How Reliable are used 996's? I might be looking at a 2001 or so coupe, 6mt, 30k miles or so. What problems seem to be re-occuring.


Thanks guys

 

I just love it when this question comes up each week.



Search for engine, RMS, oil, then sit back and suspend reality.

 

Get A PPI. If it's a good deal...buy it. The only thing 100% reliable is the fun, everything else is left to chance.

 

i wouldn't buy one. likely to explode seconds after buying it. go visit the bmw forum, really, go go go.

 

996's are very reliable - just make sure you get one that has maintenance records and has done all the regular scheduled maintenance.

 

Kcryan, I got one because I knew they were great cars. You will never get a straight answer on "how" reliable they are, especially on this forum. I suspect they are very reliable but if that is the ultimate deal maker a Toyota would have to be your first choice! My '03 has been great, bought it with 5k miles on it last April. It did have a RMS leak, warranty repair and needed wheels balanced.
I would say get one as new as you can and get it with a CPO warranty. That way, if anything does go wrong you are covered. Makes that easy and quite possibly eliminates the need for a PPI inspection unless you feel better doing that too. Certainly both a PPI and a CPO car will give you great peace of mind.

 

So far mine has been great. Granted I haven't had it all that long - almost a year. Of course, I am waiting for the engine to explode at any moment! I figure it's a toss up which will happen first, engine explode or getting probed by an alien spaceship!

In all seriousness though, it has been great so far. I have had a few maintenance items done, new clutch, new oxygen sensor, new brakes. But then, I burnt the clutch up so only I was to blame, the oxygen sensor was cheap, and the brakes, well they just needed to be done. Find a good indy mechanic with reasonable rates and it's not bad at all!

 

I think reliability isn't a huge issue....I believe not getting screwed by the dealer is the bigger concern IMO :P.

RMS is $800 (that's the commong problem).
Engine replacement (due to chronic RMS, or slipped sleeve) is the huge one!

thanks,
Amir

 

Like everything else it simply depends. You can ask the question about a BMW and there will be lots of people talking about what a nightmare they, but I had 5 of them and combined I put close to 600k miles on them. I spent about $3,500 total out of my pocket on repairs for those 5 cars. I would say they have a remarkable record. OThers will say it is the biggest piece of **** they ever owned.

Porsche is the same. Many on here have had cars that are totally bullet proof that they drive hard every day. Others have had for whatever reason nothing but trouble. One poor chap replaced 3 engines in his car. I bought mine new broke it in according to manufacture stated guideline, but had an engine failure at 5k miles on my MY2004. It has been trouble free since, and I hope and expect that to be the case the rest of the time I own it. I guess what I am saying here is there is no real solid answer to your question. If you want a best guess I would say yes they are generally speaking very reliable for a sports car that is driven very hard most of the time. Is it perfect? No. Is that reliability similar to Lexus? No. Then that should not be your expectation for a car you will spend a great deal of time driving near the redline. IF you find one you love get it checked out. If it passes inspection buy it. I do not think I could recommed strongly enough getting something with the CPO factory warranty. I think the cars are great and generally reliable, but I will not own one out of warranty.

 

Probably more reliable than Fcars.

 

996's suck: engines blow up. rms leaks, keys stop working without a reason, tire wear too fast, expansion tanks leak, and much more......if you are unlucky you will get all of these problems!! BUT if you are lucky you get none.....and a lot of fun driving a sportscar EVERYDAY!!!

 

Leaky engines which may cost you $700-$1500 every few years or less and a slight chance of your engine blowing. Other than that it's reliable. lol!

 

Buy one and less us know how it works out!

Seriously, very soon someone will do a poll which will finally, without doubt, settle, once and for all, how many engines fail on these cars, why, and how often. Then we'll all know.

Except...

Unless...

they used the wrong oil, and that's why the engine blew up.


Seriously, look at the car, if it looks nice, get a PPI, if it passes, try to get a warranty and buy the car. You will do much better owning it if you can do most of the maintenance and minor repairs yourself.

Michael

 

If you pay Porsche to have an oil leak repaired, you will have a 2yr/unlimited mileage warranty on that repair, (as on all Porsche repairs).
I wouldn't want a newbie to think he will be paying $700-$1500 to fix the same oil leak every other year.
Generally, 996 engines are pretty much dry.

 

Good point!