4sight

I really appreciate the great advice I've been given here in the past few weeks.
As I search for the 996 that fits my budget, I hope it's okay to share what I find and ask you guys what you think.
I found this one on CarGurus. Located in Concord, CA
Although I would prefer to purchase from a private owner, this one is at a used car dealer.
1999 Carrera Cab with removable hard top. 92k miles. Asking price $16,495
No documentation other than Carfax. One owner, prior to current dealer.
I've shared the carfax below. Any red flags or anything that stands out and warrants extra caution?
If not, any suggestions for a PPI near Concord, CA? Dealer agreed to take it to a nearby Porsche professional of my choosing.
Thanks as always

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=WP0CA2995XS654353&partner=AMG_1

MEMike

Gut reaction is that it is above average price for a 92K car. Of course my perspective is from the Northeast, West Coast may be different but I would think $12 to $14 would be the range.

You don't list options other than the hardtop but if you post the options codes you would likely get help in factoring those into it.

If you can find out who the previous owner is you could get a lot more information that may justify the price. In Maine dealers are required to disclose the prior owner if asked.

Could this be the IMS bearing?: 06/10/2000 12,297 Service FacilityRear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Transmission removed and reinstalled

cds72911

[QUOTE=MEMike;15295740
Could this be the IMS bearing?: 06/10/2000 12,297 Service FacilityRear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Transmission removed and reinstalled[/QUOTE]

Sounds like the Rear Main Seal (RMS).

4sight

Not sure how to get option codes. Typical of used car dealers, they picked the car up at auction, and really have no background on the car.
One thing I found interesting is the car initially failed emissions, then passed, then was sold less than 1,000 miles later.
Folks here put me at ease about higher mileage 996s, especially since I don't have a ton of money to spend. Perhaps if this were a private seller the price would be around 14k.
There is a 1999 coupe in So Cal. Asking price is 14.5k, but it has 150k miles on it. Also not known if IMS has been address. It's very clean looking, but the mileage scares me.

cds72911

Option codes are listed on a white paper sticker on the underside of the hood, and also potentially on the same sticker placed in the front of one of the manuals. You can decode these three letter codes using this site, and others with a quick Google search.

TexSquirrel

The option codes are on a sticker under the front hood.(Oops cds72911 beat me to it...am I THAT long winded?!?)
Sometimes dealers will take a photo of the sticker.

I've seen failed emissions when a car has had recent work, like a new battery added so they can sell the car, and they don't drive the car enough in order to have all the emissions tests stored in the DME(ECU) to complete.
The place doing the test will fail the car, have them drive it some more (50 miles or so) and then bring it back in order to be passed.

High mileage car wouldn't necessarily scare me off.
If it has been maintained and treated well, then I would be fine with a 100K+ car.

I bought my Durametric cable before I bought my 996, because I wanted to check the DME for over revs, camshaft deviation, and possible mileage rollbacks.
One dealer let me take a car (2001 996TT) for a weekend.
It took me a couple of hours to look over/under the car, hook up the Durametric and to return it.
It had been treated very roughly.
Several overrevs(last one within the last 2 hours) and lots instances of hitting the rev limit.
It also had several leaks, a ticking on one side of the engine, and lots of wear inside and out.
It had DOT slicks which I would have had to replace in order to DD it..
IMHO, this one had been a dedicated track car, although the sales person told me he could "tell when a car had been tracked" and that this one had "never been tracked, it's been babied." Ha!
I was looking for a DD, not a track car.
It had 125K and they were asking $39K in August 2017.
My budget was $38K, but I figured I could talk them down to that, but passed on it and I'm glad I did.

The car I finally bought (In my signature) had never been over-reved, and only once hit the rev limit.
It had been babied and had receipts for repair bills.
It also had some nice mods. (Fabspeed exhaust, clear bra, Aerokit front bumper, IMS Solution, modern Kenwood radio, etc)
It had 53K and I got it for $20K in Sept 2017.
It was half my budget, which meant I could afford to do whatever mods I wanted.
I'm really glad I got it instead of the TT.

I basically did my own PPI, but I had the tools to do it.
I would have dropped the sump on mine, except for the fact that it already had the IMS Solution installed and everything else had checked out fine.
I would have paid to get a "proper PPI" if it had not been close to me.

The way to find a good deal, is be patient, but be ready to buy immediately.
I looked for 6-8 months and let a couple of deals get away from me.
When I found the one I wanted, I had cash ready the next day.

808Bill

Leave yourself some reserve funds (you'll need it) at least $3-5K

e90steve

Failed emmissions isn't a big deal. A lot of times it's a readiness code or the SAI system needs looked at. Doesn't mean it's a bad car.

4sight

I'm learning that due diligence is absolutely required with these (or any for that matter) cars. I just checked a VIN for a 2000 996 being sold on Ebay with 26k miles, and the LN website says the retrofit was installed (on a1999) at 69k miles. Go figure

TechSavvySam

Based on my 6 days of experience of owning a 996, I would (mostly) ignore any mention of failed emission test. For the one I just bought to get through the PPI, the former owner had to put a new battery in it. It was driven a few miles by my mechanic for the PPI and then 13 miles back to the car broker. Georgia now has a new stupid law that says you can't even get a temp tag for a used vehicle until the new owner takes for an emission test. I had a DUH moment and happily drove up the street got the emission test and promptly failed. I know that unhooking a battery clears codes and makes your car fail emissions because my G-35 is finicky about having the battery unhooked too.

I then drove it around for a couple of days and checked the readiness with my OBD reader. It still had 3 not ready indications (Georgia only allows 1 on a 2003). So then today I drove for 15 minutes up GA 400, not exceeding 60 MPH nor 3500 RPM. If you live in Atlanta, you know how fun that wasn't--I'm sure the 500 people who passed me said "who's that idiot driving a Porsche on the North Atlanta Autobahn so freaking slow").

I checked again and only the catalyst wasn't ready. I hauled back down 400 to Alpharetta and when I got it checked, even the catalyst was ready.

I say "mostly" because you might consider that a failed emission indicates that the battery was likely dead at some point recently before the test. Then you could ask why the battery was dead--I'm guessing on Porsches it's usually caused by not driving it. Other possibilities: bad alternator, leaving lights on, old battery, etc.

4sight

The dealer sent me a photo of the option code sticker. I'm going to do some research on this.

TexSquirrel

Start here:
https://www.stuttcars.com/technical/option-codes/

vitaminC

Dr_Strangelove

I'm just saying hi because you're from Henderson. Let's get you the right 996 so we can start a Henderson 996 gang. Don't be scared of high miles with these cars. Even a low mile 996 can have a bad inspection. These cars like to be driven.

docmirror

220, 222, 224, sport options, and sport brakes. Pretty tasty.