Please help - about to pull the trigger on this one

Fellow Rennlisters, does anyone know anything about this 996.2? There's no service history on the car, other than what's listed on CarFax. Here's the info: 2003 Porsche 996 Manual Cabriolet, Slate Gray Metallic VIN: WP0CA29943S651390 Obviously, the IMS is my biggest concern. Yes, I'll get a PPI for sure from Porsche Exchange most likely in Highland Park, IL. Should I have the IMS done so that I can sleep at night? What does the LNE kit cost plus the clutch kit? I'm guessing between $3k-$4k, right? Thanks so much for the help!

Aside from the IMS concern, what do you need to know? Look up these numbers on the hood sticker and it will give you the option package on the car. https://www.stuttcars.com/technical/...des/996-03-05/

More information would be helpful. Mileage, price, what you saw when you looked at it and drove it, etc. Before you spend money on a PPI, what did your own inspection show? How did the clutch and shift linkage and gears feel? How does the cab top work? Did you pull the dip stick and actually look at and feel and smell the oil, did you look at the coolant, and the brake fluid, when you drove it how is the alignment and wheel balance, how do the tires look, etc.? Do all the lights and switches and gauges work? Windows, heater, ac, etc. etc. etc. You need to give us more real information...like pictures.

For discussion...

The options on the ad are not lining up with the hood sticker!

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Actual options: CO2 US model XSC Porsche crest embossed in headrests 226 Internal production code related to tires 342 Seat heating 411 18" Carrera 5-spoke wheels 437 8-way electrical seat, left 438 8-way electrical seat, right 476 PSM Porsche Stability Management 537 Seat memory, left 680 Bose sound system (analog) 939 Draped leather rear seats 981 Leather dashboard and door panels 982 Draped leather front seats 985 Internal production code related to front seat backrest material 432 Tiptronic buttons for steering wheel 09991 Porsche Exclusiv Program

Wow, you guys are awesome. The car is a 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet with 95,142 miles at Dream Car Chicago in Villa Park, IL. Yes, IMS is my big concern, but so is the lack of service history. Also, the car had a clicking sound - either exhaust leak on a right-rear side, or a lifter, on cold startup. I don't remember if the sound went away, but I don't think it did after it was gently warmed up and driven. Then, after 20 mins, I drove it full throttle and it was strong to about 6900 RPM. I didn't push it all the way to redline. Everything on the car is solid. Everything works and the car drives well, shifts perfectly, brakes were all done, the top works perfectly. The clutch felt "normal" with mid-way engage and dis-engage. No slip under WOT torque.

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I didn't pull the dipstick. I forgot these cars have one. I tested everything on the car, it all works flawlessly, AC is cold. Aside from IMS, the right rear ticking, there a lot of black dirt on the bottom of the engine, indicating a very slow leak (I think), even though the car is in the showroom and it doesn't appear to leak oil.

According to Jake Raby, resident guru, when it sounds like a 996 lifter it never is. You need to know what is making that noise before buying. Engines and engine work is expensive.

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Ticking on the right side could be #6 cylinder bore scoring, or a bad lifter etc etc. I'd keep looking. There's plenty out there.

When it comes to purchasing a 996, when in doubt bail out! Don't by a clicking engine unless the prices is very low.

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Very strange, I didn't notice this blooming? Gee, if I missed that, then I question my own checks on the other parts of the car. But in regards to the options listed, yeah, that's a huge one. Man, I really owe you one for that.

B3 is our resident 996 PI. Nice work B3! And I agree, "This is not the 996 you are looking for."

B3, are you able to pull up any info on this one I'm looking at? WP0AA29994S621892 Apologies for the thread hijack. Won't happen again....

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Hey man, I saw that car before in the other thread. Nothing really stands out other than the PO changed out a lot of the factory parts: 1. Factory air box removed to K&N cold air intake. If it were me, I'd put the factory one back on. 2. Original Turbo Twist wheels changed out with 18" GT3 wheel. They're nice and complement car very well. I'd keep them on. 3. Factory installed Bose system removed and a newer Pioneer system installed. I wouldn't trust anything left in the car is genuine Bose. The original Bose IMHO, was an incredible setup that included 12 speaker design with subwoofer and processor/amp. Shame it's gone, but the new system looks really nice. You really need a picture of the hood sticker in the frunk to know more. But it's a beautiful car. Like the other car, it's really hard to know the service history unless you have invoices from Porsche. The price is right given the miles, but that doesn't mean anything when it comes to the IMS issue.

Thanks B3. I'll try to swing by and take a pic of the sticker.

Cool... post the hood sticker and we'll see if it lines up with the car. I just looked over the CarFax... not much to offer. The only concern is the first owner basically drove just 3656 miles in the first 5 years. That may sound like a good thing, but for a M65 based Porsche 996, it's not. Fortunately, the last owner looked like he made it a daily driver and put the majority of the miles on it. The IMS thing (given the history) would concern me. The only way to get a better picture, is to contact the original Porsche dealership that sold the car and see how often it was serviced. Again, very nice car and if you can get some $$$ knocked off the price, it would be a great deal. Cheers!

Thank you B3!!

I decided not to pull the trigger on this one. Thanks to you awesome guys on this forum. There were just too many things that didn't add up. It's not good that the dealer listed options that didn't line up. There were quite a few other warning signs as well. I called them and asked, "Does this car have Xenon headlights?" They said, "Yes, it does, Xenon headlights." I said that the options code on the car indicates that it doesn't. The sales guy yelled over to the owner, "Xenon headlights, right?" The response was, "Yes, Xenon headlights." The sales guy then said, "I have the 'Porsh' mechanic here right now - he's been doing this 30+ years to answer any questions you have." I said, sure, I'll talk to him. When I got him on the phone, I asked if the car had Xenon headlights and he said, "Yes, it does." I then pointed out that the pictures of the car and options code says otherwise. They both quickly backtracked and said "Halogen." As for the ticking noise, nobody at the dealership remembers or recalls any ticking noise. The mechanic said that the car just needs to be run due to it sitting, which I tend to agree with when it comes to lifters, in general, but after there were so many inconsistencies and things said by the owner and sales guy, I realized that I couldn't trust anything else that was said about the car. In the end, though, I'm actually thinking that a 1999 996 is the real car I'm after, because: 1.) They are cheaper 2.) The double-roller IMS bearing appears to be more reliable??

hahaha.... you could have kept that going... like, Um, ok since we've established it doesn't have Xenon lights. How about this... 1. Where are the washers that you have listed? 2. The Bose stereo system tell me about that again. 3. And, those don't look like OEM Porsche Sport Seats... where are you hiding them? 4. And lastly, please explain all these fancy "additional options" that don't exist on the hood tag or even in the actual car. hahaha... I could go on and on. I love the line "I have a *Porsch* mechanic here right now - he's been doing this 30+ years". hahaha

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By the way, how far away are you from Loganville, GA? There's a '99 Cab there... And it's an ultra-rare "S" model! Actually, it was sold yesterday, I just heard...

PM sent...

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I'm pretty sure that car was a normal 996 with an S sticker added to the back.

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"I'm pretty sure that car was a normal 996 with an S sticker added to the back." I think ML78's reference was strictly tongue in cheek...

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Just fyi, 99 is probably your lowest cost/mile option for a 996. While the double row 1999 IMSb is the consensus best OEM unit for a 996, it requires a bit of gamble in leaving the ball bearing design in the car. If you buy a 996.2 with a single row that's relatively low mileage and has a well-running engine, you can zap the IMS bearing failure with the solution. More cost without question, and the intermediate shaft itself can still breakdown regardless of the upgraded bearing. But one failure mode removed is one failure mode removed. It more or less comes down to a question of how important these things are & how much $$ they mean to you: - extra 0.2L displacement of the 3.6L & accompanying 20hp - ability to install IMS solution vs. rely on low failure rate of double row 99s - glovebox in 996.2 more here --> https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...d-to-mkii.html These days I spend time drooling over mk1 aeros and GT3s of both iterations while obsessively scouring the interwebs for parts to make my mk2 C2 just a little more betterer.

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All great points. I had a 2000 Boxster S and very much enjoyed the larger engine, more torque, etc. I'd say the newer the 911, the better, generally, but the 1999 is an older decade, and has an old-school way about it that draws me to it. I generally try to stay away from the 1st gen of any car, but I haven't heard about too many major issues with the '99s to scare me away. Also, does the '99 have cup holders? For some reason, I though that they did not.

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Rule #1 - Never, ever buy a Porsche for it's cup holders. ha! seriously, not sure, but I know they didn't come with a glove compartment.

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It was tongue in cheek, but I had to Google it to be sure

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I actually left out a lot of back and forth discussion with these guys. There were quite a few things said over the course of the weeks that led me to question and perform research, which led me to post on here. They just said that the online post might have been wrong or copied from the wrong car, but they did eventually come clean on every item I pointed out. So I'll be checking the online ad to see if there are revisions now that they know there's a typo/mistake.

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Its all classic "used car sales 101" type stuff. I highly doubt there's a used car dealer out there that doesn't know the "story" on the 996/911. On the off chance that they don't know the story prior to getting such a car on their lot, it wouldn't take them more than half an hour of searching the web to figure it out. You know they'll be looking up the value quickly because they'll think they "stole" it...Anything other than the "straight poop" on these cars is either stupidity or a bald faced lie! Caveat Emptor...

I just got a bunch of text messages from this guy, now, showing me pictures of a logbook that was in the trunk, along with documentation from a previous dealer, complete with all service records. Trouble is, I now cannot trust them, so caveat emptor is absolutely where I need to be right now...

Update: They told me the IMS bearing was done, along with the clutch, so I went back into the dealership. When I looked over the service records, I found the IMS Bearing install documentation. Sure enough, there it was, over $4,000. But my wife noticed that the paperwork was an estimate, not an invoice. I called the service shop listed on the estimate. They did not know of any person's name listed on the estimate. They did eventually find the car in their database, but they did not find any evidence of replacement of the bearing. They also made time to change the text in their ad, because they added the bit about the clutch and IMS bearing, but they kept the knowingly bad information that shows Xenon lights. It's not like they didn't know it was Halogen, finally, after I told them about it, and it's not like they didn't have time to make that adjustment.

Just skip that one. It's not worth dealing with people that are this shady, why reward them. There are plenty of other cars out there.

I agree. I'm just mad because I dragged my whole family down to buy a car they said had the IMSB done. But that's on me, because I somehow suspected that the docs were too good to be true. But what I'm really mad about is the car was sold the next day. So someone bought the car, and they didn't update the advertisement since then, and probably didn't tell the buyer the truth. So I sincerely hope that buyer ends up with a great car that will run well for a long time.

If there's any doubt, it's better to wait and find the exact one that you want and feel good about. Sorry that didn't work out for you but there are tons of these cars out there, so don't worry too much.

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Buy this car --> already rebuilt so you can plan on enjoying it for a long time. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...searchRadius=0

Well, I did just finally pull the trigger. But not on the original car. Yesterday, I bought a black on black 1999 C2 Manual Cab with 47,000 miles on the clock.

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What if there is no options code on the hood? I couldn't find one on the car I just bought.

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Is there no option sticker or no options on the sticker? When I bought my '99 I was confused because I thought the options were missing on mine, but the only option selected were the turbo twists! I have never seen another car as low optioned as mine.

You should be able to find the options/build codes from your vin#. It'll cost you a few bucks either at your local dealer or one of several services around the web ( I think SunCoast may do it?). Do a search, you'll find it... Also, congrats on the car and best of luck with it/her

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Shhh...I am looking seriously at this one!

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There was no sticker on the hood. The car does have options, but no matter who I call - dealers, Porsche USA, or the previous shop that services the car - nobody will disclose the information I'm looking for due to privacy concerns. Somehow that information belongs to the previous owner... In any event, Porsche USA said I can pay $110 to have a certificate of authority. I dunno, I might do that someday, but I know there are other ways to get the options codes. My car doesn't have a manual either, kind of a bummer, and so I might just try to buy one somewhere. My car does have some options, such as black lettering, parking sensors, heated seats, but just wanted everything complete and documented.

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There's a PDF manual on line - if you can't find let me know, I'm pretty sure I have a copy somewhere... Also, I think Stuttcars ( www.stuttcars.com ) only charges $15 - 20 to get your option codes from your vin #...

*** The only problem with Stuttcars is that they deny that the 996 exists... pretty lame considering it's (arguably) one of the most important if not THE most important models in the 911 lineage...

Try this site with your VIN. Worked for me a few years ago. I also found the owners manual online for free. https://admin.porschedealer.com/repo...print.php?vin=

Post deleted...looked like the car was still out there on Craigslist, but it is not on the Dreamcars website anymore, so it appears it did sell, but they never killed the Craigslist ad. I was eyeballing it last night.

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Correct. It was sold almost 2 weeks ago.