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I just did some quick research on Launch Edition cars and from fuzzy memory and it looks like: steering wheel, painted seat backs (and yellow details), painted center console trim and a few other details.
Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong. Previous owners looked to have gone a bit wild with the yellow. Definitely wouldn’t be seen as an all original, one of 300ish cars.
I just did some quick research on Launch Edition cars and from fuzzy memory and it looks like: steering wheel, painted seat backs (and yellow details), painted center console trim and a few other details.
Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong. Previous owners looked to have gone a bit wild with the yellow. Definitely wouldn’t be seen as an all original, one of 300ish cars.
I'll be perfectly honest, at first I thought everything but the wheels was stock. The yellow "Launch Edition" script on the inside *looks* OEM, but I haven't seen others like it in my search, so... yeah, I'd believe ya
This car is priced to sell at $39k. $42k is a good price for a 2006-2008 CS2 (larger IMS bearing) with <45k miles. At $39k you already have the "2005 IMS" discount priced in. Some of the smartest guys on this forum would tell you a 2005 Launch Edition is their ideal car. It has a serviceable IMS and is highly optioned. The problem is the semi-educated buyers wont look at a 2005 so you limit your resale pool to uneducated buyers who dont know what an IMS is or highly educated buyers who know the pros/cons of the serviceable IMS.
If the PPI checks out I would buy this for $37k all day. If you can get it for lower you're a rockstar. Only issues in my book is getting the original wheels and airbox so you have a have a stock car for resale value down the road.
From experience: Also look out for any mods removed from the car. Those are what give me the most problems. Its not unusual for someone to pull parts and swap with stock parts from Craigslist or junkyard. My car had a very high-end stereo installed and removed. During the removal, they broker a bunch of tabs and put the car back together really poorly leaving me on a wild goose chase to quite all the rattles
I'll be perfectly honest, at first I thought everything but the wheels was stock. The yellow "Launch Edition" script on the inside *looks* OEM, but I haven't seen others like it in my search, so... yeah, I'd believe ya
Do you have any close up pictures of the wheels and brakes? The -05 launch car came with ceramic brakes which had yellow calipers and larger diameter rotors. I see a glimpse of a yellow caliper but with all the yellow decoration by the previous owners they could have been painted. I say this since the tall stance of the car looks more like that of a base model than an S. Another reason to confirm what brakes are on the car is that ceramic brakes are expensive as hell to buy and to repair so if it's the real deal, have the PPI guy take a good close look at all four of them.
Do you have any close up pictures of the wheels and brakes? The -05 launch car came with ceramic brakes which had yellow calipers and larger diameter rotors. I see a glimpse of a yellow caliper but with all the yellow decoration by the previous owners they could have been painted. I say this since the tall stance of the car looks more like that of a base model than an S. Another reason to confirm what brakes are on the car is that ceramic brakes are expensive as hell to buy and to repair so if it's the real deal, have the PPI guy take a good close look at all four of them.
Don't have close ups but I'm certain they're the PCCBs (advertised as such, were standard equipment on the launch cars, and I drove another 997 C2S with the steel brakes and felt the difference). I assume the PPI shop will make a point of inspecting those, but I'll ask. Thanks!
Anything under $40k is a fair price on that car. Launch Edition script is not OEM. There's a market for alcantara steering wheels - I personally don't like that material except for on the headliner and much prefer leather. Does the car have the Sport Chrono dash wart?
PCCB condition is critical as each rotor used would cost you over a $1,000 and a good set of used ones is about $5,000. Its also very hard to find used replacements for this application. They're the 350mm size Front & Rear and the same rotors from the 996 Turbo, not the later 997s. I'm not a fan of black wheels or the yellow wheel stripes, but that stuff is easily remedied. PCCBs should have a nice shiny and perfectly smooth finish without and dark areas or chunky areas, which would be where the carbon has been compromised and is delaminating. They should look like this
If the seats are the Adaptive Sport plus full power versions with the 2 switches on the front corners for air bolsters, those alone would cost you $3,000-$3,500 for a really nice used pair and are very hard to find - regular Adaptive Sport seats with the manual fore/aft and power recline are easy to find and about $2,000/pair.
Any pics of the interior, including the bottom of the center console. This is where we can see some of the options it has, like a PSE or Sport button (for Sport Chrono).
Wheels are Forgestar F14s - decent low pressure cast wheel, but not forged, contrary to the brand name. Exhaust tips look like Fabspeed and with their intake, that would be my guess. Probably has their mufflers, maybe their cats (look under the rear bumper and see if they make an X right in the center with a Fabspeed logo in a circle there - if so, that's their x-pipe hi-flow cats. If it has a full Fabspeed exhaust you're looking at almost $4,000 of intake and exhaust upgrades. Nothing wrong with that intake either - just add a couple of K&N hydrophobic prefilters over them to keep water from saturating the filter media and the motor from ingesting moist air when driving in the rain. I have this same Fabspeed setup, but their earlier J-pipe intake that works better with my supercharged car than the Y-pipe did (tried it).
If the PPI checks out, that one looks like a keeper to me and with all the other upgrades might gave an upgraded IMS bearing already which you won't know until you pull the trans and can see the bearing nut.
Suspension does look a little high in the rear though. My wife's pink pearl car is a late '05 C2S on stock PASM suspension and OEM GT3 wheels, but does have Sport Chrono - maybe that's a slightly lower stance option and the black one doesn't have SC?
Seems like a great price - almost bordering on "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't".
Just my opinion.
If PPI checks out, i'd estimate the cost to make any repairs (plus what you know needs work), update the IMS bearing, and deduct that from asking as your initial offer.
If all checks out at PPI, I think $33-35 is a good number. The exhaust is not original nor is the badging or wheels (as you know) so some demerits there but I love the sport seats and yellow belts. The serviceable ims is a plus. I think the launch cars are very cool. Make sure you know why you’re getting into with the carbon ceramic brakes. I think they’re awesome, but some may not.
What part of ct are you in?
I think I'd rather have the stronger IMS bearings of the later 05 and on cars than the ability to drop $2k every 6 years to prevent a weak IMS from turning my car into a paperweight. There haven't been too many failures of that newer IMS bearing design.
I think I'd rather have the stronger IMS bearings of the later 05 and on cars than the ability to drop $2k every 6 years to prevent a weak IMS from turning my car into a paperweight. There haven't been too many failures of that newer IMS bearing design.
The product called "The IMS Solution" uses a pressure fed oil bearing without any ***** and I'm pretty sure is a one and done lifetime bearing like that used in the earlier Mezger motors (air cooled & GT cars) without a recommended replacement interval. Of the 3 options (small original bearing left alone, larger original bearing with grease seal removed, small original bearing replaced) its the best one.
I'm a stock-OEM guy so those mods would turn me away, but that's just a matter of personal taste. Certainly someone who would want to do those mods would likely save a bunch buying one already modded, as mods tend either to not count or even detract from the used price. But if you don't like the mods and the OEM parts aren't included in the sale, it could be a very expensive proposition to revert it to stock.
As to the IMS, at this stage in the game I would only do The Solution. Once and done, and even if the motor needs rebuilding at some point the Solution is reusable.
But, IMS is not the only serious potential glitch in the M96-M97 cars. Be aware of bore scoring. That's what did mine in. It doesn't render the engine scrap like an IMS failure, but it's still very expensive. Tbh at this point although I'm planning on keeping mine for the duration, I wouldn't purchase another 997.1 unless it had a recent rebuild with Nickies sleeves.
With 40K on that one you probably have a long way to go to worry about scoring though, depending on how much you drive it, maybe never. Mine started ticking around 60K.
11-26-2017, 11:40 PM
