Possible purchase

Hello Looking to get back into Porsche ownership, after having had a 944S2 a few years ago. The Audi TT I have at the moment doesn't do much for me. Would be a weekend car, not a daily. I'd like to spend no more than say £10k, and I've seen an 1998 R reg at the auctions. Looks nice, but is there a guide or something on what to look out for in the 996? I'd be after a manual coupe, 2 wheel drive. I do like them pre-facelift, with the orange headlights. But is the 3.4 best avoided? I'm not sure what the merits are between the 3.4 or 3.6. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Hi Phil, You'll find a 996 buying guide, here on the PCGB website, that is worth a read. Try not to get your head worried about IMS, but in an ideal world, it will have been done. For me, I'd always go later and 3.6 Gen 2 if you can, but, wether your budget allows, Im not sure. https://www.porscheclubgb...911-(996)-buyers-guide I'm not sure if a price point (that seems quite low to me) will get you the best looked after car out there, but I know for that and less, you'd find some cracking Boxsters with maybe even only 1 or 2 owners and low miles. But, if you're like I was, you want a 911, not necessarily a boxster. You may also find yourself looking private and auction, so just be wary that you may need more if work needs doing, or something goes pop, but that is a risk with any used car. Might be worth you checking the For Sale section here too, there's a £15k manual 3.4 that will probanly be better looked after from a PCGB member (IMO) https://www.porscheclubgb.com/car-sales/buy-a-porsche/listing?town=&distance=&modelgroup=911%20(996)&minprice=0&maxprice=&Seller= HTH Mark

Hi Whatever Porsche you decide upon I strongly recommend that you have a pre purchase inspection carried out by a Porsche specialist. I’m fortunate to have nice examples of a 987.1 Boxster S and a 996.2 C2 Coupe (occasionally I need 3 seats). Both are fine cars and great drives, however, if I had to choose just one, it would be the Boxster. It’s your money and your choice but I’m sure you’d get a better Boxster than 996 for your £10k which tbh is quite a low budget. Regards Roger

thanks both, I'll have a look at those links. I need rear seats for my children, otherwise a Boxster would be ideal. I like to search out a bargain so wouldn't be looking at traders, but I'll gen up on the pros and cons. Thanks.

It would probably take a few pages to explain the merits of either. The 3.6 will improve the torque curve at lower rpm & higher BHP, whereas the 3.4 will need to work the gears to obtain best performance. There were improvements to IMS bearing, cylinder coatings, variocam and introduction of fly-by-wire throttle. All of which were to improve emissions, performance and reliability. If you research, then you will find that 3.4 was the one to avoid, and this was reported by auto journalists at the time as the 3.6 was naturally the one to iron out earlier production & reliability issues. However, 3.6 also inherited other issues. Overall, issues only affected a small percentage from the best selling 911 since air-cooled. Opinion of 3.4/3.6 have changed and both will offer a great drive. The 3.6 will be outside your budget. 3.4 prices have crept up in the past few years too. I have seen a few £10k, but beware, unless you want a project and a significant amount of cash thrown in. As above, the Boxster is a great drive with more for your money

I would dispute what the journos say about the early 3.4's then. You hear of far less problems with the dual row IMS bearing fitted to the early cars, and I can't recall hearing of a bore-scoring issue on a 3.4.

@Richard When the 996.2 was launched I've read some articles from reputable motoring journals dismissing the 3.4. Much of this was based on early production issues. Agree that bore score did not affect the 3.4 before cylinder coatings were changed. Funny how time has proven much of this was based on speculation.

Hello again. I've found an early 3.4 that I think I could probably get for £9.5k. I have not seen it in the flesh yet, but it looks good in the photos. The main downside though is the last MOT had advisories for nearside and offside brake pipes corroded, front to rear. I know replacing brake pipes can be expensive as it can involve dropping the gearbox, but at that price do you think that advisory should put me off?

Only you can make that decision Phil. Advisory is just that, needs looking at/doing at some point, else they would have marked it more serious/urgent?! Anything is a risk, private or trade, but I find you have more come back with trade. As you say, maybe use it as a bargaining tool

Hi, I recently bought a 996 and although they can be bought relatively cheaply (I paid 11k) I only jumped in knowing I could easily be faced with some big bills. I previously owned a 968 Sport and they are bulletproof and free of any really expensive design flaws in comparison. Brake lines are likely to be the least of your worries on a cheap 911! Best advice is to get a decent pre-purchase inspection and go from there.