kosmo

I always heard to be careful about purchasing a car from a snow state due to all the salt, potholes, etc. I can understand that rationale on olders cars but what about our Porsches? I mean a lot of the engine and suspension parts are AL and not prone to rust. Any thoughts? tks

Marine Blue

There are lots of nuts, bolts and other fasteners which are not aluminum and will rust fairly quickly when exposed to sand/salt. This not only applies to parts underneath the car but also in the engine bay.

If I were buying a Porsche for DD duty I guess it wouldn't matter but if I were looking for my dream car which I planned on holding on to for a while I would definitely not choose any car that had been driven in a North East winter.

Slamuth

Interesting question. My philosophy would be that a snow-state car will often have lower mileage due to the hibernation time. Seems like a good look at the underbody pre-purchase would give an unbiased view of how much snow (salt) wear the car really has. In other words, if I found a snow state car with low mileage and no sign of excessive underbody wear/corrosion, I'd be willing to pull the trigger.

USMC_DS1

Plenty of cars in southern states including CAL and FL to choose from... But if a good example was available from the NE which fits your criteria have the Indy doing the PPI look specifically for issues related to rust in the NE. For example, a C2 car would more likely be put up in storage for the winter and not suffer as much from salt/rust vs. a C4 potentially. BTW, I was concerned about my car which was near the Pacific Ocean, Newport Beach, due to the rusted wheel lugs on it. But I discovered that the car was fine and apparently all lugs rust on these cars unless you treat(paint/powder coat) them somehow.

stefang

I would think that a car from a humid saltwater state might have more problems. A few years ago I had an 88 targa with 120k on the clock that looked just fine. Spent its life up here AFAIK. I think modern cars can hold up to the abuse quite well.

utkinpol

well, you need to watch out for milage to see how car was driven. i never take out my car in winter when there is a lot of salt on the highway. on dry winter day there is no salt and no damage.

Doug_B_928

It all depends on whether the car was driven in the winter. Many enthusiasts, myself included, baby their cars and don't drive them in the rain let alone the winter. Because snowy locations have a shorter driving season (for those that don't drive their cars in the snow), many of the exotics in these areas are low mileage examples in excellent shape. The key is to buy from an enthusiast and with everything pointing to the car having never been winter driven.

Little Green

I live in pa and bought my 05C2 with 16k miles 6 weeks ago. I did the gundi hack two weeks ago in my driveway and after lessening the bolts with a wrench I was able to take the nuts off by hand. Completely rust free. I could not believe that all 16 nuts came right off and I was able to reuse them. If you have ever done exhaust on just about any car you know everything is rusty and typically has to be cut off. Clearly not driven in the winter. Find the right car and get a ppi done and you will be fine.

buddy911t

That's super low mileage for an '05! Must have had allot of time out of the elements

Little Green

It was ordered by a doctor in late 04 that had a 996 and he basically drove it on nice fridays. Never saw rain, sleet or snow. He traded it in when his new 991 order arrived. That damn car makes me smile everytime I turn the thing on, talk about her or just walk by her. Anyway, back on topic. As mentioned earlier alot of these cars are garage queens that are very well taken care of and rarely driven in bad weather. Go find one you like and get a thorough PPI and you should be fine with a NE car.

Spokane5150

My car was from Denver area. It is obvious that the previous owner didn't run this car in the winter. Look at the engine underneath the car and you'll be able to tell. Personally, I wouldn't want a car driven in the winter because of the chemical dirt they throw on the road out West and the salt in the Midwest/Eastern States.

nkelley

I myself live in New England! I NEVER drive my (hobby) cars in the winter, and tend to over maintain as a precaution. I would put my car up against any car based in any other us location as far as overall condition. It all depends on the owner, regardless of were the car resides in most cases.

Quadcammer

I drive my car year round as intended. No engine tray, no tranny tray, etc.

Aside from some rust on the exhaust bolts, it looks fine underneath and its 17 years old.

Find the right car, PPI it, and forget whether its got a bit of surface rust underneath. It does not matter.

utkinpol

you took off those plastic plates from under the car? why? they are there for aero, mostly, and they do help.

kdurg

^^on the 993s those engine trays have been considered heat traps within the air cooled camps and most owners and racer types removed them. i did on my C4S as well and noticed no adverse effects on high speed stability.

type 996 and 997s you'll note do not have engine trays.