Tlaloc75

What a shame - I'm really sorry to hear about this .

I'd sit on it for a week or two to let the emotions sort out. Its hard to make a good decision while your heart is still down in your gut.

I think the two best options are used motor (like the link above or a Raby motor) or sell as a roller.

Roller if you want to wash your hands of it.

New motor if you can consider 15-20k just part of the cost of owning the car and then amortize it long-term over the next 10-20 years of enjoyment.

Good luck!

TheDerf

Thanks. I'll have the car back Monday and I can provide it then. In terms of oil changes, I'd have to go back to my records to be exact, but I had a reminder for every year in my calendar as car was only driven about 6,000 miles (sometimes less) a year.

Omnigeek

If I were in your shoes, I think (after bemoaning the cost for a long time) I'd try to get a new engine like the Raby engine and work the finances so I could keep it. Now that you've had the IMS failure, you know you should be good for the future and I see the value of a fixed 997.1 as only increasing in the future. I think the price depression comes because buyers don't know if they'll get bit or not.

ronvanr

Have you looked at what it would cost to convert it to an electric car.

pfbz

Just the VIN and we can look up the build date... Sure sounds like it was an early M96 engine instead of the later, larger bearing M97.

I'm seeing clean base 997.1 cars with that mileage at $30K. Likely not worth putting $25-$30K into a replacement engine. IMHO, sell it as a roller and buy yourself a DFI engined (2009+) 911...

waizone

Never good to hear this news and I hope things work out for the OP. Curious if you had a magnetic drain plug and where monitoring metal shavings during your annual oil changes.

rodH

Does the DFI motor drop right in the 997.1?

rodH

Dang, story is a little to close to home in the sense that I have a Guards Red 997.1 with a very very early build date. Only 27k on the odo so far. I guess my piece of mind is that I have a warranty through the end of 2019. If no failure before then, my plan is to save the pennys between the couch cushins and if it doesn't fail before then, a month before I will be having the IMS solution installed and not a DAY after the warranty expires. I would do it sooner for piece of mind, but my clutch works great still and no issues with IMS yet.

I have thought about what I would do in this situation and I think I would do one of the following (as I can't afford a new 911 at almost $150k, and I couldn't fathom flushing a totally good chassis down the toilet and only getting peanuts for it).

Like others have mentioned:
1. Jake Raby build
2. stock used engine (consider DFI if it fits)
3. GT3 motor (if it could be had for under $30k and fit properly)

60k miles is still pretty low, so I would imagine the rest of the car is in good shape and operating condition. Good luck.
btw, I wonder if Porsche might "meet in the middle" as far as maybe covering part of a new motor, just as a good will? My family has a few import dealers (not Porsche) and a kid came in with a blown RSX type-S motor. Warranty expired. Turns out, running cone filter, and lowered 2 inches. Sucked a bunch of water into the motor. Service manager said no way Acura would cover it, but will have a rep look at it. Somehow Acura agreed to cover it. No one knows how or feels that they should have, so you never know what a manuf will do until you ask. I would assume being extremely nice and not defensive or pissed off to the service writer would be a good start. Its an old car, but at the same time, everyone knows this is an "issue". Another similar example of multiple times I have seen Honda take care of people. The transmission in some Pilots and Odyssey vans is a weak point of the car. Very common for them to go bad around 100k miles (very common is a relative term of course), which is well beyond the warranty. For many people Honda has agreed to meet in the middle as far as costs go. I think it ends up costing the customer $1,500 or so, instead of $3,000+ that the dealer would usually charge. Technically, Honda wouldn't have to do this, but they know that people buy Hondas due to the reliability history and they feel some loyalty to keep the customer happy. In realty, it probably doesn't cost Honda much money, I would think they probably take a remanuf trans and basically give it to the dealer and they dealer gets a certain price for the labor. In the end, the customer is generally fairly pleased or satisfied with the deal, since it would cost over $2,000+ just to get a trans installed from a local mechanic.

Good luck with the situation and keep us up to date

pfbz

Not even a little.... I meant buy a 2009+ car, not just replacement engine.

A big-bearing M97 engine will drop right in as a replacement for the early '06 M95 though...

Spyerx

Call Dwain at Vision Motorsports in Orange County.

TheDerf

I spoke with Porsche briefly and the build date was July 13, 2004. My memory was faulty on that. I am so bummed as I had also seen cars like mine going for $30k. I had thought about selling it in the next year and buying a used 991, but that's not going to be happening. Pretty sure I will be buying something more child friendly for a few years as my kids are soon going to be too big for the backseat. Just feel sick about it. Thanks to all of you of you though for listening and the advice.

168glhs1986

I'm sorry to hear this. It's a damn shame this problem happens with such a fine automobile and manufacturer. So zero warning and just went like that ?

WP0ZZZ

Is it confirmed that it was an IMS failure? I know it's in the title of this thread but has the engine been inspected?

ajayabb

Something with Guards Red. My 997.1 underwent an IMS failure and needed a new engine. I sold it as a roller to a local dealership who invested the time and money and resold it to a Rennlist member. I know how you feel right now. Ironically enough I have connected with new owner on this forum and have since upgraded to a GR 997.2. . Its ok to move on. But like many Porsche owners, you will eventually be back when the time is right. 😀

TheDerf

This is what my mechanic told me happened. The engine was not torn down but he has spent about an hour with it and said the oil is full of metal. He also described a few other things that frankly are beyond my pay grade. He said he's seen this before. I am certainly not trying to raise this issue if it doesn't exist but he didn't express any doubt.

To answer another question, there was no warning whatsoever. The car made a horrible rumbling/clanking noise which prompted me shut it off. It wouldn't restart after that.