New Project Car

I've been looking for a new project car, maximum fun and min cost! Been looking at 996's because it fits that bill. Found this on ebay, I think he's overpriced, the car is nearby so I can check it out in person. I'm thinking more 8K and put in a rebuilt engine. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264120042108 Seems like similar 996's are going for 25K, but I'm still working through the configurations to compare apples to apples. I'm fairly mechanical, I would not be able to rebuild the engine but I could swap an engine. My background has been with BMW, Audi, and Volvo, not Porsche. I know about the IMS but that would be addressed with a rebuilt engine. I know nothing about the 4 wheel drive system and it's reliability or what other pitfalls I should look for. I'm seeking advice, knowledge, and your thoughts on a project like this. Thanks John

That's a $4-7K car.

In my opinion it is WAY overpriced. I'm searching for something similar, but I wouldn't spend more than $5K. If it had fewer miles I might go $6K. If it were a C2, I wouldn't go over $4K. The prices above would be local prices. Shipped would reduce what I'd pay. Also I doubt it is a head gasket. More likely cracked head or bad oil cooler.

This guy is out of his mind. I could send you dozens upon dozens of well running 996s for that price. Hell there are two near me I am considering grabbing because they are good clean examples with about 100k on each. Both under 13k. THIS GUY NEEDS A REALITY CHECK ON THE OLE 996!!

Guys, that's a widebody car. It is priced high, but I don't think he's too far off. A nice C4S with decent miles would price around 25-30k.

It is never a head gasket with these cars. If it has intermix (coolant and water) it will need to be flushed out asap or you will likely need to replace all hoses, which is not a cheap or easy task. That being said, watching the video, it doesn't sound or drive like it has cracked heads. A better diagnosis as to why it's losing coolant might be worth it.

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I feel like when it comes to anything possibly involving internals with these cars it's better to plan for the most expensive outcome possible. It's unfortunate because the car looks relatively clean so it could be a good buy but with the way, these engines are there are just too many what ifs imo.

(Holes in both seats, carbon fiber is cracked and the motor needs a complete rebuild (most likely)...Who knows who did what to it for $13K?

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Noticed the holes after you pointed it out. Smokers car? Also looks like cracks in the tail lights?

That is a heavily optioned hot mess.

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That's why I said $5K. A higher mileage C4 is worth around $25K, at least in my mind. With an unknown engine, you might end up spending $20K. That way you've ended up with a car worth what you spent. Could you end up spending less? Sure, but you need to plan for the worst. If you luck out and it's something relatively inexpensive to fix, then that's awesome.

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Thanks for pointing that out. I would have to fix the interior if it were mine. At least the passenger seat needs work. I would replace the carbon fiber. It just doesn't fit the 996 to me. Not that I don't like CF.

I have a 36k mile 2004 3.6L engine for sale. Just sayin'. :-P

Thanks for all the feedback. I thought I was expecting the worst scenario by replacing the motor. I agree its high. If it's still available next weekend I'll check it out just to get a sense of condition and price so I can educate myself. Again thanks for the feedback! Thank John

So if someone "rebuilt" the engine for $13,000 and it subsequently blew a head gasket, I would definitely question their abilities and then I would wonder what else they screwed up in the engine. I'd rather have an engine with a problem that I knew had not been opened up by some doofus that didn't know what they were doing. There's no mention of "IMS" in the article, so that's an issue as at 134K miles you should be on your 2nd replacement--unless you have "the solution", which I'm guessing they would mention if it had it. For that price I would expect a pristine interior. There's some weird shading on the picture of the steering wheel and some pinholes in the headrest--which with the crest is probably the one piece of that seat you don't want to have to replace. The seller didn't get great pictures of the tires so I can't really see the wear bars but my tires were 7 years old with full tread and needed to be replaced. And it's sliver Based on my recent purchase and knowing how much I've spent so far on a "perfectly running" car, I'd be shocked if there was less than $20K-$25K in repairs on this. So instead of asking is it worth $14,500, ask yourself, are you willing to spend $30K to get this car in great worry-free condition. By the way, this is assuming no accident history.

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I agree with 808Bill and others. These cars don't blow head gaskets. All the experts have said this over and over. IMHO... Definitely, a cracked head or potentially a cracked block. The symptom of vapor out the tail pipe is probably being followed by dreaded intermix. If you noticed in the video, the temperature light is blinking. That's a very bad sign in light of the other symptoms. Unfortunately, the rebuild means NOTHING to the sell. It was done 7 years ago at 65,000. The car now has 144,000 miles on it. This motor will need to be fully rebuilt again. Even though this is a C4S, it's still a roller to me. At least the seller is trying to be upfront about it. The cosmetic stuff wouldn't bother me or the MOST error on the PCM2, but the engine problem??? No thank you!

My point on cosmetics comes back to the days of flying private planes. I would look at a plane as 3 major parts: 1) engine & prop 2) avionics 3) interior and exterior cosmetics I would NEVER NEVER buy a plane with all 3 of those bad (preferably only one and engine & prop were best, because it was typically a *very* known quantity of how much rebuild of engine and refurbishing prop would cost) For cars I look at 2 things: 1) drivetrain 2) cosmetics -- never buy one with both bad!

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I agree with you on a lot of what you said, with a few exceptions. I doubt the engine rebuilder was a doofus. The engine last around 80K miles on the rebuild. It was done many years ago before we were made aware of the cylinder wall issues. I know the guy wants to emphasize the fact it had $13K in rebuild costs, but a car that needs the whole engine replaced, it means nothing. He's just using it as a way to justify a higher asking price. This is a car you can expect to get pretty expensive to fix and it actually be worth your time to work on. If the car had much fewer miles, I would say the decision would be easier. ~144K is pretty high, even for a car with a lot of records. I, too, would say this car is worth around $6k-$8k tops.

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I missed that the engine rebuild was that many miles ago. To me it only makes sense to mention an engine rebuild that it was recent. This seller telling us that is akin to me saying "my car originally sold for $95,000, so it's worth a lot of money now. Seller is probably in sales or marketing... Long story short: I wouldn't pay more than 6-8K for that car because I'd assume worst case on the engine. Might be a good track car, but I'm thinking if I get a track car it might be a Cayman.