Got my new 996!

Hi, After my two posts earlier this week (locking wheel nuts & private plates) I finally picked up the car from the previous private owner yesterday! (Saturday). 996 C2 2001 Silver/Black 21,000 miles I'm from Norfolk and had bought the car in Manchester which was a 200 mile drive, but even though the weather was horrendous I really enjoyed the journey back and by the time I got home I was starting to feel really comfortable with it, it's a terrific machine. Being a first time Porsche owner after my previous TT there were a few things I noticed: - Car felt a little twitchy on the motorway. I checked the tyre pressures today and they were all at about half pressure! What was the previous owner doing! - The car doesn't attract as much attention as I thought it would, which suits me perfectly, it's mainly knowing blokes who start getting excited when next to them in traffic queues - Car is as happy being driven slowly as well as fast which I still find amazing. - Since the previous owner had done only 1500 miles in the year he's owned it and the car hadn't been serviced in 2 years (10,000 miles) I have been a bit worried so parked it overnight in a garage to catch any leaks. First thing I noticed was clear liquid dripping out underneath the car in the middle just behind the front wheels. I wondered if it might be coolant from the header tank but it didn't smell. After consulting my father (ex car dealer) and reading the manual it seems as though it's condensed water from air con, nothing to worry about! - There had been a few drops of oil from the rms when I checked this morning, which I'll keep monitoring. - There was a bit of yellowy creamy stuff on the plastic pipe in the oil filler cap but no deposits in the coolant which I think was fine but I'll keep an eye on. - I'm taking it to a specialist (prob Autowerke Norwich) for front discs/pads ASAP, quickly followed by Cambridge OPC for a major service, this seems the best way to get a reasonable price for work needed whilst keeping with the 100% main dealer stamps that I've got in the book. - I cleared a load of leaves from in front of the rads but there's a lot of bits still stuck in the corners, is there a way of getting at these from underneath? I hope I haven't bored you guys with this, but just thought I'd let you know how this all went from the perspective of a well chuffed newbie Cheers, Alex

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Great stuff! one thing to carry on checking - the leaves need to be cleared out as their accumulation may lead to a leak in the rad. It may well be worth looking at the Porsche warranty - just in case. Happy motoring !! Sue 996 C4 Cab

Well done, Alex. You obviously have taste choosing a silver / black C2 !! Nice to hear another one has made it over here in East Anglia. Would agree with Sue .. may be worth considering an OPC warrantee - you'll be able to have one until 2011. I've already had a radiator replaced on mine (200, C2, Silver/Black) under warrantee. If you're thinking of joining the PCGB do so before your major service as you should get a discount off the parts which will likely cover the cost of membership. As for tyres, as well as pressure, make sure they're all N rated and all the same make front and rear. Just had 4 new Mich Pilot sports on mine and handling is fine. Don't know where you are in Norfolk, but Autofit in Ipswich did all4 on mine for 570 all in.

Well done Alex!! As Philip says, lets have some pictures! It was pretty windy on Saturday, and you'll find that a C2 will be more affected by sidewinds than your Audi TT, mainly due to the weight bias.

WELL DONE ALEX, YOU'VE MADE A GOOD CHIOSE THERE, I'D BEEN AN AUDI MAN FOR YEARS... BUT NOW NO TURNING BACK [ ] Being a first time Porsche owner after my previous TT there were a few things I noticed: - Car felt a little twitchy on the motorway. I checked the tyre pressures today and they were all at about half pressure! What was the previous owner doing! ++ I found the same, getting the tyre pressures correct helped a little, but it is a 'feature' of the car... and I notice a full tank of fuel helps to keep the front planted. you'll find 80mph (where permitted) more twitchy, then at 100+ it'll settle down and feel rock solid all the way past 150! - There had been a few drops of oil from the rms when I checked this morning, which I'll keep monitoring. ++ Hmmm... this is where an OPC warantee would pay for it's self if the RMS seal needs replacing at some point, keep aneye on it, as the car hasn't been used much and it may loosen up or stop leaking after some proper use. - There was a bit of yellowy creamy stuff on the plastic pipe in the oil filler cap but no deposits in the coolant which I think was fine but I'll keep an eye on. ++ The creamy 'Mayo' is normal, I had the same heart attack when I looked at mine for the first time. In winter it tends to be worse, with more moisture in the air. - I cleared a load of leaves from in front of the rads but there's a lot of bits still stuck in the corners, is there a way of getting at these from underneath? ++ Get the INDY to use their air hose from the back of the rads forward, don't try using your Karcher as it could cause more damage than fix. Keep driving it and you'll keep loving it. [ ]

OK, I've got a couple of pics but cant seem to work out how to attach them, is there a quick way to do this?

Option 1: If you use POST REPLY, rather than FAST REPLY, you get an option at the bottom to attach a file. Option 2: You need to upload the pictures to another website (Flickr, MySpace, FTP space) and then use the HTTP picture icon to point to that picture.

I was doing fast reply, cheers for that. Yes, I'd read about the leaves issue and wanted to make sure I got on top of it. I think I'd read that mud collects and eventually rots the bottom of the rads as well, I guess that as you say pwafer, the best thing is the air hose. Regarding the warranty, that sounds like a good idea, I seem to remember it's about £850 p.a. I'm guessing that that doesn't include wearing parts and services? I have actually joined the PCGB but it doesn't show on here, I've emailed them with my membership number but they haven't changed it yet, I'll have to email again. As for the silver/black, apart from being a great combo I also wanted a car that would be a good colour for selling down the line. Of course it did mean a lot more hunting but in the end I'm well pleased I waited

Not sure if I needed to but I've retouched off the number plates anyway.

nice one enjoy[ ]

Get you vacuum (Hoover/Dyson) crevice tool onto those rads through the front air intakes - you'll be surprised how much more comes out !

Sounds like a nice car!! How did you source your 996? I am struggling to find a good one for sale !!

Yes, I am very pleased with it, although this morning I found that I'd lost a lot of coolant in the last 2 days so I'm guessing I've got a cracked header tank, taking it to an Independant tommorrow. I found the car on Autotrader website, I'd also been looking at Pistonheads and 911uk.com. Websites were more up to date than magazines so I'd suggesting checking these sites every day and going to view a newly entered car as quickly as you can.