DISCLAIMER: not hijacking the thread and making it about the IMSB :P
Well, here's my take on the IMSB. I understand that the problem is hyped up a lot over the internet. Ultimately I didn't want to be one of those who come back after the thing's destroyed the engine and gripe. I had already set aside a sum for these sorts of repairs and got it done. I didn't check if the original bearing was faulty. You could say that I paid a price for peace of mind. I feel the same about the 997. In fact, expense wise, IMSB costs a smaller percentage of the car's price ($35k at least) for a 997 than on the 996.

$40k seems ridiculous to me as well. As several users said, there will be cheaper cars with less/no stories. As for the shop that did the rebuild, I've no personal experience with them, but have seen their ads in the local PCA magazines. They seem to build race cars as well. But again, without completely knowing the specifics of the rebuild none of you experts can comment either, let alone me who just wishes to be a DIYer (some day.. I will be).

I am looking at a couple of other local cars as well - private sales (somehow tend to trust these more than the dealerships). Will keep you guys posted.

 

Bodymotion is a highly respected indy for Porsches and other high performance cars. Mike Bravaro, the owner, has a reputation of being a great engine builder (and tranny, rear diff etc.)

Call them and find out what they did on the car.

Mark

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I called them up yesterday, but it was in the evening and too late. I'll talk to them definitely and find out more about the car.

 

I too live in central jersey, no affiliation with Bodymotion, but I too know that their reputation is impeccable when it comes to Porsche. I would not have a concern with them, they have a beautiful building and their reputation preceeds them. The owner has been in business a long time servicing high end cars and mostly Porsche.

 

I would trust a private sale. Sometimes I think a non porsche dealer (and BHP) would do just about do or say anything to sell a car (think smoke screen). Were a private seller generally sells a car for what it is.

 

This is not an attempt to add to the hyperbole of IMS issue. I am a very close friend of the owner of the best Indy shop in our area. I have personally witnessed two cars within in the last year that he has replaced the LN IMS Retrofit kit for a second time. My point is the LN retrofit is not a guarantee you are free and clear of IMS failures.

There is a reason LN now only has a 30 day warranty and their website has a link to a four page warranty PDF regarding their IMS retrofit part.

This is not slander towards LN either. They have a great reputation. I'm sure 1,000's of IMS retrofit's with LN or other replacements have provided owners a enjoyable ownership experience.

For me the "maybe" would ruin the experience. I'm just too OCD. That is why my first 997 was a 2007 and was in the safe zone of IMS issues.

 

This would have the larger bearings and there are no confirmed incidents of the March '05 (?) and later 997.1's having IMS failures. Long term, the verdict is still out if there will be larger bearing IMS failures. There are some high mileage 997's already, so hopefully the IMS will not be an issue.

Is this one an S? I recommend the S.

As far as price I just sold my 997 4S to a dealer and after talking to a few brokers they seem to work off off Kelly trade in.

Are there any confirmed IMS replacement bearing failures?

 

Mark....you make a good point although I am surprised (and disappointed) that the LN IMS Retrofit is not the guarantee that owners of pre 2006 are hoping for. I have a 2008 and know that IMS failure could happen to my car albeit unlikely.

What does a pre 2006 do?

Regarding the vehicle referred to by the OP, knowing that Mike Bravaro has rebuilt the motor (validation required), I would be more comfortable even though there are no guarantees (on anything in life).

Mark J.

 

I'd keep looking.

 

Alright, so I did a trip down to the dealership and looked at the car. First impression - they don't know how to deal with Porsches. What sort of a dealer would let a Porsche sit out open in the sun (not that its still summer), but the car had several bird droppings on it. They hadn't bothered to wash the car despite me scheduling a visit.

Here's the story on the car. The dealership had acquired the car in August 2012 with an IMS failure. From what I recall they'd tried just replacing the bearing, and when that didn't work, they had to rebuild the engine. The car was sent to BodyMotion, but the rebuild was performed by a "German Automotive" near BodyMotion. I have the full receipt of the work that was done there - it seems like a full rebuild. I'll attach the pictures once I get home. But the overall procedure had a bill of ~$13k. The updated IMS bearing should have been used during the rebuild. I would consider this as a wear n tear item. So when the clutch would need to be replaced, I would get the IMSB also replaced - again, for peace of mind

The dealer claimed to have had the brakes + rotors, tires changed - although I saw quite a bit of rust on the discs. And the tires.. they just seem to have polished the walls - didn't look like new at all. I wasn't shown service receipts for brakes, tires etc - which I presume don't exist!

On a short testdrive (got the engine to operating temp), I found the clutch to be light enough (similar to my 996) but the steering had a slightly different feel (Porsche did something with the 997 steering?). Brakes were also fine - no mushy feeling. I didn't see anything popup on the dash after the drive. Cosmetically the car seemed to have some wear on the door handle (drivers side, inside) and the PCM buttons - although they can be refinished for not much.

One thing that I noticed was the startup noise - the car seemed to roar on startup, and then settle down to the usual purr. Are all 997 cars this way? Or does it mean this car has some special options on it? Speaking of options.. I managed to take a picture of the options code from the manual. The service records in the manual seem to be updated regularly until Summer 2012.

Then we began talking numbers. My 1999 996 C2, Guards Red 6spd with IMS retrofit done, Fabspeed Maxflo Mufflers and all required maintenance done at Powertech Porsche (bought the car from them actually) with a major service done recently (brakes, rotors, coolant tank etc) was valued at $13500! That ticked me off! He kept ignoring the faults/lack of attention on the 997 and started picking on my poor 996. The final amt that he offered for a cash+trade was ~28k which was ridiculous. The dealer absolutely had no knowledge about Porsches, Pcar shops or the value of the cars, or the care required.

It was late in the night and I decided to take off saying I'll think about it. I knew for sure that he would get back with a better offer - he definitely wanted the car gone as he didn't know what to do with it.

Damn! Unable to attach the options code pic. Some pics from my old FS thread can't be deleted. Anyways, here's the list:

M9605-695 G9701- 10
L84A TG
C02 XSC 234 288 342
403 437 438 446 537
601 680 939 981 982
09991

 

ok.. just as I was writing up my update, I got an offer from the dealer for $22.5k
What do you guys think? Assuming that the rebuild was a good one (good testimonials for BodyMotion so far), that leaves the IMS to worry about. Anything else to watch for in these cars? I am yet to speak to BodyMotion regarding the car.

 

You sound like you have some reservations. Get as much info as you can from Bodymotion, if you like what you hear from them then move forward. Talk to the guy who built the engine...

 

Sorry if i do not add much value by this - but i am not sure why you want 997.1 to replace 996. I would go for 997.2 or kept 996 if it has all required maintenance done to it.

 

Well, my quest for a 997 is mainly for the round headlights :P I didn't want to spoil my 996 by doing a conversion. In my opinion, the 997 takes the 996 a few steps forward,
and I know I'll be happy even with a Gen I base. Gen II is kind of out of my budget at this point.

Yes, the car looked to be solid, but I just had some reservations on the price. Some users gave good reviews for BodyMotion, they are listed as Technical contacts in the regional
PCA magazine, besides posting ads in the same.

Here are the factory options list and, receipts from the engine rebuild done at BodyMotion.

 

Comments welcome on the engine rebuild.