996 40th - Carfax Evaluation

Thinking of making day trip tomorrow to look at this 40th Anniversary. The pics I've seen suggest light wear on the interior, and no visual body issues. Trying to interpret the carfax, and it seems there were some motor/tranny issues in the car's childhood, and a couple emissions issues in it's teen years, but I'm thinking it got its life turned around recently. Anyone want to scan through the carfax and provide an assessment? http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...AA29924S620714

here is the build sheet for it http://admin.porschedealer.com/repor...AA29924S620714

Why would the valve cover gasket need replacing only after 14K miles on the clock? Then the transmission and drivetrain issues. I'll be cautious and get a good PPI. See how it drives. Critical maintenance items done? 40AE is great but all else still counts.

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How can I get one of these for my car? Sorry Rubik, didn't mean to intervene. I figured maybe Jay can steer me in the right direction.

Based on the report the 2 previous owners took good care of the car and the first one was able to stick the major problems under warranty. Being done by the Porsche dealer, same as the second owner, in the year 2012 the car was tossed between 2 dealers and it was driven more than a 100 miles I guess by the general manager on the sale department. The next 15000 miles done by the last owner didn't show any record at all, could be a guy who pretend to be a mechanic and put hands on the engine? I wouldn't be scared for the work done under warranty I will be cautious for the last owner, a DIY guy who short cut major maintenance in order to do not spend money? ask the dealer for records from the last 2 years get PPI and do an offer, I think it worth the trip.

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Click on the link he has, then go to the URL in the address bar and go to the end of the address where the VIN is. Click in the address at the VIN, remove the present car's VIN and substitute with yours, hit enter. Some cars are there and some are not, a lot of 99's and 00's that I have tried are not, but it seems the newer cars are there.

Thanks for the feedback. Hoping to check it out tomorrow, though PPI won't be possible til next week

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That worked for me..thank you very much for this!

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There's nothing sinister in those types of things with a new car. Sometimes things go wrong with a new car. That's what a new car warranty is for. Heck, I came upon a rather new (<2K miles) 996 on the used car lot at a Porsche dealer and the story was the engine developed a tick and had all its valve lifters replaced. Afterwards, the tick was gone but the owner refused to accept the car back because it had required internal engine work at such a young age and low miles.

I agree with the previous posters in two ways - the stuff that was fixed under warranty wouldn't concern me, and the lack of service records from the most recent owner is something to note. Doing a PPI on a car of this age is a given - I did one on my 40th when I bought the car 2+ years ago. That said, unless you're going to spend crazy money and have somebody do a deep dive on the mechanicals the scope of the PPI will be somewhat limited. There's only so much they'll even look for for a few hundred bucks (or less in some cases). When you lack service records another indicator of the manner in which the car is treated is simply the condition of the car's interior and exterior. The photos are illusory because most places, like this dealer, detail the car and use professional photographers. They all look great on the outside. Your personal inspection will take care of that. Don't just look around the car, look under it, too. The pics of that car's interior show some wear, which is not surprising given the age of the car and the fact that it has an all-leather interior. For example, look at the pics of the door panels, especially the storage area covers. The driver's seat doesn't look too bad. The left side bolster will always wear first and fast - it's just a question of whether the leather is torn, which you can't tell. Frankly, I was a bit surprised by what looks like a little more wear than I would have expected on the passenger seat. However, again, it is a 10+ year old car now, so unless one of these cars is an ultra-low mileage garage queen it will show some wear. All that is said just to point out that how the owner treated the exterior and interior could very well be consistent with how he/she treated the car mechanically. Good luck with your personal inspection and the PPI. I do hope it works out. I have a great affinity for these cars and love it when they find a good home. If you have your heart set on a 40th know that there are several others out there for sale. I have a section on the 911 40th Registry Facebook page where all the 40ths for sale around the world are listed: https://www.facebook.com/notes/porsc...11132789135806 If you want a lower mileage one Nr. 0665 should be showing up at a South Florida dealer soon (about 19K miles). I realize that is way far away from you, but it's probably one of the nicest ones available now. Again, best of luck. If you do buy that car (by the way, it's Nr. 0216), post about it on the 40th Facebook page and on the 40th Registry/FAQ thread here on RL. I'm sure that the 40th owners will enjoy welcoming a new member to the group - they always do.

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I know where you're coming from. It's just a lot of times I hear some crazy stories from people about "German cars" like "I was at the dealer for the 40th time" or whatever. Then I compare my own experience and honestly I've rarely had anything unusual happen and the stuff that has happened I knew was coming. So when I see valve cover gasket at 14K on the speedo, I wonder if the culprit was Porsche's statistical AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) or a dumb owner that beat the crap out of the car before the temp gauge has even budged from a cold start, which by the way is not guaranteed to lead to valve cover gasket leak. Or it could be the valve cover gasket supplier's AQL. Whatever the reason, my caution flag is up.

Seems like the mechanical side of things checks out, but there has been some body damage during its lifetime. Both front fenders have been replaced, but the computer does not show that airbags deployed. The car has been resprayed, and the paint is nearly all greater depth than standard. Slight bends on both rear wheels, 3mm and 5mm respectively. Reaction?

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I'm not a life-long Porsche owner nor am I mechanically inclined, so I had hoped to see others react first; however, since no one has, allow me to offer this perspective. Since no one has a crystal ball and this car is 10+ years old now any of our guesses as to the car's future are just that - guesses. The chances of problems can be minimized through a good PPI but even the best PPI isn't an insurance policy. Granted, all of that is obvious, but it's a fair set-up for my point that it comes down to what you plan to do with the car and how much you want to spend. If you are going to drive it every day then you certainly are the one who needs to be comfortable that it can be reliable and not overly costly to maintain. These cars, as you know, are crazy expensive in terms of parts and, if you are not a DIY guy, the service side is expensive, too. Aftermarket warranties on cars of this vintage are also expensive even if they are available. If you want a pristine example then clearly this isn't it. Pristine examples of the 40ths will run mid-to-high $30's or into the $40s. Sure, there are some private owners out there somewhere who may part with their low mileage garage queens for less, but those never hit the internet or dealers. If the price is right, and the body work looks good, and the car checks out mechanically, then that's all you can ask. I bought my 40th 2+ years ago with 67K on the clock. It was in good not great condition. The PPI went very well and I had a reasonable amount of service history and info from the two most recent prior owners who took her back to 17K miles. I've spent my time with the car getting her condition from "good" back to "great" and have enjoyed the process. She's been very reliable in the 9K miles I've driven with only routine oil changes, brake fluid flush, etc. plus replacing the alternator, which can hardly be attributed to anything other than age and miles. Some folks frown on cars with any cosmetic repairs, excluding of course severe accident damage. To each their own. If you want an untouched 40th that is perfect they can be found if you search, wait, and pay the price. In my work on the registry I've seen 40ths of all conditions and histories, and, frankly, some of the happiest owners are those who have nursed one back to health or bought one that has been repaired and both looks and runs like a champ. Clearly the car you're looking at isn't of the garage queen variety. If, however, you are comfortable with the repairs, condition and mechanicals and the price is right then go for it. If not, there were about 800 of these that made it to North America, and at any given time there are anywhere from 5 - 10 out there for sale. Good luck and let us know what you decide.