Hi.

Well a recent purchase of a 996 MK2 fell through. Was buying .. 2002, 72000km. Did a PPI, and wouldn't you know it we found enough problems for me to back out of the deal. (Excellent investment of 200 dollars, the PPI!!)

Anyways, I found a real awesome 2001 996. She drives smooth as silk and sounds perfect. 1 owner, spotless. Every single service has been recorded meticulously in a ledger (all done at the Porsche dealership). Car has 79k km on it and looks like its been well taken care off. Manager says he has personally own the owner for 9 years, yada, yada. MK2 worth it?

Please advise.

Thanks!!!

PS: Oh, and the records show that the RMS fix was done already, which is good.

 

Interested to know what PPI found on the car ?

Don,t know about Canadian prices - but in CA you can get a nice '02 for just under $30K... (at least before start of the summer)

Mine had RMS done also - under warranty - but while that is expensive job - it does not necessarily fix IMS problems ... which can lead to the engine failure ...

I would definitely hold out for MK2 model - lots of upgrades over the Mk1 ....

 

Thanks for the feedback. Well, I saw a 2003 911 (base Carrera, 42000 km) today that is in my price range. Here are the comments from a PPI conducted a couple of hours ago. Feedback regarding PPI findings would be very appreciated.

Issues listed after conducting PPI. (All mechanic comments):

1. Noticed the battery light stay ON after having started the car for a while. It went away later. Problem could be alternator/battery harness. Oil light came on after startup. It went away after a minute or so. No leaks found. (My comment: While test driving, I never saw the oil light or battery light come on.)
2. Clutch pressure plate and release bearing feeling 'notchy' when engaging. (My comment: An extremely light squeak comes from the clutch when you depress it.) Mechanic said that you can still drive around the car, no problems, but it might be a sign of the clutch wearing and it is something I would possibly consider doing in a year.
3. Vehicle has a hard start. (My comment: Its almost like the car takes a maybe an extra half second to start occasionally). Vehicle cranks but seems if fuel filter is clogged. Possible tune up/spark plug require replacement. Possible fuel filter / pump issue.
4. Front brake rotors at minimum thickness (lip on edge of rotor). Front rotors would need replacement within a year.
5. Fuel cap string broken.
6. 1 Key FOB inoperative. (Not a battery issue).

What do you guys think? He told me to either stay away from the car because it needs issues to be taken care of, or to try and drive the price down by $3-4k. I dont think that I can get the price down by 4000, but I could definitely aim for $2k reduction. Can I please get feedback as to the mechanics comments? I personally felt the car drove strong. And its really clean. I need to decide whether to go ahead with this deal by tomorrow. Any feedback for my consideration greatly (!!) appreciated.

 

I would get an estimate for cost to fix up the essentials of the car a d ask the seller to go half and then diy yourself if you can...

 

Battery and starting issue could be the cable that goes to the alt or a bad grounding strap.
I would start at 4k off and see what they say.

 

IF in Canada 29k is very very good price. Where abouts are you.

 

The things mentioned in your PPI sound to me like they are coming from someone unfamiliar with Porsches.

The battery/oil light thing needs further diagnosing, sounds fishy to me.

I might question the cluch notchyness as well, squeaks while depressing the pedal are well documented and of no concern, especially if one knows 996s. The clutch is hydraulic BTW

Is it really hard starting? Every time? All the time? Weak battery, loose cable maybe? Did you or tech check?

DIY brakes < $500, bargaining point, certainly not a reason not to buy.

Fuel cap string? This would keep you from buying a car?

Many cars > 10 years old only have 1 key

These things sound like what my mechanically challenged neighbor would come up with. No offense intended, but these things seem real lame. If I got a PPI report like that, I'd politely ask for a refund and go somewhere that has worked on Porsches, late watercooled 996s.

Don't really mean to come across like an a** hole, but this is serious stuff, and serious money.

 

Agree .... most of those PPI items seem lame ... when was last service done and what was done ? Brakes and Clutch are normal service items - and I would not worry about squeek - mine had that and it is coming from the assist spring I think - easy to fix if it bothers you.

You can get new key done at dealer for $200 or so ...fuel cap is cheap - hard to start could be battery related - should test battery first (how old is it) - then look at what voltage alternator is running at (should be about 13.8V)... even if VR or alternator is bad - this is not hugely expensive.

The oil light might worry me more - what is oil level ? what is oil pressure at start up ? at idle when warm ? at 3K RPM when warm ? I had oil light come on from bad pressure sender (but intermittently) - that is a $70 part and 1hr or so labor.

Go to Porsche specialist for PPI (assuming this guy was not ?) and discount the price of the car by at least the cost of the repairs as the starting point for negotiation (again as someone else said)... for an 8 y/o car these are not unusual issues ....

 

I cut my fuel cap string so it dosn't dangle and scratch the paint.. pretty common.
any PPI is going to have a list of things.. most of those are typical wear items, some need furthur looking into.

 

I would insist the oil pressure sending unit be replaced to see if that is the cause of the oil light problem, other wise could be something serious, also every PPI should include cutting open oil filter!

 

You know there is a little hook on the fuel door that will keep it from hitting the car?? You just let it dangle from there.

 

mmmmmm oh yea... :-)
too late now.

 

Be careful you do not downplay these issues and talk yourself into a car that while it may prove to be ok it will only be ok after you have spent considerable money making it ok.

The battery warning light staying on may be due to a weak battery which is say $200. If the alternator is bad this can run into considerable money if you opt for a dealer service department installation of a factory alternator. If neither of the above are the problem them a wiring harness problem could be a huge money pit. If the engine harness is suspect the engine/transmission has to come out of the car to get at and replace the wiring harness.

Thus you should know what the cause of the battery warning light is, otherwise, you're just gambling your money.

A notchy clutch action is not my experience with the several Porsches I own and drive (one car I have put 245K miles on and it still is on the original clutch).

The notchy clutch may be due to some clutch linkage problem (linkage under the dash or linkage that runs back to the slave cylinder) or it could be in the more deeply buried clutch hardware even at the clutch itself the hardware inside the bellhousing.

If the squeak is the underdash hardware that's generally solvable by the proper application of a bit of lubricant. If the release bearing is squeaking that's a clutch job and that's money.

The hard start symptom is probably not any of the reasons you list. It is probably related to the battery warning light.

If the fuel filter were clogged enough to cause the engine to be reluctant to start the engine would not run hardly above idle becaue the fuel filter would not flow enough fuel.

If fuel supply or pressure were suspect the DME would reflect this by the long term fuel trims. They would be at their richest limits as the DME attempted to compenstate for the lack of proper fuel supply or pressure.

Brakes if you have them done at the dealer run roughly about $1000/axle. You can do them yourself for much less, essentially a few hours of your time and parts. But if you are not a brake DIY'r budget for a proper brake job and of course this involves a brake fluid flush/bleed.

Items 5 and 6 are not very significant but you can use these to adjust your offer price downwards. I do not know what it takes to get the cap string fixed. A new key can run upwards of several hundred dollars.

Sincerely,

Macster.