tnj100

Definitely. The economics of the 996 put it in an interesting spot. I think a lot of guys are looking at the price of a 996 vs a new (or couple of year old) BMW 3 series or other aspirational luxury car and saying: why would I buy that when I could get the 911 that I always wanted for less $$$?

But they don't realize that they're buying into the maintenance costs of a 6 to 10 year old $100,000 car, not a new or 2 year old $40,000 car. If your BMW engine needed to be replaced for 15% of original sticker price, you'd be looking at $6,000 (which seems about right). In the 996, it's $15,000 - and that seems like a lot of money.

88911coupe

Have to say I'm not sure how the fact that the cars orginally cost upwards of 100k mitigates the spotty engine reliability on the 996s. Wasn't it Huschke Von Hanstein that said "Porsches Don't Break"? Maybe he was referring to Turbos...:-))
BTW, if this problem is so exaggerated why has LN Engineering gone to so much trouble (and been so busy) developing and selling a solution?
I'm on my 2nd Carrera, 1st was an '87 Cab and now an '88 Coupe. The cab suffered the failed clutch release lever so just replaced along with the clutch which was wearing out anyway. The '88 had the "faulty" valve guides (only lasted 150,000 miles...) which gave me a bad case of "whileyourinthereitis" and decided to rebuild the engine to the crank. Note that all major parts were well within spec. The point is neither of these were catastrophic failures, which has happened to some close friends which the M96(?) engined cars. On the other hand, one friends 996 is reliable as a hammer and he loves it compared to his prior 911s which were a 993 and a 930.
Don't get me wrong, I'm leaning towards moving to a 996 due to the ridiculous prices I'mseeing,.unless the 996 Turbos keep dropping as well...

ivangene

turbos seem to be on the rise $$$ wise anyhow

tnj100

An interesting question for the economists out there: Does the 996 market price reflect a discount because of the IMS "issue"?

Has the IMS situation devalued these cars in any significant way? Initially, I was inclined to say that it had. But the theoretical maximum discount would be the cost of an LN Engineering retrofit (~$2K), and if you added $2,000 to the value of any of these cars, it would still seem like a bargain.

If I were in the market for a 996 at this point, I think I'd just budget the retrofit into my acquisition costs.

logray

I think it is a good time to buy a 996, IMS bearing or not.

Not sure if they can devalue that much more, aside for adjustment due to standard depreciation. The economy already did it's fair share, and yes IMHO the IMSBF already did it's job at devaluation as well.

But long term... not so sure. Unless there is a cheap rebuild alternative (LOKASIL) that comes along, there could be very few 996's running in 10 years time. At which point if you still own one, perhaps that might actually increase the value assuming you've dealt with that issue properly (NIKASIL)??? For example look at 993's still running in great condition.

ivangene

remeber when I said "I still liked these threads"


I changed my mind


Pete...pass a cigar

logray

Does get monotonous after the millionth time doesn't it?

roadsession

Agree 100%....KrazyK based upon your post I don't think you'll be happy buying one. You'll be constantly second guessing yourself and be upset at Porsche and your car.

fpena944

I don't think many 996 buyers would even think of this problem. How many non-car enthusiasts really go out and research a vehicle on the internet before buying it?

Most will take it for a test drive and unless something is horribly wrong with the way it runs will proceed with the purchase of it. It is an assumption now that all modern cars will function upwards of 100k miles so if you asked the average P-car owner was an IMS was, they'd think you're asking about a female problem.

996 prices are low because of the economy and because they don't look like other 911s. Look at the prices of other "bastard" Porsches...you can get a late 1990s Boxster at a buy-here-pay-here for $10k. And consider what happened to prices for 944s and most 928s. So I think it all boils down to supply and demand, not buyers being scared off by engine issues.

TomF

More cowbell.

AckyE

I enjoyed your classification of the non 911 Porsches

Chaos

Pay for a rennlist membership and you chances of failure drop considerably.

KrazyK

Actually I owe great thanks to you guys and the forum. I researched this model and read the 911 buyers guide before I made the conditional offer on the car in Houston. I have an extensive amount of mechanical training just not on Porsches.

So thank you again for educating me about what to look for and keeping me from making a huge mistake on the Houston 911 AE. Funny thing is, this car didnt pass the initial exterior inspection so I didnt even bother with the fun mechanical stuff. The hunt continues I guess, although somewhat disillusioned about the 996.

Hyper911

Dont be disillusioned. I went through the same thing, bought a 996 c4s. LOVE it.
I budgeted the 2k to fix the bearing, should I have to on a car like this, well no but in order to sleep better i am doing it. The % is still very low at the end of the day.
Dont bother with the IMS guardian (just my opinion), as you will still wonder when. Save the $$ get it done right and dont worry. Otherwise you need to save for a turbo or 09+ 997 when the IMS issues went away. Big price difference on all fronts.
Just my 02.

fpena944

Love that skit...especially Will Ferrell with the little half shirt. HAHA!

In the eyes of a purist that's probably a nice way of describing our cars!