Hi everybody! This is my first post on this forum. Hopefully I will soon be a lucky owner of a 1999-2001 996 C2!

I have a question about buying a used 996 C2 from a private owner vs. buying from a dealer. I tested 4 cars so far. Two of them were nice, but two sounded and drove like junkers. One nice car was out of my price range, and the other did not have the PSM that I want, else I would be driving one already. But the junkers both had engines that vibrated and had a bad idle. The junkers, of course, were sold by used car non-Porsche dealers. I spent $500 to fly out to see the second one, it looked so good on paper before I heard it run in person.

Well, I have a dilemma. Most of these 1999-2001 996 C2 Porsches are sold by by used car non-Porsche dealers. Porsche dealers seem not want to touch them because then they would have to sell them as CPO, which may be too much for them to handle if a car is 8 years old. So I would really prefer to buy from a private owner. That somewhat narrows my selection. Please let me know if my line of thinking is correct and I should stick with it.

Also, what are the critical maintenance procedures that I need to perform on a 996 C2, with their intervals and approximate costs? Is there some sort of a rebuild/replacement that needs to be done every 30K, 45K or 60K miles?

If you know of any good ones for under $35K let me know. Silver, gray or red hardtop 6-speed please. Black interior and PSM. Thank you!
__________________

Rennlist paid memba

 

my car is for sale. I am doing a private sale, but I can assure you that it is no lemon.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/353326-fs-guards-red-1999-996-c2-29-000-obo.html

I can always bring it in for a PPI at a location of your choice if you are interested.

Jarrod

 

Good luck with your shopping. Looks like Jarrod has a nice one.

I always prefer to buy from a private owner. That way I am able to size the person up a bit and tell how well they took care of the car. I can tell based on their enthusiasm if they car was well maintained.

I my book used car salesmen are professional liars. They often don't know the history of a car and don't care. They just want you to fork over the money.

Take your time to find the right car. One will come along. I looked for 3-4 months. Get a PPI done on any car you are considering on buying. You are probably in good shape if you buy a car from someonte that is a rennlist member or PCA member.

One more thing about your CPO comment. It's not that Porsche dealers do not want to CPO a car, it is often because they can not CPO a car because it doesn't pass inspection. Something to be warry of.
Cheers!

 

I would NOT buy a 99 996 WITHOUT a CPO warranty.....unless you dont mind forking over $20k in upkeep the first year of ownership. Thats how much upkep my PRISTINE 1999 C4 Cab needed in warranty work. It was a CPO so it didnt cost me a cent, but I would have HATED to have bought such a nice car, that PASSED inspections and then in a years time, had $20k in repair bills....Not saying that all 1999-2001's are gonna need this kinda of work but I will say that AT LEAST 5% will....unless they already have had engines replaced. You can get a CPO car from a Porsche dealer at a good price if ou look, and you will have the peace of mind that you will not get hit with huge repair bills. Good luck.

 

I bought my 99 and have never had to do a repair other than the ones I KNEW i had to do when i purchased it(ie RMS)

-Keith

 

I bought my car in 04 as a CPO and the only repair that I have made was to get a new MAF sensor (which was under warranty). Just my 2 cents.

 

For what it's worth, I just traded my 01 C2 with 71,000 miles. It was a very reliable car. Never had to replace the brake pads or the battery, no oil leaks. No problems at all. Just did the routine services and changed oil every 7500 miles. I was the original owner. Take your time and find the right car. It CAN be a great experience.

 

Thanks for all the comments guys.

jcalhoun, I like your car a lot but I am looking for a black interior.

newport996, I forgot to say that I am a car geek and like to do all the car work myself, especially on cars like these. For what CPO costs, probably $5-10K, I could do all the normal and expected repairs myself. For $20K I could replace the engine, transmission and have some cash left for a new paint job. Or add a little money and buy another car. CPO is a good thing, but it costs some money and 2 years is too short. I am planning to keep this car longer than this.

 

I am sure there are many like that....but being NEW to the Pcar world, we should be honest about POSSIBLE issues....i have 20k+ of service receipts in 1 year on a CPO'd 99 C4 Cab....A car that was VERY clean and had less than 10k a year on it. Like I said, there are probably about 5% out there that will have motor issues. Also you can get a CPO for about the price of a private party car, AND a CPO must have a minimum 50% tread, or new tires are put on, 50% brakes, or new pads and rotors are installed, 50% clutch or a new clutch is installed, all services brought to current and if the car is within 5k miles of its next service then the NEXT service must be done...I dont know ANY private party that will do that BEFORE they sell a car....that stuff alone may cost someone $5K....So for a new Pcar owner....my suggestion is get a CPO car and enjoy your Pcar ownership WITHOUT having to fork out a cent for any issue....

 

First off, I got my car BELOW market value WITH a CPO....it was not a PENNY more for that car...its usually $2k more, not 5-10k....

2nd...yes my engine WAS replaced. If I bought my car without it, I would have been on the hook for the 20k in repairs...since it was CPO, I didnt pay a cent.

Good luck in your search.

 

I'm trading mine in a couple of weeks.

 

DJ, I may be interested. Although I see your car was "raced", LOL! If it is for sale then please email/PM me the details. Thank you.

Newport, how would I go about finding a CPO car? The Porsche website search is not working. Autotrader does not list any CPO cars. Can a dealer locate a 1999-2001 CPO 996 car for me? I went to two dealers and they did not volunteer to sell me anything that was not on their lot already.

 

I am not sure if you can get them to "tranfer" cars from other dealers..I am lucky....I am in SoCal and there are at least 10 dealers within 150 miles....so I just went to them one by one....I found my car at the 3rd one....although I called at least 6-7, and the car I found wasnt ever mentioned by the dealer...so you may just need to call around....I did use the dealer locator on the Porsche website....it worked for me.

 

Big difference between DE and racing my friend. My car is a DD w/39k , dry and tight. All the good mods third radiator, RoW 030, OEM ssk, ... Unfortunately, my dealer has already offered me a good number, if that changes when the turbo arrives I will pm you.

 

Mine is for sale w/ remaining warranty on new engine. Sent you an email on the details.