Those of you with 996s that have no warranty whatsoever...

What has been your experience thus far with unscheduled maintenance? I ask (And yes, I did a search and found a number of topics that indirectly address this topic but none that specifically single this group out) because my 997S is on its final year of warranty and I'm on the fence about keeping it or moving on to something new. If you don't mind, please spare the intermediate shaft and rear main seal failure stories as I have no desire to beat that horse any further. I'm more interested in any other ancillary nagging issues your cars have had. Thanks.

I dont have warranty... 1999 996 C4. my front side radiator fan has stopped working.... searching for a fix.....

I bought mine last may with 66K miles from another rennlister. I knew I was buying a out of warranty car that may need some big ticket repairs. I am lucky so far. I now have 74K and have been on a fluid moving run of 50-60miles at least once or twice a week this winter. Aside from maintainance, fuses and tires, there was only a throttle body that needed replaced. I was pushing the car when it happened. The money I set aside for repairs now have gone into mods. I know I have brakes to replace at some point this year. If you drive the car often, problems seem to creep up less. Its not an expensive car to own if you can find a good Indy and constantly check the underbody for leaks yourself. I was surprised. Perhaps you should consider an aftermarket warranty for a piece of mind? GL with your decision.

I am not so sure how 996 experiences translate to 997's but, no warranty...no problems. Well, one window regulator, typical.

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Mechanically, our cars are very similar as are replacement costs of wear items.

2000 C4 no out of warranty issues!

I've been out of warranty for the past 2.5 years. In that time I've had to replace the coilpacks, the alternator, and the control arms (front) in addition to an RMS replacement. Other than the RMS I handled the labor on the other items. I think these are pretty typical repairs for these cars. Not the best car I've owned in terms reliability but not the worst. In those 2.5 years I've put about 35k miles.

Window Regulators MAF sensor Alternator Wheel bearings all of this done out of warranty on a 1999 C2. Mileage 28k

I never had a warranty. Parts I put in: air/oil separator ($125) window reg ($230) MAF cartridge ($300) O2 sensor ($150) 2 idler pullies ($150) oil filler tube (I broke it) ($20-30) water pump ($140) Sold at 102,000 miles, these fixes were all from 85k-100k miles

Starter motor (~$200), MAF (~$170), driver's side window regulator (~$200). On edit: because I DIY everything, those prices are for parts only. You'd probably pay 2x-3x those prices to get the work done at a dealer or indy.

I have been very lucky 2.5 yrs 22,000 miles driven 113.000 total miles Have done oil changes ROW @ 100k just for fun mass air flow sensor window regulator Small plastic fitting in cooling system Tires

Perhaps I've been overestimating the cost of parts replacement... Thanks, guys.

have you considered buying an aftermarket warranty ?

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I just don't see them ever being a good deal.

I paid $1,900 for a two year aftermarket warranty with $200 per visit deductible. Haven't used it once in 10 months plus. BUT, I have only put on about 2k miles in that time.

Had a 6 year warranty that just ran out, 45K all my own miles. Had to replace cats every two years, and expect the need to do that again in a year or two, this time out of warranty. Otherwise, no issues. Very happy with the car.

*one of the bearings that rolls with the serpentine belt rusted and therefore seized which threw the belt off (but more due to car sitting around after washes and could've been avoided if the car didn't sit around so much) - some of you may remember my story what a moment! $300 *seat belt airbag light issue $500 *the engine in my car was replaced under original factory warranty back when it had 13K miles - not sure exactly for what reasons, but likely RMS/IMS or something like that that's it and i've put on about 15K miles in a year by april (regularly driven) i have an aftermarket warranty but haven't had the chance to use it yet (knock on keyboard)

Aftermarket warranties are great if something major fails, (like an engine) Also, if you decide to sell the car many buyers will only buy a car if it has a warranty. If you do buy one, make sure the warranty company has no financial issues. I have seen several go "BK", thus you then have nothing. for example: http://hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/ins/ins...ns/primeguard/ or google: First Assured Warranty

Bought 1999 996 off a used car lot w/60,000 miles last April: Replaced right side electric window motor (dealer paid)- $450 Replaced water pump -$833 Replaced rear tires -$600 Now have 76,000 miles and I've just changed oil/filter, air filter, cabin filter, and plugs (didn't really need to change plugs as they were in excellent condition). Just changed rear tires again, so add another $600. That's it!!

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Palting, When the cats go bad, do they throw a CEL? If so, then you should NOT have to pay for replacement cats on your nickel, because they are part of the emissions system and are covered for 8 years.

I bought a '99 in November that now has 47k. The records had the previous owner replacing the passenger window regulator, MAF sensor.

2 window regulators, 1 MAF, fuel pump jet injector, and a secondary air pump. I have a 99 C4 with about 65k on the clock owned for 2 years now. Going to sell it I think.

2001 C2 with almost 61K miles. Luckily, so far most of my failures were under warranty (RMS multiple times, reman engine, coolant tank, and ignition switch) Only out of warranty failure to date was the light switch. Cost to repair was around $180.

No issues for me, so far.

No issues for me... sing it loud everyone. My Porsche is rock solid!

MAF and alternator on my 2001 C4. No major (or minor for that matter) issues here.

Bought my 02 C4S last May. It had 30,000 km. on it when I bought it. I've driven it 25,00 km (15, 432 mi.) since then - pretty well every day, with a 90 km commute. Other than routine, I've had to replace the serpentine belt. I'll be doing the clutch in about a month.

1999 C2 61K miles. No issues other than normal maintenance. Still enjoying the stock 300 hp.

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AMEN!

99 C4 - in no particular order: coolant expansion tank and cap - $400? MAF sensor (after O2 sensors) approx $650? I was hoping to hold out a few more months (I was going to sell my cab in the spring) before having to do the clutch, so instead my motor failed and needed replacing. No warning, never even a puff of smoke at start up - approx $11K Like you said, catastrophe is the only thing to insure against.

Got my car used in April 2006 w/ 28K miles on it, also came estra 3 yr w/ ext-warr that I used in the first 3 months of ownership (cracked expansion tank, bad ignition switch, bad seat control module, and bad passenger side mirror switch) all in one shot. Without warranty I would have to pay $2800 (parts & labor). But since then, car run great without any other issues (knock on wood table). Cheers,

As to the question ... 126k miles on the first motor. Bought the car with 50k, roughly, on it. Replaced the factory US M030 with the X74 just because. At around 80k miles a small fitting on the coolant system failed requiring a tow. Cost of the part was about five bucks. Tow and labor was about 250. Had a bad waterpump at about 100k IIRC, alternator failure (totally seized) a few months after that. Water pump was about 300 and alternator was about 600 installed. Didn't have time to do it myself, otherwise would have been substantially less. Also replaced the rubber bellows between the engine and the oil/air separator (permanently resolving my MAF related CEL's). Cost of the part was less than twenty bucks. Motor failed at 126k with no warning/signs/symptoms. No compression on number 2 cylinder. Most likely culprit was a broken valve spring. Cost of replacing valve springs was 2/3 or more of the way to a new engine from Porsche. Replaced the engine and clutch, added LWF. New engine (and old) RMS / IMS dry as a bone Now have 140k on the chassis. Both of my key remotes have given up the ghost and I'm not inclined to spend the money on a new one, esp. given the exorbinant programming charge locally. The window regulator for the driver's side is a bit tempermental when going auto-up. And, the LCD on the a/c control has decided that it does not like freezing temperatures but still works just fine. Not terribly bad for a 99 C2 that is a daily driver.

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If you're replacing cats every 2 years something else is certainly wrong.

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I agree, it doesn't sound right. Rumor (from a tech at the dealer) is that if the gas you're using has any ethanol in it, it can lead to premature cat failure. Up here the highest octane gas available is Sunoco 94, but it contains 10% ethanol (I guess that's how they get it to 94). When I switched to ethanol-free Shell premium (91 octane), my fuel economy actually improved with no noticeable loss in performance. Not scientific, but I've never had a cat failure with mine and I know guys who have had failures with their p-cars that religiously use Sunoco 94. Back to the topic: No probs at all since the warranty expired a year ago. Not too many under warranty either: RMS (1.5 years ago) and a cracked keyless remote case.

'99 C4 with 49k miles...engine was replaced at 43k miles. The only problem I've ever had was the trunk getting stuck ($220 at dealer). Has anyone with a replacement/reman engine experienced total failure? That's the only thing I worry about.

bought my C2 used in July, 06 with 13k miles; now 19 months later at 25k miles and no issues. Conti 2tires were at 90% when car was bought - will need replacing in next 60 days.

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Wayne and Rob, oh no, you guys shouldnt of said that..........I preached about the 0 problems of my car and then............

I have replaced on my own dime the following: Engine Coolant expansion tank Starter Shift cables Ignition switch Does anyone think the above items should need to be replaced on a car with less than 85K miles?

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No. Is anyone surprised? I'll bet not.

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I've heard this several times before, and my tuner has actually seen marginally better lap times on gas without ethanol. The explanation I got is that, just because the octane rating is higher for Ultra 94, does not mean the DME recognizes it as such. Something about the way ethanol burns makes the DME sense predetonation, and it reacts by enriching the mixture and retarding the timing. It's the richer mixture that puts that black soot in your tailpipe, gives you lousy economy and cooks catalysts. (Apologies if I haven't explained this properly). I got this story some years ago when I was replacing the exhaust on my Z3. The factory piece had a black, sooty tailpipe. After the new one went on, I stopped using Ultra 94 for the next four years. When I sold the car, the inside of the tailpipe was still bare metal. No soot. I was sold, and now avoid Ultra 94, and all ethanol enhanced fuels, like the plague. FWIW, to the original poster's question: I did a pile of fixing up when I got the car two years ago. Since then, a taillight wiring harness, the reverse switch, and tires. A few hundred for maintenance. A few thousand for dumbass mods and optional extras.

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These damn yearly $600+ rear tire replacements kinda **** me off..

grrr $501 each for me so probably $1300 out of pocket to replace my rear rubbers http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=2

ben, just ordered these ... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=HTR+Z+III I'll let everyone know how they work out. As many miles as I do for work, I figured they were worth a try...

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let us know how it works out. i'm just limited by sizing . if bridgestone made their RE050A PPs in the size i need, i'd dump the PS2s in a jiffy. just way too expensive for comparable grip.

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What size do you wear? They make them in stock 997S sizes and that will be my next tire, no question. Pilot Sport 2 prices are absurd.

Warranty: I just got my car in Sept-2007 with a 2 year - 24k mike Bumper to Bumper. No problems yet, "knock on hood", yes I said hood. (27k miles when purchased Anyway, I will be watching this post closely since this is my biggest fear in getting my first Porsche. 99C2

i have to say aftermarket uk warranties have got a real bad rep so no one really buys them. 99 c2 cab here 78k to date no probs whatsoever, however after doing my regular inspection i can see some things that need working on.. wear and tear mostly rear spoiler gator rubber torn moist ac rads i think will need changing soon (ouch) front suspension drop links have just started to knock coil packs cracking front disks (rotors i think) and pads but this will bring her back to new ...

Ben, 315's? Are you kidding?!? Holy Crap!

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I never want another man to tell me how much he paid for rear rubbers.

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...especially if he starts talking about used rubbers.

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Or which lubricant is best!

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Right!

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Dah hell??... Get some 17's go "Dayton" style

Hearing that rear tire price makes me happy that I'm running stock rims on a narrowbody. $1300 for two tires? Pass.

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Yup!!

no warranty, one year, no problems.

As of today, I've got to amend my list: my reverse light switch went out, so my independent is fixing that while the car is in for an oil change and brake fluid flush.

I bought a 3yr extended warranty from the dealer for about $2800. In that time I had RMS & IMS replaced (I only needed RMS but I bought my service adviser a bottle of vodka and he authorized the IMS too) and MAF. I've been going commando for the last year. No unscheduled expenses thus far.