New 996 Owner

Hello fellow Porsche enthusiasts! I've lurked here for years but I recently realized a childhood dream in purchasing my first Porsche... a 2001 996 C4 (seal gray/savannah beige) with 12,288 miles on it. One owner, garaged it's whole life. I just replaced the original rubber with a set of Sumi HTR Z 3's. A PPI at a local Porsche specialist revealed that the water pump is starting to leak so that's going to get resolved soon. Other than that I'm going to drive and enjoy the hell out of it. I look forward to continuously learning and being a part of the community. Thanks for all the info up to this point, I'm going to keep reading and learning.

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Congrats on the car, that is crazy low mileage. Are you going to do the IMS or anything else? Love that color, not too dark or light.

Congrats

Creampuff !! Congratulations !!!

Wow, incredible find! Enjoy, I know the feeling of realizing the dream very well. Wait a couple of months and you will catch yourself doing nothing but thinking about it, lol.

Congrats on the incredible find....it is indeed a creampuff. Definitely a candidate for ims upgrade....if you ate willing to share would love to know what you got it for....

First of all, congratulations on this beautiful, unique 996. I love the color combination! Now to shift gears if I may. This is a classic case of a garage queen and so I wonder what condition the IMS and other internal components are in? Not trying to be a downer, but I've heard many times, that garage queens are some of the worst offenders of IMS bearing failures (ref - PCA IMS videos) and since this is a 2001 car, I assume is has the single row bearing? Did the Porsche shop conduct an oil anaylsis, manometer test, bore scoped the cylinders, and ECU evaluation? What was the outcome? Thanks, and welcome to the Porsche community!

Wow, VERY nice! Seal Gray rocks! Now enjoy putting a bunch of miles on it.

Welcome to the "madness"! Love the color too.

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Thanks, I'm going to do the IMS at the end of this year. I'd like to lower the car and close the wheel well gap a bit. still researching going with 19' wheels or coil overs. I'd also like to get rid of the park assist rear bumper... it's atrocious. The low mileage was as worrying as it was attractive. No oil analysis to my knowledge but all the other test revealed it was in top condition. Or at least that's what they told me. No misfires, error codes etc. I have it scheduled for the water pump and complete fluid flush next week, I'll have them dig a little deeper.

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I probably over paid at $21 but I really liked the car and it's condition.

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Not trying to open a can of worms, but I'd keep those 18" Turbo Twists on the car. They're better matched than any 19" I've seen on these cars. Those 18" Turbo Twists were considered the bomb-diggity-bomb especially if they're hollow spokes. Sounds like you have a solid plan to address the known issues with these cars. I would verify the cylinders by bore scope inspection. When you get the IMS done, request they replace the RMS and AOS while they're in there. Good luck! Beautiful car!!! Enjoy!

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I think that is a good price for those miles and for how it seems to look. Do you have interior photos? Options? I love the look of the 996.1 with the twisted turbo wheels.

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I'll get some interior photos up soon, the couple I have on my phone are terrible. Options are; - 18' Turbo look wheels - 3 spoke leather steering wheel - Colored center wheel caps - Park Assist (not a fan of appearance, I'd like to make this go away) - Comfort Pack - Technic Pack - Self -Dim mirrors and rain sensor - Heated front seats

I think that's a great price and if I where you, I'd have the IMS solution installed ASAP if you plan on keeping the car long term. The last "cream puff" purchase here failed a couple of weeks into new ownership just a couple of months ago. New owner ignored the advice to change his IMSB and ended up having to replace his motor. The 01 single row are the worst!

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I have heard this low mileage story so many times - there are many failures across mileages. I have a '99 Boxster that has under 6,000 miles (bought new). I had the IMS replaced three years ago and it was absolutely as new. I would still strongly recommend an IMS replacement as there is no sense in taking the risk, no matter the mileage, and the sooner the better.

I just noticed you are in the Philly area. Did you get this local? I didn't see this one pop up in the area or I would have checked it out although it was probably out of my price range with those miles. *edit just saw the price you paid, seems like a killer deal to me.

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+1 on fantastic price and replace IMS ASAP

CONGRATULATIONS! I didn't read of any oil change yet? I would asap. Remove filter from cartridge and cut ends off with razor blade and carefully examine (magnifying glass) for particles. Here's mine, 4500 miles after my sump pan was removed for ims bearing pre qualification. I believe the 5 black pieces are silicone sealant. The other are pieces of filter paper. One tiny sliver of metal hardly noticeable in photo.

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I work in the car business as a finance manager and it was a vehicle we took in on trade.

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Now I'm looking at moving up the time line. Just reached out the closest installer of the IMS Solution (Specialty Cars, Allentown PA) for some info as well as a local Porsche shop that did the PPI for me (Provost Motorsports, Bordentown NJ) for some info to see which route to go. I know most would say just go with the IMS Solution and I'll probably do that but want to arm myself with all the info. I've done so much reading on it as of late I feel like all the info has ran together in my mind.

Amazing price. Would have gone way way higher on BaT

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I agree it would be hard not to try and flip this.

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I know what you mean. As a recent purchaser myself, I've read a ton and it all runs together and makes your head spin. For sure, none of us want to trash our engines and make a large investment turn upside down in an instant. Definitely get your IMSB addressed ASAP--you don't want to become a statistic by waiting. BTW, congrats on the beautiful car.

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no kidding...then buy a turbo.😎

My recommendations are: 1) Install IMS Solution (At the same time replace AOS, RMS, Water pump, thermostat) 2) Keep the 18" wheels 3) Install some coilovers 4) Drive it and enjoy!

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Just my 5 cents. IMS is a weak point of this cars? yes. But reading this forum it looks that you have to change it because all of them will fail sooner than later... That is far away from reality. These cars are more reliable than people here think. I have been in forums since 1995 and I have never seem such high hysteria about one topic like here with the IMS... You have a really nice car. Have your oil analysis done and if nothing shows up, drive the car and keep a good maintenance, with good oil, respecting warming times, etc. Dont freak out about the IMS. Keep an eye on it (you can check it if you have to do clutch for instance) and that is. That is my opionion.

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Good advice, just keep an eye on the IMS, and when it fails...replace the entire engine. (estimated cost: $15,000-$25,000) ...or replace it with The IMS Solution and never worry about an IMS bearing failure again. There is no "catching an IMS bearing failure early." When the IMS bearing fails, it sends tiny pieces of metal throughout the engine. Rod and main bearings really love those tiny metal pieces. Having The IMS Solution installed will make selling the car easier if you do decide to flip it. Also I bet it will add to the value too.

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Well... why the IMS solution? There are other solutions out there (Direct Oil Feed, etc). It would think that you have some interest on people installing that solution (just asking) What I highlight in black, would be ok... if the IMS will fail for sure. Do you have any data that support that affirmation? Why should assume that my IMS is going to fail, when most of cars doesnt fail? For me, a better advices is, enjoy your car, keep it well maintained, use good lubricants, respect warming times, etc and when you have to do the clutch, check the IMS and if is needed (or wanted), change it. If somebody wants to go and make a preventive chage on the engine with aftermarket parts, its ok. I am not even saying that is correct or not. But if you have a healthy engine (and these engines have demostrated that they are really realiable in most cases) dont messing with it and leaving all the factory parts working properly could be another option. I dont like that rule "written in stone" about having to change the IMS yes or yes. Actually, Porsche workshop process specifically says to change the flange but not the bearing. Why?... I dont know but they also know something about their engines There are a lot of opinions out there from forums and workshops outside of the US. This is one well reputed 911 specialist in Madrid ( http://porsche911madrid.com/REVISION...0TALLERES.html ). If you don't read Spanish, I will translate the highlights. More than 1000 M96 engines sold. More than 150 yearly maintenances. 1 single IMS failure. 4 IMS changed "in stremis" in cars with high milleage and no maintenance records. The best thing is that... anyone can do whatever they want. There are plenty of options... and thats good

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Nope, I have no interest in people buying the IMS Solution. DOF with a roller bearing is just a bandaid. Maybe it's the best bandaid, but it doesn't solve the problem. The IMS Solution is the only solution where a roller bearing is not used. It's the bearing type (similar to aircooled and Metzger) that should have been used in the first place. The IMS Solution is not a bandaid, it solves the problem. For me, a better advices is, enjoy your car, keep it well maintained, use good lubricants, respect warming times, etc and when you have to do the clutch, check the IMS and if is needed (or wanted), change it. [/quote] The problem is knowing when the IMS will fail. You have to catch it before it fails. Waiting until it wobbles some is waiting too late. If the IMS has started to wobble, then you've waited too late. Porsche caused the problem. They also didn't solve the problem either. But it is an easy problem to avoid. I don't wait until parts are completely shot to replace them on my car. That's just not the correct way to treat any car, and especially not a 20 year old Porsche. I believe in proper vehicle maintenance. I replace my brake pads before they're completely gone, I replace my tires before they're bald, I replace my water hoses before they've started to leak, I replace my water pump before it has started to leak, I replace my brake fluid before it has absorbed 2% water, I replace my spark plugs and coils before they've died, and I recommend replacing your IMS with a new one (or the IMS Solution) before it fails. All of the above are maintenance items. Most people replace ALL of that before their car is 10 years old by buying a new car. You can continue driving your 20 year old car without replacing anything, but it will come back to bite you. If you want a reliable car that doesn't need a lot of maintenance, sell your 996 and get a brand new car. It will be reliable with almost no maintenance for several years. I guess I'm a bit sensitive about vehicle maintenance because I work on vehicles for low income people. I mainly work on very old cars (all manufacturers) that have not been maintained and are no longer safe or capable of getting their owners to and from work. I see LOTS of poorly maintained 15-25 year old vehicles. Most of these people can't afford to repair their cars so they bring them to us to repair for free. I also teach vehicle maintenance classes to help them learn how to maintain their car. I tell them that a properly maintained car is much cheaper than buying a cheap car every few years because you can't afford to repair the one that's completely worn out. These low income people require our help to get their cars back on the road, but many of them become better at taking care of their cars. Some have become pretty good mechanics too and now work with us providing free labor to help others. But someone who can afford a Porsche should be able to spend the money to maintain their car, or they should sell it and buy something cheaper to maintain. If you can't afford an IMS replacement, sell the car and buy a Honda. What's amazing is I know more people personally who have had IMS failures than a Porsche shop in Madrid.

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You see? This is also your personal opinion, and although totally respectable, it is far away from been the only truth. I know a lot of people that will totally argue that argument. I can also show you tenths of links from workshops around the world claiming that they sell/install the best IMS solution ever... what we should do? Maybe they only sent crappy IMS to the US ;p .... now talking seriously... what should we do? believe you or believe a Porsche workshop? (I am not meaning that I dont trust you, just highlighting the fact there is always different opinions around...) I agree with all you say about maintenance (actually a lot of the cars that I see here running wouldn't be allowed to be driven in EU... in Florida there is not even a yearly technical inspection!!). Believe me... I would doubt that you maintain your cars better than I have done with all that I have owned. Old ones... and also new ones (by the way... I have had old cars much more reliable than brand new ones... ). I work for a well known OEM parts manufacturer by the way Because I believe in correct maintenance is why I say that a 996 properly maintained is a really reliable car, IMS included. It is not because I say... They have proved it... But is better to keep saying that if you don't take them apart to inmediatly to change the IMS, you are less than crazy.

There are two rationales for changing the IMS of this specific car: 1.) Twelve miles a week on average, which could indicate moisture buildup, corrosion, pitting, etc. due to not being driven that much. 2.) It probably has a single-row bearing. That said, the bearing might still be perfect. Not changing the IMS - not poking the bear - is a real option, but I prefer that option for dual-row bearings, the later, larger IMS, and for cars that have a lot more miles on them and have proven themselves out there in the wild. Folks that have 60,000+ miles on the original bearing, folks that have tracked their cars, have a lot more time under a lot more stress to have to have been able to withstand a faulty bearing. But cream puffs, we don�t know. There probably hasn�t been much stress, so a faulty part might have been able to make it to today and not reveal itself.

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Congrats! It�s one of my favorite color combos. These cars are so nice to drive and own. Hard to believe they are 18 years old already. Nobody who compliments you on your car would believe that if you told them. Or else they�d think it was an $80,000 car. Welcome!

@parris The topic has been beaten to death...I trust the guy that did all the research and invented the fix after doing all the testing before anyone else (even the great Porsche engineers) The bottom line is a new replacement (or proper rebuild) motor is unaffordable for most people that buy these old Porsche's, so an affordable "solution" is to replace the IMSB before it fails! Nothing wrong with your opinion but one must do all his own research and make the best decision for their own piece of mind. Anyone want to talk about "bore scoring"?

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I hear bore scoring is the "new IMS" in the Porsche world that's affecting even the newer engine platforms. When they bore scoped my cylinders during the pre-qual for the IMS Solution, the cert tech said that my cylinders were showing early signs of scoring, but that I should get many more miles out of them. The scoring wasn't bad enough to disqualify my car for the IMS Solution. But he showed me pictures and explained the problem in great detail. Given the poll I ran a few months ago here on Rennlist, I think most people have made of their minds about the IMS problem and most are having something done about it as a preventive measure. Bore scoring on the other hand, is another "silent killer" that is often misdiagnosed until it's too late. Well at least I've been warned.

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As mentioned in another thread, leaking injectors are known to cause some of the bore scoring. Maybe time for new ones to prolong the life of your motor?