I got mine! (finally) 2000 Triple Black 996 Cab 6 spd

Well, I finally found a decent, mechanically solid (I hope), low mile 996 and brought it home on Saturday. It's a triple black cab 6 speed with 53k miles and I'd call it a 9 out of 10 over all. I started looking in January this year but put on the brakes in March when covid kicked in and our portfolio declined 25% then resumed my search in August. Compared to now, 996 prices seemed to hit a low early summer but with blood in the streets I couldn't bring myself to buy and there was one I passed on that I'm still kicking myself for. All in I think I looked at almost 20 and drove half of them of which I missed out on a couple, chickened out on the one and then ending up buying this one. It's been a garage queen for the last 10 years, less than 5k miles over this time. I broke a couple rules - Although I planned to, I didn't get a PPI and I even forgot my scanner. But, hey, I received a wealth of info here and elsewhere, enough to do my own PPI, right? The price, condition, a long test drive, the nature of the seller and other factors put me at ease, enough to take the risk. A quick question, if anyone has read this far and knows - It's a 2000, first delivered to the USA in mid-April so probably manufactured in March or earlier. I know there is no definitive engine number for the dual row IMSB as, according to Porsche's settlement, it covered cars made starting in May, 2000, so mine being made two months earlier should have the double row? If I can be fairly certain I'll hold off on the bearing until it needs a clutch, etc and I do plan to do this work myself. When I get a chance I'll post a pic,

Congrats, sounds like real nice car, love the black, same color as my soul! 2000 was a transition year for the IMS bearing from the dual row to the small single row, but guess what? Even the dual row IMS bearings wear out! And the fact that the car was a garage queen for the last 10 years would mitigate in favor of changing out the IMS bearing now as garage queens seem to suffer a higher rate of IMS bearing failure. The 996 clutches are good for about 60K miles given normal use, so yours is getting close to the end of its service life. You did not get a PPI, nor scan for codes, so why not get ahead of the curve now and proactively change out the clutch/Pressure plate, throw out bearing AND the IMS bearing, thereby establishing a baseline for years/miles of worry free driving in your new toy? Plus, if you do the work yourself, you learn a ton about the car in the process as these cars are seriously engineered. Best of luck.

Congrats! Many of us forego a PPI, while many would never purchase without. It's your money and your own assessment of the car at the end of the day. I do agree with Weazer. One of the first things I had done to my low mileage 2000 was LN retro, clutch, AOS, and a few other items. It is a dual row, but to me it was for peace of mind.

Congratulations! You likely have a dual row IMSB but there is no guaranty, I would upgrade it in any case since it's 20 years old and was barely used in the last 10 years.

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Take a picture of the engine's serial number located on the driver (US cars) side near the sump. It's not absolute but will give you a better chance of knowing which IMS bearing you have. (see attached image) But regardless, this is a 20+ year old car and time in service is a factor even though you don't have lots of miles on the car. I'd change it out with clutch service or sooner.

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Congrats on the new car I started looking early summer and didn�t find the right one until the end of August. Really didn�t notice a rise in prices. When/where was there �blood in the streets�?

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Tonight possibly, lol

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Congrats! My triple black 99 is probably not much different than yours, and has been pretty good to me over the last 4 years. I can�t wait to see pics.

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Thanks everyone for not scolding me for not getting a PPI. It was Friday night and I couldn't get a next day PPi arranged, then it was Sunday and then our schedules didn't jive. The car was x-Autonation Newport Beach before the prior owner years ago but not too many miles ago. Not that I think highly of Autonation but I have looked at and driven Porsches and BMW's they sell and they do keep the cream of the trade-ins for their own. My thinking exactly. I did scan for codes the day of purchase and it came up zero. I doubt I will drive it more than 6k miles over the next twelve months and not as a grocery getter either. For now I will get all maintenance current including pulling the pan and an oil analysis to see what that tells me. Water pump, lo-temp thermo and possibly the AOS are on the short list. I've read and watched just about as much as anyone on the IMSB subject and I'm leaning toward the EPS cylindrical bearing. I'm not an engineer but I've talked to one, and confirm the load capability is much higher. EPS states they've sold over 5k (old data) and never had a single failure. IIRC I think LN has sold over 30k but haven't heard what their failure rate is, if any. I'm sure either is fine but cylindrical is my current preference. Thanks for this chart. I had seen it before. My number is: 66Yxxxxx. The "Y" is for year 2000, so a full year before this list and is consistent with mfg before the class action period too. In a nutshell with a double row bearing I'm inclined to go another 5-10k miles but with a single row I'm less than 5k. Having a cab, it's a good project to do when it rains, so I'd target early 2022. That's my current thinking anyway. My search area was 75mi from N. San Diego.. Early summer I saw my criteria priced at $20k and under, now equivalents are over. Some were on the market for months now they disappear quickly. I only looked at manuals, btw, so they are at a premium. If you look at BAT auctions, the prices are noticeably higher. An outstanding '99 just sold for $35k (fee incl) which can buy a decent 997. "Blood in the streets" (Warren Buffett quote) was Feb-July with covid lockdown, market crash and job losses.

The main issue that no amount of receipts or history will indicate is bore scoring. I'd get the cylinders boroscoped as soon as possible, but I don't know what your options are if they find anything. Otherwise, sounds like a great car, good luck!

+1 on the EPS cylindrical IMS bearing. When I attempted to do the IMS bearing in my 99 C2 Cab, expecting to find the dual row IMS bearing I found instead that it had a replacement engine with the 3rd generation larger single row bearing that is not serviceable without splitting the engine cases. So I removed the outer dust shield to allow more lubrication and replaced the bearing cover seal. I did, however, replace the dual row IMS bearing in my 99 Boxster Base with the EPS cylindrical roller bearing and have been very happy with the result. Just need to be careful with the cam timing marks and pinning the crank at TDC, but if you follow the instructions and warm up with a few Youtube videos prior to attempting the job, you should have no problem. BTW, the Boxster's original dual row bearing was definitely worn, maybe 5-10k miles from failure on a car with 70K miles.

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Well, he already bought the car, so not sure what scoping would do, unless just give him peace of mind - something I do know if he needs?

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Last I'd hear there had been no The IMS Solution failures reported to LN. In fact, other parts of engines have failed, and The IMS Solution has been able to be re-used. If I had a second 996 or a Boxster, I would definitely install The IMS Solution in it as well. Oh, and it has been 2 days already, where's the obligatory new-car picture?

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Aside from a quick drive Monday morning I've barely had any time with it myself (reason we couldn't reasonably schedule a PPI). I did get to take my son for a spin this evening and took a couple pics;

Nice!

Personally I would wait till the clutch needs to be done, which could be up to 100k miles.