HeightsAg

I'm new to the forum and thought this would be a great place to get some opinions on buying a Porsche 997. I'm looking at sports cars in the $40K range and have always wanted a 911. After doing some research, it seems feasible that I could find an 05-07 Carrera (base, not S) coupe with under 50K miles for about $40k. After driving one, I fell in love with them. However, I am very concerned about this becoming a "money pit" or very expensive to maintain. Having never owned a Porsche (or any German car), I have no understaning of what the total cost of ownership could be. Have heard some say these are "bullet proof" and others tell horror stories. We are also expecting our first child (also have a big SUV) and this will be my daily driver, so would need to fit a car seat. Also considering used M3, Audi S4/S5 or 335is. Leaning torwards the Porsche, but worried about all the unknowns.

Any thoughts or advice on whether a 997 would be a good decision? Would a warranty be reasonably priced / worth the money for the peace of mind? Thanks in advance.

sixgun95

Maintenance can be expensive, even at an indy BUT these cars are very reliable and meant to be driven. In your price range a 911S is doable. Whether that makes a difference for you ot not I don't know - personally I would get an S but thats just me. Get what you can afford and enjoy it.

GolfTango3

Generally, I support 997 ownership as being a good decision.

I think you should do some research on the cost of replacing wear parts and performing maintenance. Not trying to scare you off, but know to keep a Porsche emergency fund handy.

Oil changes are $100 or so.
Tires are easily over $1000
Clutch replacement is around $2000


I am on my 3rd 911 and haven't really had any calamities, but it has been a pretty expensive process. Never regretted my decision.

chris.hanle

I know the tires are expensive (so are the M3's) but there are options there that are a little more affordable that are not "N" rated (porsche developed). If you do your own oil, filter and basic maintaince then it is also affordable. But dealerships are sometimes refereed to "stealerships" indys are about 1/3 less expensive. But the cars are very enjoyable and durable. Only scare is the overrated IMS in the early 997 builds (around 2005). I read only great things about our beloved 997 911's. Mine has been trouble free. You will find most around here use about 4 ounces of prevention for the pound of cure.

francars

Welcome! I am sure you will get lots of guys here agreeing you to go for a Porsche! (You are in a Porsche forum!!)

In any case if you do your search about common issues and things and get a well sorted out car I don't see any high bills in your future. But then again anything could happen with ANY car you buy. I am sure the BMWs and Audis are not cheap either to maintain.

Good luck and hope you find your Porsche soon!

PS. Agree with SixGun. You probably are in S territory. There is on locally for sale sking 46k for a One owner S w/34k miles - (no affiliation)

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/4180384881.html

997marxair

they ARE bulletproof, and the maintenance at a good independent workshop is in normal range compared to good 6 and 8 cyl. us cars.

but IF a major part needs replacement, it gets premium (....expensive). so do good research and checkup before buying one, if the stat is good, the decision for a porsche is good, too.

and do not ONLY calculate the maintenance or insurance, add some PLUS for enjoying driving (...positive feelings prolong life), and the high used car value a 997 maintains.

regards from germany

marxair

997 Carrera 2009 - Drive it like you stole it!

HeightsAg

Thanks for the advice so far. Glad to hear the budget of $40K seems reasonable and I will hope to get an '06 - '07 to avoid the potential problems with the early '05.

I'm sure there will be lots of opinions on this, but it seems like a decent warranty would be $3,500+ with a high deductible. Worth it? Is there a preferred warranty company? I know they can be sketchy.

zirrah

Go for it. Stick with '06 or '07. You'll be fine, just make sure you get a PPI. I'd ignore the S vs base debate. If you drove a base and were fine with it, go with it. It's still fast as hell, handles great, and sounds amazing.

Para82

The 997 Carrera/Carrera S is an awesome car. I daily drive mine and enjoy every minute I get in that car. I've had a 2005 Launch Edition for the last 4 years and it's been amazing. Maintenance has been minimal, simple and affordable. I do long distance driving (1,000+ miles) roadtrips, and regular commuting in cities etc. Comfortable for any situation. Some options to definitely look for are 'Adaptive Sport Seats' and 'Full Leather' - these make a big difference in your interior.

Also 2005 is an excellent year. It's the only year that the IMS bearing can be upgraded to a ceramic bearing (check to see if the owner did the upgrade already - there will be a serial number on the inner door from LN Engineering or you can do yourself as long as it's an early year build).

At 40k you definitely can get into a Carrera - if you can stretch to 45k you should have no problem getting into a Carrera S. Either way you can't lose.

awrryan

You need to research the ims bearing issue. 2009 and later model years don't have an ims bearing, so you're relatively safe if you buy an '09 or later. If the ims bearing goes, so does the engine which is costly. If you find one with a car with a remanufactured engine after '06, you should be fine cause that's when the bearing was replaced with an updated part, but there is still a debate about whether it will break eventually. Either way, there is a risk. I specifically avoided an '05-08 and bought a '10 to avoid that issue. My 996 in my avatar had a reman. engine from Porsche and it was perfect for 60,000 miles. Hopefully I didn't
Just star another ims thread but I didn't see that anyone mentioned this in any post above.

HeightsAg

Thanks for the information; the IMS bearing is not something I had heard about prior, but something that I will definitely look into more. Going to '09 would be great, but not possible within my budget. If i could find a good '06 in the $35K range and get a good warranty and still be at about $40K, then maybe the IMS issue isn't as significant? If it is too big of risk, then maybe wait until further down the road when an '09 is in budget.

Also sounds like talking with a good local indy shop would be time well spent (between the IMS issue and finding a reputable warranty co.). In Houston, so if anyone has shop recommendations in the area, it would be appreciated.

Thanks again for all of your advice and thoughts. Much appreciated.

shyamvenky

The preventative fix a potentially faulty IMS bearing isn't going to be very expensive. ~$2k or so. And people usually club it with a clutch replacement. I would say this is worth the expense as then you needn't keep fretting everyday that your car is a ticking bomb. IMHO it has affected only a very small percentage of the cars, but the issue is blown to a very huge proportion. The '09+ cars are immune to the IMS issue (am I right?) but the earlier cars might be cheaper. Other than this small risk, I would say these cars are bulletproof - You can just walk upto them and drive off no matter what weather it is outside. I've driven them to snowboarding trips as well

php

If you haven't even heard of the IMS problem, then I suggest you really do a LOT more research (not just on this subject) before deciding on purchasing a 911 (or boxter or cayman). In summary, I wouldn't shy away from buying a 05-08 car, and in general they are very reliable, but just keep in mind IF the IMS issue happens, you will have to prepare for a new engine ($15-20K). If you understand the very slight potential risk in that and it does not worry you, no reason not to get one.

Basically the majority folks owning an 05-08 car do not worry about the IMS. They either have warranty in place, or have the means to handle the situation if it happens. Are you in a situation to be able to do so, you'll have to answer for yourself.

mgordon18

This is only true on early 05 997s. If your car has the upgraded bearings (manufacture dates starting approximately in Feb/March 2005) it becomes prohibitively expensive to replace the bearings. I believe engine teardown is required, or close to it. I'm not even sure the fix is available for the upgraded bearing sets.

That being said, cars with the upgraded bearings have had a near zero IMS incident rate so far, at least as shown on this board.

shyamvenky

You are right. I used to think that the engines from 2006 were the ones that had the revised bearings. But 2006 car engines were manufactured in 2005 - so based on the engine number this can be figured out. The following is quoted to be from the workshop manuals. Pedantic and more informed users here - please correct me if I'm wrong..

Base engine (3.6) has designation "M96", can have the smaller IMS or revised larger bearing, you will need to know your engine number in order to determine which one you have:

Engine (3.6) number up to M96/05 69507475 has the smaller IMS bearing and Engine number from M96/05 69507476 has the larger revised IMS.

"S" Engine (3.8) has designation "M97", can have the smaller IMS or revised larger IMS bearing:

Engine (3.8) number up to M97/01 68509790 has the older IMS bearing and Engine number from M97/01 68509791 has the larger revised IMS.

The smaller IMS bearing can be replaced, this requires removing the transmission in order to get access to the bearing. The flange uses a 13mm center nut.

The larger IMS bearing can also be replaced but a tear down of the engine is required. The flange uses a 22mm center nut.'

Either ways - back to the big picture. But for a small number of issues like this (which can have great impact if uninformed/unprepared), these cars are very reliable and great fun