The Money Pit

The more I read the more concerned I become that I will be purchasing a money pit that is a ticking financial time bomb. Let me give you some background of my previous automotive ownership. I am a 64 year old disabled retired man, have been car crazy since I was 5 years old. I am financially average not wealthy (champagne taste beer pocket ). I have owned 26 cars in my life; some of the notable cars were Corvette, Formula 400 Firebird, 320i BMW, 450SL Mercedes. If maintained properly my cars were not expensive to own or problematic. I am not mechanically inclined and do not maintain the cars myself. I have been trying to educate myself by reading the Rennlist 996 Forum, Excellence magazine and numerous publications. On a previous post I describe my future purchase, 2001 996 Porsche Carrera, 33,0000 on the OD and the survivor of a IMSB failure at 30,000 miles. The remedy for this engine failure was a total engine rebuild consisting of IMSB and RMS replacement with upgraded current Porsche parts; this rebuild was at a cost of $12,000 performed by Boston Sports Car. I have dreamed of owning a Porsche since I was 15 years old and now since I have decided to purchase this car I have had a lot of sleepless nights. Since I have little knowledge of Porsche automobiles I rely a great deal on the knowledge experience of the Rennlist members. Thank you in advance for reading my very long post.

Ragtop, with Porsche everything costs more money. This is a fact. Things can break, and if they do they will cost you money. To be safe, create an annual budget for the 996 maintenance. Reasonable range for the annual maintenance budget is from $2,000 to $5,000. If you can't live with possibility of spending $5,000/year on maintaining the 996, then do not buy the car as worrying and sleepless nights will destroy any satisfaction from ownership of the car.

I had the same concerns when I bought my C4S in March 2013 with 58K miles on it. Had the 60K mile service done a month later at a Porsche dealership and everything checked out. It helped calm the anxiety and allowed me to sleep better. But what really calmed it almost completely is accepting that the IMSB failure may happen, yet I am prepared to deal with it if it happens. I called around the salvage shops in my area and they said a salvaged motor will cost 8 grand installed. I can swallow that. I may not get it fixed immediately, but I have other cars to drive if it happens. knock on wood. So I guess, my advise on buying a 996 is just be prepared and/or get the LN Engineering retrofit done to give you some piece of mind. I sleep very well at night btw

It's all about priorities, if you feel that you can't afford or unwilling to fix the motor if it goes then sell it. If you enjoy the car as much as I have then just gonna have deal with it and stop worrying about it because you will never be able to enjoy it.

Am I reading correctly that the car already has the IMS and RMS replaced during the rebuild? If so, what are you worried about? As others have said, things can (and sometimes do) go wrong in any car, even if you maintain it. The car probably won't be problematic - but there is surely a percentage that do have issues. I'd venture if you reviewed the list of cars you've owned there are some that have known issues, but they didn't happen to you - and that's the thing to remember, for every 1-2 cars where something goes wrong, there are 10 others out there (or 20-30 depending who you believe) that didn't have the issue. One more thing... how many times have you owned a 14 year old car and not had to do anything? With age, things break and need to be fixed... I'm driving a 1988 Honda Prelude with 4WS around now, and it has its share of rattles and issues, and I'm always waiting for the next plastic bit to break... but with good maintenance it's treated me pretty darn well. Final wordy note... these cars were meant to be driven - don't be scared to have fun and use it, otherwise, it's a waste!

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A reply of mine in another thread but is worth repeating here: No disrespect intended..."CHEAP to BUY" must NOT be the sole criterion when buying a Porsche since the cost to OWN/KEEP one is/should be a major factor as well . Best of luck in your search.

after owning 5 Porsches now, the best advice I can give anyone is buy the best car you can afford. The one caveat is in fact if you do work on the cars yourself, especially if you have the ability to drop the engine. But mine have been pretty reliable. Parts are 2 to 4x what they are for other cars, so you need a least a small amount of cash. They arent Audi tuner cars

All i would be worried about is the quality of the rebuild. How many miles and time are there on the new motor? Why is he selling?

You only live once. Put your money away and it gains interest . Put your dreams away and they loose interest.

Any car that's over 10 years in age has the potential for major issues. Porsche is no exception. Make sure you do your homework, get a good PPI on the car you choose and don't settle for the first pretty girl that comes along. You'll find the car you want. Maintain your car properly, and chances are good that you'll have an enjoyable ownership experience. My 996 C4S is one of the most reliable cars that I've ever owned. That being said, I do occasionally get hit with a repair bill that exceeds $3,000. It's not common, but it's not impossible. Be prepared for the occasional large repair bill and don't worry about it. Enjoy the car.

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Is it just me, or does it seem like there has been a recent rash of paranoid pre purchase Porsche prospectors?

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What I find amusing is people don't bat an eye when they drop $3-5k for common lexus repairs such as bad nav. It's a used car. You want a warranty, spend the 30-50% more for the new car. There is no such thing as a sure bet in a used car these days. They are all mobile computers and require costly repairs as such.

I rather doubt you'd be purchasing a money pit. I live in Central America, hardly a noticeable Porsche center, and I've driven a 2002 996C4S with a EVOMS supercharger and no IMS update(quite irrational I know) all these years with nary an issue. Just recently my ABS/TC computer appears to have gone awry. But besides that, it's been 12 very happy trouble free years. Other acquaintances with like cars have also had very happy motoring. Jump in and enjoy it for what's its worth!

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+1 Soaringman ! Well said

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The purchase of a car should *not* cause you worry. If it does then you need to rethink the purchase. My general philosophy regarding cars is to avoid purchasing one that has an engine rebuild. This is based on the uncertainty of the quality of the rebuild. However, if you believe this is not a concern, though your statements suggest it is, if not a conscious one then a subconscious one, then buy the car if there is no other reason not to. In buying a used Porsche, any used car really without any warranty, you have to look at the possible worse case scenario and what you would be facing and what you would do. I guess the worst possible case would catastrophic engine failure. In the event this happened then you should have some idea of what possible courses of action you have available and their cost and pros and cons. if none of the options are agreeable to you for one reason or the another then you need to consider maybe a used car, at least one with no warranty, is not the car for you.