how much rms is ok? help please to a porche newbie.

Just looking to buy a 1999 996, it has some oil in the rms area, not enough to drop onto the drive, but I guess a mist level in its wet around the back of then engine. its s tiptronic. The question is, does it matter? will it always be like this ( im ok with it ) or does it get worse? Whats the cost of of repair? Also the discs are below min and the aircon doesnt cool. ao Im looking at least 1500 + the seal issue to get it drivable. Also the first one Ive been in and whilst it redlines, it doesnt feel very fast, hardly push you back into the seat type of go. more a smooth surge of overtaking performance. Feels like a clio 172 as opposed to 300bhp supercar, am I expecting too much? If thats all it has then I'm not converted. But its the best conditon so far, I've examined a few.

Tiptronics generally suffer less with RMS issues than the manual. Personally I would say you're looking at £1500-2000 to get it all done at a good Indy. The aircon might be a leak, but equally might just need re-gassing. The RMS costs about £800 at an OPC (nearly all labour cost, so cheaper at an Indy). Different cars have different intervals between RMS swaps. Some don't need it at all, others need changing quite frequently. From your description it doesn't seem an issue, but check it's the RMS and not the intermediate seal as it's easy to mix them up. Look to see how frequently and when it was last swapped for a clue! Tips don't feel that fast, because they pull away in 2nd. If you click it manually into 1st it will feel quicker. Also, the 3.4 engine is a tiny bit slower than the 3.6 (but not really noticeable in practice).

thanks for the reply, i just bought another one instead, with new brakes, working aircon, but still a leak. Its looks fantastic goes very well above 4500 and so far so good. Picked it up today and despite the fact there are three others in my village, looks very special, took the kids out for a spin and half a mile from home in hickling, another 966 but in black black one pulled out behind me for a while along the lanes Im seeing them everywhere.

So what did you go for in the end and was it a private purchase?

Yes its a 996 C2 1998, 74k tiptronic silver FPSH. Private. Spent about an hour looking over it, before doing the deal. All original stickers etc, no obvious damage, some paint was done by the dealer before the last owner and there isnt a stone chip on it and it looks flawless. It has the best interior I have seen, not the usual shiny seats. everything works, aircon very cold. Engine sounds good, oil pressure ok, water looks ok, no smoke etc. New brakes and tyres all round, new back boxes. Bottom of engine wet, assume rms, it doesnt actually leak onto the drive though. No other leaks evident. Drives very well all changes ok, abs ok etc. Slight whine on the overun below 30, but not noticeble in normal driving. The suspension crashes a bit over rough roads, but this may be the age of the car. Steering very precise, though it tends to float a bit under hard acceleration,but I think this be because its just going light at the front, It just feels right so I bought on driveability as well as condition. Pulls well and feels responsive. So no ppi well, to be honest I expect it to need normal wearable items like suspension etc in due course, I knocked some off for a rms and a service, so I think I couldnt have got any more off. So I can either agonise over every tiny rattle and squeak or just get out and enjoy it. I'll take latter Tracker fitted tomorrow as it cut my insurance by 60%