purchased the 1999 996

thanks everyone for the input on my 996 search. i wound up buying a 996 today after lots of back and fourth w/the dealer. i really never expected to buy one so soon and from a dealer but it turned out this car became available locally. its silver/black originally from california and came to seattle at 40K miles. now has 96K miles. when i test drove the car saturday the salesman gave me a list of items that were done to the car; clutch at 85K miles, brakes, tires at 95K and replaced oil lines. he also told me the service records were lost which really turned me off to the car but when i asked them about the owners manual saturday the owner of the dealership located it in another 996 on their lot sunday with several service records confirming the work the salesman told me was done to the car. i had to do lots of phone calling and tracking down shops that worked on the car but was finally able to confirm services on the car and the car had a PPI done nov 8th at a good shop near seattle. the PPI revealed it had thrown a check engine light so the buyer walked and the dealer did the $1700 in repairs which required removing the engine. the car has some clutch chatter and its unfortunate they didn't replace the flywheel when they removed the engine to do the check engine light repairs but so it goes. everything smelled so damn fishy and like BS but in the end the dealer was giving it to me fairly straight. since i was trading in one of my mercedes (so my wife doesn't throw me out) the offer they gave me for my trade made it incredibly tempting especially considering the 10% sales tax in seattle. i purchased the mercedes way below wholesale from a friends estate last year and it is a great example. i got a price of $1800-$1900 to do the IMS/RMS upgrades and flywheel. after those repairs i'll have about $16.5K into the car which i feel is not bad for a 96.5K mile car. i won't be driving it much until i get the repairs done sometime in january. sort of crappy here in seattle so i probably wouldn't be using the car much anyway. **i'll get some photos tomorrow**

WTG and +1 for "sorta crappy" today (and the forecast for the week) it was a fun commute, I drove the Suburban...sometimes I like heated seats and and Auto trans

...hope this does well for you, I've been following along... love the 1999-2001 MY's...

+1 on the auto transmission. tonights traffic on I5 was a bitch

I5, 405, 90………. crappy weather really brings out the "good" drivers too.

I have been driving my BMW mostly here in Olympia, its just easier when I leave for work at 5:30am....Ive been driving the Porsche every couple afternoons though.....congrats on a nice car! (and Im jealous of your rims on that thing)

Besides the DMF/IMS/RMS do you have any other planned services/mods for your new 100k car?

having all the work done at AKERS porsche. great shop and have known them for years and are friends. not sure what else i'll do to the car but looking forward to putting an end to the clutch chatter.

Congrats on the new toy! Enjoy her and for many many miles to come

thanks!

i would do cam pads on a 3.4 with that mileage.

Congrats on another Porsche purchase. You do work fast. Glad the dealer found the missing paperwork and all is well. I do enjoy my 99' and expect you will with yours. Glad the trade worked out and you have a trusted repair facility. Post some pics when you have time.

Another congrats! And make sure to update your sig too.

Congrats on finding a car so quickly! So where are the photos?

$1900 for IMS/RMS flywheel sounds like a good deal. Is that a typical price for these upgrades? I am also looking at some 3.4's so wanted to know. Looking forward to the pics.

$1900 for IMS/RMS and flywheel installed at a shop? bull ****

More like $1900 for IMS/RMS and then the flywheel for another $900...

lets add this up $600 for IMS kit $900 for flywheel $50 for RMS that leaves $350 for labor so unless they can do the job in 3 hours or are charging $60/ hr I say BS who knows...maybe its a "friend discount" but I was planning $2.5k to do this job myself at home (with AOS and clutch kit)

I am quoted $3,600 for all the above. IMS/RMS installed $1900 from INDY.

My indy does the IMS for $1100, including the LN Engineering bearing. $50 more for the updated 997 RMS seal. So the price that the OP quotes might not be too far off....... My indy has done a LOT of IMS retrofits and has the process down, so work time is very efficient. Those of you who are paying close to $2k for IMS and RMS are getting shafted.... On the other hand if you live in an area where there are a limited number of Porsche shops then I can understand your position. Either way congrats on your new car. $16.5k with new clutch, IMS and RMS is a very good price!

Congratulations! Enjoy your new toy and, oh yeah, post some pictures!! -Eric

Diablo....what's the "shop rate" In Seattle most shops are well $100+...upto $150/hr

owner of akers mark is a good friend...if flywheel can be saved its $1800. if i need a new flywheel subtract $175 machining old flywheel and add $700 so $2300 for new flywheel/RMS/IMS. just got back from AKERS this am and had a nice visit w/mark. since i dove into this car i needed his feedback. he gave it a thumbs up and a new coolant cap since he said the old ones leak air.

Congrats to the Groovinator! Pics!!!!!!!!

since i know these posts are worthless w/o photos i got a quick shot. the weather here is stormy and quickly wiped the leaves/water off the car.

so i remembered this car for sale last year and i was late to the game and missed it. i remember it had road rash on the front bumper and scratches but the car had the service records and recent clutch. small world. the next owner had the front bumper done and it looks very good. the paint match is really good. its a 2 owner car and like i said it needs the flywheel done and whether it can be saved is in question. i will also do the RMS and IMS. i plan to drive the car this winter/early spring on nice days after the work is completed and then probably sell it at about 97-98K miles and look for another in the 70K mile range that i will keep. i'm really pleased how this car drives and it is really clean with just some minor scratches. i forget how great the shifting/transmission is compared to the early car. just so much smoother. **can't get the ashtray door to open?...seems like its binding

Congrats. Clean looking car, and I love the wheels. Also, '99's are the best

Congrats! Now lets see some pics!? Well done... beat me to it.

Great looking ride. The boxter lobster wheels look good on there.

So basically, you'll drive 1-2k miles and then sell this 996 and look for one with roughly half the miles that you might have purchased in the first place?...

i know that sounds sort of odd or irrational however i couldn't resist the deal i made with my mercedes trade in since it needed a major service in about 2k miles so i admit i jumped quick which is sort of unlike me. i attempted to sell my mercedes several months ago and then again 3 weeks ago and didn't get any offers and i just didn't want to have to deal with selling it. as i mentioned in a previous post when i calculate how much i will have paid for this car after the needed repair/upgrades, i will be into the car about $16K or so i'll drive and get to know the car and then look for one that has much less mileage. just a personal preference. with the upgrades i figured maybe i'll even get close to $17.5K? i just got back from taking my wife to lunch and i have to say these 996's are so comfortable. i do miss not being able to control the driver/passenger heating seperately like on the earlier cars. glad to be part of the 996 group!

Congrats on the the new car and welcome to the 996 community. I really like the lobster claw wheels on your car. +1 on Akers. Mark is a standup guy and did the PPI on my cab. Incidentally, nice house in the background. It looks vaguely familiar. Are you up near volunteer park? Best, Tom F

appreciate it...glad to be driving a 996. and yes i'm south of volunteer park on 15th ave about 3 blocks south of group health hospital. i've known mark akers for 16 years and since the shop is about 6 blocks from my house i've spent many days hanging out and mainly BSing about 356 stuff. the shop has such a great reputation and when you get to know denny and mark its easy to figure out why. since i used to restore 356's as a hobby and collect/sell 356 parts, i have done many transactions on ebay and 2 years ago sold mark akers turbo speedster for him...do you remeber his car?...it was sort of a modified monster and originally owned by kenny g. since i'm not at all familiar w/water cooled cars he's been a big help. i assume your on capitol hill?

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This may sound stupid but in all honesty I never even cared to ask what his hourly rate is. My mechanic has given me VERY REASONABLE quotes from the beginning, so I just trust that he is giving me the best deal....... In the beginning I used to shop around for quotes, just to verify you know, and then I realized that he was consistently cheaper (around 25-50%) than other dealers and indy's in my area...... He's one of those guys that charges based on the EXACT amount of time something takes; not by shop manual #'s, adding extra time for working "slow", etc.....

Groovezilla, are you still going to do IMS/RMS and flywheel even though you plan on selling the car in the not to distant future? Unless you sell it private party to a Porsche enthusiast you'll never see that money again. Why don't you just leave it as-is?

i have to do the flywheel because of the clutch chatter and the IMS/RMS don't add much more to the repair cost so i feel its important to do it. the way the numbers work i should break even when i sell it or mybe be ahead a few hundred dollars. this will give peace of mind to both me and the next buyer and should make it more desireable having the upgrades done.

you might find it interesting to know that the DM flywheel is turnable, here in Seattle if you have the right connections....for ~$200 as long as it checks out OK (there is a check for DM flywheels) secondly you might be getting some sort of a "friend discount" if in fact you are getting a new flywheel and IMS RMS installed for $1900 and if so you are doing your shop any favor by telling people if in fact its not the "everyday low price" that anyone can get if they just walk in off the street... just sayin' personally glad you are getting it done, i believe in the process/product.....so whatever, that car should end up being great for years...or weeks which ever you choose to own it

Congratulations - looks great. My first mod would be to put the pumpkins back on... But I am a traditionalist. Have fun - these cars are a blast!

ivangene: as i explained in an above post, to do the RMS/IMS and flywheel, if the flywheel is turnable the cost is $175 and total cost should be about $1800. if the flywheel cannot be turned and needs replacing the cost will be $1800-$175 + $700flywheel = approx $2300 when i went to akers shop today mark akers showed me a DM flywheel from another car and pointed out the clutch material buildup which can cause the chatter...he also explained it could be something to do with the way the flywheel turns on its bearings and if this is the case it would need to be replaced.

got it, I am slow

When you guys say doing the IMS, are you talking about the Retrofit kit or the complete Upgrade?

its a bearing, bolt, a seal and a new bearing mounting piece and new mounting hardware....called a kit, can be installed with the motor in the car by removing the flywheel

mark akers was explaining that porsche has designed and redesigned the RMS several times in the past 6 years and every time the RMS is redesigned they have to keep buying the upgraded tool for the installation...he showed me the tool today and it is a hell of a piece of hardware.

Looking good... Those wheels work on the mk1's. Congrats on the purchase, does the rears have spacers on them, they look like they fit well considering the the boxsters have a diff offsets. Is it a 9" wheel?

I think you're playing fuzzy math games here, but good luck getting the work done for the right price. $1800 sounds thin but doable (RMS+IMS = $550, DMF tooling $200, leaves $1050 for labor) Everybody likes to think they're getting the deal of the century..... just make sure you get the work done before WA pushes sales tax up to 10%! No way to get around that. I don't understand selling the car in a year to save 25k miles. Even if you recoup the cost of the vehicle + RMS/IMS/DMF, you're not getting around the tax on the plates and excise tax on the car itself. I know for a fact WA values these dang things at 65k for the yearly excise tax alone. Those numbers add up quick! Easily a grand right there. Heck, the car is going to rack up miles as you own it. I'd rather have a car in good working order @ 100k miles than an unknown record one @ 70k miles. But remember, this was a dealer that was selling the car for 16,5k. They're not giving you a deal, they're selling cars for what they're worth. You said it yourself, couldn't sell the e320. Why do you think the 996 is going to be any easier?? I sold a s2000 earlier this year - it wasn't a fun job. Took months and I got nothing near a dealer price for it.

healey1968: you have a very valid opinion and somewhat supported by my observations from the service records. tonight i got a chance to examine the service records and also getting better hand on the service in general from the carfax which shows regular dealer services from new until 75K miles while it lived in santa monica calif. and the 6 or 7 major service records that came with the car which were from seattle owners. i believe there were 4 owners before me not 2 as i stated in a previous post. i notice a very substantial amount of money put into the car from 65-85K miles...transmission replacement, clutch replacement, oil seperator, coils, switches, new starter, battery. i've also noticed on the mercedes cars i've owned there is the same sort of higher curve of repair costs between 60K miles to 80 or 90K miles. with that said, there is probably a good chance that a well serviced car purchased at 90K miles will require less repair$ than a car purchased at 60K miles? it would probably be interesting to poll owners on their service expenses and see if the 60-85Kmile shows a major portion of overall repair expenses. obviously with age and wear the cars need more attention but there seems to be a huge "hump" between 60-85K...wow maybe this will lead to 100K cars fetching top dollar?

Sure is a bunch of chatter on repair costs, purchase price, …etc. What I like about this post is that your'e really happy about the car, like how it drives and are appreciating the features the car. Congratulations on your purchase. I'm fairly new to the P-car but am looking forward to Seattle area meets come a bit nicer weather.

nicer weather..?..I drove my little red car today,.....couldnt see....but drove it damn it rained hard last night (and today)

nikon fm: ...what p-car do you have?...yeah lots of chatter but i understand everyone has an opinion including myself. i was going to wait until i leave for christmas vacation before having the repairs done but i might just bite the bullet and get the car to the shop next week. every porsche model has its own desirabilty...huge contrast between the 356 and 996 but they both are incredible vehicles.

I am in Vegas also, who is your Indy mechanic and shop? I am in search of a good honest mechanic and it sounds like you found the right place. Thanks

AKERS porsche in seattle on broadway, capitol hill

Nice color!

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I'd love to have those kind of records for my car! Besides the (useless) carfax, I've been playing detective to figure out what's been replaced and what's original on my pcar. Statistically speaking - I'd agree. That's funny. My car started in Beverly Hills and moved up here. I'm about 10 blocks away from you - near Olive & Broadway.

cool...hello neighbor!....what model porsche you driving?

Congrats, sounds like you're getting right into 996 ownership.

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I bought a 2003 996TT with ~53k miles about a month ago. It had it's own "used car" features but with some help of some great local shops and not much $ spent the car is very happy, well that and the owner as well.

So how's the 996 treating you?

996 has been great. the weather here has been nice and dry. it turned out the flywheel needed to be replaced as well as the clutch. this stung a little bit but nice to have everything fresh.

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Hmmm thats strange. I owned this car twice in 2010/2011. There were 2 owners before me. There was another owner between my 2 stints. And then I sold it to another guy in Tacoma 1/31/2011. By my math (I guess I only count as 1) that is 5 owners. I have no idea how many (if any) owners are between Tacoma guy and the current owner. So I'm coming up with at least 6 owners if anyone is keeping score. The ashtray is screwed shut permanently since it would not stay closed and I did not feel like buying a new one. The wheels (no spacers, the rears were a little tight) are the oe's from my '05 987 Boxster 3.4 thing. They are the optional 18" Boxster S hoops. Nice driving 996 from what I remember.