New (Used) Purchase

Have a chance to purchase a used 911 (2000 model) for about 12K. 911 has 120,000 miles. Car dives excellent. Has a few cosmetic issues that I can fix. Doesn't look like the IMS or RMS has been changed. Will look at doing that first. No accidents on record. Is this worth pursuing or should I wait for a better opportunity? I almost jumped on a similar opportunity a year back but the IMSB scared me off. Thanks, J.

Put a deposit down and get a PPI.

^^ Yep. Might be a very good buy.

If the ims was gonna go it would have gone by now. . The 2000 might even have the double race bearing in it anyway. Costmetics are no biggy in my eyes. How it drives is more important. Get the car it sounds like a great deal. Have a thorough PPI done it in beforehand by an indi..

Any pictures? I am about to look at one in the same range.

If I am not mistaken, I believe all of the 2000 model year has the dual row IMSB and the changeover started in 2001. Someone will correct me if I am wrong on this. But as Hurdi said, if the IMSB were bad, it wouldn't have lasted this long. So, best course of action, IMHO, on a $12,000 car is to wait to replace the IMSB until you need a clutch or some other reason to drop the engine or tranny. Worst case scenario with a car like that is that you buy it and the engine grenades and now instead of a $12,000 car you have a $6,000 roller. Meh, not worth losing sleep over. Completely different scenario than someone who buys a $35,000, low-mileage C4S. So, don't agonize - the risk isn't that great. Buy it, drive it. If you hate it, then sell it for what you paid for it and move on. Very low-risk transaction you are talking about.

Thanks for all of the great points and suggestions. I will definitely take the advice and pointers. Ill see if I can get a pic tomorrow. Thanks again, J

I just bought a 996 myself. I feel ya about the IMSB issue. However, at the end of the day- I think you have to look at the big picture. How does the 996 stack up against any other used car you could buy that was nearly 20 years with 120,000 miles on it. The bottom line is, if the car has been decently taken care of, the 911 is going to more reliable, on average, than just about anything else that old. Do you have the potential for catastrophic failure? Yes. But the reality is- that is true for just about ANY vehicle in that age and mileage range. I believe that it is not any MORE likely in a 996. IMO, the difference in perception is that there is a really great Porsche community who is intensely dedicated to their cars- so everything is exceptionally well-documented and agonized over. It can make it SEEM like there are more issues with these cars. However, when a Honda Accord with 120,000 miles blows up, nobody gives a crap. So... think about this. You have the opportunity to buy a truly great sports car for $12k. It's a no-brainer to me. Put down a deposit, find a trusted local Porsche independent specialist and pay really good money for a PPI. They can tell you, with reasonable accuracy, whether the car has been abused or not. If it shows significant signs of abuse, walk away. If not, make the leap. IMO, I believe there is simply no better value in the sports car world than 986s and 996s. What you really need to ask yourself is, are you okay spending the money to maintain and improve it over the time that you own it? You ARE going to spend money on it. I wouldn't call maintaining these cars expensive, but you need to come to grips with the idea that you should will either be actively spending money on it or saving up money to spend on it in the near future. I basically maintain a "Porsche" account. I put money in it regularly. When spread out over time, it's really not that much. It's not enough to cover the motor blowing up, but pretty much everything short of that and I'm good. If you expect to buy this 911 for $12k and run the crap out of for 50,000 miles and do nothing but put fuel in it and change the oil, this is not the car for you.