Porsche Newbie... Need some buying advice...

Hello all...I apologize, I am neither a german car newbie or an internet forum newbie, but i guess i just need some reassurance. I've owned 6 BMW's in my automotive life, but what i've always pined for is a Porsche 911. I'm at a time in my life where i may be able to purchase my dream machine, though likely a pre-loved one that probably has a good amount of miles on it. Save for a PPI, does anyone have any pointers for a 911 newbie for a visual inspection of my own. I'd rather have a first look, test drive and thorough once over before plopping down a considerable sum for a PPI. Is there a way to evaluate RMS/IMS issues? Tell tale spots to inspect for coolant or oil leaks. Any other bits of advice? I've done a lot of work on my prior cars including extensive R&R of cooling, braking and suspension/steering components on my former 99 740il. I put a lot of time and effort into that car...miss it still. Thanks to Chads996 for that wonderful 996 Buyer's Guide: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ing-guide.html It truely helped a great deal, along with all of the other information on this wonderful website. I look forward to finding the right car for the right price.. I am looking for cars in the 60,000 to 80,000 mile range for as close to $20,000 as possible. Here are a couple of examples: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

what do you want to do with the car? ie, track, street, drive to work, dates with the wife, weekend trips ect.... welcome (and why I ask is there are some nice cars around but it depends what you are looking for) 996 are amazingly easy to work on... the DIY'r with a little background can really do a lot !!

This car would have to be a daily driver...probably 15,000 miles per year. From what I gather, they are fairly robust mechanically, especially if maintained properly. I am religious about maintenance, and can do most work myself with a few technical resources that I'll try to accrue as quickly as possible. I'm leaning towards a tiptronic model a) because the Mrs. refuses to learn manual shift and b) I'd like to stave off IMS issues as long as possible. Would anyone have any anecdotal information regarding the failure rate of the sunroof in the coupe versus the power top in the cabriolet? I will not likely be hitting a track for racing purposes, but may do a Driver Education course at some point.

For those interested, I came across the updated and excellent 996/997 buyer's guide on Excellence Magazine's website.. It is truly excellent! http://www.excellence-mag.com/resour...ide/1041874889

lets not even bring up the IMS ok the argument that comes with it is just too painful... BTW Tips are not immune to IMS failure, I have seen several myself so lets just go with my "protect yourself, get it replaced or get a CPO car" statement 996 is a fantastic daily driver. Fun and rewarding. The cab tops are (IMO) a consumable item whereas the sunroof is not. Though they last a long time they can fail (my car stopped working and most likely the plastic sliders were the issue.. cheap parts, huge amounts of labor I suggest driving a couple cars and asking questions, reading, searching and learning for a while. you will save yourself a lot of headache in the end and ehave a better first car experience cheers

Got it...no mention the IMS... Not something i'm scared of (either as a problem or as a mechanical fix). Thanks for the advice, btw. My brain is in absolute sponge mode right now trying to learn as much as possible about the 996. I have totally foregone my usual BMW forums for a watchful eye on Rennlist and Renntech. I am excited about the search almost as much as the prospect of driving one of these works of art.

Hello: Although you're from Germany, and besides you can speak english, I can offer you to download The 996 Buyers Guide (La Guia del Comprador del 996) that I wrote in our spanish Soloporsche forum. I know it would represent a handicap with the translation, but if you'd use an online translator, perhaps it could helps you. It's plenty of pictures and details. Here's the link for the download: Reading Format (2,1 MB) http://www.soloporsche.com/PublicDow...996_screen.pdf Print format (6 MB) http://www.soloporsche.com/PublicDow...a996_print.pdf Print format at high resolution (15 MB) http://www.soloporsche.com/PublicDow...rint_HiRes.pdf I did a hard work during several month to compile data, pics an so on 4 years ago. good luck

Thank you Joaquin. Actually i am not German.. I am American with simply an affinity for German cars. I am grateful for the information. Gracias!

Does anyone know how to use a translator on a PDF? I would love to read this.

Once you have downloaded the file, you'll need an extended version of Adobe PDF software: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/?promoid=BPDDU With a PDF software you could convert a PDF file text to a word file. I think that you could probably use a trial version or look for a licenced copy in Emule or similar programs Then using a online power translator, like: http://www.freetranslation.com You can copy/paste the paragraphs and obtain a translation into english

If I were you, I would insist on complete service records. With a Porsche, IMHO, service history matters more than mileage. I would, quite literally, take an 80,000 mile 996 with a binder full of receipts over a 40,000 mile garage queen with no provenance. Porsches like to be driven, and they like to be taken care of. The absence of either would be unnerving, the absence of both would be terrifying.

If anyone has gone through the trouble of translating the document referenced. I do not have the program or the time to do it. It looks very informative. Thanks

I'm working on that translation for us.

There are so many cars available that you need some criteria to sort through the initial finds. I would suggest first figuring out how particular you are about interior and exterior colors. Then get familiar with option codes and packages for the model years you are looking at and figure out what features you really want (Litronic headlights, full leather, PSM... whatever). Between color combinations and options you can really narrow your search quickly and dismiss cars outside of those parameters. Or you can just look at everything... which can be fun, but keeps you up really late at night and annoys your wife...

O yeah...my wife is annoyed.

I'd worry about engine and suspension first. Then if you are going to use the car as a daily driver doing shopping with parking lot stops don't get real picky about the body. Make sure you test drive the car watching for oil smoke. Interior, body and engine performance along with car fax would be the thing to talk about for lowering the price.

Where in So Cal are you located?

Beaumont...30 minutes west of Palm Springs.

Well, I'm betting you offer your wife a trip to Temecula to go wine tasting, as long as you can come over and we can go over a 996 in detail at the house for a couple of hours, you can get a little more comfortable looking at the cars.... I'll stick it on jacks and we can look at it in all angles.

Sounds like a plan! I'm busy for the next 3 or 4 weekends....if i don't find a car by then i will definitely PM you....heck, I'll PM you anyway to get together and "inspect" our cars... Thanks for the offer and hospitality.

Gents, I'm an old air cooled fan. I have a 1977 3.0 which I absolutely love and have owned for the last 8 years. No plans of getting rid of her any time soon, but she's clearly my winter car as she has no AC. However, I just paid off my VW TDI, and am considering selling her and moving over to a 996 for a daily driver. I live in Austin, and telecommute, so the car would likely see 10,000 miles per year. Like Uberalbo, I do a lot of my own maintenance. Assuming I can find a car that's in good shape and passes PPI, what should I expect for yearly maintenance? Keep in mind that I do my own oil changes, transmission oil changes, air/fuel filter, etc, along with brake service on my current cars. I appreciate the input, and feel free to comment on anything else I should keep in mind regarding the 996. I already have a mechanic here whom I trust and who does excellent work. Rob

Take a look at this page. http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/911world.htm I wish I had seen that before I bought my porsche. No regrets, it's just very good information.