Buying High Milage 996 C4S

Hi all, Ive sold my 987 Cayman and am looking to get into a 911. Options are slim in Ireland but I've come across a 2002 996.2 with 155,000 miles. Massive history file with invoices and photographic evidence of IMS, RMS and Clutch, as well as full suspension refresh front and rear being done in the last 10,000 miles. I will be getting it bore scoped to check for scoring My question really is how long do these engines hold up with all this preventative maintenance. The car is on the high end of my budget and wouldn't want to end up needing a rebuild from general wear in then next couple of years. I know there's a lot of variables to how long an engine can last. but I see very few on forums or for sale over 140k mark.

I would also recommend a compression test and leak down . You want to determine the health of the valves and cylinder bore . If cylinders look good and compression/leak down are good you have done all you can to minimize the risk . Obviously there are no guarantees . Good luck and let us know the results .

Both the 996 cars I purchased with blown engines (bore scoring ) were at the mid 130,000 mile range. Do not know the maintenance records of either. I will say that the 2003 3.6 was clean inside the engine , not so sure about the 2001.

This is certainly a very desirable variant but why not cast your net wider into the UK where there are bound to be more for sale? Also a good maintenance regime does not always extend to the various plastic, rubber, electrical components which get brittle with age and in the engine area have to survive a huge number of heat cycles. I bought a C4 privately two years ago and love it - but it had only done 44k miles and was a 99 vehicle which gave me comfort plus I had a thorough going over by a Porsche expert. The price was at the bottom of the range so I felt I had some reserve for the day when something bad happened. I fear you may spend too much time listening to squeaks, rattles, ticks and knocks ever to properly enjoy it. You have done the right thing to come onto this forum and there are many wiser folk than I on it who can give you guidance and input. It is a fantastic resource.

On some level you are almost better off buying a higher mileage car with a lot of receipts vs a low mileage version selling at a premium where you don't know whats been done, especially if you can get a good deal. At 20+ years old things just need replacing regardless of mileage because gaskets, seals, rubber etc break down over time even if the car has 60k miles. I'm sure there are plenty of examples of these engines going for 200k but if you are buying a vehicle with 155k miles you have to expect that its going to need some type of enging refresh at some point if you intend on driving it. IMO you are better off doing this with a C4S simply because in my view the 996 C4S is unique among all of the various generation C4S iterations and demand is likely to only increase in the coming years.

What is the price?

Plastic chain guides get pretty chewed up at that mileage, regardless of maintenance, that would concern me more than most other issues if you are looking to keep your budget under control.

My bet, at that type of mileage, at best, cylinders are at least at max out of round/taper specs. Piston skirts probably partially collapsed. Ring grooves maybe worn to max limit. High strung all aluminum racing type engines are not known for 200,000+ longevity. So buy it, drive it for a while, if it makes it to 175,000, an engine tear down and refresh will probably be unavoidable at least for piece of mind.?

Thanks all for the responses. I�ve decided to go a different route for now and will hopefully get back into a Porsche in a year or so. it�s difficult to get a nice one in Ireland for reasonable money due to import taxes, bringing a car from the Uk isn�t really an option. Registration and import duties effectively double the price of the car. it would be my only car so don�t like the idea of potentially being carless during a rebuild should the worst happen.

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Nothing about the M96.0 is high strung or "racing type". But yeah, OP, given your circumstances I think holding off for now is the right choice if secondary transportation isn't an option.