Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Porsche buying advice please

A mate of mine is considering buying this Porsche 996

I know nothing about these cars, but I know that many of you are current or ex Porsche owners, so any comments would be gratefully received!

Looks aside, the 996 is a great Porsche and is starting to gain a much more favourable view amongst Porsche die hards. Major concern is the engine (Google IMS & bore scoring) and this needs to checked or warrented by a Porsche expert.

The price is right at the top of the 996 market so it's condition needs to be A1.

Thanks Martin. I think he's got buying fever already, so I don't think your comments will put him off at all!

A small percentage of 996's have a problem with the failure of the Intermediate Main Shaft bearing (Google Porsche M96 IMS and there will be reams of information, both good and bad!). A Porsche inspection would be valuable unless he is prepared to take a gamble. The price is high so the condition and the options fitted should reflect that. All the usual "opportunities" given by 15 year old cars are likely and Porsche parts are expensive but if you have a "Classic" oil change at an OPC you are then entitled to a 15% discount on parts prices. Cabrios, and Tiptronics especially tend to be driven more gently than Coupes.
I have recently had a precautionary IMS, clutch and dual mass flywheel change on my '01 3.4 996 which cost £3k at an independent - OPCs won't change the IMS bearing but want to fit a new shaft. This involves a total stripdpwn of the engine and costs considerably more!
The 3.6 engine can also suffer from bore scoring so a bore scope would be worthwhile. Looking at the photos, the car appears to be a good spec. 996 Cabrios usually came with a factory hardtop as standard so it would be worth checking if it is available.
The 996 has been underrated for a while but people are now beginning to realise just how good they are and they will never be as cheap again. I have owned 10 Porsches over the years, two of them 996's and it is a joy to get back into one of them again.

Check the aircon is working, the rads can fail as debris collects in the ducts and rots the rads

That one is expensive!
A quick search of comparible cars on sale shows that to be the case.

I bought a 986 (boxster ) at under a quarter of the price. It has all the same 'risks"associated with rear oil seal, IMS, clutch etc. IMHO just as much fun.
But hey were all different

Max5 has much more detailed knowledge about the 996 than I do. Only my 2 cent.
Generally speaking, as far as the engine is concerned, the 996 has not the best reputation in terms of reliability and durability. It was simply the 993 engine with a water-cooled cylinder head. And that didn't really work while the 993 (actually 964) engine was the last high development stage of the air-cooled world.

It looks different with 996 Turbo, whose engine is considered as very good and reliable. They are very sought after and more expensive.
But as Max5 rightly says, the beautiful convertible is certainly much less stressed in its life than a turbo.

Many meanwhile older Porsche fans still see the 996 as the traitor of the air-cooled design. And moreover the policy of the same sheet metal parts with the first Boxter was not exactly value-promoting. On the other hand Mr. Wiedeking who took over at Porsche round about 1994 in whose spirit the 996 was created, saved Porsche's life! with developing this car to lower production costs.
He even brought a group of Japanese technicians to Zuffenhausen so that Porsche could learn everything from the Japanese of Toyota, which led to Porsche surviving and becoming successful again.
But in the meantime all this is already history again and the 996 will also have its firm place in Porsche history.

And if the car your buddy has in mind is so well maintained, and your buddy won't always visit track days with it, but will probably cruise beautifully, then the car can be a lot of fun.

This link might be helpful

https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-...tm_medium=forum

Think it looks a very nice car!

Looks sweet Tim.
I don't need to add anything regarding engine reliability.
Certainly with the Boxster engines it was possible to have a modification done which allegedly fixed any reliability failure with the IMS bearing - HOWEVER, it HAS to be done prior to any signs of failure. Whether that same mod is available for the 996 I don't know. I quite fancy a 996, but my Porker owning days are over .
As others have said: get a proper mechanical evaluation done - could save a lot of grief.

Graham - the IMS set-up on a 986 and early 987 Boxster is the same as the 996 and Gen 1 997 so the fixes are the same. The "Mezger" engine in the Turbo, GT3, GT3 RS and GT2 RS has a different bottom end borrowed from the GT1 race car and has no problems.
The attached was taken by a staff member at OPC Glasgow because coincidentally three generations of 911 (my 996, and customers' 997 and 991) were lined up in order outside the showroom.

Don.