911PORSCHE996

Hi Guys....

A long time 996 C2 owner and dreamer of GT3. I wanted 997.2, manual for so long. However more recently, I have changed my mind to ditch that and go for 997.1 GT3. Basically to avoid the CL wheels (and crazy price that has gone NUTS).
I have found '07. It has ~30000 miles on it with 2 owners (07-11 and then 11-20).
Rev report shows NO Revs (though the seller says it was "Gently Tracked"). CarFax is clean with exception of "power failure" in 2008 that was checked/fixed (no details available. PCCBs show 6 mm Pads. Tires are more than 6 mm on front and back. No history of accidents. Last minor service, 15 months ago with an oil change. Under 1K miles since.
Things I like: PCCB, No CL, Sport seats, 2 owner car, No major concern on CarFax, not a real garage Queen,
I don't like: RS wing (instead of usual one), no mention of other maintenance points that Porsche recommends for 12 year old car. No Cage, Alcantara,

I have never owned one and I am not familiar with what to look for before jumping into this kind of cars. Also, I am planning to daily it (as muck as possible; looking to drive it for 100K miles more!)

Can you guys suggest your top 3 points before I go ahead with the deal?
(FYI, I have already deposited advance, working on arranging the finances; I have NOT told my wife yet!)....

appreciate your input in advance..

Sample only. Will post original car once purchase is complete!

ranger22

This car has already been featured in the for sale thread. Claim a 4.0 conversion.

skafia

My only regret is not getting PCCB. I have them on my GT4 and love them so much.

Auto_Werks 3.6

Not much on the 997.1 that is any different from shopping other Porsches or specialty cars. The .2 has more issues, including cam phaser bolts and other problems caused from installing a single mass or RS flywheel without a harmonic damper. The 3.6 engines seem to be more robust regarding that issue.

Bxstr

Get a PPI. Consider pinning the coolant lines ($2500-5k + while you're in there items like rear main seal and other maintenance items). Rear main seal leak is normal. Typically you want to replace PCCB pads when they're nearing around 50% life. New they're around 12mm. So expect to need pads soon, which isn't expensive. If you have specific questions, post them here and we'll try to help out.

Belinko

I'd be looking at the following.
1. complete vehicle service history, does it exist, where was the car purchased and where did it live, this should include a recent DME print out
2. PPI, pay the $300 to have a competent shop look over the vehicle, unless the vehicle history is 100% from day one
3. Go look at the car, kick some tires, look at wear and tear on interior, exterior, check out the cold start

Unfortunately, in today's market all of this could be a mute point. If you see it, you like it, you buy it or else somebody else will. Deal with everything else later.

I don't find the car too much fun for daily driving regardless of the low clearance, I don't like PCCBs and would swap in steel rotors, you'll probably want to have the coolant lines pinned, you'll probably want to apply PPF to the car, refresh all fluids, might want to check date codes on tires, given that this car seems to be sitting these days. If the car was tracked, I'm surprised that there isn't a roll bar or evidence of one (cut carpets). I wouldn't worry about the mileage and it's great that you plan on driving it.

Good luck with the purchase.

911PORSCHE996

this picture is just for attention. It is not the car in question. Apologies if I have caused any confusion.
The car I am looking into is White with black wheels like this one.

911PORSCHE996

appreciate the help. I will be asking you guys more questions as things become clear (see below).
And the car looks like the one you have in your ID. Just that it has the RS wing (which I do not like).

Bxstr

If it's a genuine RS wing, you should have no issue selling that and getting a factory one, used. Buying new would likely be cost prohibitive.

Definitely ask any other questions you have - we're happy to help.

911PORSCHE996

So the car is through a dealer of a Porsche.
They had sold the car since new and "Know the car well" -as per the sales person!
They have not provided me the detailed service history print outs though.
I was planning to pay the PPI fees, but then I needed to get it to another -out of the town- dealer.

I am kind of liking the car. However, today the sales persons tells me that it had Aftermarket Suspension, wing and exhaust. This is after he had said it was a "stock", and I became interested.
He says OEM exhaust and wing are available and included. So some good there. However, due to aftermarket suspension, car sits low. I was looking for a "stock" so I can deal with "usual stuff".

Not sure if to go further or leave it. As you said, very few cars on the market and I have been looking for one for 7-9 months.

Bxstr

Don't worry about only taking it to get a PPI at a dealer. Plenty of good independent shops that know even more about these cars than dealers. If you post the city, someone may be able to give you a recommendation. Can look here too: https://www.pcarwise.com/local-help/...-repair-shops/

Does the salesperson actually know if the suspension is aftermarket? These cars come with coilover suspension from factory, which can look aftermarket to someone used to looking at other 911's.

Regarding wing, glad it comes with stock. Regarding exhaust, you'll likely want the aftermarket exhaust. It's likely just a center muffler bypass, which almost everyone does on these cars.

Auto_Werks 3.6

Yeah, it’s hard to tell what the sales person does or doesn’t know… in this environment he could be trying to tank the deal for some reason. You either need to hire someone who is an expert to look at it or learn enough to be your own advocate. It probably has coil overs even if they’re aftermarket, so raising the car up isn’t a problem. You just need to make sure it doesn’t have aftermarket toe links in the rear, or any parts that correct the geometry after lowering it. You will need to realign it once it’s up. It’s somewhat annoying when the cars are modified because most people throwing parts at a car aren’t more well informed than Porsche’s GT department, and probably don’t have the skill to need more than the stock setup in the first place. But to each their own, we all want to spend our money how we’d like lol. My car is a .2 and it’s totally livable for a daily driver, but I’m told the .2 is more comfortable…. I haven’t driven a .1

bweSteve

You're thinking of the RS w/r/t cam actuator bolts, not the regular GT3. Unless you are saying that you ONLY have problems with the cam actuator bolts IF you have installed a SMFW without Harmonic Balancer on a non-RS.
(... personally I would debate the idea that a .1 3.6 engine is more robust than the .2 when it comes to the regular GT3)

Here's a couple threads on the topic:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...cking-out.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...cking-out.html

OP - Also, re: PCCB's - I've had both and I can also say with passion that they are phenominal. But then again I love the CL's too,... so we do not have that in common.

Auto_Werks 3.6

from the research i did the 3.6 with dual mass flywheel is pretty low occurrence of cam problems, 3.8 with the dual mass still installed is also fairly low occurrence of failure. 3.8 with single mass is potential for trouble, and I think the 3.6 with single mass is some potential for different trouble. Nothing is failure free historically. My hypothesis is that the harmonic issues are pervasive, and I installed the damper on my .2 even though it still has the DMF…I have seen some crazy failures on these engines including cracked alternator brackets… I suspect that the vibrations contribute to the screws backing out on the RS resonance flaps that were a recall (If I remember correctly some failed even after recall campaign)… AND I wouldn’t be surprised if the vibrations contribute to the bonding failure of the cooling pipes. I also suspect it’s part of why they clean sheet replaced the engine after the RS 4.0. I think they were at the limit of the design. we can debate until the cows come home, but without some data collection we can’t say one way or another. For my money the safest configuration on these cars is the dual mass and the Dundon harmonic damper. That’s how mine is setup, and I rarely give it another thought. Obviously some people won’t agree, and they can setup however they want. Mine still puts just under 400 to the wheels on a mustang dyno, so I’m not missing munch other than the throttle blip sound on the light weight setups.

bweSteve

@911PORSCHE996 ... I've been going back through some of the older threads (1-5 months old), and checking in on the original OP to see where their stories have progressed....

I'm sure those of us who chimed in previously would love to hear what you've decided to do?