Help please for a new buyer

Really nice forum. Sorry for for newbie questions, but I sure could use some help. I am considering buying a MY00. Always wanted a 911. I am looking at one with minimal options and 25K miles for $45K with Porsche's certified program warranty. Reasonable? I see the RMS problem mentioned again and again. I could not find a reference to how much it might cost to fix if a problem arose. Could someone advise on that? Can the revised RMS be installed on older models? Could someone recommend a bicycle roof rack? I gather rear tires need replacing frequently. Do you replace only the rears or the fronts too? Any advice on what else to look at on the car would be most welcome. Thanks in advace.

I am no expert but here is my take: If you are buying an 00 and it has been certified by Porsche the cost of a potential RMS problem should not be an issue. The certification usually covers two years and 100,000 miles and as part of the certification process any RMS issues should have been addressed. Replacing rear tires more often than fronts should be no problem as long as you get the same tire as those you leave on the front. I can't speak to the price since my car is a cab and loaded. If you go out to kbb.com you should be able to see what others are paying for the car. The history of the car is important. I would be willing to pay more for a car if it was only driven to church on Sundays by a little old, well you get the idea. If the car is not Porsche certified and you are not buying from a Porsche dealer you should have it inspected prior to purchase. A reputable Porsche shop will know what to look for. Good Luck!

I read some where here that it costs about $800 to fix RMS leak, a bicycle rack ?, man thats going to spoil that seductive porsche roof line.

Yeah, it won't look great. That is why it is important that it is easily installed and removed. I will, however, be the envy of everyone in the bike club.

Your roof is set up for a rack system. I would get it from Porsche, or a Porsche rack on e-bay

about the bike rack... the bars have to be the porsche OEM, but the attachment doesn't have to bethe overpriced Porsche OEM, you can adapt thule's or yaki's You can replace rears w/o replacing fronts, tho you should stick with the same tire. If you have a cert. warranty it will cover RMS, if it happens... Good luck..

I'm a newbie too, but here are some thoughts. You could go a year or two newer, so the car is still under the regular Porsche warranty. If you buy through a private party, you may still be able to find something near that price range (but definitely have the car inspected). This way the Rear Main Seal leak would be covered under the warranty if it crops up. Be aware that tires are spendy, and if you can't match the fronts you'll have to pay for a full set. I bought mine needing new rear Conti 1's, but had trouble finding them. Since there are better tires out there, I just shelled out for a full set of four. Gnome '01 C2

Just thought I add.... usually you would go through 2 sets of rears before needing to replace the front set.

i have a bike rack that is attached via a hitch mount. it was originaly made for the boxster (i had a '98 til i got the 996) but it works just as well on the 996. it does require drilling into the the aluminum brackets that hold the bumperettes. these brackets are beefy. i'll post some pics when i arrive at the office tomorrow.

Porsche Rack

I stopped riding my bike when I got a Porsche! ;-)

check out my rack http://homepage.mac.com/karlooz/car_...toAlbum28.html i get more comments on the rack rather than the car when i go on club rides . where i ride (palo alto, los altos CA), carreras a dime a dozen but i'm the ONLY one with this rack! OH !!!

Carlos, are those bladed carbon spoke on the rear wheel? Nice frame, I used to ride the Kestrels back in university days...love the composites. Cheers

the frame is a giant tcr composite sans gaudy decals. sooo light at 15.5lbs for the whole bike! the wheels are mavic ksyriums (the one's lance used in his first tour de france win) the spokes are zircal aluminum, after 4 years never needed truing! i grew up in TO, moved to Cali in '88. has it changed any?

karlooz: Wow, nice rack! The bike ain't bad either. I have a trunk rack on my car presently and like it because it keeps my bike safe from my garage wall and gives me a place to park my bike while I am in the process of a post-ride collapse. The one I have now leaves marks on the car though and just would not do for a Porsche. Does someone sell this setup, or did you fabricate it? Did you install the mounts to the car yourself? How hard is it to put the rack into position on the car and secure it? Now please direct me to those dime a dozen Carreras as they seem to be a little more expensive here in Texas. Thanks.

bike rack and hitch you can buy the full set up from these guys. it was originally designed by a former hitch designer/engineer. i bought it from this guy before auto atlanta bought the design. it is super easy to mount the hitch. you do have to drill into the aluminum brackets behind the bumperettes and you have to cut reliefs into the inside of the bumpers. no special tools needed, just a drill, bit and wrenches/ratchets. i used a utility knife/box cutter for the reliefs. it also takes less than a minute to mount/dismount the rack to the hitch mounts. the strap i use is not part of the kit though but you can get strapping at any diy store.

what the hell kinda bumperettes are on that red car ;_)

$45k seems ok assuming you're buying from a Porsche dealer. Make sure it has most of the options you want, it can be very expensive to add them later. For example if you want xenons and three spoke wheel, you're talking about an extra 2k that might help you buy a car that more closely meets your needs. The certification process is great. Get them to show you the certification checklist so you can see what has been done. Certified warranty seems very good - no deductible, few exclusions etc. I just bought an 01 with nearly 2 years of bumper to bumper left plus 2 years of certification. Mine got a new motor during the certification process (RMS was found) and a brand new set of tires. They had an 00 for about $45k too (but it got wrecked on a test drive). C.