Ray S

I would question your definition of "a lot". I think you could say "a lot" of 996's have had RMS leaks, but from what I have seen oil starvation problems in these cars is extremely rare. I have never seen this problem at the track even on a 3.4.

IMHO, it is most often raised as a concern by those that are critical of the lack of a true dry sump in the 996. Porsche clearly designed the oiling system in the 996 to deal with high g loads and they have further improved the system as they have improved the cars. Do a search on "starvation" and you will find a ton of post about "concerns" but almost no posts from anyone that has ever experienced the problem.

In fact, I would put the "X51 extra deep oil pan mod" in the same category as the "engine protection plate mod". Both are fine mods if you feel you need a little extra protection, but neither is what I would call a "must do".

Tbred911

If you track your car it's best to get this done... just something I picked up from the team engineer who's team won Daytona 24 hours GT class this year .... in the end... I would hope you wouldn't need to do this mod given the $$$ you payed for this car... but so little $$ for this mod buys you some extra protection according to the team engineer... like I said... it's your car.... you take the risk.

fast1

Go to this site and querry on the car that you seek: http://www.jdpower.com/autos/used-car-ratings.
This is the best info that's in the public domain, and it substantiates the proposition that the 996 is one of the best quality performance cars that you can buy. Does this mean that you are assured of getting a trouble free car when you buy a 996? Of course not but you do have the odds in your favor. Once you've identified a car that you like, ask for a DME report. It only takes a couple of minutes to run, and then you can at least determine if the engine has been overreved. I would not recommend buying a car that has ignitions in ranges 4 and above.

cdodkin

Firstly, JD Power does not cover 99-00 Porsche cars

Secondly, their data appears subjective and out of sync compared to actual fault claims data from people such as warranty direct:

http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/ma...rchtype=engine

JD Power data is based on cust sat Vs Warranty Direct data which is actual failures and claims - make your own minds up.

Fred R. C4S

FWIW

Don't buy the first year of manufacture for any car! It doesn't make any difference regarding brand. It usually takes one year or more for the manufacturer to establish a large enough number of cars to surface the type of problems that occur once mass production has started. You only have to look at the number of TSBs that are written for any model. For Porsches, check the TSB list on Renntech. If buying a model newer than a 99 is going to stretch your budget, then you probably can't afford the repairs possible with an 8 year old car. I'd wait until I could afford an updated 996.

Cheers,

jasper

Hey Brock - I'm in Vancouver looking for a 996 and probably going to import as well. How goes the search? What are you budgeting for? I'm after a 99 mostly for the *value* but also because they're simpler and lighter cars. I'm frankly convinced that any 99 I buy without a reman engine already installed *will* grenade within the next five years and I'm budgeting accordingly. If it doesn't happen then it's gravy.

jasper

jasper

Oh yeah - and I'm getting my post count up so that when my motor does blow up and I post here bitching about it then I won't be razzed for being the kind of guy who only posts after he's had a bad experience LOL. Did you read the infamous "Bob" post?

I downloaded an interesting article from Total 911 discussing early M96 engine failures. I got it off this site, but if you want a copy let me know an I'll email it to you.

Hey look at that, eleven posts!

BReyes

Just bought a 99 with 78k impecable maintenance and like new almost everywhere.