mreloc

Considering this car since I'm not finding much out there that meets my wish list:
Must haves:
997.2 S
Cabrio or Targa
Manual Trans
Under 30k miles
Warm climate car (bore scoring prevention maybe?)

Nice to haves:
CPO/Porsche dealer
One owner
Not white or black
Sport Adaptive Seats
4S
Full leather
Bose
Ventilated seats (not available with Sport seats)


Been looking at this car and it checks all the boxes except it lived for awhile up north. Looking at Carfax, first two years, hardly any miles but regular maintenance. Good. Looks like second owner drove it one winter maybe based on the miles I see. Third owner barely touched it and sold it right away.

It's been on the market a bit over a month- and it seems like the really good cars get sold immediately. I'm guessing a PPI would go well given the low miles and visuals, but a PPI wouldn't go into bore scoring diagnosis anyway.

My one hope is this dealer is as good as their 5 stars indicate. Anyone know them?

http://www.midwestmotors.com/used/Po...e288fe9ed2.htm

semicycler

Here's the options list for you:

semicycler

I see 1.5 bars on the oil pressure during idle. I'm not experienced enough with the 997.2 to comment if this is normal when the oil is hot (my car is a 997.1). If the engine is cold then it's probably too low.

Rear right rotor has cracks, both on that axle will need to be replaced. Front left looks like deep gooves, can't tell in the photo. Be sure the PPI gives you lots of details here about the condition of the brakes. It is a wear item that can be negotiated so no worries, just be sure to note it.

Be sure the PPI includes a DME report. Counts in range 1 and 2 are no big deal. Small numbers in range 3 is OK in my book especially if it was long ago. Anything in 4 or higher needs a good story. Also be sure to check the tire DOT age stamp. Anything more than 4 or 5 years really needs to be replaced regardless of tread depth. Paint metering from the PPI is useful too to see if anything was resprayed or repaired without being reported to Carfax.

It's a gorgeous car optioned nicely. I hope the PPI works out for you. I personally wouldn't worry about the northern climate, let the condition of the car speak for itself. You could always look for an aftermarket warranty and then not worry about the car at all.

996scott

i might be wrong but i think you can have the bore scoring checked with a PPI. Might have to ask for it do be done specifically but it can be checked.

Philster

Oil is cold; engine is not warmed up and the oil pressure is way low for those conditions. Here is a big pic, since the website's pic viewer is too small. I grabbed this from their website source for full resolution.

Philster

Additionally, if you were to get bores scoped, and they came back clean, that doesn't mean you stop worrying about low oil pressure.

.

mreloc

Thank you! You guys have very good eyes. I didn't catch that about the oil pressure- and I do realize that oil pressure is higher at cold operating temps. Should it run in the middle of the gauge range for it to be considered normal?

It's a beautiful car- but I don't have a great feeling about it..

JayRace

I don't think the oil pressure is any issue. Pretty sure this is normal for the 997.2's. I certainly would not discount looking at the car over that picture.
Also, ruling out a car in a colder climate because a handful of the 10's of thousands produced have a bore scoring issue which no one even knows the root cause of for sure is a little over the top.
Just my opinion :-)

Ericson38

oil pressure on 997.2 regulated electronically somehow. Not sure how, but long shot would be fully electric oil pumps (out on a limb). Would save HP, but hope not too delicate with age.

gpjli2

You think it is normal for this motor to show 1.5 bars of oil pressure when cold. Thank you for your opinion but it is not. Even an opinion should have some basis in fact should it not? As for the Canadian .1's that are failing, it's just plain scary and not to be dismissed this easily.

3Series

Good catch on the cracked rotors.

Call the place and ask them about the "brakes". See if they are honest with you. Of course don't mention what you already know from the pics.

The car was probably tracked to have cracked rotors. That's not a bad thing, just a FYI. Unless I'm wrong and folks are cracking rotors with normal street driving.

JayRace

ok, so I just went and started my 997.2 and let the temp gauges get to where they are in the pic. Guess what, 1.5 bar exactly.
Everyone tries to compare the 997.1 oil pressure to the 9A1 engine which has a completely different oil management system. FYI the manual says anything 1 or above is fine. 3.5 or above at 5000RPM.

mreloc

This is good feedback- thanks for verifying the oil pressure is normal. I'm thinking the car has not been tracked based on the DME reading download I requested. I see nothing outside of range 1, can anyone interpret the second image with regard to the throttle position history?

semicycler

That's a fantastic DME report for a manual. The car was either babied or had very experienced owners. I'd wager there was one bump up against redline in it's entire life. It's very unlikely this car saw any track time. The hours counter looks good too averaging 40 mph over it's lifetime, probably highway miles.

I hope the rest of the PPI checks out for you.

Blu311

Agreed. My 997.2 is the same.

Yes, great overrev report.