S14Pwr

I am new to Porsches all together but I have owned my fair share of E30 M3's and now I'm looking to make the move into the Porsche world. I am looking at a 2004 Porsche 996 GT3 in Houston Texas (Link attatched). What are the common issues with these vehicles and what should I look for or request from the dealer?
https://www.porschenorthhouston.com/...AC299X4S692903

AudiOn19s

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-gt2-...3-threads.html

that dealer has a great reputation here and generally has pretty nice cars.

Gofishracing

welded or pinned fitting !!

996FLT6

Rootwitch

I just bought a 996 GT3 a month ago, don't even have it yet. Mine's out in Philadelphia area. I'm new to Porsche's, never even driven a Porsche of any flavor.
If you're serious about the car you would normally arrange a PPI, pre-purchase inspection, from some local knowledgeable Porsche guru.
That should uncover any major shortcomings. PPI's run a few hundred bucks. I paid a little more since there was a concern about the engine in mine, so I had them get compression.

If you plan to take the car to a track, you need to have the coolant lines pinned or welded. (The PPI would tell you if that's been done, but probably not if the dealer is not advertising it).
These coolant lines can come loose and spill antifreeze on a track, causing cars behind you to spin out, so as I understand it's a requirement these days if you want to go to the track.
That's an engine-out procedure that runs $3K-$4K, but the problem is that while you're in there, you might as well do a bunch of other routine things.
For my car, we upgraded the factory limited slip to a Guard LSD (another $4K+), since the factory limited slip is not really that robust and doesn't really work well after some use.
There were a lot of routine things (43K miles on my car) that were done; throw-out bearing, myriad hoses and seals, water pump, coolant reservoir, plugs and coils, rear main seal, transmission and motor mounts.
There was also a very minor oil leak that was not visible until things were apart that was fixed; front fender liners were cracked and so those got replaced.
The clutch and pressure plate were fine.

With 60K miles on your car, you'd want to check out service records as much as possible to see how much of this routine stuff has already been done.
Just beware the slippery slope if you pull the engine out to do the coolant lines ... all the other stuff adds up very rapidly.

Rootwitch

Also, I've read that the PCCB brakes are great but very expensive ($14K?) to replace. Might be worth checking into the condition of them.

himself

pranqster

Even before the PPI you need a complete DME readout to look at type 1 and 2 overrevs.

Google the vin and you will see this was a track car in a previous life. Last sold in 2015 witih 56,796 miles. No Type 2's then.

There is a rennlist thread on it.

Some excerpts:Hey guys, we have just traded for this 2004 911 GT3 in Guards Red over Natural Grey.
The car has only 56,792 miles and is in impeccable shape with no paint work or accidents.
The car has a roll cage installed, so would assume some track use but you can't tell by looking at the cars condition. I have provided a clean DME in the pics.
The car will be offered up for $69,991 obo and I will replace the iphone pics with professional pics soon.

Please feel free to PM, call, text or email with any inquiries..



Pranqster

S14Pwr

Thanks to everyone that replied! I do not plan on tracking the car so the welded or pinned hoses shouldn't be a concern for me. This will be just a fun weekend, cruiser for me. sorry if that disappoints any of you guys. lol
I googled the car's VIN and read the thread from 2015, can someone please break down the DME read out for the over rev. What are the numbers in Range 1? did it over rev 4,000+ times?? I'm sure that wasn't the case which is why I am looking for a better understanding of this. Thanks

Rootwitch

Anyone ... correct me if I'm wrong but this is how I understood the DME report for the 996 GT3.

Range 1 essentially means it hit the rev limiter, 8200 RPM, which is not considered a problem.
The number reported,4462, is the number of ignitions recorded. At 8200 RPM there are 420 ignitions per second, so there were somewhere around 10 seconds of it bumping the rev limiter.
The hours value, 1863, means the last event happened 1863 hours ago, which is a long time. In fact it seems a little too long ago.
Maybe the 1863 hours is the total number of hours.

Range 2 means the RPM exceeded 8800 RPM I believe on the 996 GT3. This can happen when you downshift into the wrong gear; the rev limiter will not protect you then.
Range 2 over-revs are concerning since there is the potential for internal engine damage.

vtgt

wolfgang1

apparently this one has frame damage that is not indicated on the carfax as per this thread

(no affiliation)

https://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-...ual-socal.html

Marv

I have 128K street miles on my 04 GT3. It is essentially a daily driver that sees an occasional autocross.

I have had one fitting come loose over time. When it is time to replace the clutch (still on its original clutch) I'll have the remaining fittings addressed.

My point is, don't think that simply using it as a street-only toy avoids the need for addressing the fittings. Even the Turbos fail on the street.

The good news is that losing a fitting on the street is more of a significant nuisance than a potential safety issue on a closed track driving at 9/10ths.

As others have said, the car is raw, but I just see it as a true sports car. Regular 911s are simply too sedate in my book, but that's just my personal opinion. Your opinion is what really matters.

CME

Are you a E30 M3 SIG Member. I am and have an Evo3. Transition from E30 M3 to 996 GT3 is seamless.
Chet

cgfen

If new to P cars and this will be your only one and you don't intend to do any track days.................... 996 GT3 is an interesting choice.
Drive one for a bit if possible first to make sure it's the right choice for you.
I am 95% street and only 5% track and one is STILL the right choice for me.

Have fun.

It looks good in red, I haven't seen many of those.