Project Black 996 Canada - $20k+ spent!

2000 Porsche 911 C2 6 speed Cab - Vancity Project I picked up this neglected 996 for $13k CAD (approx. $10k USD) without a PPI in December 2016 off a guy who needed the cash. Although he had only owned the car for a year, he had been pretty hard on it and lost $10k in the process. It was smoked in, dirty, and had some cosmetic issues going on. The 18 year old suspension was sagging, noisy and in need of an upgrade. The car was repainted at some point in time and convertible top in good shape. I didn’t really want a cab (prefer coupes), but the price was right and convertibles can be fun. I don’t believe the IMS was ever done, however it looks like transmission and clutch were worked on before. The mileage was 140k KM (or 87k miles) and originally purchased in Quebec. There’s some patina on the car, mainly in the interior; this car has been used and I wouldn’t call it mint. Since I got a good deal on the car, I figured I would spend a few bucks to bring this car to where I wanted it. Below is the list of the total costs involved, not including many of my own hours working on the car. Pioneer double din install - w Apple Carplay - $1166 (awesome upgrade). Victor Innsbruck Black 18” wheels/Sumitomo 295/235 tires - $2900 (much better than the curbed turbo twist wheels and bald tires it came with) Porsche Dealer annual service + replace hood latch/cable - $1387 (learned my lesson about getting car serviced at dealership). Miscellaneous parts ordered online - stone guards, keychains, mats, clear side markers, carrera emblem, clips, trim etc - $1500 (installed all this stuff myself - fun part of the project). B&M short shift kit/ GT3 Alcantara shift **** - $780 (short shift kit is cool, shift **** on car needed replacement due to wear). Windshield replacement (insurance covered) - $267 (rock chips/scratches OEM). Inspection by independent shop - $222 (to figure out what it needed). Painted rear bumper - scratches - $600 Swapped seats for newer leather turbo seats - $630 (seats in car had been re-upholstered in vinyl with broken seat switch, so I was lucky to find full leather seats at a low upgrade cost) Car polish/detail - $420 (re-spray on car not the greatest, but cut polish and detail helped it look better). Independent shop major service - spark plugs/tubes (leaking oil), water pump/thermostat (preventative), all fluids changed, cleaned rads, OEM engine mounts (sagging), door vapour barrier replace and dry wet carpets etc, replaced heater core (leaking), H&R street coilover purchase/install (biggest cost), repair leather on seats, rear GT3 cup toe links/locking, strut mount/bearings/bushings/links/tie rod ends etc, new belt, ignition coils (original ones cracking), front control arms - $12,576 (this bill was huge, but I’m happy with the job done overall and shop was fair about it). Replaced tinted rear tinted LED tail lights back to OEM red/white - $450. Key fob replace - $350. 2 cooling fans broken (front/rear) minus oem wheel trade: $750. Total spent on repairs, maintenance, upgrades etc over the last year: $24k CAD (****!) Total investment including price of car: $37.5k CAD (Canadian Peso = approx. $30k USD). The car looks pretty cool now in the ‘murdered out’ triple black. It drives so much better, and the H&R coilover suspension made a big difference to the ride/stance. There’s still a minor electrical glitch with alarm beep/central locking light, but it runs strong. I underestimated the cost of fixing/cleaning up an older car, and the price of Porsche parts. It’s given me more of an appreciation for newer/American cars, in particular my 2010 Camaro SS. Domestic cars are way cheaper to buy/fix, and my Camaro would beat the this 996 in most performance measures. I’ve also detected a bit of an attitude from Porsche people, who demand top dollar for parts, service, cars etc. The Porsche has way better visibility than the Camaro, however, and it’s easier to drive around in urban settings due to it’s small size. I may sell both my cars in the next year or so, and I know it will be tough to recoup everything I’ve put into them. I’m interested in getting a newer C7 (or C8) Corvette next.. Time will tell, and life brings lessons each day. I hope I don’t have any other major repair bills for years to come. It’s been a fun project; now it’s time to put some miles on the car and enjoy the road ahead. I believe 996’s will become more valuable in 5-10 years from now. It might be worth holding onto this beauty since I’ll probably never buy an older car again. Lessons learned with this car. Way better idea to buy a mint condition car you love than to try to fix one yourself. Newer cars are simply less problematic and better in most ways. Porsches are just expensive. Any thoughts on this project and work I had done? Excessive I know and Vancouver is an expensive city. Do you think it’s shame to sell the car after everything I put into it? I’ve realized I don’t need two sports cars (insurance, parking etc). What advantages do you think the 911 has over American sports cars? What’s the best way to get smoke smell out of air vents and ac system?

Looks nice... who care what we say... enjoy your car!

Lots of money in that one! Enjoy it. I'm in the same boat, spent so much on repairs, more than the car is worth, so I'm kind of stuck with it as I don't want to "lose" that money.

Please. Tell me about spending money on an older car.....lol

Car could be appealing to a buyer at this point with all the recent maintenance preformed, may be tough to sell a cab up there in Vancouver though. How often do you get to cruise with the top down? Car has a great stance, but it definitely is going to be tough to recoup much of what you've invested.

The "Money Pit"! Enjoy it...

OP...you have passed the initiation rites to join our club...welcome! D

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In hindsight - making the URL www.porschesarejustexpensive.com would have solved many threads oh so much faster.

I was thinking of refreshing my suspension as well. What made you go with H&R? There are a few different options, what made H&R stand out for you? Can I ask which shop did the work for you? I'm also from Vancouver, so I'd be interested in your experience with them. Thanks

Which shop did you use? Scan?

Great replies guys, thank you for the positivity. LOL btw. These cars are expensive, but the 996 is cheap compared to buying a new Porsche. I think all the work I did cost about the same as a years depreciation on a new 991. The overall sentiment seems to be 'enjoy the ride' and that's what I'm going to do. These cars deserve to be driven, especially once they've been well sorted. It is a lot of fun to drive and a unique experience sitting low to the ground with the engine in the rear. Vancouver has a pretty mild, albeit rainy, climate so there are lots of days during the year to put the top down. There are many convertibles here compared to the rest of the country. But yeah, California is probably the perfect place to have a convertible. As for the work, yes I went to Scan Auto and they were excellent. I'd definitely recommend these guys if you live in BC. James and the crew there offer a great service with expertise and competitive pricing. The H&R street coil-overs are pretty awesome. I chose them in large part due to price and value for money. I couldn't justify the added cost of Bilstein/Ohlins etc, and didn't want an overly stiff suspension. Given it's a cab and I don't track the car, I wanted something with a bit of forgiveness. Glad to be initiated into the Porsche club!

Scan are a great shop , James and the crew did all my suspension work too . I also used street performance h&r coilovers . They are a jointly developed h&r / bilstein unit based on the gt3 coilovers that were also jointly developed . ( look under a 996 gt3 and you can see h&r branding on the springs) . German made and affordable . Scan also put the upgraded limited slip diff in for me , which isn't easy unless you've got all the gear to get the shims right . Don't worry about what you spent , I paid 30K Canadian for my 2004 in 2014 ( it only had 45k kilometers on it) , and spent a bit more than 20K Canadian tweaking it . As for convertibles , vancouver is the second biggest Porsche market in North America , only LA buys more porsches . And more than half of 911s in Vancouver are convertibles , when I was looking for my 996 , I saw ads for 3 convertibles for every one 996 coupe . So don't sweat it . Plus the hardtop for the 996 cab is very nice if you want one .

Way better idea to buy a mint condition car you love than to try to fix one yourself. Absolutely. I'm all for a bargain, but I've also decided the best bargain on these cars is to buy a better one to begin with. I had to learn the hard way... A lot of your money was to the shop though. A ton of money can be saved by DIY on these cars. I don't have a crystal ball, but my guess is these vehicles will never be valuable beyond a small subset of the enthusiast crowd that is willing to overlook the compaints. I'd be surprised if you ever see your money back on a sale. You've got a lot of personal choices that may not be valuable to others. I know even as an enthusiast, it takes a pretty good set of specific options for me to see actual value - otherwise, I'd rather start with a clean car that is totally stock and personalize the choices. Not sure how you get rid of smoke smell: ion generator, pull the carpets and clean them, pull the dash and clean the ducts. I got rid of some strong odors by replacing all of my carpets, side panels, interior trim, door cards and seats, but I wouldn't recommend that as an economical option. There is no comparison between a Porsche 911 and any American car I've driven. I wouldn't know where to begin. My 2 cents - hold onto it and drive the wheels off it.

@Vancouver996 - your car looks pretty mint! How do you like having a limited slip? We should meet up sometime when you are in the city. @cds72911 I've got rid of most of smoke smell now. The vent cleaner sprays worked quite well, along with a full interior cleaning. But yeah tough to make an almost 20 year old car smell like new. Agreed you never really get your money back on repairs or mods. It seems many people will pay almost as much for unsorted cars as the mint ones. Porsches are definitely cool cars. My only real beef with the company is the premium pricing put on everything. Porsche makes over $20k profit on every new car sold. American cars offer better value IMO, though most people would take a new Porsche over a Corvette if pricing was the same.

Parts for the 996 are actually pretty reasonable compared with aircooled cars and the same as other German cars , I did the brakes on my mums Passat and it cost more than it did for me to do the 996 i bought the vw parts from lordco and the Porsche bits from pelican

Car looks great! That stance is great! I stopped looking at my hobbies as far as investment/resale... i'm way past that point in my life. I'm old enough to know I'm throwing money out the window with all the toys (motorcycles, boats, porsche's, dirtbikes, trucks, lift kits, 37" tires, 8k mountain bicycles, 10k road bicycles, etc ) LOL However, if I die tomorrow, I definitely went out with a smile. Every week and weekend has been an adventure in my life for more years than I can remember. From what I've learned in my short time in the 996 world, there tend to be three types: 1. smarter than me (bought a 996 real cheap, with PPI, ims done, 0001 original miles, 1 owner, and have jake raby's personal cell number on speed dial) 2. average guys (bought a 996 at an average price, with average miles, and have put a few bucks into the vehicle) 3. the warriors (bought a 996, and either at the track every weekend, or have 20k+ invested due to variables a,b,c, and or d) I'm somewhere between 2 and 3. :-) Enjoy the ride and don't sweat the $$ you cant take it with you

I always liked the 968 club sport and 911rs and later the 997 gts and 996 gt3 . and I saw what rpm tecnik had done with their 996 csr. my budget could have maybe stretched to a higher mileage early 997 but I liked the idea of building my own car inspired by the above list. i was working fly in fly out at the time and I ordered the parts over many months as I could afford them , when ready I did some of it and scan did the rest I now have a car spec'd as I want and will keep long term ( for less than any special ed factory car) i have a 40ae/turbo/4s style frount bumper and gt3 side skirts to paint and fit and my wish list includes some 18" Fuch style wheels it's only got 65k kilometers on it but when the engine is tired or if I get the time , I've a rebuilt 997 s 3.8 and all the ancillaries from a crashed car I bought ( the motor had only 3500 km on it when the car was totaled ) and salvaged . Im keeping this car forever . Never had so much fun. i learned a long time ago , you'll never get your money back on a car you hobby build . a few times I've bought someone's pride and joy for less than they had in it , and more times I sold a car for less that I had in it. and I have once or twice (aircooled 911, Ferrari 308 ) actually made money. Its not a hobby for the logical

One area you can keep your costs down is basic maintenance, changing your own oil is easy and frequent changes the best thing you can do for your car . canadian tire puts castrol edge 5w40 which is Porsche a40 approved on sale about 4 X a year . 35-50% off . You need 2 jugs as the car takes 9 litres . http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/ca...-0289212p.html You can set it up to get an email when it's on sale . air filters and cabin filters are easy to do . And soon enough you'll do more and more , like fitting new window regulators in the doors when they fail. Fitting s short shifter is an easy diy .

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lots of money in refreshing that car, and still a lot of things that could give you problems in the future. learn to DIY and you'll save a lot of money. as they say, nothing is more expensive than a cheap porsche +1

I love that the cheaper 996 purchase prices allow for more �pimping� of your ride. I like being able to customize my cars with personal touches. Most 996�s out there aren�t exactly sorted these days. But with these cars getting 20+ years in age buyers will have no choice but to start focusing more on maintenance. Cars are not investments, but nice to know the 996 is not depreciating these days. My 911 experience was a bit tough since there was so much deferred maintenance. Had I bought a mint 996 I may have a slightly different view on these cars. But the cheaper price paid allowed some great upgrades and I love where the car is at now. Scan recommended I don�t change IMS until I need a clutch since that would be another $5k. Of course the biggest cost would be a new engine if anything were to happen. Given the car has under 90k miles I think she has lots of life left in her. I live in a condo so it�s hard to do much work on the car. I did some basic stuff, however, like filters and short shift kit etc. @vancouver996 looks like yours is one of the nicest ones around. Of course my fav 996�s are the turbos and C4s. At same time I love the NB classic look and excellent value it brings.

I mainly buy cars like yours. I enjoy restoring cars. Check out my InstaGram to see the crap I buy. lol LeftForDeadCars is my IG. Most people look for cars at the lowest price-range. Most also don't do their own work. That combination usually doesn't end well. You have to be very careful on the "bargains" you buy, and you have to realize there is a $ value a car will be worth no matter what you do to it. A car that has been painted will limit your ultimate "investment". I just bought a fairly rare 2003 Honda Accord V6 6-spd for $850 with a new clutch kit. Needs to be installed. I have already determined that the car will likely never be worth over $5000-$6000. With my $4000-$5000 window, I will have some fun with it. It's in pretty bad shape as far as it needs to be cleaned up. I have a second 911 that I am going to do the same thing with. Basically got it for free.