early 996s what to look for ?

Hi All, been lurking for a good 9 months now, and getting closer and closer to the ultimate purchase Great resource here, so thought it was about time to pick some brains in between my searches.. I've noticed in the past few weeks, quite a lot of 'cheaper' 996s coming on the market, ie in the 22-25k mark. These all seem to be early cars, 98/99, 70kish miles, generally with the original alloys and 'orange' lights. Is there anything obvious I should be looking at with these cars ? They look pretty good value, especially compared to similiarly priced 993s... Roughly what mileage should things like suspension and clutch be changed ? How much would it cost to convert to the 'clear corner' type indicators ? And how much is a standard set of 18inch alloys and tyres going to set me back ? Any other obvious gotchas ? Obviously I'm aware I should get the best car I can afford, but some of these lower priced cars look a great deal, especially when I think they cant slip much lower, and hence be pretty depreciation proof... Can anyone thnk of a really good idea why I shouldnt get something at this end of the 996 market, rather than say a late 99 with maybe 50k miles on it at nearer £30-35k ?

I might be slightly biased[ ], but you're better off with a 993!

nimbus Mine might be up for sale soon arctic silver 99 C2 with lots of extras, sat nav, memory seats, rear wiper, sports exhaust, sports chasis, full gt3 body kit and wheels OPC warranty left, HID lights, ruffled red leatehr, full carbon interior pack , rear distance control parking sensors all clear lenses etc etc. it was 82k new this car!! new rear tyres drop me a note [email removed] or 07733 365747 avoid the early R plate cars. cheap ones have zero extras are very basic and they are cheap for a reason. make sure you get a car with a warranty whatever you do! peopel seem to under estimate what the extras cost when new and they add a lot of valeu to the car.

thanks for the offer GT3 kit not my thing tho... and I dont think you'd want to p/x my audi tt Do you guys reckon a 70K miles car will have shown all its faults by now, eg rms, water/oil seapage etc...

I wouls say that the RMS would have shown itself by 70k but you can never be sure. I would also suggest that cars with regular use are better than under used low mileage examples. My last 996 had 142k miles on it when I sold it and it didn't leak or burn any oil at all. I think if you buy a 996 now then I would always recommend a warranty.

Common faults are rusty passenger door catch, delaminating windscreen (indicated by a white colour usually in the bottom corners), corrosion on the sill (behind the front wheels), RMS. If you want clear lenses all round, it will cost almost a grand by the time the VAT is on, you could also look at C4 not C2's as the C4 comes with clear lenses as standard. A nice C4 in silver with FSH and about 60K on the clock should be attainable for about 27K. Be prepared to look at a lot of cars. I had to physically see no less than 11 cars till I found what I thought was a nice example at the right price. Unfortunately, there is some real rubbish out there - they are cheap for a reason!!