I am contemplating on working towards a Carrera 2 instead of a C4S and a Turbo as I can't imagine myself working hard and spending nearly all of my money after rent/groceries to spend on a sports car.

My color choices is either a dark blue, black, nord gray or white or yellow. I am not a fan of silver or red for Porsches.

I know 996s are highly hated by many enthusiasts for many reasons, with the engine reliability being the only one I am worried about. How many miles can a typical 996 Carrera 2 take on before being unreliable? I know Turbos can do close to 200K.

If I buy one sorted out and replace/upgrade the IMS, how much should I be looking at, price-wise?

 

I can't say much about the 996 as I have no experience with them. I do however have experience with buying dream cars and my advice is to, follow your instincts on budget.

Being in a hole to pay for a car, no matter how great, is a very bad place to be.

Things go wrong and you need to be able to fix them. You also need to be able to plan for other things, like a house, savings, retirement etc.

Just driving around in the car gets old real fast.

Sorry for the lecture, best of luck.

 

So, your bringing this conversation over from the turbo forum to the 996 forum?
My suggestions is; Don't buy a Porsche.

 

Look for one that has a new engine from Porsche.
And stop worrying about it...;-))

Regards
Stefan
Denmark

 

The 996 reliability issues are generally to IMS failures, which are eminently preventable. There is an old thread on high mileage 996's if you're interested.

That said, *any* 996 is going to be a 10-14 year old vehicle. There will be component failure, and parts and service is not cheap on these cars. Make sure you factor that into your purchase decision. Price will depend on a number of factors - which model year (mkIIs *seem* to be a little pricier), which options, and overall condition (a well-documented,low mileage, single owner car will draw a premium), geography (they're just more expensive in some areas) and of course season (you are in the peak selling season for these cars). For anything worth looking at I would budget 25-32K.

 

where abouts in canada are you from. 996 are amazing cars, just do your homework. My c4s is awesome, RMS and ImS both done and no,worries drives strong!
You cannot beat the performance for the price. Do your homework and you should be fine. Generally,you also get what you pay for so dont cheap out when looking.

 

The 996 is an exceptional vehice! IMO the IMS failures are overstated. I know a lot of people with 996's and talked to a lot of porsche mechanics who generally say that the IMS failures are rare. My guess is that the actual failures are very well publicized so it appears it is a HUGE problem. No doubt it will be $$ if it happens, but I think it is relatively rare compared to the number of cars that are out there...Again this is just my opinion and I am not an expert. For around $25k I think you can get a great example of a 996 that should last well past 100k mi (depending on the maintenance and how you drive it). Best of Luck!

-Danny

 

So December/January is the best time to shop for a 911 you take it? I have seen some high mileage Turbos for 32K or so, and Turbo's engine is more reliable and bulletproof. Having said this, shouldn't I just go for the TT for 32K?

 

hyper911, I am in Alberta and we have a ton of potholes all over the city so a very low ride like a Lamborghini would suck to drive here.

I like the C4S, but the price for these guys are bordering the high mileage Turbo territory.



Danny, will 25K get me a decent Carrera, Carrera 2 or Carrera 4 (NOT the C4S) Porsche? I know I will get the IMS replaced or upgraded upon purchase, but I may plan on going to an aftermarket racing/car shop and have them tune/upgrade the engine/exhaust to improve performance--after one year of ownership. For 25K, what should I realistically expect for the total mileage of the car, and how many owners should I expect for an asking price of 25K?\

Thanks!

 

$25k should get you a good c2. A $32k turbo will either be high miles , have stories or deferred maint. Just remember these were 100k plus cars and to repair and maintain costs. Before I bought mind it had $7k of maint done (brakes, clutch etc) so I paid a premium, but at the end of the day it all works out.
Buy the best one you can, i have not seen any Turbos that i would buy in Canada for under $42k. You get what you pay for. Get a proper PPI and educate yourself by searching common issues and making sure the car you buy has them sorted or the price reflects you sorting them.

 

Okay, I will likely skip the Turbos. I was interested in the C4S, so doing some searches on eBay UK, some C4S's are selling for around $23,000 after converting currency to CAD, which I think is a good price.

$23,000 to $25,000 can get me a 2009 or newer Nissan 370Z which I am now looking into as well. Different cars, but at the same time, it is a Porsche equivalent in terms of performance and style.

No matter which Carrera I get, I know I want a Turbo rear wing for sure--especially if its a C4S since they are identical save for the missing side ducts and rear light/wing.

 

October/November - There are invariably a bunch of people who look to sell just *after* the summer driving season, but before they need to store their vehicle (for those of us that need to do that sort of thing). Still good in December and January. By April however, the nice weather is here, and people begin to think of how much fun it would be to have a sports car in the summer (and who's kidding who - it is )

Turbo's don't suffer from the IMS issue and other reality is that there are few cost effective options to increasing the performance of the NA 911. So if you're thinking that 325 HP *might* not be quite enough, you could be better off holding out for a turbo - but keep in mind that it is a more complicated machine which means more expensive to maintain and repair.

 

$25k can get you an awesome C2. I paid less than $25k for a 99' with a full aero kit and less than 50k miles. IMO the aero kit on a regular C2 on a completely different level in terms of styling . I've driven the heck out of this thing for about 2 years and 20k hard miles now and its performed beautifully. Just last week there was an absolutely gorgeous 00' C4 in the classifieds section with aero, supercharger, and a ton of other upgrades for $25k. However if reliability and maintenance costs are of concern I think you should probably get the 370Z. It will offer comparable performance and will be newer (e.g. less things to replace).

-Danny

 

Just my experience I purchased my 00 996 from a guy that was toothbrush **** all records, when I got to his house and he open up the garage door swear to God I thought it was a brand new car I bought it with 89,000 miles on it I've had it almost a year and Scott 98000 miles on it now never had the clutch changed came with every record from day one just had it serviced last week my independent Porsche mechanic went over it with a fine tooth comb no leaks clutch is strong paint is immaculate might have been a very good experience just my $0.02

 

I have had my 2000 C2 convertible for 10 years. Not 1 problem...EVER. Only thing changed was the coolant tank, and everything else has been bullt-proof. I have 54k on it now. Very under-rated car, but also very fun and sporty for sunday drives, nights home with the top down, or just as an everyday car (which I'd never do, because shes a garage queen :P )
I'm considering selling it for the right price and right home...so let me know if this sounds like a good car for you!