Early 996C2 buying advice please?

Hi all, My wife loves the 996 very much but feels the turbo is little too hot for her. Now, this evenings' conversation began with wife trying to persuade me to 'upgrade' into a 997 C2S but with my powers of persuasion (lubricated with sufficient Sauvignon) the discussion triumphantly? (question mark here as i have to fund car stuff...) ended by me saying I will buy her an early 996C2 to replace her car and we keep my 996Ts...... So, I need the advice of you guys to help me out here please: Budget is around 14K so there is the potential of private sale gen2 996 with the 3.6 motor (ideally sub-75k mileage, manual targa or sunroof model). Alternatively an independent dealer supplied and warranted (HA!) lower mileage early 3.4 996. However, i have a few concerns / questions; when i bought my car i was choosing between a 996 Turbo and a 997 C2S. I chose the 996T, because i ACTUALLY LIKE the 996 lights (not to mention the 996T power) but additionally talk of the 'dreaded' IMS failure on non-turbo engines swung me towards the earlier turbo. So here I am looking to buy either a low mileage 3.4 996 C2 or a slightly higher mileage 3.6 C2 and have to get it right so I would be really grateful for any advice you guys can pass on: >What is the reality of the IMS situation? Should I be really worried and factor in some significant remedial work or will a well cared for, Porsche-serviced example be OK? >If not, how much should I put aside for IMS precautionary work and who would be best to do this in SE England? >What other things should I be looking for when purchasing a second hand early 996C2? I know my way around cars, having built a number of rally and kit cars over the years as well as restoring three classics but I would of course get Peter M to check the car that passed my initial shortlist. Many thanks, Ian

When I went to buy a C2 I was offered loads of advice, some good, some not so good! I went on the basis of full service history, condition of bodywork/ interior, HPI check, what warranty would I get and do I enjoy driving the car! I think 911 magazine are publishing a 996 buyers guide in this months edition, comes out later this week ( I think!).

Thanks, i will look out for that!

Great cars , I ran an early 996 3.4 before my 993 and really enjoyed it. There is a massive amount of info online about the 996 engine and potential issues such as IMS, bore score etc. they don't all suffer and there are plenty of high mile issue free examples that are heard of. However you will want to be clued up and future proof your purchase. I'd suggest clicking onto Hartech website , read all their documentation on the 996 engines and give them a buzz for some advice. Their outfit seem to be regarded as the real experts who have invested the research and have the experience to address the issues satisfactorily. Ideally you would be picking up a car that had received a Hartech rebuild for longevity and avoidance of Paranoia ! I have no allegiance to the outfit whatsoever and this advice is purely from my research when taking the plunge. I approached it slightly differently and picked up a good but slightly tired looking car at absolute rock bottom price. Tidied the car up , serviced it , did some maintainence and improvement and kept a slush fund in case a rebuild was required. In that case it would have been on a trailer to the above mention firm ASAP. Fortunately I had no issues and the engine proved a good one. I looked after the car and when I decided to move on I was able to sell on to a like minded individual at about what I paid for it without any fuss. Enjoy your search and I'm sure you will net a great car ;-))