Just Purchase 1999 996 from BAT What's the First Things You Would Do?

Hey 996 Crew! This is my first 996, I also own a 991.2 PDK but really wanted something more analog and a manual. Won this auction this morning - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...era-coupe-166/ Would truly appreciate everyone's advise on the first things you would do or get sorted upon delivery. I plan to take it to my Porsche Mechanic and have them go through it as well. Basics - 139k Miles Specs: L92U � Arctic Silver Metallic paint BQ � Black all-leather front seats C02 � Version for USA 030 � Sport-tuned suspension 014 � Sport Option Package 220 � Limited-slip differential 222 � Traction control (ASR) 224 � Automatic Braking Differential (ABD) 375 � Two-way power-adjustable sport seat, left 376 � Two-way power-adjustable sport seat, right 424 � CD storage compartment 446 � Wheel caps with full-color Porsche crests 490 � Hi-fi sound system 580 � Non-smoker package 659 � Onboard computer 680 � Nokia Digital Sound Processing (DSP) audio system 688 � Becker-Porsche CDR-210 stereo 983 � Leather front

Nice looking 996, congrats.. Not that I ever would purchase a very high mileage m96, but if I did this is what I'd do... 1) Dump the oil, remove the sump plate and look around in there and on the sump plate for signs of problems. Cut apart the filter and inspect. This alone can give a great insight into health of engine. When an imsb starts to go it sheds debris on sump plate. When the cam actuators/pads start to go they leave green bits of o-ring and pad debris on sump plate/filter. When bearings get worn/or spin, they leave metallic debris in filter/sump. Refill with your brand/choice of 0/50 5/50 10/50 15/50 20/50 weight oil and quality filter. 1b) Do a bore score scope search from below or better yet, take out plugs and do it from the top so you can check all plugs also showing how engine is running, and then do a compression test and or a leak down test 2) Do a complete diagnostic trouble code search/VAL with PIWIS or other quality scanner. Pay particular attention to cam deviation and fuel trims.. If engine passes all the above then start doing all deferred maintenance. If not, well you've got some heavy decisions to make. Before I'd drive a 150,000 mile car any extended amount, I'd pull all the wheels and have a good look at the suspension. Once wheels are back on grab wheel at 12 o-clock and 5 o-clock and try to move back and forth, do the same at 3 & 9 o-clock. See if anything is loose and wheel/suspension has play in it... noticed you've got the early sump plate without the recessed protected bolt holes. Be careful lowering this car as its low hanging unprotected bolts catch causing sump plate/block to beak off big chunks of engine block if bottomed out... They changed this in later models to protected bolt holes that (hopefully) just scrape the ground when bottomed out... jmo

I see the car was sold out of Pompano if you and car are still in Florida THE FIRST THING you should do is register for The 996 Gathering in Sebring this November to meet and talk with some enthusiastic 996 owners😀 Prior post laid out some good things to check on In short do a routine maintenance to confirm all fluids are fresh and filters are good to go. The Sport seats in your car are a great option hang on to those! Enjoy the ride and �Welcome to the party pale� 😀 Rich Use code pcar20 for Registration discount

@ERabbit Congratulations on buying a very special car. If you are not familiar with the uniqueness of the 1999 Carrera please read this thread in its entirety. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...al-anyway.html The first thing I would do is to change the oil and send a sample to Blackstone for an analysis. This will provide you with information on the health of your engine. If everything checks out then replace the AOS, water pump and complete a minor service. Lastly, drive the **** out of her, enjoy 😉

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This is really thorough thank you! Definitely going to take it to my Porsche Mechanic right away and have him go through the whole car.

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Dang, that looks like an absolute blast!! I'm in CA so having it shipped, the thought did cross my mind to fly out to FL and explore for a bit. Definitely pumped on the sport seats!

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Thank you! Had started reading through that thread and it got me really excited about finding a 1999. Going to finish today! Appreciate the advice, definitely want to take care of those items!

Prior to owning a 996 I knew about the role of the Air Oil Separator (AOS) in an engine. I assumed the AOS in the 996 was no different than any other - how different can separating oil from air be? Add the reputation of Porsche engineering and I didn't give this topic another thought until I started reading this forum. My initial reaction was mostly disbelief, then went to something north of h@ly $h!t. AOS hydrolock has caused catastrophic engine failures. Everyone talks about IMS bearing failures, but rarely this AOS issue. The short version is the UAOS Track version is a patented aftermarket, permanent solution to the AOS issue. And it allows you to run more oil in the engine, which is goodness all around. You cannot run additional oil in a stock engine with the factory AOS. I did a spirited 800+ mile road trip this summer with +1 quarts of oil and she sang like a bluebird. I agree with the other suggestions in this thread, but I think the AOS issue needs attention. Congrats! You picked the 996 for the same reason I did absolutely I love this car. I am sure you will too.

Congrats on the 996. You will have a blast with it. As many of the folks are discussing, the m96 engine is an extremely durable and strong engine if you do some easy to do and cost effective upgrades and procedures up front, before you spend big bucks on suspension, exhaust, interior and exterior upgrades. The first thing I would do is... Perform an oil test to establish a baseline and see what it says about the condition of your engine. Its like a blood test. Tells you alot. The next thing I would do is threefold... 1. Drop the sump and see whats in it. 2. Remove the oil filter and cut it open to see whats in it. 3. Scope the bores to see there condition. If oil test, sump, oil filter and bores all look good, then proceed to refreshing engine parts. 1. IMSB upgrade, replace RMS, take a look at clutch and flywheel amd replace if needed. 2. Replace water pump with new oem water pump and high temp thermostat. 3. Review tge cooling system including coolant tanks and pipes to see what needs to be replaced. Its inevitable you will eventually spring a leak with a tank and old pipes, so might as well review while you are in there. 4. Upgrade the AOS to the UAOS w/Track drain even if you dont track the car. This upgrade will eliminate the risk of many issues including intermix, hydralock, annoying smoking and oil consumption, fear of overfilling oil, and ease of changing the diaphram. 5. Replace plugs, ignition coils, fuel injectors, MAF if they havent been done. This will mitigate many codes and running rich which facilitates the chance of borescoring and crappy throttle response. 6. Review the powersteering system with a close look for leaks. Its inevitable that something will eventually leak with 25 year old parts. 7. Find some good high viscosity oil with lots of moly and use it, and change it 2x a year to keep it fresh. Just a few thoughts on important engine refresh/upgrade items to prolong engine durability and life, not to mention strong performance. FWIW, the 996 is worth every penny. Incredible driving experience! Add: since i have a 3.6, the 996.1 owners are going to have to fill you in on the 5 chain system on the 3.4 and what to refresh.

As stated in post # 2 �cam deviations super important.

I also second @GC996 �s suggestion to send a used oil sample in for analysis.

Great advice here from everyone. However, it is hard to go out and drive these cars with tired suspension and old brakes. The car needs a tremendous amount of work but for these early cars with LSD i think its worth it. I think you should pace yourself on how much investment you want to put into it, and if it needs a new engine would you do the investment. If you would do an investment in a new engine then I would skip the bore scope. Oil change and blackstone, while you service everything else. Brakes looked scored and in need of replacement. I think i saw rust on a scratch on one of the wheels, that needs needs repair. Suspension likely needs a complete refresh, but this means you can pick your own destiny based on how you want to use the car. Finally, it likely needs an engine out service to fix all of the things everyone is talking about, cam guides, AOS, water pump, IMS. On the engine out service you can get as crazy as you want.

Did it come with any service records? The first thing I would do is try to track down the previous owner. I dont understand why people always assume nothing has been done and everything needs to be "refreshed", especially on a 26 year old car with 139k miles. My 156k 2000 had a rebuilt engine and completely new suspension, along with a whole bunch of other stuff that had already been replaced.

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I don't think it does come with service records besides what the dealer is providing. What would be the best way to try and track down the previous owner? In Hindsight, it may have been a good idea to try and find a 996 that had a much longer service record history but time will tell lol .

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Definitely a question I will need to ask once I get it into my mechanic. If it's 10-20k in service I may be better off selling this one and finding a better sorted car.

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Definitely exited to drive it and this is more great advice, there are definitely a lot of areas I need to get checked.

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I would press the dealer for the previous owners contact info. If he wont give it to you, maybe he will contact them and give them your info and ask them to contact you. Also contact your local Porsche dealer and give them the VIN and see if they have any records of services done at Porsche dealers. I don't think the lack of a service history is, in and of itself, a reason NOT to buy a particular car. But, when you have none, I think its worth it to try to get as much info on the vehicle's past as possible.

A lot of times you can just have a look when you get it to see what has been done.... Peak underneath and see how the pads/rotors look. Are there any shinier suspension pieces? Is the water pump of slightly different color than the rest of the block (looks cleaner)? Squeeze the hoses and see how brittle they are. Check out the airfilter and do the engine health check posted here (costs under $100 for that). Check out the belt for cracks and spin the pulleys to see if they are ok. Is the coolant reservoir all yellow or is it white? You can tell a lot this way without much money invested in even a inspection.

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Oh, it can get to $10K in a heartbeat. You can do that with a suspension refresh. $2K for brakes. Another $10K for engine related. Parts and labor are no longer cheap. BTW, looks like you need motor mounts too, based on the distance from the rear bumper to the top of the tailpipe, but that can be done in your own garage.

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you are most certainly looking at the $20k+ range assuming nothing is wrong. Lots of deferred maintenance on that car. Could be much more.

Sport suspension, sport seats AND the limited slip, nice! I have a friend with over 200k miles on his original engine (tons of track events with just a sport pan and a 3rd radiator as well), and having owned several high mile examples myself, I probably would just start driving it before making immediate plans. In any case, enjoy the car, nice find

Very nicely spec'ed 996. M030 suspension is a great upgrade. A lot of good advice already. Have the car inspected, AOS, fluids... And I'd check the engine mounts and the suspension bits (shocks, control arm bushings). Enjoy!

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LOL, Im sorry but that is ludicrous. How on earth could you know that there is a lot of deferred maintenance on the car? Sheesh

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I don't think it is an stretch to come to that conclusion. When I look at the pictures at the listing sight I can see: 1) Missing the bolt that is the negative jump point and also holds the airbox in place 2) Gap between bumper and top of tail pipe looks like it needs motor mounts 3) Notation on brake reservoir indicates that the last time it was changed was 15 years ago 4) Frunk light is out 5) Voltage meter showing ~13v while temp gauge is over 180 at idle is very likely because it needs a new alternator/starter cable, alternator, battery or all three 6) Undercarriage photos don't show any evidence of any new parts All these indicate that maintenance has been deferred for some time and if I can see these, likely to be lots more.

first thing is to decide if you want to listen to the negative 996 guys. I suggest ignoring them and keeping it simple. pay close attention to the oil, change it yourself every 3k miles. with the $30 u save changing the oil yourself, send it to Blackstone for an analysis every time. if you're beginning to have issues, you'll see metal flakes in the oil filter when u cut it open. then get the car hot below 3k rpms and drive it hard once it's warm. I drive the heck out of mine and it's been great well over 100k miles. caught the IMS going out because i saw the metal flakes and did a lot of preventative maintenance at that time (RMS, AOS, oil pump, chain guides, tensioners, water pump). i've addressed suspension and brake issues as they come up. these cars are meant to be driven hard above 5k rpms when the oil is warm. have fun!!

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More of these good finds around than one would think... 1 almost identical to this car is going on BAT this morning. It also had what looks like high quality pertinent engine out maintenance just done. If car ppi checks out this would be another great find for someone.... This could be owned by a forum member here.? https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...era-coupe-156/

Congrats. Looks like a nice driver in a very desirable spec. Drive it knowing that adding miles isn't costing you very much. The fact that it's only a two owner car is a huge plus. If the previous owner had a good mechanic, many of the common issues may have already been addressed I would certainly address the suspension as it must be super tired if not already replaced. Good news is a visual inspection can let you know that.

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This comment is dead on take your time as you find issues address them, there are going to be things that surprise you in both directions positive and negative. I own six 996 cars including a H class PCA race car and a GT3 Supercup which is a whole different cat. Racing a converted street 996 shows you the weak points very quickly but a street car, as my other four are, are extremely affected by continued routine maintenance much of which you can do yourself. Enjoy the ride and remember to wipe the smiles off your face before you start looking like a fool 😀 Rich You Tube

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Wow. That has some of the best repair documentation I have seen. That thing is bullet proof now. Interested what it eventually sells for.

One more for consideration. Love these Aerokits https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3B0...-carrera-coupe

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I would much rather have the op's car for $14k less. No mention of fuel injectors, water pump. Did all this work themselves and driven 300 miles since. Was tracked. Just as likely to have an engine failure during normal road use as the op's. All the suspension looks to be original. Except cheap coilovers. 34k somebody got taken.

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Lots of stuff Porsche owners do is based off of old information, for example since 2020 a lot of Lemforder, Meyle and TRW (all OEM suppliers) rubber parts have gone to **** thanks to supply chain switchup, but people are still putting them in. Yeah, it'll be new when you pick up the car, but I just failed one of those suckers within 20k miles of install. So yeah, I would be extra cautious if things have been replaced recently before sale. Even if the IMS has been replaced it has a service life - LN for example specs 6 years/75k miles, if the car had its bearing replaced earlier in life you now have to think about it. No upgraded AOS is an instant not-bulletproof. @ERabbit good instincts dropping it off at a dedicated mechanic and just having them tally up everything. This thread will really begin once you've got data, before that, all the positive and negative comments are just statistics. Stats ≠ the individual. Fingers crossed for you.

Update: There were some concerning issues when the car finally arrived. Some things broken or not working that weren't disclosed, could have happened in shipping. Mechanical issues that hadn't been shown in the driving video. Dealer is being good about it so far and is either buying the car back or swapping me out for another car. They have a 996 40th Anniversary edition on the way that we are going to look at, will get a PPI before making a decision.

I am not surprised it had undisclosed issues. Hopefully the dealer follows through with those promises.

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You were pretty spot on with your assumptions on most everything and even your comments during the auction. I should have done a bit more homework and research before this one

You are very fortunate the seller is working with you auctions are normally “as is where is” at Mecum and other traditional auctions once hammer falls you own it with all flaws except if title or ownership issues service. Hope it all works out. Rich

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This factory Aero went to only $25K I am thinking Tiptronic was the price control factor, anyone see other limitations to the bidding, seller has on his website for $34K Rich

Change the oil and drive it. When you get time change the brake fluid, transmission fluid, possibly plugs, and enjoy the car. Forget about bore scoping, etc BS, and enjoy it. To many armchair mechanics will tell you to do all sorts of crap and scare you......remember these cars are only $25k or less, it's not a million dollar car.....enjoy it! Congratulations by the way. Welcome to the addiction

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Just to be clear RNM @ $25k 👍 Lots of things held it back, auction sight, $200 doc fee, unresponsive seller. I was interested up to $20k for an automatic 🤷‍♂️

First thing you need to do is find out why a car last registered in Arkansas is being sold with a Montana title. Looks like there is still a lien on the Arkansas title. This looks sketchy AF.

Montana registration is the "new" thing for folks in states with strict emissions.

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Or, in this case, a person who still owes money on the car and wants to sell it. That Arkansas lien is still valid.

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@ERabbit love to hear more details of the issues on arrival. Especially the mechanical issues. Especially after the seller in the BAT comments kept repeating how everything works and asked others not to scare or badmouth the car.

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Given the situation, they may have not changed their oil either.

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Can you show me how you found that? Want to have more ammunition if something gets weird..

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It's in the Carfax report. "Loan or lien reported" means that someone besides the registered owner, usually a bank, has a financial interest (ownership) in the car. That financial interest is protected legally by a Lien. That lien is reported to the state where the car is titled, in this case Arkansas, and stamped on the title. That title can't be legally transferred until the lien is released. Montana will issue a title to almost anyone, for almost any vehicle, but the new title doesn't release the lien, and therefore is not a title at all. It's just a piece of paper.

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I'll do a full rundown after I get everything settled and have a couple extra minutes.

Any update here? Curious as to how this turned out.

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Owner paid to have the car picked up on Tuesday. They have another 99 I�m interested in and if that doesn�t come back with an acceptable ppi then they�re just refunding me my money.

That sounds like a great outcome. It's so important in BAT to work with sellers with a track record on the site.

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Outstanding, what a difference a good dealership makes. Unlike that other thread where the dealership blamed everyone else instead of taking responsibility 👍

I've never bought a used car on-line. My brother in law bought a car on eBay for a too good to be true price and you can guess how that went. Upside down from start to end and he was screwed. I am extremely impressed with the resolution of this process. I've been kind of mulling a 996 Turbo.....

I am actually surprised the dealer stepped up so much. The way he was putting off visible issue when they were called out had me worried. As I said on BAT, I really think that car is worth saving (early build LSD), but it is going to take time and money. Hopefully its represented correctly next time.