The 25 year old 996 is a terrific THIRD car for a couple. Especially if you have a garage, where the darling will often be parked, waiting for that little annoying part.

 

The intention is to get it cheap enough that I can give it a full refresh before I even bring it home, in the hopes that it’ll be good for 4-5 worry-free years of service thereafter. (Unless the hundreds of posts I’ve read from people claiming the 996 makes a great, reliable daily driver are all a lies…? )

It’s going to be a fairly light duty 2nd car, errands, joyrides and a backup 15-mile commuter in the rare event of a Toyota breakdown.

 

We have covered the major catastrophic items (IMSB, Water Pump, AOS, Borescoring) and how to easily prevent them on this thread and many others.

The minor items are when the non-catastrophic parts deteriorate like metal, plastic and rubber pieces attached to the engine, cooling system, power steering, suspension, interior and exterior, etc break amd fail. Inevitable with any 25 year old car. The more parts you refresh, the more worry free life the car will give you for longer.

Yeah, you can definately make the car dependable. But it will cost you a couple of bucks. To mee, the 996 is worth it. See post #20 above.

Add: the 996.1 guys are going to have to provide whatever things you need to be aware of for the 5 chain system of the 3.4 as it pertains to a refresh. The 3.6 system is only 3 chains.