Looking to get into a 996. Any tips for buying a preowned 996?

I have a 2008 Cayenne S loaded with air suspension, PDCC, you name it. I've had it for almost a year and I officially have Porsche fever. I want to add a P car to the collection. I want to get into a 996 Cabriolet as a weekend car so I can take the kids for a spin "without a roof" as they would say. Looking to spend between $20-25k and about 50k miles. Seems like there are options out there at that price point. Any recommendtaions as to waht I need to look out for or a pre-owned checklist? Thanks.

I read about the IMS and RMS issues, anything other than that? At what milaeag do owners typically swap the engine? I saw posts about engine swaps, don't want to get into all that.

welcome CayenneExpress! I see you're in Miami. There are quite a few South, South FL members here. a well cared for 996 cab will be a bit hard to find in that range, but not impossible. Are you able to do some work yourself? that would save plenty $. What would be important would be prior ownership history, maintenance, etc. I almost bought a 996 coupe with 80K miles in Nov 09 for $18K, owner did not answer my request for maintenance history, etc, so I looked elsewhere. Ask sellers if they have the owners manuals, both keys, "papers". A thorough PPI by an experienced Pcar mechanic, DME readout, maybe even a leakdown test if you want to go farther. All the superficial clues, paint condition, cab condition, interior, and even checking the floor insulation ( possible leaks into the pass compartment), will ultimately determine the price you are willing to offer. and as you mention IMS . RMS issues. if the seller can document R & R's even better. IF not, then it's on you to prove if IMS / RMS are intact. I was lucky to find a mint 996 cab late Nov 09 for $30K, 1 owner, 9500 original miles. very well worth the price. Also fortunate to find an great Pcar indi near Doral, who has done approx 10 or more IMSR from L&N in the last two years alone. I had all the fluids replaced, spark plugs, fliters, etc. I drive it just about every day, yet it still only has 16,800 miles. if you need any info, RL is the place. GL in your search.

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The car you are thinking about is just a used car so a good and thorough used car check out can go a long way to helping you identify a car you don't want. A problem can appear at any time. Never or right after you buy the car. But this is true of all cars is that even though the car checks out just fine now, that is no guarantee the car will remain fine forever. Things go bad. A rule of thumb is one should have set aside 10% of a used car's purchase price just in case something goes wrong shortly after buying the car so one has the money on hand to fix the car and get it back on the road. IOWs, you don't want to tap yourself out in buying a used car with nothing in reserve. If you have done a good job in your car selection and have a bit of luck, that money stays in the bank. As I've mentioned various things have gone bad on my Boxster (and more recently my Turbo) and these failures gave little warning. For instance, it was not like I had months and months and thousands of miles forewarning about the Boxster's water pump. One day I just happened to notice an odd noise coming from the engine compartment while the engine was running and long story short it was the water pump. Maybe a better example is my Turbo, which I bought used with 10K miles. The car checked out just fine. It was fine. Like new. I drove it approx. 25K miles and then the idler roller (noisy), radiator motor (broke), radiator (dented when motor broke), radiator cap (leak), and tranny (leak) all appeared about the same time and were fixed (thankfully under warranty). More recently, at over 50K miles, the clutch accumulator and clutch slave cylinder had to be replaced (again under warranty!). My point is the car checked out perfect six ways to Sunday when I looked at it, and I looked at it very very carefully more than once and did my research and convinced myself the car had been reasonably well taken care of, not abused, and was in fact in the pristine condition the car ad claimed it was in. All you can do is find a car that shows no signs of having anything wrong with it right now and is in good shape, has been taken care of and has no bad body or paint work and well is just a good car. A good car will if you own it long enough and drive it long enough experience various failures of its external components, like for instance water pump or fuel pump. But these are relative minor problems to deal with. What you want is the underlying engine and car to be in good condtion. It is one thing to fix a water pump on a car that is in otherwise good shape. It is another thing entirely to be faced with a bad water pump attached to a bad engine. Once you believe you have found such a car and believe you can buy it for a reasonable sum of money, arrange to have the car given a PPI. This may turn up something you missed. The PPI can look at things you may not be able, for instance pulling the oil filter housing and checking the contents of the oil and the filter. Reading the overrev counters and checking for any pending OBD error codes, odometer tamper, etc. There is no mileage number at which an engine must be replaced or rebuilt or swapped. Many do not get swapped or replaced or rebuilt. Ever. Some of the engine swap stories you read are people addressing a failed engine out of warranty in which case to restore the car's functionality the failed engine must be replaced. A factory sourced engine is expensive so many fall back to sourcing an engine from a company that specializes in salvaged Porsche engines. Sincerely, Macster.

Thanks Ed. Yup, I'm in S Fl. Live in Pinecrest work by Tamiami airport. I can do quite a bit on my own, but would rather buy something "ready to go" and then do work after I've had the car for a while. Some posts recommend going for a 2002-2004 even with higher mileage vs a 99-2001 with lower mileage. I don't mind spending a bit more, but this'll be a cash deal, so the more I have to pay, the longer I have to wait. I'm not so good at waiting. Thanks for taking the time to write. I'll definetly call on you for your guy in Doral when the time comes.

no one except race car drivers "swap motors" unless there is a need and these cars can go 150k miles or more before the need arrises..... not all of them make it, but most are trying like hell

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Thanks Macster!!! Good advice.

top tip spend 5-10k more and get a 997

"Thanks Ed. Yup, I'm in S Fl. Live in Pinecrest work by Tamiami airport." Tamiami airport, Is that near Sarasota?

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No, Tamiami is a Small Airport in South Florida, General Aviation. IIRC, Weeks Aviation Museum is also located there?

Find a car lots of options such as full leather, Bose, bi-xenon, PSM, etc. Won't add much to the price of a used 996, but can really improve the base car.

1) I echo Zookie's advice --- buy a 997 if you can swing it. 2) If you live in S. FLA, get a PPI from Pedro at Pedro's Garage -- probably the best money you can spend. An expert on used water-cooled Porsches http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site/Technolab.html

If you post a couple potential buys here a fellow Rennlister may know of the car, a comparable, or especially spot the obvious. If from an enthusiast or executive you could expect to see a pretty much a mint car, inside out, underneath, or it will have dealer records then maybe indi receipts with upgrades (eg sport exhaust). When I bought mine the most obvious issue was numerous scratches on the window film apparently from lady reaching for seat belt and hitting glass with her diamond ring, and sunroof switch seemed a little loose. These days I like the CS alot too. Good luck with the search. Regards,

Thanks guys. I'll post my findings when I narrow it down to a couple of candidates.