mgordon18

I love my 2006 997 S. I love the color, I love the two-tone leather, I love the sport chrono, I love the PSE, I love the short shifter, I love the wheels, and I love the fact that it's old-but-not-so-old-that-it-doesn't-have-modern-safety-features. I also love that it's a manual transmission.

What I don't love is the fact that my aftermarket warranty is going to run out in the Spring of 2019.

If I had more confidence in the engine, I'd simply keep it forever. But, even though it has the upgraded IMS bearings, I'm worried that eventually they will ALL fail and leave me with very expensive paperweight.

So I'm starting to look at 991.1 S cars, or possibly 997.2 4S cars.

What would you do? Am I overreacting to the IMS issue in cars with the newer bearings? Would you own one without a warranty?

Thanks in advance.

too tall

I would and do. Relax, yours is even the correct color

Bxstr

I am not sure if you could get another warranty through Fidelity, but if your car is still eligible based on year, and you have lower miles, it shouldn't be too terribly expensive, at least compared to purchasing a new car. Overall though yes, I would own one without a warranty just since if you really like the car, the cost to upgrade would be probably $10-15k, and thats also what a new engine would cost.

cosm3os

Have you driven a 991? My buddy and I just swapped cars for the day (991S v 997S) and both of us were amazed at how different they are.

mjsporsche

Mike,

Both of us are in the same place. We live in Central NJ, enjoy our 997.1S with manual transmissions and have extended warranties expiring within the next 12 months. My suggestion..... Re read your 1st paragraph a few times and the answer will be clearer. I am confident about avoiding the IMS issue, a little less confident about bore scoring since we are in the Northeast (heck..oil is cheap if it begins to burn some) and, if necessary, I am comfortable to spend the dollars for an engine rebuild if it is the future.

Stop worrying so much and go out and drive your beautiful car.

Mark

Mike Murphy

Warranty deals are almost certainly more expensive, on average, than taking the risk of what the warranty might protect. If that were not true, warranty companies would go out a business. A warranty commit to purchase (at 100%) to avoid a 1-8% risk is a poor decision if you have to make it 100 times on 100 cars.

Plus, the new car might be newer, and thus, more expensive, and can still have some issue.

If having the warranty helps you sleep at night, or if the idea of forking over $15k for a large repair scares you, then upgrade. Otherwise, not the best financial choice, IMO

Flat_Six_

Are you that certain that a bore scoring is a forgone conclusion? You seem like you’ll lose sleep and stress over the issue. That takes a lot of the fun away.

It looks like a 7-8% probability. And it’s fixable. Expensive. But fixable.

Keep the car. Relax. Go for a drive. My 2 cents.

TheBruce

Thats like 6 to 0 for keeping it. My vote makes it 7 to 0 :-)

IMS is a non-issue on 2006 MY. Bore scoring is still something to keep an eye on, but not lose sleep over. I'm a broken record on this but the forum poll is total garbage. I wouldn't base any decisions on it. The only thing it tells you is 32 RL members suffered bored scoring...out of 100k 997.1s produced between 2005-2008.

Do you burn any oil, is your left tail pipe sooty, do you hear any ticking, did you or the prior owner regularly rag it out before getting to operating temp, do you not change your oil regularly, do you regularly use it in cold weather? If you answered yes to 2 or more of these questions, see a physician for a proper checkup. If not, go for a drive and sleep well.

On the dollar and cents side, the worst case scenario with your 997.1 is still cheaper than buying a 997.2, and way cheaper than buying a 991. Its a false economy to upgrading to protect from a catastrophic failure.

mgordon18

Thanks, Mark.

This may be the one difference: I'd rather spend $40K (+ my trade-in) and end up with a new car (worth considerably more than mine) than spend $15K-25K on a new/fixed engine and end up with the same thing I had before spending it, even if it is my awesome, atlas gray frog.

Heh - I wonder if that's my answer right there.

mgordon18

Yes, but not a crazy amount - 1 qt per 2000 miles
No
No
Not sure about the prior owner (first 20K miles), but not me (next 30K miles)
No
Yes

So that's 1 and a half yeses. What do I win?

I'm not going anywhere for at least another year or so. We'll see what happens. If I spot a newer car with the same important options I currently have, maybe I'll think again...

WhipE350

I had a buddy that would never own a 911 out of warranty. But then he would trade within two years at a $30k+ lose and buy a new one...he knew and I knew the logic just wasn't there. He finally admitted he just needed a new toy to keep him happy.

First you still have a long time until warranty expiration. Second a 991.2 is VERY expensive, much more than the cost of yours becoming a paper weight. The odds of you wrecking a new one are much higher than the odds of IMS failure or scoring. How much will your insurance than give you for that wrecked 991.2.

Now on the other hand if you truly love your 997 but are curious how much more you might love a 991 then enjoy life, you live once, get one . Oh and the 991.2 is amazing, I drove the crap out of one last Friday, in my view it is more like a 997 than a 991.1. It simply no longer felt like a GT car...the difference is incredible, it felt small again and it feels heavier in the rear again like a 911 should

996AE

At least your not a poor 996 owner.

We rarely sleep and when we do we dream of the 41 known failure modes not just Bore Scoring but 40 others as well.

sandwedge

As much as you like your current car, why not consider a manual 997.2 instead of a 991? Much less expensive and a manual 997.2 with no possibility of IMS or PDK failure has a very low risk of expensive repairs. I may have missed it but I can't recall one single thread here about a 997.2 engine failure. Near bullet proof.

snake eyes

The 991.1 is very differnt platform. It can do things the 997 platform just can't do... much higher limits.
i made the jump from a 997.2 to the 991.

the 991 sounds better... turns in sharper.. it's faster... and the ride is more comfortable.
i however loved my 997.2 because I condifently could drive the car on the limit.( much lower speeds, less electronic stuff going on like PTV PDCC)

Dennis C

When I faced a similar decision, I went with the 991.1 I don’t regret it. I loved my 997.1, and I love my 991.1 (including the CPO warranty until 2020).