S plate 996 with 02 front ??

Liking the newer style front end, is this on certain older models or has front been converted as though it was only on 02 onwards models? also says its a wide body, is this again on certain models? (other than turbo which i cant afford) http://www.wembleycarcentre.co.uk/used-cars/porsche-911-2dr-tiptronic-s-wembley-201302498102190

The car is a Cat D write-off, so has been repaired with facelift parts. One wonders what it is like under the glossy coat......

Wouldnt bother me tbh, i worked at bodyshop and as long as cars been sorted right its ok, just a shame so many cars are bodged or the normal "just fix it cheap as possible as im selling it" worst is prob buying a catc/d that someones bought to fix and sell straight away as you know its been done with cost in mind whats crack with it being a wide body also,is this available/common on this model and age?

No. The C4S didn't come out until model year 2002. If you don't mind it being a Cat D bitsa, then not a problem until you come to sell it. Just my 2p's worth.

Yeh i can imagine as its been for sale for a while but then what price would a clean history 02 wide body c4s be? a lot more

Of course it would be more, but this car isn't an '02 C4S. I think you need to compare it to a 1998 C2, which it is, and at that price it is expensive. Trade the body mods for the Cat D and it gets closer, I suppose. Like I say, it is my 2p's worth. Don't let my predjudices put you off - you are buying it for you, not me! If it has been listed for ages, I'm not alone, but if it floats your boat haggle like crazy and you might pick up a bargain and be able to come back and rub my nose in it! [ ]

Having first hand experience of re-commissioning a cat C 924 Turbo the car will have had to go to a SVA testing station just to obtain a permission certificate to apply for a V5. In my case it passed the test and they are very thorough, paying particular attention to whether the front half matches the back and that is not a cut and shut. I would think that demolishing the radiators, two front wings and a bonnet would take a 996 of that vintage to what the loss adjusters call beyond economic repair, i.e. where repair costs using new parts plus labour to repair is roughly 60% of the retail value of an undamaged vehicle. You say that you work or worked in a body shop so you should know better than me whether you would expect Cat D to be very little structural; there was a bit of Port-a-powering required on my Cat C so i would expect little more than panel damage on a Cat D. From one point of veiw it is nice to make the car look like a 2002 on model but the reg is a give-away and only a layman would be fooled into thinking the car was more modern than it is. 9 grand, I think that unless there was something outstanding about the engine or the service history I would rather spend my 9 grand on a straight one. Strangely enough I don't recall my insurance company batting an eyelid about mine being a Cat C, but on balance it would not be the car for me. As Richard says under the gloss what is it like really? What items will fail premturely because they have been subjected to forces beyond their design parameters. Engines, for example do not like to be shock stalled. Do you know the circumstances of the accident? The engine might be sweet as a nut right now, but do the big ends have tiny flats on them? As an aside if an aero engine suffers a prop strike it is not just a case of changing the prop and off we go. Without getting too technical I hope you can draw parallels and get my drift. Too many unknowns and not cheap enough to shrug your shouders and say " you pays your money....." Sorry I went on a bit

I thought £9K was pretty reasonable for any 996 with less than 100K on it? £8K looks like the advertised price for cars with double that mileage. When Porsches are valued at less than £10K, any insurance claim can lead to a write-off on a standard policy. A small dent in the wing on mine and they wanted to scrap it, so I'd weigh up a cat-d car if there was evidence it had been well-repaired.

It is a nice looking car isn't it, I do like the colour scheme and can understand the temptation to buy it. As the other more clued up members have said proceed with caution, I agree that not all repaired cars are lemons, so it's worth pursuing but have you considered paying for a professional evaluation? With 90,000 miles it's probably wise anyway regardless of the bodywork.

Thanks for all the replys and i understand what everyones saying , im just trying to get a grip of what models and spec i can expect, Idealy as my prevoius thread i want a grey/black wide body c4s manuel with lower milage, FOR 11-12K lol i know im dreaming So i have accepted i will either have to forfit spec for a clean honest car or get one that has a bit of a chequered past, Tbh i cant leave anything std so would be looking to fit gt3/turbo kit/ facelift to 997 style and change wheels/suspension, and (know im prob going to get it for this) Possibly paint it Baby blue ................

BTW, I don't think this is a wide body rear end. Is it? The more I look at it, the more it looks like a narrow body - especially as it doesn't seem to have the C4S/Turbo rear PU. I can't see anyone doing a 996 narrow-wide body conversion, as it would cost a small fortune - there are so many different parts. Front wings, lights, and PU are all bolt-on, so it makes it much easier to do.

For the same money, on Pistonheads there is a blue 996 with 158,000 that had an engine rebuild 15,000 miles ago to the tune of £4,000. It is hpi clear. The headlight styling is not fabulous on either itertion of the 996, in my opinion, and it was only because of the desire to trade up from my 944 Turbo cab that I started to look at 997s, infinately more pure with the single ovoid headlight. Doing my research, in an article published by a reputable magazine I learnt of the horrors of bore scoring on some 997s, so being on a large but finite budget I changed my plans and made the compromise and chose to live with the facelifted models styling and bought a turbo because of the frailties of the non-Metzger flat six. I am so glad that I did, because although the styling is the now cliched (cleeshayed) marmite styling, interstingly when you are in the driving seat you cant see it and you spend more time looking out than you do looking in, and traffic still melts out of the way in a manner only equalled when you thunder up behind in a 928. If I had £9K I would shop around there are better cars out there. You have to be prepared to interrogate the interweb almost on a daily basis for many weeks until the right car comes along. I spent a very patient 6 months vacillating between 996 , 997 (should I blow more of my nest egg?) until this 17,880 mile car came along at from what I could see £7,000 under dealer forecourt prices and about £2,000 above bottom line trade in value, so I was happy to part with my cash, and drive away happy. You know the old saying, never buy the first one you see.