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Water pump, air oil separator, starter, suspension, A/C system are all things that could be costly if they haven’t been addressed. And I would think a bore scope with the PPI would be wise.
Water pump, air oil separator, starter, suspension, A/C system are all things that could be costly if they haven’t been addressed. And I would think a bore scope with the PPI would be wise.
@MBH911 preach! That's the tip of the iceberg. Coolant system and hoses, At some point, all these 20+ year old high mileage cars need engine rebuilds. All seals, seams, hoses replaced, brake caliper rebuild, all oil system etc. I'm not regretting my purchase, the car runs great but I'm also aware that there are still things to refresh before the maintenance cycle is back to the "clean and documented service history" state that I desire, and after all that, some PDR and partial respray. I'm not spending 2500.00 on lipstick until the old girl is fit. Some might feel it's silly to be such a careful curator of a base 996.1 C2, but so what it's my money. This whole, 'buy the best example you can afford' mantra is all well and good, but it doesn't matter how low mileage and pristine a 22 year old car is, the refresh is inevitable. I took the contrarian path, and got the cheapest example I could find, my starting cost was lower. All those rebuild costs can be amortized over as many years as it takes to do them. I don't have to quickly fix it to flip it cause I'm keeping it, I've no desire for anything else. To me the 996 is a sweet spot. It's not going to smell like a vw beetle when you turn on the heat, it has good AC, and it's got a light feel at the wheel that really matters to me. I've driven some other 911s recently, newer and older, and nothing I drove made me regret the 996.1. The 997.2 is touted as the last analog 911, but are priced with that hype factor.
Last edited by damage98MO; 11-12-2022 at 11:17 AM.
@MBH911 preach! That's the tip of the iceberg. Coolant system and hoses, At some point, all these 20+ year old high mileage cars need engine rebuilds. All seals, seams, hoses replaced, brake caliper rebuild, all oil system etc. I'm not regretting my purchase, the car runs great but I'm also aware that there are still things to refresh before the maintenance cycle is back to the "clean and documented service history" state that I desire, and after all that, some PDR and partial respray. I'm not spending 2500.00 on lipstick until the old girl is fit. Some might feel it's silly to be such a careful curator of a base 996.1 C2, but so what it's my money. This whole, 'buy the best example you can afford' mantra is all well and good, but it doesn't matter how low mileage and pristine a 22 year old car is, the refresh is inevitable. I took the contrarian path, and got the cheapest example I could find, my starting cost was lower. All those rebuild costs can be amortized over as many years as it takes to do them. I don't have to quickly fix it to flip it cause I'm keeping it, I've no desire for anything else. To me the 996 is a sweet spot. It's not going to smell like a vw beetle when you turn on the heat, it has good AC, and it's got a light feel at the wheel that really matters to me. I've driven some other 911s recently, newer and older, and nothing I drove made me regret the 996.1. The 997.2 is touted as the last analog 911, but are priced with that hype factor.
Well, I think you just summed it up about as well as anyone has. To Any potential first time buyers, this here statement is what you need to know going in. Living with a 996 in the garage can be stressful if you can’t afford the unexpected. Not necessarily the case, but ownership is a roll of the dice. If that’s too much risk for the risk-averse there’s a Honda Civic SI on CarGuru with your name on it, and you can toss it around for a long, long time without a care.
@MBH911 preach! That's the tip of the iceberg. Coolant system and hoses, At some point, all these 20+ year old high mileage cars need engine rebuilds. All seals, seams, hoses replaced, brake caliper rebuild, all oil system etc. I'm not regretting my purchase, the car runs great but I'm also aware that there are still things to refresh before the maintenance cycle is back to the "clean and documented service history" state that I desire, and after all that, some PDR and partial respray. I'm not spending 2500.00 on lipstick until the old girl is fit. Some might feel it's silly to be such a careful curator of a base 996.1 C2, but so what it's my money. This whole, 'buy the best example you can afford' mantra is all well and good, but it doesn't matter how low mileage and pristine a 22 year old car is, the refresh is inevitable. I took the contrarian path, and got the cheapest example I could find, my starting cost was lower. All those rebuild costs can be amortized over as many years as it takes to do them. I don't have to quickly fix it to flip it cause I'm keeping it, I've no desire for anything else. To me the 996 is a sweet spot. It's not going to smell like a vw beetle when you turn on the heat, it has good AC, and it's got a light feel at the wheel that really matters to me. I've driven some other 911s recently, newer and older, and nothing I drove made me regret the 996.1. The 997.2 is touted as the last analog 911, but are priced with that hype factor.
I really like the feel drive of the early cars. I bought a 90k mile car two years ago and after 12k miles I’m extremely happy. The car paint wasn’t great but super solid mechanically. I tested it right out first driving it home 1300 miles. I paid $18k but they gave me $500 to drive it home and it costed me $330 to fly and drive. Anyway for me looks are secondary performance and reliability are a must. If someone is going to do the work on these cars themselves great, if you can find an awesome mechanic that’s reasonable better, which is what I have done. There are still deals on some cars out there. My 03 turbo is being worked on and I’m not missing a beat on the p car experience driving the 99. My concern going forward would be Parts price and availability. Regarding the engine, mine is extremely strong no oil consumption to talk about. I physically check the oil and coolant regularly thinking about the possibility of mix, but that hasn’t been the case so far. If the engine lets go well I know where to get an affordable rebuilt, I’m really thinking about a full paint job but I’m going to put that on a back burner until the economy slows down, and I can get a good deal on it.
Y'all aren't helping me stay out of a 996... Last year I impromptu bought a 01 986S and now after driving a couple 996's I'm wishing I had been more patient. So now the hunt begins to find a good deal on a mechanically sound 996.2. The maintenance outside of an engine rebuild never causes me and lost sleep since I can do all of the work myself. At this point I'm hoping values on a solid C2 drop into the high teens.
Or I find some perfect match of a person wanting a motorcycle and a 986S to trade for a 911.
Either way, I shouldn't hold my breath for too long. Always great to hear success stories of a higher mileage 996!
Maybe it can't pass emissions? Those front seats seem a bit haggard for 64,000 miles and the white plastic overlay in the instrument cluster looks like a 5 years did it. And that's just for starters.
I know, and have worked on, this Millennium Edition:https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/a...paign=atempest
I installed the Rennline motor mounts, Feal coilovers, Fabspeed intake, and the seats.(using Planted mounts)
I also polished the headlights and possibly did some other work on it.
If I'd known the owner was going to get rid of it I would have bought it from him.
If it were nearby I'd probably go buy it if they were willing to deal some.
I'm bummed it got away.
Last edited by TexSquirrel; 11-21-2022 at 05:55 PM.
11-11-2022, 09:56 AM
