C2 with 120K miles - buy or pass?

First off; Hi! I'm new to this forum, and I chose to sign up here because of the vast knowledge on this site, and the fact that that there is almost no activity at all in the norwegian (free) forums. Anyhow, after being an Audi guy for the last ten years, I've always liked Porsche. I've owned several tuned Audis, including an RS4 biturbo, which was a really fast car... but it didn't feel like a sports car until you floored the right foot and the boost kicked in... so I sold it, and immediately started to read up on just about every thread available about the 911 996, different versions and known issues. Prices range from sub $40K to just shy of $50 000, depending on the specs. I'm currently looking for a C2 manual, preferably with black interior and without the sunroof or rear window wiper. I'm not too bothered with the "Boxster style" headlamps on the 996.1 (or the 3.4L for that matter), but I wouldn't mind the "turbo style" ones. This is a car that I plan on using when the weather is nice and dry, but not as an all weather, all season DD. When searching, I came across a cobalt blue 1998 C2 with original GT3 styling and Porsche Sports Exhaust, with 90 000 miles on the odometer. This particular car appears to be just what I'm looking for - at $35K. After a little bit of investigation and a phone call to the seller, I found out that the reson for this car being so "cheap" compared to other similar models for sale, is the lack of complete service history. For some reason, the previous owner (not the guy who's currently selling it) had the speedo cluster replaced while switching out the steering wheel to a 3-spoked from a 2002 model. The "new" odometer shows approx. 30 000 miles less than the original one did. Hence, the car has done closer to 120 000 miles. However, it appears to have been well taken care of, even though the service history is not 100% complete. It does not appear to have been tracked either. Judging by the pictures, it looks every bit as good as if it had "only" 90 000 miles or less on it. For instance, the IMS/RMS does not appear to have been replaced, but this is something I plan on doing anyway when I eventually buy a 996 Carrera - unless it's done recently. Is this a car I should walk away from, or is it worth taking a closer look? If 100% documented history is absolutely everything with these cars, I know the answer. If documentation from the current owner, and the condition of the car can speak for itself, it might be worth a shot?!

Depends on what kind of owner you plan to be. A purist will turn their nose up at you and your car and look down upon you. If your a competent guy that can turn a wrench and that sort of stuff doesn't bother you then go for it. The 996 is a lot of fun and a lot of car for the $. Just remember unless your pretty competent with a wrench these bargain basement priced cars still cost super car money to fix and maintain.

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Turbojamie, thank you for your reply. I'm not afraid of a little wrenching, not necessarily to replace things because they break - but hopefully before they break. That being said - owning and maintaining an RS4 is in no way cheap or easy, as every part branded "S" or "RS" tend to be overpriced. In addition, the engine room is as cramped as they come, and the ultimate solution is more often than not to pull the engine... This is a car that I plan to enjoy when I feel like, and I simply could not care less what the purists might say or think. I don't want to sound cocky, but IMO one should not care about what others may or may not think. However, it would be nice to have a car that can be enjoyed without any major mechanical issues for the first few miles...

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One of the best ways to see if the car has a potential problem is to A get the seller to meet you somewhere you know is a bit of a drive for them. Say 20 minutes that way you know the car has to run minimum 40 minutes plus the time you want to say take it out etc... if someone is scared its going to fail they will not do this. Has worked for me in the past anyways. These are used civic priced cars and should be treated as such, your not buying a 100k car.

That's not a bad idea. I'll get him to pick me up at the airport. If the car turns out to be less than expected, I can always get on a bus or catch a train back home. (The guy lives about a 7-hour drive from here). There is a chance that the car will be sold before I get an opportunity to see it - if so, I'll just save the money and increase my budget while searching.

Rule #1, don't be in a hurry when buying a 911! IMHO you don't need a "full" history (which to me equates to a full binder of invoices) but the service booklet should be stamped and the mileage shows must be logical. I have seen low mileage cars with one entry in 2002 and the next in 2015; that does not make a lot of sense. How much history is there? Mine had the booklet stamped regularily and came with 6 years of history. That to me was fine + the overall state of the car (can somebody do a ppi for you?). Although I am a technical guy I won't do maintenance on the car but I have found a really good Indy close by. If you intent to drive the car for a while you can plan for upcoming maintenance in the next 2 years to bring the car to the state you want it to be in.. you do need to plan then for that financially. I would not be too happy with an odometre change unless it has documentation. You can change the steering wheel without anyting else; so why was the odometre changed then?? A bit fishy that one. It very much comes to your mindset on cars. If you just want to drive and don't mind too much about how easy it will be to resell, then there are great deals out there (35k does not sound like that!). If you buy it cheap and then still will spend considerable money getting it to OK state but lack of records will never allow you to recuperate at least some of that money you might make the wrong decision.

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Service book stamped seriously? Good luck with that one, how many cars are out there with a stamp for every service?

Thanks again. I'm not in a hurry, but I'm trying to decide weither this is a car worth looking at or not. I agree about the mileage being logical, as well as it being a little fishy that the odometer has been replaced for no apparent reason (unless the old one broke...). Nevertheless, prices seem to be a little steeper here than "overseas", as $35k is as cheap as they come, with $45k being the average. When I buy cars, really I don't think too much about resale until it actually is time to sell them. There are always people willing to buy, but natrurally, it will be far easier to sell a car with a well documented service history. The plan is to get a hold of a nice 911 996 to enjoy and keep for as long as I like. It will of course be a nice bonus to know that the car eventually will increase its value, or at least be worth its price.With this particular car, the current owner can document everything he's done with the car, and most of the things done by the previous owner - except the odometer replacement. A thorough PPI will be a criteria.

ViciousViper, I am not sure how hard it is, but couldn't you get one from Germany? a good 996 in the UK is around 16k pounds, I believe they are around 15k Euros in Germany and the steering wheel will be on the right side. I would be tempted to also look around Stavanger with the oil turn down there is a number of high end cars for sale for good money. I would pay extra for options, heated sport seats, suspension options, wheels. I wouldn't pay extra for the PCM. Good luck with the hunt, last time I was in Norway there wasn't many Porsche's, so you should get yourself a unique car

Having been an "Audi guy" like you for a long time, and now owning a 996 C2 manual with black full leather interior, I guarantee that you will love it. It is a sports car and so much more a driver's car than any Audi, except the R8. Maybe...

The "cluster story" sounds just like what it is... a "story"! There is absolutely no good reason to change out the cluster while changing the steering wheel - in other words, one job has nothing to do with the other. Now, just because the cluster was changed, that doesn't make it a bad car, but it certainly raises more questions.

sammaw: Yes, I could, but the import taxes will probably make the car just as expensive as those already on the market. On the other hand, there might be more options to choose from. I spoke to my local Porsche Center, and the guys there told me that they do a regular search for possible "prospect cars" - cars in such a good condition that they can import them by request from the customers. I told them what I was looking for, and asked them to inform me if they were to come across a car that matches my requested specifications. Audidude: I am very sure that I will agree to your statement. The R8 is the only "true" sports car in their sports oriented lineup. Btw, nice ur q dporto: Again, I absolutely agree. Unless the old odometer broke, there is no reason at all to replace it, but it doesn't necessarily make the car bad. However, I do find it odd that the former owner of the car failed to set the mileage right to match the old one - or to document why it was replaced.

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As another posted has mentioned, you do not need to replace the instrument cluster in order to replace the steering wheel. Unless there is an exceptional explanation as to why this happened, I would walk away from this one.

For what it's worth, I've decided to let the blue C2 with fishy mileage go in favor of an arctic silver C4 with 3.6 / X-51 (and everything checks out with this one!) --- Case closed!

Congrats!

Thank you

We need photographic evidence, of course!! Congrats on the purchase!

Will post a few during this weekend. First I'll have to embark on an 1100 mile journey to drive the car home. It's sitting in the northern part of Norway, while I live in the south. I will keep you posted😃

Looking forward to pics of your new C4 and a story about your trip back home. Best of luck.

And don't wash her up before taking the pics. It is nice to see a car that worked for a living iso all shiny & garage queen! 1100 miles of Norway should provide that! Then you wash and make some more pictures!