Looking for advice

Hello Everyone. I test drove a 2004 996 for my son who is interested in buying his first Porsche. He lives in AZ and is 2400 miles away from this car. The car makes a beautiful appearance. No visible issues on the body anywhere. Interior is also flawless for a 20 year old car. Single owner, garage kept, non-smoker, only 47,000 miles on the clock, serviced consistently at 2 different Porsche dealerships. The IMS bearing has been replaced using the LN engineering fix. The RMS has also been replaced. Since I am used to the 5 speed transmission on a 964, the 6 speed felt different to me. The shift from 2nd to 3rd was not as smooth for me moving the gear shifter. I didn't get to the 3rd gear position without feeling like I missed the gate. Otherwise the car ran great. There's a lot more power compared to my 964's. I am planning to have a PPI done before purchasing it. My son will definitely be paying me back. Is the shift issue normal and I'm just not used to the shift pattern? I'm planning on offering low to mid $30's. That seems to be a fair number. Any advice is welcome. Thank you

Just going by what you said I'd give $28K for it. Probably have some shifter part/pieces to replace, not expensive or hard to do.

Generally speaking the 996 transmission is a little cold blooded . For the first 5-10 minutes it can be sluggish or difficult to shift . Once warmed up they are much better . The shifter housing has plastic bushings that even when new are a little sloppy but very quiet . There are aftermarket companies that sells metal bushing kits with bearings that really tighten things up . Check the service records to see if the trans fluid has been replaced . And what was it replaced with . Many argue the Porsche OEM fluid is the best vs aftermarket suppliers . Supposedly it was made by Shell to Porsche specifications . With low miles the car has sat a lot . I would drive it for a month or so and see if anything sorts out on its own . Also study the PPI report to see if they say anything specific about shifting . Good luck with the purchase .

PPI is your friend. If it was serviced per Porsche recommendations I would absolutely get it checked for bore scoring. 15K mile oil change intervals are not healthy for the M96 engine. Also with the relatively low mileage there might have a lot of time between oil changes as well. 996 Carreras are fantastic driving cars. I hope this is a good one!

The 996 shifter is not positioned as low as the 964 and is a much longer throw, so it has a much different feel than the 964. But the gearbox is pretty durable and at 47k miles, it's barely been used. Many guys replace the plastic parts in their shifter with metal bits to shorten the throw and tighten it up. Others dont. I still have my original shifter and gearbox after nearly 22 years of ownership, 16 years of DE and 62k miles. The gearbox is very durable but it's common to take a few minutes to warm up. Especially in the winter. In addition to the suggestions made by the guys, I would suggest that when doing the PPI, make sure the Porsche indy removes the sump plate and checks for bits and have the bores scoped from the sump. If dropping the sump and bore scope isnt possible, then as a worst case get an oil sample and test ot to see whats in the oil. You can purchase an oil test kit with expedited turnaround (Speeddiagnostics) thru LN Engineering for the test. https://lnengineering.com/products/s...html?limit=all Good luck. The 996 is an exceptional car.

It's not an unreasonable offer if it won't require any notable repairs. A couple of things. 1) Has the coolant expansion tank been replaced? Has the coolant filler cap been replaced? 2) What LN Engineering bearing was used and if it was the Retrofit, how many years are left on it? Is the bearing registered with LNE? 3) Take pictures of sides, front and back, engine bay and frunk, interior and send those and you will get more advice.

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I guess I have to be the contrarian here. There does seem to be a popular opinion that "any 2 wheel drive 996 is worth no more than 28k. For a car with higher mileage with gaps in service history but no serious issues and a clean title, the prices appear to range between 23-24k and 30k. The big "howevers" are the variables of mileage, maintenance records, condition, and specs. The car in question here is low mileage, but within reason, has regular documented service, is clean, and other than a typical loose shifter seems good. A good price to me would be 30-32k. A close examination of the maintenance records will tell a lot (for example, what oil change interval was used). I'm not sure many dealers even agreed that 15k was reasonable; most of my oil changes were annual at less mileage.. I agree that a bore scope examination would be best. Failing that, an oil sample sent to Blackstone or another vendor would provide a lot of information about oil contents. In this case a PPI would be worthwhile. They could pull and oil sample (or invest in an oil change) during the PPI.. I'm not as concerned about the coolant tank as they fail at various mileages; 47k is still "young". I got some good-natured grief when I bought my 996 last year at about 34k (with buyer's premium) at 65,000 miles. Yes I did "roll the dice", but I got complete and obsessive maintenance records with annual services (typically at 2-4,000 miles) from new and an excellent condition car. I've since preemptively put a clutch and AOS in it, so have a bit more invested and just turned 70,000 miles. Don't get me wrong. I believe in getting the best deal you can. And bargains are out there. Good luck with this one.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. Turns out the selling dealership didn't want me to get any more than a simple PPI. Checking for bore scoring of the cylinders was too invasive for them. I said thank you and Goodbye. Very high chance that even though the mileage was low, there would have been issues that I wasn't willing to deal with.

Yes, sellers don't like these inspections because they have to deal with the bad news, if any. Curious if this was a Porsche dealer or some independent auto dealer?

It was a Dodge dealer. Allegedly it was traded for a Jeep.

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While I agree, some would be thinking that, I think some are also hesitant to have some �unknown� prodding around so invasively and them being left with fall out. Broken connectors on coils, damaged wires, stripped plug threads, over use of sealant on sump leading to lumps in oil pump, etc. I know I would be very hesitant personally. I�d be more likely to do it myself in front of the customer.

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Oh, yes. Makes sense. Dodge dealer would be lost if something went amiss. Dodge dealer also probably has never had anyone ask for a Porsche level PPI for its Jeeps.