PasPar2

looking at an 08 997s aero that has all the options I was after in the right color combo, basically the needle in the haystack...

but saw this on the car fax:

<normal maintenance till: ?

@19,308 miles:
Transmission removed to complete repair
Tail light assembly replaced
Recommended maintenance performed
Maintenance inspection completed
Alternator/Generator replaced
Flywheel/flexplate replaced
Clutch master cylinder replaced
Clutch system bled
Battery replaced
Battery charged
Battery/charging system checked
Transmission checked
Intake manifold gasket replaced

@22,553 miles
Transmission removed to complete repair
Driveshaft seal replaced
Engine cleaned
Front crankshaft oil seal replaced

@22,655 Vehicle offered for sale

Also:
Car was leased and offered for sale exactly 2 years after date of registration so
1. it was either a 2 yr lease or
2. these repairs caused the owner to throw in the towel early..


what do you think?

Please dont just pot "move on"

CBnAT

Does the price account for the risk? That is a factor to consider. Have a trusted mechanic check it out and put away some money for repair if you can get a smokin deal.

PasPar2

looks like car got CPOed after this repair happened.. its still has 6 months of warranty left.

its priced right for me...

1985mb

Too much of a coincidence that it would be up for re-sale exactly two years after it was first sold. Probably a lease return.

PasPar2

more interesting data from the dealer who has the car now:

overrev cat 1-4 show last occurrence at ~800 hours. No indication of how long it spent in those categories though per the new Piwis and my conversation with the advisor. This is a recent change to the software and he has no way of getting the old reading. His head tech said he has yet to see a car with NO overrevs in 1-4 and he would not be worried about it. I did PPI a car recently which had no overrevs past 3 ( 3 overrev count was 1... yup ONE) so maybe drivers in FL are just harsher than those in my hood... (I think the tech was trying to make me feel better about this info)

cat shows an overrev at 300 hour <- most likely the reason for the scary portion of the carfax above? an overrev would hurt the engine AS WELL AS the transmission though - correct? looks like the above info in transmission specific. Advisor said it happened long enough ago that is should be a non-issue.

cat6 - none...



cat now has 900 hours on it and 32.5k miles = ~36mph average so mostly highway miles


Update: called the dealer who handled the transmission work - he said the slave cylinder failed and they replaced that and the entire clutch assembly due to it being taken out with the slave cyl.

the tranny removal 3 miles later was an RMS leak...


I am starting to lean toward the "not really an issue" - am I wrong?

daddyscar

So this all happened at least 1.5yrs ago assuming the it's been on a CPO warranty. If it hasn't been a problem for a while than I'd say it's been fixed. How many miles does it have now? If the price is right to you go for it.

Vjgtrybno1

Over-revs in 3 and 4 are much different than in 1 and 2. I don't like the explanation that you can't tell how long the car was in the over-rev condition. The counts are ignitions and we know the average rpm of those codes, so you can calculate it - if they give you the info, which they conveniently say is not available.

PasPar2

I dont think they are trying to mislead me at the Porsche dealership. I know there was a recent upgrade to the Piwis computer that prevents them showing the duration of the overrev... it now only shows the last time it occurred. Other posts on rennlist confirm this

history as I know it
slave cylinder failed and took the clutch with it at 19k miles - overrev cat 5 may or may not have happened at this time or before this time..

RMS was wet and corrected at 22k miles

car has 32.5k miles now

997, esq

I wonder why they would stop the computer from showing the number of overrev ignitions? That's pretty useful information. Are you saying there is a cat 5 overrev? I would just avoid anything w/ 3s or above, and certainly anything with a 4/5. It may not mean a problem, but why take the risk?

These cars are fairly ubiquitous. Unless you are getting a much cheaper (~15-20%) discount off he negotiated price of a normal car without the issues, I would just look elsewhere.

simsgw

I find the dealer's response quite plausible. That list of work performed isn't describing a transmission repair, just clutch work. 19k miles is a lot of earlier than I need a clutch so I kept looking for a reason. The slave cylinder failing makes the rest make sense. Certainly, if you got that deep into the system, replacing the flywheel wouldn't require a lot of motivation.

If all that happened eighteen months and 10k miles ago. I don't see anything to worry about honestly. I'm not thrilled by overrevs personally, but a lot of people report engines tolerating much worse reports. (Contrary to that other guys comment, our car had only one incident in range 1 totally 14. It isn't that rare I have to suppose.) Still, I think you've found a car you can enjoy owning.

Gary

Jay H

This is an interesting thread. I'm with Gary above...

The repairs listed above are now a non issue. That is not catastrophic stuff and if a good tech worked on the car, this issue can be put to bed. Enough time and mileage has accumulated (as Gary mentions).

This phrase above IS a big deal depending on what options they are and what color combo the car is in. If it's a black over black or Meteor Gray Metallic over black or a silver over black with Bose, Nav and BiXenons, then maybe it's not so rare. But, if it's a color combo that isn't common that you love with extensive or odd options, then it's really worth investigating this car to the fullest extent. Contrary to popular belief, odd color combos and solid cars are hard to find on the used lots.

Due to those over-revs, a very long test drive is in order to see how this car shakes out in all conditions.

I think if this car was a total pile of dog dung, the dealer would have probably sent this one off to the auctions to let the shady used "High End Luxury" car lots fight over this.

If you do pull the trigger and there is truly 6 months of warranty left, I'd drive the wheels off of it for those 6 months to insure all is well and holding up. Get under the thing once a month during that time frame and check for leaks and other odd stuff. Don't just stuff it in a garage...

Use all these issues against the selling dealer to negotiate that price down...

Good luck!

Jay
06 987
90 964
84 3.2

X51

If the dealer will CPO it, or it is still CPO'd as you indicate, then the dealer is taking a risk if they are trying to sell you a bill of goods. Given all the comments above, I would move forward with it if the pricing is right to compensate you for your mental anguish during this examination period.

SteveFromMN

My 99 996 cab had an RMS leak repaired under warrenty at 6000 miles. I had them put a new clutch disk in at that time. I paid for the disk part. I had really hammered that clutch when I first got the car new. The disk was not worn out but I figured I already put 15,000 miles on it in 6. The car ran perfect since, no leaks no problems. Traded it in 3 months ago on new 997 S cab. Car had 50,000 miles on it, I owned it for 12 years! YMMV

PasPar2

Got a full PPI on this car Friday afternoon. No issue uncovered at all besides a missing nav disk and a mangled aero spoiler lip which the seller said he will replace .

Now I need to decide whether I want to fly and drive 1200 miles back home or have it shipped... I am leaning toward the ship route but the thought of waiting a week or more likely two isnt appealing. Driving an aero kit car 1200 miles on I95 isnt super appealing either as I know it will be fun for the first 3-5 hours and drag for the next 12...

to ship or to drive, that is the question

Hella-Buggin'

Drive it home :-)