Diff b/t 99 and 00 failure rates?

I don't want to open a flame thread and I know this topic has been covered in depth, but I have a specific question that I can'e seem to find an answer to. The local Porsche dealer is zero help when I ask about engine failures. Still doing my research to buy an early 996 and get into my first Porsche Early 996 because of cost otherwise I'd just get a 997 or TT. Even though I'm aware it's the vocal few who show up with problems and not the thousands that don't have any issues...the engine failure occurances bother me. Joel from PCA had this to say, and it seems to echo a good number of postings on various forums (and from various remanufactured/rebuilt for-sale cars that i ask why their first engine failed). I find that many say that evidence points to sleeve failure. http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_ques...B94A89676F0%7D Does this insinuate that it may be a bit safer (nothing is guaranteed obviously) to avoid 996s manufactured in early 99? Obviously engines can blow for numerous reasons including user error, but if there is indeed strong circumstantial evidence pointing specifically to the early '99 manufactures then prudence would suggest avoiding them. Or am I being silly? Just don't want to pick up a car, import it, and have the engine poop out on me. I could cover it but....who wants to do that. I'm trying to convince the SO that a CA$15k engine replacement + the 996 cost comes to much closer to a turbo, so why not get a turbo now....but no go....alas.

Oh dear God, here we go again

Am I better simply asking: Is is better to try to find a car with a manufacture date in the last half of 99 or later, or is that not going to buy me any better chance....or am I silly for thinking there is a statistically high enough chance of any sort of grenading?

You really have been spooked haven't you? Don't buy into the drama that is propogated here on the net. Buy whatever car you want. Service history and the way the car was taken care of is very important. As well, a full PPI helps as well. But to answer your question, the answer has and will always be, buy the newest car you can afford.

K, good advice. Ya...I've been a bit spooked...I wasn't too worried as I figured the % was in the < 1% range, but then a local mechanic mentioned a percentage in the single digits. But I have no idea on the validity of his remark. Still very low in any case I'll probably be importing which makes it more difficult to get a good history/inspection/etc done...as well as get service with local dealers as they frown upon imported cars. Maybe it's worth the extra to buy it up here and get some chain of ownership and records. Just musing now What matters more...newer, or less mileage? ie. is the newer tech enough to overcome mileage in some cases? ie. '99 w/ 40k miles or 2001 w/ 80k miles, given equal care and histories. Thanks

Truth is nobody but PCNA has those numbers and they aren't talking. If you follow your gut, and do your due dilligence, chances are great that you will ahve a car with many years of pleasure ahead. Best of luck with your search

Honestly, the only place you could get that data is Porsche and they are not sharing. Your local dealer with only be able to provide an opinion based on the cars they have serviced, Porsche is not going to share the repair stats on the 996 population with them either. Porsche (like all car manufacturers) does make changes and updates to the cars as they learn about problems. They create updates and modifications to their parts and processes to improve them (as well as issue TSB's to fix problems in the field). You could theorize that they best car to buy would be at the end of a model production run. For the 996 Mk I this would be 2001 or 2004 for the Mk II. However, there are a ton of great '99's out there and there is no reason not to buy one. My advice; - Buy from a reputable source or private party - Get a complete Pre Purchase Inspection done by a knowledgeable Porsche mechanic before you hand over any money - Buy the newest/best example you can afford - Get a CPO car or purchase aftermarket insurance coverage if you feel you need it. Good Luck!!

Mine was a July 99 manufactured 99 and had cracked cylinder. Seems to be a crap shoot despite what the statistics say. I have read between 5-10% of 99's.

In a similar thread a few weeks back, Adrian (I think I have the name right... writer, seems to know a lot about these cars) said that the majority of failures had occurred in the first two or three years of ownership and that if a car had accumulated some years and miles without incident, the odds of failure went down quite a bit. Worth a search. It was a good discussion. A thought on this: "But to answer your question, the answer has and will always be, buy the newest car you can afford." I wonder if that's always true. I think that 996s are becoming more like mainstream cars than older Porsches were in terms of depreciation. It's easy to find cars that might only be a couple of years apart in age, but far enough apart in price that the future depreciation would more than pay for a new engine. Or two. Just saying, I wouldn't run away from a well maintained, older, higher mileage car with a clean service record. It could very easily end up the better buy, IMHO.

a lot of engine failures on 3.4 996 cars occur on the track because of the high g-forces generated due to sport suspensions and track tires.... if you have a 3.4 and are gonna track it make sure you get the special oil mod that is available that prevents oil starvation.... the 3.6 cars I believe already have something built it but you can retrofit a 3.4 engine and the mod is pretty inexpensive from what I understand...

That's about all you can say - there is no magic formula to work out which early cars will fail, at any mileage. I made the decision to avoid the early cars, but I could afford to do that. Best of luck and buy a warranty if you buy a 99 car.

Ray's post above pretty much sums up my game plan when I start shopping for an '02-up 996 next year (after I return from Iraq) and if I may reiterate them here one more time: My advice: - Buy from a reputable source or private party - Get a complete Pre Purchase Inspection done by a knowledgeable Porsche mechanic before you hand over any money - Buy the newest/best example you can afford - Get a CPO car or purchase aftermarket insurance coverage if you feel you need it.

Ugh, threads that have "failure" and "99" in the title draw me in like moth to flame...

My 99 was actually built in Nov 98 and now it has 30k miles. Just did the 30k major service at the dealer and there is no sign of oil leaks. I was kind of in the same shoe as you before I got my 99 months ago. Let's put it this way, you can spend $45k+ for a good MK II but you also can spend $30k for a clean 99. Eventhough you end up with a engine failure and cost you around $8k for the repair, it still put you under $40k plus you have a new engine.

What is this mod ? I was under the impression that although not truly dry sump, the 3.4L (and 3.6L) engines DON'T experience oil starvation. Can you elaborate ? Thanks Sid

I would question your definition of "a lot". I think you could say "a lot" of 996's have had RMS leaks, but from what I have seen oil starvation problems in these cars is extremely rare. I have never seen this problem at the track even on a 3.4. IMHO, it is most often raised as a concern by those that are critical of the lack of a true dry sump in the 996. Porsche clearly designed the oiling system in the 996 to deal with high g loads and they have further improved the system as they have improved the cars. Do a search on "starvation" and you will find a ton of post about "concerns" but almost no posts from anyone that has ever experienced the problem. In fact, I would put the "X51 extra deep oil pan mod" in the same category as the "engine protection plate mod". Both are fine mods if you feel you need a little extra protection, but neither is what I would call a "must do".

If you track your car it's best to get this done... just something I picked up from the team engineer who's team won Daytona 24 hours GT class this year .... in the end... I would hope you wouldn't need to do this mod given the $$$ you payed for this car... but so little $$ for this mod buys you some extra protection according to the team engineer... like I said... it's your car.... you take the risk.

Go to this site and querry on the car that you seek: http://www.jdpower.com/autos/used-car-ratings . This is the best info that's in the public domain, and it substantiates the proposition that the 996 is one of the best quality performance cars that you can buy. Does this mean that you are assured of getting a trouble free car when you buy a 996? Of course not but you do have the odds in your favor. Once you've identified a car that you like, ask for a DME report. It only takes a couple of minutes to run, and then you can at least determine if the engine has been overreved. I would not recommend buying a car that has ignitions in ranges 4 and above.

Firstly, JD Power does not cover 99-00 Porsche cars Secondly, their data appears subjective and out of sync compared to actual fault claims data from people such as warranty direct: http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/ma...rchtype=engine JD Power data is based on cust sat Vs Warranty Direct data which is actual failures and claims - make your own minds up.

FWIW Don't buy the first year of manufacture for any car! It doesn't make any difference regarding brand. It usually takes one year or more for the manufacturer to establish a large enough number of cars to surface the type of problems that occur once mass production has started. You only have to look at the number of TSBs that are written for any model. For Porsches, check the TSB list on Renntech. If buying a model newer than a 99 is going to stretch your budget, then you probably can't afford the repairs possible with an 8 year old car. I'd wait until I could afford an updated 996. Cheers,

Hey Brock - I'm in Vancouver looking for a 996 and probably going to import as well. How goes the search? What are you budgeting for? I'm after a 99 mostly for the *value* but also because they're simpler and lighter cars. I'm frankly convinced that any 99 I buy without a reman engine already installed *will* grenade within the next five years and I'm budgeting accordingly. If it doesn't happen then it's gravy. jasper

Oh yeah - and I'm getting my post count up so that when my motor does blow up and I post here bitching about it then I won't be razzed for being the kind of guy who only posts after he's had a bad experience LOL. Did you read the infamous "Bob" post? I downloaded an interesting article from Total 911 discussing early M96 engine failures. I got it off this site, but if you want a copy let me know an I'll email it to you. Hey look at that, eleven posts!

Just bought a 99 with 78k impecable maintenance and like new almost everywhere.