996.

"jkm7680" (jkm7680) 06/09/2015 at 11:30 • Filed to: None

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Tell me everything you know! I’m interested in daily driving one and want to hear a fresh set of opinions, as I’ve asked this question once before.

CB > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:31

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Well, it’s got an engine in the back. I hear that’s pretty nifty.

Party-vi > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:34

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You want to daily drive a high performance decade-old German luxury car? Unless your pockets are deep I would look elsewhere. I’ve got an E46 and I’m still dealing with unresolved maintenance issues that were 1) never done or 2) not done right.

Arben72 > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:35

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Ims bearing failure on the non mezger engines but atleast this fits:

911’s are great dd’s if you can take care of the minor ims problem.

TheHondaBro > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:36

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Someone dropped their eggs on the front.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:36

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You already know what I have to say and have said.

Berang > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:39

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I’ve never driven any recent (“recent”) Porsches, so I don’t have anything to say here except that I think the 996 is probably one of the best looking 911s, and I care not what the snobs had to say about it.

LongbowMkII > Arben72 06/09/2015 at 11:42

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How does saran wrap affect performance and fuel economy?

Alex B > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:47

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I like it. A neighbor has green 996 4s. Seems to work ok.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:52

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Nice, under-rated car.

Buy the nicest, most well-documented-maintenance, preventative RMS/IMS fix applied car you can find. Paying for that up-front is more likely to avoid more expense on restorative service after the sale.

I still want a narrow-body Carrera 4 6-speed in Cobalt Blue with a stone grey or tan interior, or silver/grey with a red interior, with just a couple of well chosen aero mods from TechArt and FiberWerks. (not that I would argue at all with a Carrera 4S.)

If I couldn’t find a coupe, I would be tempted to get a C4 cabriolet, gut the folding top and the pop-up roll-bars, and permanently install a GTN aftermarket Targa “hard top”, and have a classic style Targa... sort of like a manual-top predecessor to the new 991 power-folding Targa that is lighter and less complicated than a 996/997 factory Targa sliding glass roof setup.

I have heard that the interiors don’t stand up as well as the classic Porsches, nor as well as the newer, updated 997 interior materials.

However, I would want an AWD GT coupe as a daily driver and for some road trips... and using a 10+ year old car for that might be asking for complications.

If I wanted a fair weather sports car for occasional use, I would probably go with a mid-engined Boxster S instead, for the better, lighter chassis

But I can’t afford any other cars right now, let alone a used Porsche.

AM3R shamefully returns > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 11:59

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Good cars. Buy the best kept, most documented example you can afford. Check rennlist, they have some great deals. Deal with the IMS if it needs attention and you’re set. Higher miles doesn’t necessarily mean bad.

For the interior.. Eventually I'd just swap a racing wheel and racing buckets in. I can't stand the early 996 interior. If it's black, however, I can live with it.

wuski > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 12:10

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I have 2001 narrow body since 2012, and it’s been fantastic. I am fortuante enough to have a daily driver, so the car is relegated to weekend duties, but if anything, it feels better when it gets exercised often. The more I drive it, the better it gets (it’s cheesy, but true). I sought out a high mileage example (85k mi) with thoughts that is the RMS/IMS haven’t gone by that time, they wouldn’t go.

Instances of RMS/IMS failure are blown out of proportion by the internet. Although I had no signs of impending failure, I ended up replacing the RMS and IMS in summer last year to silence any nagging doubt in my head. I did the work myself, and my RMS was weeping, but the IMS was in perfect shape when removed. While I was in there, I did AOS, Clutch, and Flywheel as well. Other preventative items I replaced were the coolant tank, and sway bar end links. All maintenance and modifications are performed by myself in the garage.

With the large service last year, the car has been incredibly bulletproof, and I would not have any doubts about daily driving it. Yes, you do pay a premium for parts, but for an entry price of $20k-ish, the performance per dollar ratio is tough to beat. I can go into more detail about the car and ownership experience if you want.

random001 > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 12:39

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It's not a sports car. It has too many seats. It's a Grand Tourer. Unless you remove the back seats.

Party-vi > random001 06/09/2015 at 12:46

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O_o

Vicente Esteve > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 12:50

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I love them. It’s everyones chance to own an iconic sports car with a bit more reliability than others.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 13:55

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My friend recently made this horrible horrible decision. Granted, he picked it up for around $8k. Overheated on the way home from buying it, cylinder head cracked (known issue). New heads are expensive, so people weld them back together. While in there might as well do the other head just in case. Also, better do that IMS bearing because it will probably fail and thats expensive to fix. If you don’t have the money to have someone fix it for you, or the knowledge / friends to work on it yourself, find one that has had these issues fixed already.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > LongbowMkII 06/09/2015 at 13:56

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Acts as a secondary air filter? Keeps the air filter fresh? Who knows.

Klaus Schmoll > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 14:20

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A/C condensers (there’s 2) are € 1000 a pop, and they sit in the front where they can get hit by all kinds of debris. So don’t let anyone tell that it “just needs a recharge”.

The others already mentioned the bearing problems in the engines (costly, but even more costly if they fail), apparently Turbos and GTs are way less prone to those.

jkm7680 > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 06/09/2015 at 18:22

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Luckily, I’ve heard that there’s a company that makes aftermarket IMS bearings that are much more durable than the originals and that a good amount of them with over 100k would have already done that upgrade.

jkm7680 > Party-vi 06/09/2015 at 18:24

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Yup! You got it!

jkm7680 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 06/09/2015 at 18:25

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Yes, that I should get one!

jkm7680 > wuski 06/09/2015 at 18:26

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Ah, that’s what I thought. Lots of issues are overplayed by the internet.

How much is annual maintenance if you don’t mind me asking?

jkm7680 > AM3R shamefully returns 06/09/2015 at 18:28

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I wouldn’t give up the airbag, I think that’s a violation of federal law :/

I WOULD be interested in swapping a new steering wheel as long as the airbag would still function.

random001 > Party-vi 06/09/2015 at 18:51

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Heh.

AM3R shamefully returns > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 19:13

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Yeah updating the wheel should work, a guy I met at a meet swapped a newish M3 steering wheel from a totaled car into his 335i for pretty cheap. Looks great and it's OEM!

FlimFlamMan > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 21:53

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Seriously, I was looking at 996’s hard when we were in CA last year. The prices were very reasonable out there, IMHO. They seem much higher over here in FL.

I really can’t provide much more intel than what other folks have already mentioned. I would just try to be as patient as possible... picky as well. Since your in the 996 price range, have you considered a Cayman as well?

jkm7680 > FlimFlamMan 06/09/2015 at 21:54

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Trust me, I cannot afford a Cayman. Sub $15,000 is my target price :)

FlimFlamMan > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 21:58

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Yeah... it’d be tough to find an 06-07 sub 15k (unless it has a rebuilt title).

jkm7680 > FlimFlamMan 06/09/2015 at 21:58

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That’s why ‘98-’01 is the range I’m looking into more than the others.

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/…

Exactly like that one.

FlimFlamMan > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 22:03

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I meant an 06-07 Cayman, but yeah that 996 is a perfect example. I like the ones without the amber/yellow signal on the bottom of the head lights. Though I think that could be modified fairly easy.

jkm7680 > FlimFlamMan 06/09/2015 at 22:04

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Yup, I’d have to stick a roof rack on it along with some Avant Garde Ruger Classics or something like that.

DrScientist > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 22:09

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ive sort-of daily driven a 996 for the last 4 years. winter months only the last 2 as i’ve gotten another summer car.

bought her with 21k miles, and she now reads 86k. drove her from nyc to new orleans, toronto, portland maine, newfoundland, vermont several times skiing, and countless trips to philly and dc. its a terrific all rounder. and with a proper set of snows and a ski rack, its absolutely a terrific winter car.

these are my recommendations:

1. get a 2002 or newer. the options you really want: 6-speed, litronic headlights.

2. budget ~$4k/year in maintenance/upkeep if you drive it. mostly for tires. a bit less if you diy, and it is fairly simple to do basic work on.

3. join rennlist.org and read, read, read until you can’t read any more

4. get a ppi on any car you are thinking of purchasing

5. by the best car you can afford

6. dont get sucked in to the ims debate. if you buy a car that has had the replacement, great. if not, just budget for the work to be done when you replace the clutch. usually 60-80k miles.

DrScientist > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 06/09/2015 at 22:12

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i think the awd is unnecessary honestly. even in snow. plus you lose precious trunk space with the front differential. it is too bad they only made the S in the C4 configuration for the 996.

DrScientist > Klaus Schmoll 06/09/2015 at 22:13

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the turbos are absolutely not prone to the bearing failure. different engine. not sure about the gt’s though.

DrScientist > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 06/09/2015 at 22:14

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perhaps the head was already cracked when he bought it? and known to the seller?

DrScientist > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 22:17

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i believe the federal reg is only for selling the car on with a known removed safety feature. i dont even think it would hurt your insurance. but you should tell them anyway.

DrScientist > jkm7680 06/09/2015 at 22:19

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the earlier cars do have more problems than the 2002+

the MY ‘99 i believe was especially prone to many “working the bugs out” issues. do the research on this.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > jkm7680 06/10/2015 at 07:45

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Correct, and he put in a “fix” for this issue.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > DrScientist 06/10/2015 at 07:46

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Not sure, all I know is that after maybe 36 hours of ownership it was in the garage for months getting worked on. Not cheap either.

DrScientist > Arben72 06/10/2015 at 09:54

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is that the v8 swapped 996?

DrScientist > LongbowMkII 06/10/2015 at 09:55

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i imagine that was a joke, but if not, i assume they were going to give the engine a wash, or they’re just trying to keep shop dust out of it.

also, does the tube from the filter look like it’d interfere with the latch mechanism?

DrScientist > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 06/10/2015 at 09:56

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yeah, i bet.

as they say... buy the best and most well documented example you can afford.

LongbowMkII > DrScientist 06/10/2015 at 10:55

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well, I tried it on the Murano and it won’t stay running. clearly YMMV