Considering A 996, Any Advice??

I have my 964 up for sale and have been looking to get a 993 or a 996. For some reason I have found more 996's in my price range. There are features on both models I like and dislike, but here is the deal. I found a 99 Cab with 70K miles on it in the low $30's. New clutch, tires and the top is in good shape, no bodywork or paint has ever been done either. My question is what problems should I be looking out for on the 996? Would I be better off spending a little more and getting a 00'? Any input or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

'99 & '00 are pretty much the same. Signed, Farmer Ted

I realize they are the same, but was concerned if there were any "first year bugs" in the 99'. So far, I have heard the 99's were prone to rear seals leaking. BTW: Like the Farmer Ted reference.

My Advice....The newer the better.

try and get an 02 or newer if you can. they made some worthwhile changes.

Way out of my budget. I really don't want to spend over $35K

You may want to do a search. There are several examples of "inexpensive" 996s becoming very expensive, very quickly.

Classic movie.... All 996s and 997s are prone to RMS failures (except TTs). The frequency of failure is no higher in '99 than any other year. The only complaint I hear about '99s is the plastic-looking dash.....but like I tell everyone, you should look at getting the full-leather option. You should do OK @$35k

They have two types of 99's; early built and late built your better off getting a late 99, you can tell by the headlights and taillights they are clear on the blinker part. The late 99's had diffrent radios as well. Any car with 70k on the clock, I would think that most of the bugs have been worked out. For the record I have a early 99 and love it! I've hadn't had any real big problems.

The seal issue is over blown and you can read from now until next summer about it by doing a search for RMS. There are some horror stories but by and large it is basically a seal and it leaks sometimes. Some leak some don�t. There is no rhyme or reason to when or why. The year doesn�t matter. There are 997�s that have had a leak in the RMS. Most likely it can be fixed for approximately $800. Will it reoccur? Maybe or maybe not. The 99�s have a coolant expansion tank that is more prone to failure than the later updated design�.fix is about $500 from the dealer or $250 in parts. Interior materials were updated in the 00-01 cars. Other little odds and ends like cup holders and interior LED lights were added. PSM was not available on the 99 C2 cars. Find the car that has the options you like and the price you want to pay and buy it. There is no significant problem that one year has over the others. Additionally there is no intrinsic proof or evidence that any year of the 996 is more or less reliable or durable than any other year. By and large durable and dependable cars. Obviously well maintained 996s are better than neglected and abused cars. I would suggest a PPI for any car you choose. Aside from the obvious cosmetic differences the 02+ cars offer better cooling to the engine, more power, more torque, stiffer chassis and some other up grades but you indicated this was out of your price range.

I can attest that my 99 is rock solid. With the option mix I have , the interior looks a lot better than a base model 997 (large carbon fiber, large leather, aluminum accents, aluminum dials), and I didnt really pay much at all for those options (options take a massive depreciation hit). My car was certified pre-owned (from the original dealership that sold it the first time) with 40k+ miles and has never had any RMS issues. It was also a bit on the high side for a 99 at the time I bought it a year ago. I would echo the advice above saying find the cleanest/most honest car in your budget. Newer is always better, but for $35k, Id question how clean any 00+ is. For $35k I think you can find a solid 99 though.

Here is my take, the '99 911's are pretty beat down in price, buy it cheap and drive the heck out of it. I had a '95 993 and felt that every mile was destroying my investment, with 996 I do not feel that way and as a result drive my car lots more which is way more fun.

In 2000 they offered traction control(PSM) on the C2. I gotta be honest, it's nice to have at the track. Other than that 300 is a nicer number than 296 and that's about it. They probably did some minor bug fixes, but you can check the build date too.

Get the 99... make sure you have all the history on the car... if it ever had a seal leak *don't touch it*... chances are the seal will leak again... the seal leaking is a manifestation of an inherent misalignment with the transmission and crankcase... your car either has it or doesn't... the 99 also runs motronic 5.2 which produces more HP & torque when flashed with the GIAC program than motronic 7.x (MY00 and beyond)... the 99 is also slightly ligher than the 00-01.... the 99 uses throttle by cable vs. e-gas giving you a more "direct" feel with the engine...the 4hp difference in hp rating will go away when you install the PSE; I can appreciate your budget... do yourself a favor and get somebody to check it out before you drop $35K... check brakes and cooling system... take it for a long drive... say 45 minutes and drive it to redline at least 10-20 times... and watch the temperature... if it goes way beyond the "0" in 80 you got a cooling problem. Make sure the synchros in the gearbox are also tight... drive it in every gear and rev it up and down and see if it "pops" out of any gear... indication of worn synchros...

Thanks guys, getting a lot of good advice here. Keep it coming.

You should just buy mine.

Looking pretty much at Cabriolets only at this point. However I did find a speed yellow coupe today with an aero kit today that was beautiful! This will be strictly a weekend only car for me, so I think I like the fun factor of a convertible over a coupe.