I bought a 2000 C4 Cab with 120,000 on it 3 years ago. THink I paid 11,500.
Had the IMS replaced because there was not record of it being replaced.
Besides that all have done is change oil......I love the car. I love it so much that
I had it completely repainted another color and had a body kit put on.
Go for it.

 

Its not the MILES that scare me its how it was treated !!

 

I'd get a solid ppI done and a boroscope. if both those checked out, I would go for it. mileage doesn't scare me at all.

 

Yes I would buy it. It looks like you have found yourself a cheap Porsche 911. How wonderful! Please report back after 18 months of ownership and let us know how cheap it still is!

But seriously, you should have at least $5,000 in cash ready to dump into the car without hesitation and without that additional cost becoming a financial burden. If you are not in a position to do that, I would not enter the Porsche 911 game because the chances of you needing to put that kind of money into the car is probably 50/50 at best.

 

True story. Regardless of mileage/condition, I'd say this is a prerequisite.

 

I wouldn't probably buy an '01 with 115K miles on it. I'd buy a '99 with that mileage, though.

I didn't know this when I bought _MY_ '99 with ~55K on it. At the time, if you'd asked me, I would have said that the 996 was an impulse buy that I'd drive for a few years and then swap for something newer.

Now that I've had the good fortune to drive the 996 for several years AND see what "newer" has to offer, I will be doubling down on my 996. I love the car and it doesn't make sense to replace it when I can put a few grand into the car to address the few issues I have allowed to go on too long.

I have the unresolved issue with my headlights, but otherwise, my '99 has been rock-solid. The Vegas fiasco actually pushed me over the edge...the car's ability to take a pretty brutal hit to one wheel and not even need an alignment...

 

For good or bad, the 996 has been scorned being the first "mass produced" water cooled model for Porsche. In a relative sense, there are a lot of them out there which is a positive.

That said, although in my view not a deal breaker, try to find one that has a receipted replaced IMS bearing. That's a good start. Pay a qualified mechanic to look it over; the $150 is well worth it. Of course, any service records are helpful. Bottom line: Dive in. For the $$ you're talking, it'll get you into one of the best cars money can buy, regardless of what the snobs and purists will tell you. As I've hear: " the journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a first step".

 

Get a thorough PPI and don't rely on the salesperson at WorldVW. He's selling a used car that he probably knows very little about. Even if the car has documented service records, get a PPI ! If it checks out, still be prepared to spend a few grand on things that will come up later.

 

Is it just me, or does that car have a gray interior and black seats?

 

I see this said a lot, but I'd rather buy the right car at the right price, taking account of the IMS cost and get it done by a workshop I know and trust. In some ways this is better than getting one which only has a piece of paper saying it says done.

 

Hmmm...a lot of it is just luck. You can mitigate some of the risk with PPIs and preventative maintenance, sometimes you just get unlucky (or lucky).

I don't think the 115K miles is deal breaker. But the risk of ending up with $5K rolling chassis (value with your miles) is real....relatively low, but real.

 

120k miles and 24 track days (8k~ or so track miles)

Mileage is good. Its been driven.

 

Read the story on the low mileage turbo (yeah Turbo, they never break...ahum) and think again. I much rather prefer to buy a car with a higher mileage and use the saved money for a good engine rebuild somewhere down the line (which might actually be quite far away....). As long as it has a good service history and loving previous owners.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...to-let-go.html

 

I'd rather buy something with higher mileage that's well maintained versus something that's lower mileage and has few records.

 

Its a big roll of the dice, ask me how I know. You only live once though, so you might get a winner out of it. Best of luck if you decide to buy.