Made an Offer on this 2001. What to Look for/problems?

After a long time of searching, I have made a conditional offer on this 2001. It has 50,000 miles. Does anyone know of any particular issues for this year model? My father in law lives 20 miles from the dealer and will be looking at and driving it for me. I hate to buy a car so far away but I have been looking for @1 year since my last offer on a 996. Any ideas or check list to send my in law? I may have him schedule a PPI also. Thank you. http://images.dealertrend.com/compan...jpg?1349289251

Other than glovebox and a few minor things its the same car minus 25% regidity and that can be argued if true or not.You will hear many opinions most should be ignored just research it yourself amd make the decision that fits your needs.There is a lot of great info here by using search.Get a ppi done period do not buy without.Check for service records.Most things are the same things you look at when buying any used car,body/paint work ,tire wear etc.That said they are great cars.

+1 No maybe. Get the PPI done.

Did notice has bumper warts these cannot be removed without repairing holes in bumper.most people do not care for these.Also may have solid spoke wheels instead of hollow which makes them heavier.My car is a later build and has hollow spokes,pop out cupholders some early cars are different,the bumperettes can be deleted when car is ordered new as mine were.

Just wondering, why the first gen of the first year? Later '01 would be preferable to most everyone, '02 better yet. By all means a PPI, also I would not buy a car sight unseen period. Many early cars I looked at were trashed and so full of issues it was mind boggling.

Ignore any PPI given by the actual dealer. They will only tell you what they want you to know and they will ignore things that they dont want you to know so get an Independant pre purchase inspection. Get to know everything that there is to know on what is supposed to work on that model and more importantly, HOW it's supposed to work. To hell with the tires and the body as such as you can see that for yourself. I mean little things at are supposed to work. Mainly the electrical side. Alarm system, gas door lock, inside lights, parking lights, seat adjustments, wing mirror adjustments. Those are the things that the dealer will skim over. Brake wear doesnt matter as brakes do actually wear anyway and can be replaced. Lets put it this way. If some PO has been modding and he didn't know quite what he was doing, then you could be in for a rough expensive ride. I speak from experience my friend lol. Then make a list to your Father in law for him to check off your list. Hopefully this car may not have been modded as I see it still has the pumpkins.... But then again SO DID MINE haha. You might consider an extended 3 year/30000 mile warranty to cover the Engine and Gearbox/transmission. Good luck.

Thats a turbo,talk to the turbo guys!

That is the first 996 I have seen with the front bumperettes. Whas that for the U.S. market?

there is NO way I would have my in-law do anything other than confirm the car actually exists get a PPI - - turbo PPI is pretty pricey - to do correctly - you might be looking north of $500 - if they remove the plugs - have them replaced (its like $20 more) get a warranty if you can and drive the freaking wheels off it with a huge smile

In one of your many threads, MACSTER offered good tips on doing a "personal" inspection PRIOR to the actual PPI. This link is for another good checklist: https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...immermann.html Last but not least, did you see this thread by a member who bought a car "SIGHT UNSEEN": https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...asy-on-me.html

oh man what the hell are those things on the front bumper?

The front bumperettes were only on 2001 US-spec cars, if I'm not mistaken. I've seen them before, but they are usually black instead of being painted as they are on this particular car. They look even worse when they are black on a light-colored car.

Are we sure this is a 2001..? Did the 2001 turbo model look that different from the 2001 C4...? PS: I would NEVER buy a turbo-charged(***) car, let alone a used one. Engine runs in derated mode 99% of the time, base/native CR lower than otherwise optimal.

It is my understanding that the potential weak link for the the pre 02 turbo cars is the transmission. Something about popping out of gear? I know it was specific to the pre 02 turbo cars. OP, you need to do some digging in the 996 turbo section.

I guess Im missing something. First most of you guys scare the #@#% out of me about buying a NA 996 3.4 or 3.6 because of the laundry list of engine problems in the posts. I finally gave up after looking at several NA 996's. Then you tell me the 996T has a completely different engine and is immune to the RMS, IMSB, issues etc. I read lots of reviews about the 996T cars and every review was about how great they run, drive, handle, with no engine problems. I look at several 996T cars, make a CONDITIONAL offer, and I get grief over the bumperettes or whatever they are called? I have seen several with these and of course we all know their purpose, to help protect the bumpers. If I cant live with them I know you can remove them. The ONLY issue I have found with the 996T is the "pops out of 2nd gear on decelleration" issue with some. Dont get me wrong, I want all the comments good and bad but I cannot afford a 2009 model. And,,, my father in law is mechanically inclined, can give a good once over, and test drive before I pay for a PPI. This forum has been great. I appreciate and respect all opinions. I hope this makes sense?

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I believe only the '01 Turbo's had them and maybe some early '02's. They scrapped that afterwards. Yes it was definitely on US cars as one local had it on his.

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ahahahaha - normal ! very funny - stop trying to please these guys and please yourself! BTW turbo's and GT3's have a water pipe issue - the pipes are glued in (11 or 12 places) and can fail causing complete loss of coolant in a very short time - AND the motor has to come oout for repair - AND it isnt cheap - so there is no easy -in- or cheap way out ... buy the car you like, get a warranty and smile like hell!!

oh - this is the main reason I will not drive behine GT3's and Turbo's on track....if they drop coolant I could loose my car - not worth it for me that's not to say that if they have their heads on straight and know I am behind them and point me by I wont take the point!!

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I vote above be made a STICKY for all future buyers.

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AAAh don't worry about these modders giving you grief about bumperettes and **** like that. They gave me all kinds of grief about my rear stick on 911 and PORCHE letters. Take it with a 'pinch of salt' mate. Just because THEY dont like things on YOUR car means diddlisquat. Get your father in law to drive it 25 miles and then get back to you. Then get an independant PPI ( not the dealers say so) plus an extended 3 year/30000 miles warrenty. Thats my advice for what it's worth. Money well spent. You can't loose.

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The car is just a used car so you need to give it a *thorough* used car check out. For instance I can say -- as you have already heard -- "2nd gear pop out" and while that's a possibility the engine could have a sick turbo charger, misfiring its plugs out, rotten radiators, have part of a telephone poll buried under new paint, etc. So assume the car is bent, twisted, has a sick engine, been under water, stolen, repossessed, possessed, leaks like the Titanic, smokes like a Wyoming coal burning power plant, and was thrashed by a wanna be Schumie around a race for 100K miles and the odometer rolled back to 50K. But then work to assure yourself none of the above apply to this car, that the car is in good condition, has not stories, or scary ones at any rate, and while it might have "issues", worn tires, brakes, other things, that they are minor and not due to some deeper issues. Have the seller take you on a test ride -- 15 miles or so and the route chosen -- insist on it -- to cover a variety of roads so you can experience the car in a variety of scenarios. A quick accel run to the end of the block and back ain't going to cut it with these cars (with any car really). Back at the starting point take the car out again as a test driver. You want to give the engine, the car, enough running time to manifest any issues: Sick/scary noises, misfires, overheating, CEL, exhaust smoking under accel or closed throttle deaccel, rough idle, poor acceleration, and about a jillion other things. After the test ride/drive then verify everything works. Then have a PPI done. Last, if you are tempted to buy the car when you feel you shouldn't, remember there is always another car. Sincerely, Macster.

KrazyK, People are just trying to be honest. Nobody is being overly critical. You are correct that the turbo doesn't have the IMSB/RMS issues that the other 996 variants have. That being said, you're still talking about an 11 to 12 year-old high-performance car. Things wear out. Things break. The 996TT is a wonderful car and I'd love to have one. However, it's still going to have all the potential issues that any 11 - 12 year-old car would have. Even with a PPI, you aren't guaranteed of a car that performs flawlessly forever. You should be prepared to spend money to keep it on the road and properly maintained. Cars like this EAT tires and brakes. They're expensive to replace. I had to replace the front suspension bushings as well as the strut mounts in my C4S last year. That was ~$3K. I had the front differential rebuilt this year. That was ~$4K. These types of things probably won't show up in a PPI. I just bought a set of Michelin PS2s. That was ~$1.6K. I need new pads and rotors all the way around. That's ~$2K. These things weren't related to the engine. Stuff just wears out... I'm not trying to discourage you (nobody here is), you just need to understand what you're getting yourself into. From your previous posts, you seem very, very concerned about reliability and maintenance. I understand that - those are reasonable concerns. However, those concerns will not be calmed by buying an 11+ year-old 911 turbo. I hope that makes sense to you too. We're just trying to help...

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Well put.

+1 I purchased a 2000 C2 in March of 2011 with only 20K miles. It was in very good shape, but it has cost quite a bit of money to keep it in good shape. Quite a bit more than I had figured on. But I am in a Porsche!

I doubt anyone is "trying" to scare you. Perhaps you are missing the posts from those of us who find our cars very reliable, who have not had an IMSB problem, who have cars with higher mileage and no catastrophic failures. I stumbled across a BMW message board the other night and that would scare me away if I was interested in a late model BMW. This said, you first came across as being interested because of low prices. As many say, the price is just the cost of admission. Dennis is pointing out the reality, IMSB aside, these cars do cost money to properly maintain and service. You scare me in that I think in the future you'll be looking for cheaper tires, or end up with a repair cost that will have you bad mouthing the marquee. And I have seen more than a few TT's on the lift at my dealer for engine work, most common per the tech is a press fit sprocket that shifts position on the shaft. Not a cheap repair, in fact the service writer cautioned me about buying a used TT because of repair costs- he stands by the 996 C4S as the best of the 996 series. I do sincerely hope you come to terms with what you want and that the right car finds you so you can enjoy the experience. Porsche - there is no substitute - Except maybe a Ford Truck because they are Built Ford Tough and don't have an IMSB.

Back to KrazyK's original question about "watch outs" for the 996 turbo... I think your best bet is to post the question on the 996 turbo forum. To my limited knowledge, the major problems with the engine and/or drivetrain for the turbo are: the coolant line rupture problem and the 2nd gear pop-out problem. The coolant line problem can be repaired by welding or pinning. I believe it's ~$2.5K to fix. I've heard that some PCA chapters will not allow 996 turbos to participate in DEs unless the lines have been welded. The 2nd gear pop-out problem can also be fixed quite easily. I believe G-Box sells a product that addresses this issue that's relatively inexpensive. All the other potential problems (outside of engine and driveline) are identical to other 996 cars. Window regulators fail. Wheel bearings need to be replaced. Suspension bushings wear out. Horns honk unintentionally when braking due to deteriorating bushings in the airbag assembly. Center console latches/springs break. Headlight switches fail. Ignition switches fail. You get the idea...

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Heck, I vote this be made another sticky

Trans 2nd gear pop out can happen in any year use search.Bumper warts were on 2001 I have never seen them on a 2002 but could happen Im sure,a lot of people deleted these on order.Most anything that can go wrong in a regular 996 can go wrong in a 996tt they share the same basic body mechanicals example window regulators,console hing,you get the idea but as far as the motor the turbo is less worries as most problems can be repaired without the cost of a new motor.The 996tt is the best car out there for the money= performance/style. If you cant afford or do not want to put out the cash for the up keep I would pass.

OP, A Porsche will initially feel and drive quite different than other main-stream cars, so unless your father-in-law has experience driving a Porsche in the past and know what's normal and what's not, a PPI would be mandatory after his initial opinion that the car is worth going through a PPI. I know my first impression when I drove some of the 996's last summer, there's no way I would trust my own "mechanically inclined" aptitude to judge these cars I am thinking of buying.

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Sweet looking car Aviography! Can you post more photos?

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At the risk of highjacking OP's thread and with advance apologies .......

Man! that is a fantastic color!