Possible future owner.. looking for some tips to buy

Hey guys, lets hope i can stay in this forum since I am looking forward to buy a 996. I am new to the 996 but just came out from another german car (Audi TT). I was wondering in what should i take into consideration when buying this car, like timing belts done or whatever this car has usual problems with. Also a list of the common problems would be good. I would be looking for a C2S 2000-02 or a C2, which I would like some key differences. Also, which kind of modding is common (no bling bling here, just tasteful mods). Chipping is the first must do mod for the TT, do 997 respond well to chips? Thanks for any help, greatly appreciated.

Hi. Nice *** you've got there. I think you are a little lost There isn't any C2S 2000-2002. Are you talking about the C4S? Are you referring to the 997 C2S? In what concerns about the mods I think nobody will tell you to chip the car to start. You just will not needed, ok? There is a significant difference between your audi and a 996. haa! and when you ear someone here talking about a TT they are not talking about the audi. We have twin turbos around, you know... Try searching some previous threads about the 911 models, there is a lot of good info.

Ok, good,im kinda lost on the models, i was actually talking about the C4S. But guide me a bit on the models please (99-02(996)only Carrera and Carrera 4S right? and Turbo) (03-up (997) has the different versions). I know you guys have twin turbos :P I know I wont need any performance gain at the beggining, but since Im a modaholic, I need to mod something!!I know you will understand. I have been using the search but havent come up with what im looking specifically. What are the first mods everyone does if there are any common ones?

reading a little bit more,im starting to think that even members here and P-car owners even dont have a clue how the division of models and submodels are.... :P I know that there was a time where a carrera and a 911 were different, but here in the US something went wrong and they changed it or whatever. Maybe im also wrong in that.

Hi, Lots to learn but it's easy '99-'04 (in most cases) = 996 (which refers to the body style.....but they are ALL basically considered "911" model. If someone asks if that is a 911? The answer is yes...Carrera is also a 911, no matter what year it is. 02 thru '05 C4S = 996 all other '05's and up are 997 TT started in '01 - 04...are 996's The C4S and TT's have the widebody Just keep browsing..you'll get the hang of it soon enough J

I owned an 01 Audi TT Turbo. A Porsche 911 is a different league. Many resources on the internet to understand the basics of a 911 and its history. You must have been able to figure out part of the 911 story because you got to the 996 forum under the Watercooled Forms group on the Rennlist Forums web page. Here is something to consider...my Audi TT used rubber to control the timing of the valves to the cylinders, my Porsche 911 uses steel. Welcome to the big leagues.

Thanks for covering the basics J, i know I will get the hang of it with some time, but being a forum car person, I dont like dont knowing what im talking about. I Miller, i sure have some understanding of the history of the 911, this forum isnt made for noobs, since if you want to find the 2000 911 forum, you need to know its the 996 and that is water cooled. Which problems should I look into when buying this beauty?

http://www.flat-6.net/forum/showcarg...o=model&cat=13 and also use the search function.. someone else asked the question recently, I believe, with good responses.

I think the biggest variable in a cars life is its owner. So understanding how the car has been used and cared for is key.

I used to drive an 2001 225 TT Quattro 6 sp coupe. It was a great car but my 996 is a whole order of magnitude better in performance (and it should be at that cost!). First off with a naturally aspirated engine, the performance gains from engine mods (short of forced air induction) are negligible. For a 225 TT a GIAC flash will give 40+ hp, for a 996 you are talking about less than 25 hp. Of course with a 996 you start off with 100 hp advantage and none of the annoying turbo lag. I hated the lag on the TT. 996 uses a timing chain so there is no maintenance necessary. If AWD is your thang, then a C4 handles much more like a RWD than Quattro. Also the Audi philosophy is to include lots of "options" in the base car or in packages. With Porsche almost everything is a la carte, so make sure you double check the option list. Good luck.

Thx for the info guys. I will keep trying with the search and with the site you posted to look for common problems. Any more help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, btw, i know every car resembles its condition by the owner, especially german cars, especially porsches.... but, being a car dealer i buy my cars at the auction, so I dont have the pleasure to meet the owner :P

Problems eh? I'll cover the basic 996 Carrera Coupe (aka C2 and 911) since that's the car I researched and eventually bought. I considered both the Mark I cars (1999 to 2001, 3.4 litres, 300 hp) and the Mark II "facelift" cars (2002 - 2004, 3.6 litres, 320 hp). 1) Rear Main Seals are known to leak, especially in the Mark I cars. Good news is that the latest version of the Rear Main Seal is a good fix (after 5 revisions), and Porsche has by now replaced *most* of the leaking cars with the new style seal under waranty. Naturally some people paid for their own repairs, and naturally any car you are looking at may have a leaking RMS, and will need to be fixed....if you are fussy! Many here would kind of live with it until the motor needed to come out for some other reason like a bad clutch or something. 2) Intermediate shafts. This is/was a real problem. Both the sprocket and the bearing were under-engineered and either wil cause a catastrophic engine failure. This was pretty darn common in the 3.4 litre cars (1999 - 2001), but also happens in the 3.6 litre cars (2002 - 2004). Many fail early, like at 20K - 30K miles, but some fail later like 70K - 100K miles. There is no warning, there is no way to check if it will fail in the future. A cynical person might call buying a 996 "russian roulette", but I prefer to call it an exercise in risk tolerance. If you buy a car with a warranty, including left over CPO (Certified Pre Owned) and your motor grenades, then Porsche will most probably replace it with a remanufactured one from Germany. This is excellent news because the reman motors have ALL of the latest updates from the 997 series cars, including bigger bearings and sprockets on the IMS. If you buy a car without a warranty and kaff the motor you're looking at between $12K and $15K to buy and install a reman motor yourself. Of course you will almost certainly put a new clutch and flywheel in at the same time, so budget a couple extra K for that. I looked for a car which had already had it's motor replaced, but there were surprisingly few to choose from. I ended up finding really nice Mark II car with moderate mileage with a year's worth of CPO for a really good price. If the motor blows up after the warranty expires, then I will suck it up and buy a new motor. 3) IMS seal failure - this looks like a RMS failure from the outside. Not a real problem. This seal is just an o-ring, and has not gone through as much development as the RMS. 4) Transmissions - no persistent problems discussed on this board, but I have heard locally that the input shaft bearings can wear prematurely and cause a whine. Trick apparantly is to change the fluid long before the 90K mile period specified by Porsche. Mine kind of whines, but whatever. I have a year of CPO left and if it gets bad enough I'll whine (haha) at the dealership to get it fixed. It usually a replacement job as well, although I hear they are beginning to fix them now. That's it for known problems really (anyone?). Other than that the 3.6 litre (Mark II) cars have variocam plus which lifts the valves as well as advances the cams as the rpm rise. Real nice torque bump down at 3200 rpm and 320 hp versus 300 for the Mark I (3.4 litre) cars. The headlights and bumpers are different, and the bodywork apparantly does a better job of cooling the engine and reducing lift. Aesthetics are debatable, most prefer the Mark II style, but I kind of prefer the purity of the Mark I style. The tires are a smidge wider on the later cars, and the 18" optional 5-spoke wheels are nicer (no debate, twists are ugly) and some of the lightest that Porsche ever put on a production car. There's a glovebox in the later cars, none up until then, and the interiors are overall nicer. The Mark II cars weigh less than a hundred pounds more than an equivalent Mark I car. Basically, the advice is to stretch to a Mark II car if you can. Prices for the Mark I cars range from $25K to $40K. For the Mark II cars they range $35K to $60K. Remember this is for 2 wheel drive coupes. Prices are pretty current. Here's mine, I bought it last April (gotta get a new picture, this one is getting old):

Nice post. If I were you my first mod will be regarding to sound (airbox cover out, cat bypass, exhaust, etc.....)

Jasper, as a potential Porsche owner, that is one of the most informative posts I've read on rennlist. Thanks!

The back of Panorama mag has cars fs online searches will also result with many candidates. These cars hold valve and althought they dont fly off the the price point can vary. PS suspension. maybe Aero package, front and side. Wing. Nah get a turbo. As I day-dream...."Widebodies shake more", oops. Good luck.

Jasper, I'm impressed! I've my 996 since 11/05 and I wish I'd have done only half of your research before I got mine. You summarized the key issues really well! This is what I can tell you Raty: 1999-2001 MK1 Coupe or Cabriolet - 3.4l - 300hp - C2 (Carrera) RWD - C4 AWD (still RWD dominated system) (1999 models miss e-gas and some other partly cosmetic updates - however, they are the lightest 996 cars) - MK1 GT3 RWD (not imported by Porsche to the US - 3.6l - 360hp) 2002(tt01) -2004(some05) MK2 facelift: Coupe, Cabriolet, Targa - 3.6l - 320hp - C2 RWD - C4 AWD - tt AWD (twin turbo, AWD - 415hp - widebody) - C4S AWD (widebody - basically like tt but n/a 320hp engine) - GT3 3.6l RWD - 380hp - GT2 3.6l RWD - 480hp (upgraded turbo engine) - X50 tt AWD - 480hp (upgraded turbo engine from GT2) In terms of modifications, you need to know that due to US bumper hight laws, the US stock suspension is very soft and keeps the car higher than what you'd expect from a 911, either lowering springs, spring-shock sets, coilovers or complete suspension kits (e.g. PSS9) are a valuable investement; upgrading your sway bars is another interesting mod. N/A engines have a limited performance upgrade potential (beside SC), so you primarily optimize the sound with: exhaust - headers, cold air intake, plenum. Low weight is key for better handling and an improved power/weight ratio, so: - C2 over C4 - Coupe over Cabriolet or Targa - aftermarket exhaust over stock (2 x 30lbp) - GT3 seats over stock (2 x 30lbp) - light weight battery - light wheels and tires - remove back seats (heavy back rest) - CF hood (20lbp) - remove spare ... Important improvement for 6-speed: - short shifter kit (e.g. B&M) Some common interior mods (most just cosmetic): - gauge rings - alu pedals - GT3 center console delete - painted console - back of seat rests - 3-spoke steering wheel (some MK1 cars have the stick 4 spoke wheel) - shift **** - floor mats ... Body mods: - front, rear bumper and side skirts, wing (or complete sets like Aero Kit)

Excellent post, thanks jasper. I already knew about the rear main seals, but the rest is new to me. Nice car, beatiful color.

Perfectly broken down hwk, and exactly what I wanted. Thanks for everything guys, Im already starting to feel this forum like home, much like the Audi ones. What Im thinking of modding at the beggining would be some springs (not whole suspension for now since its a big investment), exhaust, short shifter, 18/19 lightweight wheels (not sure yet on the size). And most important of all, the Turbo front bumper, which im already dreaming of. One question, which cars have a 6-speed? Because I was thinking of getting the C2 since the AWD system is too heavy and I dont need that in the sunny Miami. Another question, which are the differences, enginewise, of the MKI C2 and the MKI GT3?

I thought that all of them were 6speed.... h, I think you are referinf to manual vs auto, in that case, obviosuly i will have a 6speed... why in the world would i buy an auto porsche..???

You're right Raty, all 996 are either 6-speed manual or 5 speed tiptronic. Only the Boxster was produced with a 5-speed manual gearbox. I fully agree with getting a stick shift. I always say a sports car with an auto is like a football player with only one leg. However, it depends on your situation. Lots of people use their 996 as daily drivers and it's an advantage of driving an auto in daily stop and go. Beside that, the new (997) tiptronic shiftsw so quick that e.g. the 997tt is faster from 0-60mph with tiptronic than with the stick shift. I went with H&R lowering spings only, still run on stock shocks. Stock shocks will age faster under more compression. However, my car had only 32k miles on it when I put the springs in last fall, so I'm sure the shocks will be OK for a while. If you get a car with >60k miles, I'd consider to change the shocks as well due to the fact that the labor (or DYI effort) is quite intense for the replacement, so you don't want to do the work twice within 12 months.

Being a DIYer I already knew that from past experiences, everyone had their first time when they replaced their spring and the week after had to do all over again to replace the shocks :P I know many cars today are faster in auto than manual, like DSG and SMG gearboxes, but for me is not the speed, is the feel, i like to feel the car im driving, and I enjoy it more with a 6speed, i dont care if my care is 0.2 seconds slower.

That is not why the auto 997TT is faster accelerating than the manual. It is, in part, because you can torque load the transmission by holding your foot on the brake and reving the engine up prior to launch. The other part is that the torque converter allows you to get the turbo spooling so you have more power at launch. Unless you have a high tolerance for replacing transmissions, I doubt the technique used to get the auto TT to be faster is all that useful in the real world.

If you are looking for great mod potential and super speed, a 996 NA is not the car to get. I found that out AFTER I bought my car, haha. Either opt for a Turbo, or get a cheaper 996 and spend about $10K to supercharge it.

great post jasper and hwk - props

Glad you liked the post guys. Nice to see there isn't all that much in the way of issues when you put it all together. I love my car by the way. More than I thought I would even. As I've said before, the car exceeded my expectations, which were very high to begin with, in every way. I was a die hard airhead for the previous ten years so it's saying something. With respect to this question: Two points, although I haven't researched the GT3 in detail ONLY because they are beyond my means for the time being. I do know this: 1) GT3 engines are based on the 964 dry sump air cooled cases. Much stronger and entirely different than the "semi-dry-sump" M96 motors. There is no comparison, and the GT3 motors are better - 380 hp. 2) The Mark I GT3 are Europe only. The Mark II GT3 made it to North America, but the factory roll bar option (and possibly some other stuff) did not. 996 GT3 prices are $75K-ish at the low end - that much I know!