Leave standard, or fit Ohlins (or similar)? prior to sale

I'm about to put my 2000 996 C2 Coupe Manual XAA aero car up for sale. Although the car handles fab the suspension is a bit rattly over concrete roads. Would I be better off fitting Ohlins (or similar) or leave as standard? i.e. would the cost of fitting the Ohlins be worth it? or would buyers prefer original?

i'd have said go standard. if anyone wants anything different it couuld be one of any number of options. Or, dont do it, and price accordingly with the advert saying it needs a refresh so the buyer can make their own choice.

Get it up on ramp and see if any suspension arms/bushes would benefit from being renewed...? Will cost a lot less than fitting Ohlins and you avoid the issue of dividing opinion, but equally don't have to make concessions to buyers that you don't need to

If it is rattling then it will be the control arms etc. not the dampers and springs. So, as said above, get it to someone who knows what they are doing and replace the bits that need doing. I would guess a couple of diagonal arms and maybe control arms. Could be drop links, might be £200 and all silent.

If you do start to fit new springs and dampers, you'll may find all sorts of other stuff, bushes, top mounts, bump stops etc that also need changing. I'd get it inspected and go from there.

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Just leave it as is and price the car accordingly. Let the new owner decide what to do.

I wouldn't want a car with Ohlins and the standard springs. I would want custom springs on Ohlins. I wouldn't want a car with new stock dampers either, they would be coming off pretty sharpish. Konis Special Actives with M030 or H&R springs would be my choice. You need to find out what is making the noise. You could end up spending £1500 changing all the arms, drop links, top mounts, roll bar bushes etc. to get rid of the noise, why do you want to spend another £2000-3000 on dampers and springs for the next owner too? You will get maybe a grand more if you do all that? I have got another clunk/rattle on mine. I have done so much on it over the last few months, rear control arms were all done 3 years ago. I no longer have a ramp or a way to diagnose it properly myself, all the places I use take weeks to get the car in, then say "we can't find anything." Im seriously at the point of buying a 718 Cayman with warranty until I can find some space to work on these. I have now shagged my back and bending down to work on the car I just can't do. So annoying. I know that I won't get any more for my car now even after I spent £3k on flywheel, clutch, IMS bearing, transmission mount 6 months ago. £1000 on new rear arch and some paint 3 months ago, oh, and £600 on new brakes. Plus the £2000 on new Koni dampers, H&R springs and all the new top mounts, bump stops, etc. etc. last month. I was offered £15k for it las year, should've taken it. If I advertised it now, will any one care it has had all that done? It is 140k mile 996, that is all they will see.

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My feeling is that there is a market for a slightly higher priced, higher miles 996 that’s had lots spent on it. But it’s much smaller than the wider market and (a) you’d only get a fraction of what you’ve spent back (perhaps the right buyer would pay £17k…) and (b) you might have to wait a while for that buyer to turn up. I think over time the market will become more and more condition priced than mileage priced (once you’re above a certain amount) but we’re still a few years away from that IMO.

Ohlins are a PITA for most people due to the expensive and inconvenient maintenance regime, they are not fit and forget. They’re not an attractive option, for most potential buyers who know their stuff. I would repair and replace the standard suspension and present the car as a well maintained car, it will appeal to a far wider audience. If you leave as is, and needs maintenance, it will present as car with an owner that does t like spending money on it - which I’m sure isn’t the case, but that might be the conclusion one could come to standing on your driveway.

I would have to agree, I personally would have prioritised a car fitted with ohlins or KWs as I find them attractive, BUT you would have to consider the implications, does it mean it's been tracked? what else has been modified? etc. etc. and as previously put, the wider market will appreciate the safer "unmodified" cars.

Simple, get the suspension looked at for the source of the squeaks - sort it out and sell with evidence of the work that you’ve done. My view, for a car that is not tracked, standard suspension is the way to go. If you want more lower, go with lowering springs and carry on. For non tracked cars, fancy suspension is just a placebo effect; comparing 20 plus year old suspension with brand new - of course brand new will ride better, it’s brand new. Brand new standard suspension will also ride better. Diminishing returns and all that.

Ohlins add a whole new can of worms around spring rates and while you're at it, you'd want to change quite a few other parts too. It's going to cost you £000s and I very much doubt you'd get your money back.

Thanks for replies. Overhaul of standard suspension seems to be the way forward

I have Ohlins that should definitely be called "Track and MAYBE OCCASIONALLY ROAD IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO". Going back to a softer setup soon.

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I have KW v3 fitted on my car, and 2 weeks ago changed the rebound and compression to the softest settings - previously they were set to KW default settings. The change is stunning, it's a much nicer car to drive over normal roads. I'll now increase the hardness one click at a time until I feel it's too firm again. Maybe something to try before removing the beautiful Ohlins?