Well...... I've owned mine for a year & a half, originally bought with 65K miles, (I've put on 15) & I've done quite a few repairs on mine (99 c2), as the previous owner trashed it, but I got it over 10K under market, so I was prepared & willing to do so. - List of them:

After changing the clutch twice (yes, bad tranny), I had the transmission repaired (Powerhaus, HIGHLY recommended! @ $3500), as the syncros, spindle, etc were trashed! Clutch cable replaced, Brakes replaced, RMS was repaired. Engine leaks, B&M short shifter (eric @ bumperplugs), & a K&N filter.

I did all the work myself, as I have all the tools & expertise, but if I hadn’t, I would have gone WAY over the 10K mark.

Be wary, as parts are quite expensive, although the 911 is probably one of the easiest cars to work on (yes, I'm including maintenance here), so you can save money that way. - I do agree with the adage: "if you can't afford a new one, you definitely can't afford a used one" with these cars, but how much fun they give you WAY outdistances any pocket hit you get.

Supercharger, here we come!

 

I think, in general, the older it goes, the more and expensive maintenance you will have to put in...

 

Brought home candidate 1 for the weekend. Mechanic loved everything about it EXCEPT the motor had a weird "nervous idle" as he called it and said DO NOT BUY THIS CAR almost the instant he started it. 1999 996 coupe, with 49k mi. The car does not idle perfectly, and you can hear a faint rattling on the driver's side near the exhaust. He said this is the beginning of the intermediate shaft failure. So I am going to take it back tomorrow. I also felt the asking price of $28k was very high. I think a private seller may be a better way to go, rather than a trade in car at my favorite wholesaler's dealership. I am going to get the service records tomorrow regardless, just so I can see what was done to the car. Oh well.

NEXT!

 

hmmm...maybe you should find a CPO car at a Porsche dealer????? Anyone looking to find a good car and a little leary on it should go tis route as you have nothing to lose....Any issues will be handled under warranty and you get peace of mind. If you ae spending 30k on a car, a CPO car at a Porsche dealer wont be that much more especially if you have good negotiating skills....

 

My negotiating skills are not good. I cave easily. My mechanic is Park Place Porsche.
Just looking for a 2000+ now.

 

try to find one that has not been trashed, AX'd, DE and all that stuff. Everyone should know that these are not race cars, seems to me you can't track it on weekends and expect to drive it to work on monday. They are high performance automobiles though and do need their TLC.
I don't track mine as it is my Daily Driver (find myself constantly exceeding the speed limit ).

99 996 SIX, 89k, 2nd owner. I bought it with 34k, ~4yrs ago. No major issues <knock knock>. If you cannot find a CPO, have it thoroughly inspected by an indie that is familiar with Porsche.

things i've done

1. new audio system - OE sucks (DIY)

2. fabspeed mufflers (DIY)

3. K&N cold air (AEM dryfilter), cleaned throttle body because of erratic idle (DIY)

4. leaking spark plug seals/spark plug (DIY)

5. clutch (dealer)

6. coolant bottle (DIY)

7. ROW M030 suspension (indie)

8. new rotors/brake pads, SS brake lines, yellow calipers (DIY)

Anyway.......good luck on the search.

 

the aircooled cars wind up being much more to maintain and parts are more costly too.
better ride, more power, more interior room. i sold my aircooled car and am on the hunt for a 996. there issues in 996 just like air cooled cars. prices are very low on 996. just do your homework with a good ppi.
bob

 

993 engine > 996 engine

1999 996's are however > $30k so they are a cheap way into pcar ownership

Check out Sharkworks they have a nice 1999 996 project car he is doing

 

[quote=zdr2k]try to find one that has not been trashed, AX'd, DE and all that stuff. Everyone should know that these are not race cars, seems to me you can't track it on weekends and expect to drive it to work on monday. quote]

That is a pretty broad statement. No, they are not "race" cars, but DE/AX is not racing. MANY people on this board are DE/AX'ers and take very very good care of the cars they drive. If anything, they might be more likely to "over" maintain them..

 

Why cant you track it on weekends and use it to work monday...people track their mini cooper and drive it to work on mondays?

 

IN WHAT WAYS?????? 993 engine has less HP, is more money to maintain, and is more costly to replace...so I dont get it...OH...they dont race the 996 NA engine...so that makes the 993 engine better? NOT....So spending 10-20k on upkeep on a 993 engine during its life makes it better? Yes that will buy you 2 996 engines....and you will be running for many many more trouble free miles. I dont see why more expensive is always better...as technology improves...and the 996 engine is an IMPROVEMENT over the 993 in nearly every way....lower maintainence, lower cost to build, longer engine life, more reliability...etc...mechanics didnt like it because you couldnt just vcrack one open for any old reason and replace stuff, and initially Porsche wanted to see what was going on with the engines so they replaced alot of engines they could have repaired, but they wanted to see the failures and make sure they didnt happen in the future...it seems to me like they figured it all out pretty quickly....

 

Get a new mechanic.

 

+1

If a machanic tells me something I KNOW is incorrect....how can I trust him...If he didnt tell you a 993 would cost you more to upkeep, but told you to stay away from 996's then I would question his motives, knowledge, or both..but thats just me....maybe he likes working on 993's more....maybe he thinks Porsche's shouldnt have radiators, or maybe he thinks you have the money, buy a 993 because it'll be worth more in the long run and he doesnt expect you to put many miles on it....

 

Not even an argument here anyone on this board that is a tuner will tell you...the 993 engine block is the one used in the 996/7 Turbo, 996/7 GT3 , 996/7 GT2....an engine for a GT3 is $30,000 + a 996/7 engine is $7500...its not about upkeep or maintenance costs and such as well the current 993 block is now water cooled in the past they were air cooled and that hurt them from a reliability standpoint, I owned 2 996's they RMS issues and other stuff the block is cheaply made...

 

I know a couple of "old school" Porsche mechanics and they just cant let the air cooled era go and I think your mechanic is not gonna be happy unless you get an aircooled. Your mechanic must be a genius that he can tell that the Intermediate shaft is gonna go... by a I thought it was the 3 bolt cover for the shaft that was to be replaced (the more common fix) along with the rms. Get the 993 and be done with it, the debate of the water/aircooled will eventually die and people like your mechanic will have most of your money, watercooled is here to stay and they cant seem to handle that!