Thoughts Please

Hi All, new member here....just begun my search for a used 996. I am considering a 1999 with about 115K manual. It has had 3 owners (is that a put-off?), IMS is original, price less than $15K, located in California. Overall condition is good. Would you still consider having IMS changed right away? What do you think of price? At this price would you consider still doing a PPI? Thanks!

Ok price. I would do the IMS myself. If I couldn’t look at it myself, and check it with my Durametric myself, I’d pay for a PPI.

Thanks, I think im getting too excited and rushing into buying it. I have some experience with changing things like alternators, starters, timing belts on Honda and Nissan, wonder if I could swing working on the 911? Im seeing car in person tomorrow, here is my to do list: -any codes on dash -trunk struts -clogged front bumper intakes, inside front truck for drain -visual on belts -visual on pads -rock to check bump stops -make sure all buttons inside work as they should, including manual lifting the spoiler Any other things you recommend? Thanks.

3 owners for a '99 car is VERY low, that'd probably be a pretty big positive to me.

So I test drove the car, it looked good but it had too many "little" things wrong with it and worst of all the seller would not allow a PPI done. Guess my hunt continues.

what part of the country are you in? there seems to be quite many of these cars for sale at any given time right now, even on places like bringatrailer. i'm sure you'll find one sooner rather than later.

Im in CA, Los Angeles area. Yeah I have to keep looking, I tend to get excited and want to move quickly but I just have to be patient and wait for the right 996.

Look for a car that has great service history (# of owners doesn't matter) Cheap Porsches are not cheap. I just bought a roller in great condition for $4K. Seller bought it for $17K, put $17K into it over the years and then the motor failed!

Yeah good advice, today's car only had a couple of oil change records and one wasnt even for a 911, was from a Cayman so not sure what was going on there.

sounds super sketch. # of owners aside if someone says no to a PPI then run, don't walk, away from that.

I�m in LA to, and bought one three weeks ago, just sent you a private message

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I sold a car on Saturday and getting a PPI for it turned into a PITA. That buyer decided to skip buying it. He took it to a place not familiar with BMWs, and they diagnosed valvetrain noise due to noisy direct injection fuel injectors. Next guy bought it without one. I understand his not wanting to deal with a PPI, but I wouldn�t but sight unseen without one.

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Didnt come through.

No ppi is a huge red flag. It�s common procedure to have one done. Lucky for you this isn�t the only 996 for sale.

Originally Posted by mario24601 So I test drove the car, it looked good but it had too many "little" things wrong with it and worst of all the seller would not allow a PPI done. Guess my hunt continues. @mario24601, there are no cheap Porsche�s out there, even higher mileage ones. One one piece of advice: Regardless of whether the seller has fully documented records or not, insist on a PPI (they are only a couple hundred bucks) by a independent Porsche specialty garage, not a Porsche dealership. Any Porsche 996 (1999-2000, non Twin Turbo) you are seeing for sale in the $15-17k USD range, most likely, either the owner hasn�t properly maintained the vehicle, or they are just wanting to part with the car (this does occasionally happen). Either way, with a car of this age, (and I own a 2000 996 911 with less than 33k original miles on it), I would never even consider purchase of a car without a full independent PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection)- if the seller isn�t willing to allow this, you need to run away from considering purchase of the vehicle. Only heartache will follow after spending $1,000s of hard earned dollars on repairs after the purchase, use the PPI as negotiating power once you know what the car will need. Good luck to you!

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thats odd. Well I was gonna let you know that I looked at most of the 996s out there right now and the only one that I thought was worth considering besides the one I got was on Craig�s List in San Diego. A silver C4 Vert with black interior that came with the hard top, the owner is a neuro surgeon, nice guy, the car was in excellent condition, two owners, but no IMS done, and he wanted no less that $22.5k. Not sure if it�s still around. So my suggestion is to go slow because right now there�s very little to choose from. I did see a really nice grey couple at a car dealer in Atlanta, but that�s a $1300 shipping add on.

Best time to buy is after summer, especially for convertibles.

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Cabs won�t command as high a dollar amount as the coupes (unlike in other cars) but there is a cyclical decline in prices in late fall / winter months. Spring and early summer prices hike. The �Doc� probably won�t budge on the price cause he has well maintained the vehicle (rule of thumb �> if IMS bearing hasn�t been replaced with the aftermarket upgrade, deduct about $1,500 - 2,000k off the price. You will want to have this performed for the piece of mind). I had mine done when I got the PPI back in May 2014 and negotiated with the seller on the price because of the IMS.

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I'm trying (with no success) to think of a reason for this that doesn't scream "Forget about it" to any would-be buyer.

Take your time and be willing to pay more up front and save on headaches later - there are really good deals out there - if I were looking I would keep my search to car with less than 70k miles with good history You can get a great car for under $20000 that has had the all of the preventive maintenance completed by a reputable shop Drive as many as possible

Check this one out might be out of your price range but this is the kind of car I would get if I were in the market https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/c...569447623.html

Thanks all for the great advice and help, this is a fantastic forum! The seller basically said he didn't want to waste time to do ppi, wanted me to just buy it as is. I also wanted to take some pics to show my wife, he objected to that too. That's when I walked away Not sure why he saw that as a problem but he is the seller and has his right to sell as he wants, I guess. ​​​​​​​Part of the intake was missing, so basically sucking in hot air, starter was noisy seems was on way out, engine bay struts were gone, front and back bumpers had been painted, sunroof and driver window struggled to open. Maybe all of these issues were why he didn't want ppi. But I will say I just loved the look, I know more than ever, I want one!

You dodged a bullet' And unless that low mile 2000 above has had it's oil changed every 12-18 months I'd be concerned. Those are the ones that fail...