! Edit: November 2010 Excellence 2001 C2 coupe range is 19,300 - 25,900, so the dealer price is of course, too high as others have stated, for the year and for the auto trans. For $23K, if it was exactly what you wanted it might be worth it for you. Or get them to throw in an aftermarket warranty at that higher price, plus the clear bra if not already on.

Quotes source post: 8541417

Yes I would say a max of $20K

People usually buy TIP new. After that, they are VERY hard to sell. 6speed only. I think everyone I know would kill me if I bought it as a tip!

Quotes source post: 8544272

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/rlwhore.gif

tip vs 6speed comes up alot. 96% of the comments are pro 6speed. I own a tip and, for now, I am happy with it. Its a personal decision really... I like having the tip in NYC for obvious reasons but the 2 or 3 times a year I take it to the track I half wish I had a manual. Since I track it much less then I drive it otherwise a tip works for me. FYI 2002+ 996s have a much better tiptronic transmission. If you are set of getting a tip, look for a 2002+ model.

My G35 is the 6MT. I love it, wife hates it. Not a great reason to switch to auto I know. The only other one I'm looking at is an '03 with 48k, but it's a Carmax car with no history and they want a fortune over book for it. ($30k) I'm going to drive the '01 tomorrow and will post some thoughts after that. I'm trying to make a rational, considered decision, and not let the fact I've wanted a 911 for as long as I can remember impact my judgement!!

Be sure to check the Rennlist classifieds for cars too.. I recall seeing a C4 coupe tip posted recently for around $22k

Thanks Peter. OK. So the dealer just called me, they sold the '01. However they have an '03 C4S that they just took in. Again was sold and serviced by the dealer since new. 45k miles. Tiptronic. They are asking $36.9k. What do you guys think? Obviously I'm not paying close to $37 for it, but would appreciate anyone's thoughts.

C4S is perhaps my favorite looking 996. Wide body, no gaudy rear spoiler like the TT (or those big sugar scoopes in the rear fenders ). $38K sure sounds a bit high though.

Well, unfortunately, you might. As the owner of a 2003 C4S that price is high for a tiptronic, and slightly high for the mileage (actually, yes, it's high for the mileage) but not high for a dealer-priced car. Excellence price on these tops out about $35K, and so if you add a few percent for the "low" mileage and several obligatory percent for the "dealer special pricing," you're right at $37K. I'm biased clearly but the car is drop-dead gorgeous, and I agree that the 4S is a great-looking 996. Racer's got it: all the best features without turbo extras. I dig the wide hips plus extra body parts but it's the red calipers that get me every time It is argued by some (me) that the 4S is the most desired of the 996 non-turbo models, so you may pay top dollar, which is why if you compare a C2 to a C4 and then specifically a 4S, you're watching the price jump more than you would think. You're also getting a newer car; there's absolutely no guarantee that the '03 won't have a catastrophic failure, but again some argue that things got better after 2002.5. Certainly the car is different after that point. To give you a sense of price, I looked at a 2001 C4 prior to the 2003 C4S. Packages and mileage similar in both cars (leather, sound; otherwise stock). Prices I saw were >$10,000 apart. And the C4 was a dealer car. I'm curious, though. If you're already driving a G35 6MT, I understand the spousal issue but I would think twice on the tiptronic. That you absolutely love the G35 manual means you'll love the 6-speed even more, but that you may not love the tip quite as much as you hope to. I'm now completely making stuff up here, but I would ponder your transmission choice another minute. If you were driving a recent G37 tiptronic, and you wanted the upgrade, I'd think, sure....but (and I'm absolutely not an expert) arguably the G35 is a better car (more fun anyway) than the extremely recent 2010 G37, and again, if it's manual, why downgrade? I probably could have put that in a PM, come to think of it....

Thanks for the thoughts. I actually drive a new G37 auto and wouldn't swap it for my G35 6MT. The 996 is another matter though. I liked the '01 C2 that they sold, but really like the '03 C4S (Seal Grey, Grey Lthr, Bose). It looks so sorted, and as Racer said, it's the wide body, but clean. The dealier called and said they'd go to $35.9k for a quick sale, so I think there's room to work a deal. I think I'm going to see if I can push them to CPO it for that price. I'd be more comfortable at $35k though. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, but you've got to try, right?

Go for it. I failed miserably, but got an aftermarket warranty as a consolation prize. There are likely a few grey/grey cars out there; take your time. That price is dealer-reasonable, but still high. It's unlikely a dealer will give you a CPO on an '03, but as you said, not impossible. The issue is one of the definition of what "CPO" means to Porsche. For what it's worth, I've heard mixed reviews on the CPO, but the negatives tend to come straight from the dealers (only), who likely make a few bucks (or more) on the aftermarket warranty they sell. You may find that simply, Porsche does not CPO an '03, which means you're stuck with Fidelity or other.