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YOUR RESEARCHShould I consider this car for the purchase ?
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Use porsches
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There is always another car and this example is why one must keep this in mind when shopping used Porsches.
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Suggestion · Original poster
failure to start the car due to dirty crankshaft position sensor (fixed by cleaning the sensor, but permanent sensor failure is possible)
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Suggestion
Anybody recall what the factory recommended interval is for oil changes?
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Replace than porsche themselves suggest, particularly in the early years
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Suggestion
I've been told by some people who should know, that one of the main reasons for IMS bearing failure is the lack of more regular oil changes than Porsche themselves suggest, particularly in the early years.
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Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Greetings, gentlemen,
I'm looking to buy 2004 Carrera 4 Cab , asked current owner to provide previous servicing records, and they state in 12 years and 67k kilometers (40k miles) there were three oil changes - at ~9k miles, 26k miles and 35k miles .
Should I walk away from this car ?
Current oil level and oil pressure gauges look like this:
Way too little info. Just because you have only 3 shown oil changes I doubt (hopefully) that's all that were done. Should have had 24 by now. What's the asking price?
In short form, yes.
In long form - having been burnt by an IMS - I still think these engines tend to be very reliable if treated correctly. Yes, they have issues, but if you sort through all the threads - overall the vast majority of owners don't have major issues. So when looking at a 996 you need to minimize those risks. And the first rule I would follow is proper maintenance. Which was not followed.
I can ask seller for more data. Ultimately I'll do the PPI by the Porsche dealer, with cylinder walls inspection , among other things, but if such scarce oil changes make early engine malfunction certain, I can turn down this offer and not spend my time going through this.
Unfortunately, that's the case; one thing I'm certain is that oil wasn't changed for the last three years; I could give previous owner the benefit of doubt for 2007-2012 interval:
Price is in my acceptable range, but this isn't US sale, and cars here are incredibly rare, and offers could be counted by the thumb fingers of my right hand
Run away, quickly. Frequent, demonstrable oil changes are a must IMO with any M96. I'm also negatively biased in that this is a Tip and not a manual, so that's actually two big strikes for me.
Kind of what I was thinking. I sure wouldn't go that long between oil changes, but I doubt that means it needs to be flatbedded in for an immediate rebuild either. If there is limited inventory to purchase and it passes a PPI with a borescope, then I'd consider the car.
What earthly reason can there be for only changing the oil three times? What else has not been done? Brake fluid flush? Belts changed? How is the AO separator, the water pump, the wheel bearings, bushings, shocks, etc., etc.
Have to agree with JI here. The PPI will likely be a brutal experience and I'm assuming that you're paying for it. Personally wouldn't be interested in this car if nothing has been maintained on it regardless of how rare they are. No oil changes? Incredible! The auto trans - well whatever floats your boat - but if these cars are rare then probably rare also will be parts availability.
Well, I've got last year inspection list, it includes:
failure to start the car due to dirty crankshaft position sensor (fixed by cleaning the sensor, but permanent sensor failure is possible)
shot right rear shock
possible short circuit in passenger seat heating
rear sway bar was incorrectly installed and damaged suspension components
Head unit (PCM) needs to be replaced
no airbag signal to the dashboard
sport exhaust activation button malfunction
I'll skip this car, thanks everyone for your opinions
I've been told by some people who should know, that one of the main reasons for IMS bearing failure is the lack of more regular oil changes than Porsche themselves suggest, particularly in the early years.
Personally I'd look for another car as this one has seemingly been poorly maintained.
I think you made a wise decision. The rear sway bar being incorrectly installed and damaged suspension components suggests this car has been in an accident, maybe one the owner had "fixed" in such a way that it wouldn't show up on CarFax, and then on top of that the other items would require no little sum of money to put right.
Then there is the risk of problems yet to appear arising from the car's inadequate servicing.
There is always another car and this example is why one must keep this in mind when shopping used Porsches.
The right car for you is out there. You just have to keep looking. I like to say the 2nd best thing to owning/driving a Porsche is shopping for a Porsche.
Happy shopping!
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