do these oily bits look ok??

Hi there - Tim from The UK here - I have just put an offer in on a '02 Targa - subject to PPI - so I'll hopefully be joining the 996 club next week. on getting home from viewing the car this morning - i noticed that the camera flash had brought up some 'oil staining' on the underside of the engine. there were no leaks apparent - but i'd like to just check with you knowledgeable folk on here that this is 'normal' coming from a 964, this caused me undue stress, and has slightly muted my excitement over my impending purchase.. I'm sure the PPI at the local OPC will weedle out any issues, but as i'm sure you can appreciate - the idea of waiting until tuesday/wednesday is not very appealing! here are some pics (bear in mind is a UK car so salty winter roads etc.) any thoughts? Thanks,

A bit of a tough one Tim. It looks like oil from careless oil changes. You need to lift it and check if it is coming from a seal or something higher up on the engine. Wait for the PPI. P.S Just speaking for the knowledgable folk, whoever they are.

thanks dresler - will keep fingers crossed - the engine has 29k miles on in - so i would hope that leakyness would not rear its head for another 30-40k or so at least - or am i reading out of the wrong books? cheers Tim

would be a real shame if there was something major up with the motor - coz the unimportant stuff - i.e. the interior - is absolutely immaculate:

Nice looking ride! I hope the PPI turns out to be OK! Good luck.

That stuff on the bottom looks more like cooked on cosmoline. Is the stuff soft or hard? does it come off on your finger? If not it is just cosmoline and not a worry.

hey man...you're picture is backwards...need to flip it around the right way I can't comment on the oil issue, as I don't really know. But I've got my fingers crossed for ya!!

thanks for the kind words guys - OE - yours was the only other 'underside' pic i could find in the search - i tip may hat to your detailing skills! the black stuff kinda flakes off, but some bits are well adhered to the casing... can anyone confirm that theirs looks similar? Booking the PPI this morning! THanks in advance, Tim

Its dried Cosmoline. No worries.

Best of luck Timbo! Be warned, US Tim will be wanting pictures of the new ride posted asap if the PPI leads to you handing over the dosh for your new motor! Just giving you a heads up. US Tim can be brutal if you're a slacker with the snaps!!

Cheers OE! PPI tomorrow afternoon -if all is good, will pick up at the end of this week! hopefully it will have been worth the 8 hr round trip to view the car yesterday! In the UK thats a long drive! - especially in a VW Polo.....

Thanks for the compliment!

hating to tempt fate - get the ppi results tomorrow - here is a pic of the car. i soooooo hope it passes the PPI!!! (and i LOVE the colour - looks so much better in the metal... )

Is that British Racing Green?

I'm not sure thats what they called it off the production line makes a change from the silvers/greys that are two a penny over here these days.... ....Timmer (not yet bought and already dreading the resale....)

I'm SoCal born and I have never seen anything that looked like that. Even my 1970 M/B 280 Cab doesn't have corrosion like that and it is 37 years old. Seriously, is that really what happens to cars in wet climates?

My buddy had a 360 in that colour Looked great because it was different - was difficult to sell for the same reason Mind you - he had grass green carpets inside with cream leather!

Very nice looking, Tim. That looks like Forest Green. When you get the car, check under the trunk lid (bonnet as you would call it) for the Options Sticker and you will find the paint color code (or colour code, if you prefer).