New Member - Need help with potential 997 purchase
 

Hi Everyone,

I am currently looking to upgrade my Porsche (2001 Boxster S) to a 911. After looking at countless cars, including some 996's and some 987 Caymans and a failed PPI, I have decided that I want a 997. I found this car at a local dealer, and it appears to be in nice shape with good mods and lots of service history. That said, I have read all the horror stories and want to get some other opinions with regard to the car, price, and the dreaded IMS issues given that it is a 2005 with a March build date (right on the cutoff from what I have read).

Please let me know your thoughts (price, condition, etc.).

http://www.intersportsales.com/2005-...6/Details.aspx

This is the response I received from the dealer when I asked for some more details about the vehicles service history. They will provide me with receipts as well since they maintained it from 2012 onward:

70kmiles oil change
64kmiles minor service
63kmiles get safety and emissions
62kmiles oil change
61kmiles blower fan fuse
59kmiles major service, new ign coil, new plugs, new battery
58kmiles L.E.D. tail-light / front running lights
57kmiles PSS10 suspension, exhaust, alignment
~54kmiles clutch
etc, etc

Spoke with previous owner, he gave me the two locations he used for service before starting to use our company in 2012. He said he definitely had the clutch replaced. Called around; Porsche dealer shows a clutch job ticket but cannot open it or see exact miles since they have updated their service computer system. They said it was in 2011 which would put the miles around 54k.

Thanks for the help!
Alan

Looks clean and well cared for going by the pictures and the maint. history. For an -05, I would prefer the early IMS since it's fairly inexpensive to replace with the beefed up one. Typically done along with a clutch job as I understand it. With the late -05's and through the -08's you have to take the engine apart to do the same thing. A good PPI should tell you which one is on this car.

Looks pretty clean. Needs new HVAC toggles (MA Carbon is your best bet) and a new shift knob, but otherwise looks pretty clean. You need a DME printout for overrevs and it's a little odd to me that the oil pressure is that low at idle with the engine at that temperature - mine isn't that low unless it's a 100 degrees out and the oil temp is over 200 degrees. Maybe it has 0W/40 in it instead of 5W/40. Get them to send you a picture just after a cold start to see if it's up near the top of the gauge. At 70k miles, you're also in the window where you're going to need to replace the water pump if it hasn't been done already.

Looks like I was too late. They already received a deposit on the car...I found another that I will be looking at hopefully this weekend.

you have to get cars inspected never commit before inspection

What do you guys think about this one? I am waiting to hear back from the dealer regarding the IMS, as it had a clutch job within the last 10K miles in addition to some other service history. I am thinking it was enthusiast owned, given the LED DRL's, clear sidemarkers and alcantara steering wheel. Is 4 owners too many? I have been having a hard time finding cars with only 1 or 2 owners in this price range, year and mileage.


https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...180_isFeatured

I am not an expert by any means, but after having had 2 Porsches with M97 engines without any problems, I think that well mainatined cars with frequent oil changes present a lower risk profile, especially if after 60K plus miles they have not had IMS failure. I would be more concerned about a car that is over 10 years old if it had really low miles.

I tend to agree, which is why the IMS isn't a dealbreaker for me. Otherwise, is there anything that sticks out about this particular car? It seems like a pretty nice example with regular service history to me, but I don't know everything that I should be looking for.

Make sure you get the car hot with a test drive, shut it off and restart to check for sluggish cranking (bad cable from positive terminal to Alternator / Starter motor).

That cable is a bitch to change.

Looks nice. Maybe try to negotiate a few bucks off if it checks out. Looks like it's been out there a couple months. Whether it's this one or another one, you'll love it and a few bucks either way won't matter a year from now.

I'm amazed at the number of people wanting these who come to this forum for buying advice, especially when looking at cars from speciality dealers (i.e., not Porsche dealerships). Porsches are just cars, expensive toasters really. I spent months researching Porsches and looked at countless ads, resulting in what I think is a good 'un. Look at ads on this forum, Excellence Magazine. PCA has a Test Drive membership option that gives you access to member For Sale ads. Buy from an enthusiast and you'll be happy.

That car looks decent. Here are a few things I notice:

1. Seating surfaces look lke the leather is a bit stretched out
2. I find it a little odd that someone would put front LED lights on, but not rear ones and when you look at that one closeup photo of the front of the car, the hood and fender seem to match well, but the front bumper cover looks like it has more metallic in it. When you combine this photo with the front only LEDs I'm thinking maybe a front end accident that broke the OEM lights and required the front bumper to either be replaced or repainted. Maybe not and the PO just liked from LED and the PUR material of the bumper has a different reflectivity index than the metal but I'd pay extra attention during the PPI, like maybe pull the headlights with the tool in the toolkit and look for overspray or any bent bumper parts or structure parts
3. It does not look like it has the full leather package, which means the tops of the doors and top of the dash aren't leather. Full leather makes the interior so much nicer, that's a deal-breaker for me
4. It's a pretty basic S model - no Sport Chrono, no PSE, Normal seats, though they are heated. None of this is a bad thing - just pointing out what I see since you say you're new to Porsches and the 997
5. The HVAC toggles have been refinished. They look nice but it was a home-job as they no longer have the TEMP and FAN logos that show through or will light up when the interior lights are on
6. Oil pressure at idle looks normal based on the oil temperature shown in those gauges
7. The left tailpipes do look a little sootier than the right ones. It's a colder climate car (DC or PA) and an S in a cold climate is more likely to suffer bore scoring, one of the early signs of which is sootier left side tailpipes. Bore scoring if it happens in a .1 is almost always on Bank 2 which is the passenger side, but because of the way the cats cross over themselves, this shows on the left side tailpipes.
8. When you take it for a PPI check for misfires on cylinders 4, 5, & 6, and ideally, you should have them pull the oil pan and inspect the cylinder bores from the bottom as scoring begins at the piston skirt. That will also let you see if there is any tensioner paddle or metal debris trapped outside the swirl pot areas of the oil pan

Price is a little low in my book - when you combine all the above potential areas of concern and the price, to me, it looks like it's priced to try and have someone jump on it quickly. I would give this particular car a more thorough than normal PPI with the boroscope, oil pan pull, compression test, and leakdown test and of course the DME pull for overrev report. It may cost you a couple hundred dollars more than a normal PPI, but may keep you from making a $20,000 mistake.