Buying a low miles 996?

Hi all, First post here and not a Porsche owner (just yet). I am seriously considering my first Porsche but after some reading, I have developed a couple concerns. One of them is that this particular car only has 19K on the chassis and 5K on a new motor. It is a 2000 C2. I do not have the reason for the motor replacement. I can only presume IMS. I do have the name of the shop where it received service but due to the holidays, I will have to wait a few days to contact them. Anyway, I have read multiple times that people prefer to stay away from cars with this few miles. The car is a dedicated track car (not a race car, just a DE/weekend warrior). That's all I plan for it too--plus competitive racing. I track a Nissan 350Z now and have been for about 2 years. Often on the internet, you read about the problems and concerns people have. But what you don't see are the people writing about how their car is functioning as it's supposed to. So my question is: Are there owners who have bought low mileage 996s and have not experienced any unusual problems? Any input is much appreciated. This is also a big step for me so I would welcome any further insight (although I think I'm pretty well read-up). I am a last semester law student (30 years old) and due to odd race-classing issues, I'm at a dead end with the Z as far as progressing in the sport. If I buy the Porsche, I plan on a pre-purchase inspection and have already budgeted for the IMS and RMS fixes. As I'm religious about preventative maintenance, the cost of upkeep doesn't seem to be too far off of what I spend already for my Z. It will not be my daily car, however, I plan to street drive it for a little while to get comfortable with the weight in the back. Thanks!

5000 on a new engine?... Thats nothing to do with low milage. Thats as good as a 'new car'. I say go for it and drive it as you wish to drive it.

I agree with the above statement, the new replacement engine is updated and fresh(when was the new motor installed?). Evidently with the 996 Porsches, and engine replacement is a good thing not a red flag.Do a thorough PPI and a test drive for several miles to be sure everything is working as it should. GL and welcome to Rennlist.

A 996 engine can't be "new" - they aren't making them, right ? ... Check the history carefully, Was engine rebuilt 5k ago or simply the original engine was replaced 5k ago - and assuming that, what is the history of this replacement engine ? Factory rebuilt ? Rebuilt by someone else (Who) ? Just a salvage swap ? How many miles on it ? If you can't get those details, it's all just a bit of a guess ...

I bought a 2002 C4 with 35k miles, which would be considered by most as low mileage. I've had it for a year and put 15K miles on it with only a clutch replacement required. It's a balancing act between low miles and a car that won't break down. These cars are made to drive and the more you drive them the better they seem to run.

Thanks for the welcome. I will certainly get as much information as I can on the new motor once the holidays pass. If everything checks out, this seems to be a good move.

MY question was already asked above: when was the engine replaced? If it was in 2001, that's very different t me than one at was replaced in 2011.

Yeah, I'll look into that. Orbit was the shop and I have an email into them for info on the car. I'm aware of their rep. so that's comforting (assuming they were the ones that actually did the swap). The replaced motor is sounding like a positive though.

All above plus go in knowing that some replacement engines cant do the ims retrofit. Sorry cant recall which one but someone here will add that info im sure.

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This I haven't read. How come? I assume it just would have been another m96 motor. Of course I'll have more info once I get the records and speak to Orbit but why would a replacement motor not be able to have the LM Eng. bearing put in? Or are the replacement motors generally ones where the IMS issue has been addressed by Porsche?

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The latest version of the factory bearing is larger on the inside of the engine than on the outside so it can not slide it out through the hole. You have to disassemble the engine to replace it. That being said, it appears that the earlier engines have more issues with the IMS than the later ones. I have no way of proving this myself, just that is my feeling/experience from reading up on the subject. But apparently all years and all versions of the factory bearing HAVE experienced failure. The car I recently bought had a new (remanufactured, I suppose) factory engine installed at 58000 miles, the owner then did only 5000 miles over 3 years before I bought it. I have since added another 3600 miles (in 2 months) and have had no issues. I have since found that a factory replacement includes basically EVERYTHING attached to the engine (i.e. alternator, waterpump, starter, headers) whereas a rebuilt engine would like have reused any ancillaries that were still in good condition. I do not know what a place like Flat6 includes when you buy a replacement engine from them. My point is that all replacement engines are not the same obviously and this is an important thing to look into. Good luck!

Thanks for the heads up. So assuming it is a newer motor with the bearing being larger on the inside as you stated, would a LM upgrade still be advisable even with the reduced chance of failure? Hopefully, the guy is back on the 26th so I can get some more info about the new motor. Glad to hear that the lower miles thing isn't as big as a problem as it had seemed.

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I don't think so, but it's your engine I'm not going to open mine up or even inquire as to what it would cost. Obviously more than if it had the older bearing that just slides out. In that case (the relatively easy change), the cost to replace the bearing WITHOUT DOING ANY OTHER WORK THAT MIGHT BE NECESSARY (RMS, Clutch, AOS, etc) is roughly 1/10th the cost of a whole new engine. The chance of the engine failing due to the bearing is significantly less than 1 in 10, hence the cost to prevent the issue is significantly greater than the chance of it occurring. That's my logic anyway. In my case, to open the engine to replace the bearing, the cost-benefit ratio is even worse, so definitely not. No, I don't have the money just laying around waiting to replace a whole engine should the need arise but the logic is not the same as not having health insurance. I can figure out how to pay to replace an engine if needed, I can't pay for cancer treatment out of my own pocket...Frankly, I'm more concerned and worry more about slipping on a stretch of ice or having a soccer mom ram into my car in the school parking lot than I am in the IMS going... With that all being said, if I had the older bearing and if I had the need to be in there anyway due to RMS, clutch, etc, then sure, the labor is mostly being paid for already, I probably would drop the $700 (I think that's about the cost) for the LN bearing. At this point, with a newer-style bearing and the incidence rate being lower (my perception) and the cost to replace higher, I'm not losing sleep over it. If it goes, it goes, I'll just enjoy the car as it is for now. There are several people on here with well into the 6-digits mileage-wise without an issue on the original style bearing.... One other thought, though - If the engine was not rebuilt by the factory with what they consider their best bearing, why would anyone else knowledgeable rebuild one of these engines WITHOUT using the LN bearing? I mean, I understand that Porsche may think their bearing is the best, but most of the rest of the community would I think agree that given a choice one should use the LN bearing. So in my opinion it is important to find out the source of the engine and try to find out what bearing was used. And I am not claiming to be anywhere as knowledgeable about this stuff as many others on here. All my knowledge was gleaned from reading many posts and some articles on this issue and believing myself to be somewhat rational. My opinions are worth about as much as you paid for them :-)

Try the search button for lots of info about replacement engines. Some 996 engines are running just fine on the original bearing...

Walter, great post. Thanks! At this point it boils down to finding the date of build of the newer engine and if I can, what bearing was used in it. Then it will just be a cost/benefit judgment from there. Barn, once I find out which motor or date it was put in, I'll be able to narrow my search some and hopefully dig up some info on that particular motor. Thanks guys!

I bought a 2000 with 17k on it. The beauty of a low-miles car - it feels like a new car, smells like a new car, the seats aren't worn, the interior looks new, etc. So you are getting an almost new car, with an almost new engine. Seems like a no-brainer to me, assuming the motor checks out!

The IMS issue tends to get overblown on these forums. Have a good PPI done. Chances are good that something else (water pump, AOS, etc) will fail way before the IMS goes. Good luck!

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Respectfully, I must disagree with your advice. You are correct to note that IMS failure gets probably far too much discussion on these forums. The 996 is in general a very reliable and well-built high performance automobile. But there is a reason we do tend to drone on about the potential for IMS bearing failure... It can effectively "total" your car without the usual benefit of insurance coverage. AOS or water pump failure are fixable if you don't drive off down the road with warning lights blinking at you. IMS failure is announced by the check engine light. Bang, and you are probably done. Repair costs for this avoidable malady run from $12-18,0000. And these failures do happen. There is no way to know how often, but I know two cars that had it happen... More than enough for me to spend the money to make sure that does not happen to my car. In my opinion, any 996 owner who has not invested in either the LN upgraded bearing or the IMS Guardian is taking an unnecessary chance. If I were buying another 996 I would immediately install the Guardian, and/or if the car had an RMS leak or needed a clutch I would update the bearing. This is simply part of the cost to own and enjoy these awesome cars.

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The OP was posting about concerns over the IMS since his reman engine has low miles. I was only pointing out that an AOS or water pump failure is far more likely and still expensive to repair. I also didn't mention intermix due to a cracked head or broken drive chain, or totaling the car as a result of texting while driving.

Thanks for the dialog guys. I am waiting on a return call from the dealer so I can start getting some specifics on the motor and car history.

Depends how many miles per year on the new motor ...if 5K in 1 year - then probably no issues - if 5K in 5 years - then I would be more concerned. The 3.4 motor not only can fail due to IMS but there are a number of other failure modes (read flat 6 site) - but yes - probability of issue is low - it just seems to be higher if annual miles are low - the car sits for a long time - seals dry out - oil is not changed frequently etc. etc. My indie showed me 4 IMS bearings he had removed from 996's to upgrade - 3 were on high mileage cars - no issues - the 4th was showing lots of wear - low mileage - infrequent oil changes. Agree this sample is too small to be statistically significant - but if you read these boards enough - low mileage (including "winter storage") does seem to be one of the factors that increases probability of the issue. I'd build in cost of IMS upgrade to price of car - and if it still makes sense - go for it ....