All IMS Engines will fail?
#46
Rennlist Member
#47
Rennlist Member
#48
Meaning it doesn't make economic sense to repair the car - the cost of the repair/replacement exceeds the value of the car. Unless you have a bottomless pit for a wallet and money is no object... Although I think you knew that : )
#49
Captain Obvious
Super User
Super User
I never heard anyone describe that with financially unrepairable. As a matter of fact, never saw the two words used together, period. Was this your invention?
#51
All of the below issues are common to these cars and are many thousands of dollars to fix should they occur. EVERY car has something that could go wrong at any given time and cause a lot of expensive damage, the 996 is not unique in this.
B5 Audi S4 - Turbos
B6/B7 Audi S4 - Timing chain tensioners
Ford F-series with 6.0 Powerstroke - EGR valves/head gaskets/stretched head bolts
Dodge trucks - Transmissions
E36 BMW M3 - VANOS units, rear subframe mounts tearing out of chassis, "money shifts"
E46 BMW M3 - Same as above
Chevrolet Corvette (all years) - Permanent mullet syndrome
Any car with a timing belt - Unexplained belt snapping
B5 Audi S4 - Turbos
B6/B7 Audi S4 - Timing chain tensioners
Ford F-series with 6.0 Powerstroke - EGR valves/head gaskets/stretched head bolts
Dodge trucks - Transmissions
E36 BMW M3 - VANOS units, rear subframe mounts tearing out of chassis, "money shifts"
E46 BMW M3 - Same as above
Chevrolet Corvette (all years) - Permanent mullet syndrome
Any car with a timing belt - Unexplained belt snapping
#52
#54
One moment you are the proud owner of a $25K sports car, the next you are selling a rolling chassis for $4,000.
#55
Rennlist Member
One moment you are the proud owner of a $25K sports car, the next you are selling a rolling chassis for $4,000.
I have posted this before so Im glad someone agrees. This dilema is unique to the 996.
PS: If anybody has a nice 'rolling chassis' 996 with an IMS failure they want to sell for $4K, send them my way. I'd buy them at that price all day long.
#57
My beautiful 1989 honda civic si sustained a catastrophic engine failure due to a blown bearing on the timing belt tensioner. Sold it for $200 because it had a nice alpine cd player.
So .... back to the whole thing with cars that have timing belts being potential ticking time bombs. Seems that preventative maintenance helps reduce the possibility. Well, same thing with a bearing replacement every 100k km.
#58
Rat Balls
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Scottsdale AZ, USA
Posts: 3,636
Likes: 0
Received 13 Likes
on
13 Posts
I was firmly in the "The IMS issue is overblown hype" camp from day one. I think the number of failures are very low and of those, I think many are incorrectly diagnosed as IMS failures. However...when I did my clutch 2 months ago, I did the LNE Retrofit. In light of the recent Class Action Suit, I thought this would at a minimum help my resale value since more buyers are likely to become aware of the IMS issue.
I must confess that the little nagging paranoia, OCD checking for leaks and worrying about every little noise and vibration...that I never had...has gone away.
That alone is worth extra $1K.
I must confess that the little nagging paranoia, OCD checking for leaks and worrying about every little noise and vibration...that I never had...has gone away.
That alone is worth extra $1K.
#59
Former Vendor
These vehicles are very robust and some people believe that you can't buy a new car thats built as well for the same money that our engine costs. Thats usually why people go the reconstructed engine route, because they want to keep the car for a long, long time.
When these cars lose their engines they become "bankrupt cars" instantly. A Porsche with a broken heart isn't very valuable.
#60
Captain Obvious
Super User
Super User
Actually any car with a broken engine isn't worth anything. Since the early 996s are getting cheap and the engines are very expensive, makes this some exciting times for the DIYer gearheads.