Sneaky Pete

The doom and gloom of what ifs really chaps my a$$. This is not to you but to the naysayers who say the car will blow up. The marbles these guys wait hear in their engine are just in their heads. When I drove my car for the first time I was sportin' wood!

The main thing is like others have said is to drive the car the way it was designed....ballz out!

Please make the purchase because you will NOT regret it for a second.

Sneaky Pete

Plus these cars are not that bad to work on. I just changed my rotors from info on here. Once I got past the P-car jitters its home sweet home.......but you won't find me digging into the motor, That's what the professionals are for.

MiamiC70

I went through the same dilema when I contemplated buying mine. I did a LOT of reading and some of it made me sick to my stomach too plus, my co-worked had bought a 2000 and suffered a catastrophic engine malfunction about a year ago and that experience scared me ****less.

So, I took a few months looked and more than a few cars and made more than a few inquiries. Then I resigned myself that when I found one that looked good and well taken care of with reasonable service record and was priced "fair" (fair is NOT the cheapest) i would do IMS upgrade and I factored that into cost (so I could sleep at night. Well, the one I found met all the criteria but when I did a PPI had a slight RMS leak which actually helped as I negotiated the seller cover the RMS and I took advantage to have the IMS done at same time and saved on the labor. If your getting car for $20k then if you factor PPI, RMS and IMS and maybe a clutch at same time then you would be out maybe another $3k which means you would have a car for $23k - $24k which is still a deal and most importnantle you can sleep at night which is priceless

Shark Attack

Dear CFI,
You are in good company. I myslef had this EXACT same struggle in Jan, 2010. My main worry was IMSBF. I made the choice I was not going to pay over 20K for the car PERIOD. How could I pay anymore than that for a car that has this meltdown issue.. But even so, I was still worried about it. Terrified actually. I found a very very nice 103K mile 1999 Aero in SLC UT for 17K.

I had to make a choice on what to do. I wanted the car. So I came to the realizations that I needed to install the LNE retrofit bearing to give me peice of mind.

I did this and knock on wood, I couldnt be happier with the car. The 120K on the car isnt anything to really worry about if the car was taken care of. My car has all service records since brand new. My car was maitained well above and beyond any car I have ever owned. The car runs and drives like a 40K mile car.

I say go for it.. Just do the bearing upgrade.

gota911

If you don't post pics of your car within two days of receiving it, we'll hunt you down and make sure you have a RMS leak!

Welcome to Rennlist!

Don't forget about the @#$%^&* pics, Newbie!

dailydriverC4s

I have not performed a major repair on the 911 yet, but in all honesty it is just a car right.... I have done motor swaps, tranny swaps, clutch replacements, and head rebuilds on other cars, so I would imagine if/when the time comes I will be up for the challenge.

A porsche is just like any other car when it comes to repairs right? The motor is in the front, the gas tank is in the rear... Ohhh wait, scratch that last comment...

Seriously though, you are buying this car for the experience of driving.

Do your due dilligence and get the car checked out.

Know what the estimated maintence costs will be, and pray that no major failures occur.

But most important, enjoy every minute of driving the beautiful beast uncle Ferdinand designed for you. Every day in the Pcar should be an extension of your everyday life... keep on learning, and do it with a big fat cheesy grin on your face!

white99c2

Buy a warranty, I have one and it is a big relief like lat week when a $1695 repair cost me $100 deductible and $25 for labor not covered. Send me a PM and I will tell you where I bought it.

ivangene

all this talk... have you bought it yet er' what

Pac996

I can see a market for porsche car owner therapy opening up with these new generations. If the costs nag away in your brain add the thought aspect of the car would be a fantastic getaway car robbing banks to pay repair bills.

ATL Fahrer

If you want the car, buy it. If you need peace of mind, spend an extra ~3 grand and have the IMS, clutch and RMS replaced on the engine. Simple as that. When I got mine 8 months ago, I had the same doubts. Believe me, every time I drive it, I'm more than convinced I made the right decision!

The 996 is a great example of German engineering.

DaveSpeed

I am a new owner < 1 year and didn't know anything about the IMS issue before I purchased a 996. My plan was to purchase a 964 or 993. In looking for a pcar I found a MY 99 996 that keep coming up in my search. I started emailing the owner asking questions, drove it and fell in love. I know the car did not have the best service history, the last two owners were car dealers, but the car had <37K miles. I had a PPI at a local Porsche dealership and they listed about $3,500 of repairs they recommended. I paid 23.5 + 3.5 (P spec Tires + major service, etc, etc....) so 27K total for a car with low miles.

If I had known about the IMS issue in advance I would not have purchased the car. I am planning on having the IMS upgrade done in the spring so I can sleep at night. I'm having it done at a local Indy shop who said that the 996 is one of the most reliabile cars porsche ever made. Yes they have a couple major problems but they really only effect a small % of the cars. He also said that the cars are expensive to maintain and even if you dont have an IMS issue there are other things that can cost 4-5K to repair that do not include replacing a motor.

BTW I did ask the service rep at 2 different dealers about the number major probelms they have seen in the cars and they reported very few. I do believe it is the people who do have to replace a motor who will complain the most. But I do believe most of the cars are fine. (I keep questioning if mine is the 2% that fail.)

Then I drive the car and all is forgoten!

soverystout

Since the OP's potential purchase vehicle had its motor replaced, wouldn't that mean that the reman motor's IMS is unserviceable (like all newer Porsche remans) or because it was an early replacement (2005) it was replaced with a serviceable IMS bearing motor.

That's important to know in my opinion.

If you can't replace the bearing, you might have to buy a warranty to feel comfortable.

ivangene

2005 was the year of the change... its possible it has the new OR the old.... there is no knowing till its opened up (from what I have heard)

cfiiman

^^^^ wow, yeah I'd really like to know the answer to that, talk about screwed, you can't even fix it if it is a problem ?!?!?!?!?

soverystout

Roger roger.

The newer design has an unserviceable IMS bearing. The alumium case of the engine encompasses a larger portion of the bearing making it impossible to remove unless you split the engine case.

To the OP,

It really doesn't sound like you have the stomach for the car you are looking to purchase.

Not sure If a warranty company would even give you a warranty on such a high mileage vehicle with a replacement engine.