I found a 95 cab close to home that has 36,000 miles and seems to be impecably taken care of.

I am having a PPI done on Friday. Are there some specific issues I need to ask them to look for?

 

For engine health, compression check and leakdown. They should check under the car at panels, suspension components, looking for original components - replacement might be a sign of an accident. Check to ensure wiring harness recall has been done, all warning lights flash as they should when car is started up, then go out (if not, could be bulb is dead or worse yet, missing). Check for leaks at valve, chain covers, steering rack, basically everywhere there might be a leak. Check relays for A/C and Aux. oil cooler. Condition of brakes and rotors, all other wear items. Check for paintwork. Usually can tell by looking for consistency of orange peel in paint. OEM paint has fairly prominent orange peel that should be consistent from front to back, panel to panel. If not, could be sign of respray. Not the end of the world IMO as these cars are 10+ years old now, but should get the story behind. They should also scan OBDI for faults.

Good luck and why did you get rid of your 997?

 

Thanks for the advice. I sold the 997 for reasons too numerous to list. Nothing wrong with the car. All my previous Pcars were cabs so I really want to get back into one.

 

One thing that I didn't know about (and was picked up during the PPI) was the resistor pack for the oil cooler and a/c condensor fan. Apparently, they are designed as a two-stage system meaning that the fans kick on at a lower speed once a certain temperature is met and then a higher speed if temperatures rise further. My car's resistor pack did not function at the lower speed/lower temperature stage and only kicked in once reaching higher temperatures. According to my dealer, more than 50% of all 993s have this problem with very few people knowing about it and actually doing anything about it. I have yet to repair this on my in the ten days of owning it and haven't seen or felt any issues (even in the recent heat wave hitting Toronto).

The other thing (convertible-specific) would be to check the condition of the power roof motors as well as the roof "transmissions" which tend to fail and/or tear themselves off the flimsy brackets incorporated into that part of the body. According to a friend of mine who owns a 1995 993 cab, once either of the top motors go, both can be replaced easily with a single unit sourced from a Boxster (he believes that this is the reason that so many single motors come up for sale on e-bay).

By the way, if you haven't seen it in other posts, I'll say it here: you WILL need new shocks. I just can't believe how poor the quality and lifespan of the factory Monroe shocks are. Don't even think about lowering your car with just springs thinking foolishly that your shocks are in good condition. If they haven't been replaced with some quality Bilsteins/etc, all their faults will be quickly realized if you change springs and lower the car (speaking from experience of many).

I sold my 996 40 Jahre for many reasons and bought this new car (1997 C2s) and am very happy for it so far.

Good luck, I hope all goes well.