Is that a hard top?
Is that a hard top?
In reply to bgkast:
Yes, OEM hardtop. And I made sure the softtop works and is in good condition also.
wearymicrobe wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: In reply to wearymicrobe: 110k, so it's most likely survived long enough to have a good IMS and RMS.Have they gone into the heads
Not to the best of our knowledge. And yes, I'm aware of the head issues, one of the areas that you end up having to gamble on in these cars.
This also has my interest. I have thought about getting a 911 a lot over the years, and just as the older ones are getting more expensive noticed that this generation of 911 seemed pretty affordable. I really didn't know much about them, so I will be interested in seeing how this works out.
BoxheadTim wrote: In reply to bgkast: Yes, OEM hardtop. And I made sure the softtop works and is in good condition also.
I think, but I am not absolutely sure, that all of the Cabrios came with the factory hardtop. I know of at least two hardtops that have been offered for free to any 911 Cabrio owner who needs one, by former owners (PCA members) who have sold their cars without the top. They've had trouble even giving them away.
I think you're right - there seem to be a lot of hardtops for sale and some cabrios without them, but I wouldn't have bought the car without one. Given that the typical competitor like a Mercedes SL would've also come with a hardtop, that would make sense.
I visited it at the local Porsche specialist on my way to having the snow tires fitted to the Evo. The 996 did get a general thumbs up, pretty much all the work needed is to catch up with the maintenance. There are a couple of unexpected jobs like replacing the crank pulley as it looks like a stone got caught between there and the serpentine belt, damaging both. As the water pump is already off and fortunately in one piece (so no broken off impellers wedged somewhere in the engine) it's not a big deal to change out the pulley, it's just yet another hundred-something bucks I didn't expect to have to spend.
The other work is smaller stuff like the front diff service, fuel filter replacement, brake fluid flush and an alignment. I'd normally do the brake flush myself but the car has PSM (Porsche Stability Management, or as I prefer to call it, Porsche Stupidity Management) so you need the appropriate diagnostic software to do a brake flush. I haven't got that yet, so I have to get the shop to do it. While the front diff is semi-accessible I'm also having the axle seals replaced. They're leaking a bit and it helps with my peace of mind. Of course all that doesn't come cheap, I expect the final bill to be somewhere in the $2k-$2.5k range.
Heck, my last one needed a front suspension pan shortly after I bought it so by Porsche standards that's a cheap bite-me-in-the-ass. And one I budgeted for.
Once I've got it back I'll do some of the easier service jobs that often get overlooked (like the cabin air filter). I'll also have to replace a couple of plastic trim pieces on the nose that always get damaged and then get some snow tires thrown on. Those aren't super urgent but I need to figure what it is like on snow before I make a definite decision to sell the Evo.
Edit: Forgot to mention, the one upcoming maintenance item is that it'll need rear disks and pads in about 5000-6000 miles.
Im not a fan of porsche but I am strangely allured to buying an expensive car at the bottom of its depreciation curve and driving the piss out of it with a potentially catastrophic mechanical (and financial) failure looming over my head.
I swear that is not sarcasm, I just checked craigslist for 911s.
Will be watching with much interest.
The odd thing is, I wasn't a big fan of 911s until about 7-8 years ago when I decided I'd try one. Even then it took me several months until things clicked. For some odd reason, they seem to grow on you over time rather than grab you immediately like something Italian would.
SEADave wrote: This also has my interest. I have thought about getting a 911 a lot over the years, and just as the older ones are getting more expensive noticed that this generation of 911 seemed pretty affordable. I really didn't know much about them, so I will be interested in seeing how this works out.
They are pretty affordable. I really liked my Carrera 3.2 but the way prices have gone for those, I doubt I'll have another one mainly because they're not worth that much to me. Plus, 996s have heaters that actually work 
.
BoxheadTim wrote: The odd thing is, I wasn't a big fan of 911s until about 7-8 years ago when I decided I'd try one. Even then it took me several months until things clicked. For some odd reason, they seem to grow on you over time
That's exactly how I felt when I bought my first 911.
I've always thought that my Carrera 3.2 makes great heat with the footwell fans (red levers by the shifter), but the a/c, defrost and and the whole rest of the HVAC system is awful.
BoxheadTim wrote: I'd normally do the brake flush myself but the car has PSM (Porsche Stability Management, or as I prefer to call it, Porsche Stupidity Management) so you need the appropriate diagnostic software to do a brake flush. I haven't got that yet, so I have to get the shop to do it.
I did not know this. My Cayman has the PASM/PSM and I'd like to do a fluid flush before next season. I guess I'll send it to the shop for that.
I've had good luck finding used snow tires searching CL for Porsche wheels. There are more out there than you would think and they usually have very low miles on them.
Woody wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: I'd normally do the brake flush myself but the car has PSM (Porsche Stability Management, or as I prefer to call it, Porsche Stupidity Management) so you need the appropriate diagnostic software to do a brake flush. I haven't got that yet, so I have to get the shop to do it.I did not know this. My Cayman has the PASM/PSM and I'd like to do a fluid flush before next season. I guess I'll send it to the shop for that.
You don't have to send it off if you use the Durametric software. The table I linked to suggests that it can do the necessary valve activation for brake bleeding. Given that I just got the car I haven't got around to purchasing the software yet (plus I'll need a decent workshop laptop), but it's on my shopping list.
Woody wrote: I've had good luck finding used snow tires searching CL for Porsche wheels. There are more out there than you would think and they usually have very low miles on them.
First place I checked 
. According to the owners at my preferred tire store, there are two types of Porsche owners around here, the ones that keep their cars tucked away in a heated garage for the winter and the ones who drive the piss out of it in all conditions. The former don't buy snow tires and the latter don't sell used ones. I'm hoping I can at least get a decent set of wheels from one of the former so I can make it easier to switch tires.
I'll be one of the latter. The Boxster is getting driven in all climates this winter. Sorry, none to sell...
I've bought two sets of used Porsche snows. The first was on a set of Tire Rack repro Boxster wheels (Beware: Very thin paint!). The second was on a set of genuine 911 wheels. The Boxster tires had less than 5000 miles on them. The 911 tires were used but brand new.
911 Twist wheels are pretty easy to find.
Got the car back a couple of days ago. My wallet is now about $2.3k lighter but we're caught up on almost all the maintenance needs. Feels a lot better after it had an alignment, too. They also re-checked the oil filter for any IMS debris, didn't find anything.
I was warned that the coils are cracking and at least four of them need replacement so I'm going to order a full set and replace them in the next couple of weeks. Driving the car at night revealed that the auto-dimming mirror isn't. Fortunately I found a place in Texas that is supposedly able to repair it for less than a hundred bucks which compares rather favourably to the cost of a replacement one...
I also need to give it an interior detail as it has the full leather interior and the only surfaces that may have seen some leather conditioner in the last few years are the front seats. Everything else is bone dry.
Spent some time doing the small maintenance tasks that don't take long and people somehow never get around to. Someone clearly got his or her money's worth from the cabin air filter:
Barely distinguishable from a brand new now, I'd say:
Air filter didn't look much better and as usual with a 911, it's a bit fiddly to change but no comparison to my C3.2. Another thirty bucks well spent:
After those little tweaks we took it for a nice five hour drive to get some barbecue. I was happy that I was still able to walk afterwards, unlike the last long trip in the Evo.
I'm also interested in the daily musings of owning a 996 911 (not like I could own one anytime soon).
Don't bother with leather conditioner on those seats. Because of the artificial finish that Porsche applies to the leather, leather conditioner can't get anywhere close to the actual leather, unless the seats are cracked to hell, and then it's too late anyway.
My Boxster S seats were badly cracked and I tried several leather conditioner products and they would not soak into the seats at all. I did some research and it seems that the modern seat leather is literally painted and clear coated to give a perfectly uniform finish. This coating seals the leather and will not let conditioner soak in. You can clean dirt off and use Simple Green or Citrus cleaner, because it can't soak in and do any damage to the leather underneath.
There's so much internet hate of the 996 and I'm betting that 99% of those people have never driven one. They're divine cars to drive. I think they're a massive bargain right now. Even with having to spring for an IMS fix (pre grenading, that is) I'd consider it a helluva buy at $25k for a solid one.
Agreed--these cars are ideal dual-use cars, both fantastic to drive at the limit and extremely well mannered commuters. The biggest problem for the 996 is that the 997 improved on these cars in nearly every way, which has had the net result of driving 996 prices into the ground.
The biggest problem for the 996 is the looming threat of a $10k engine repair, IMO.
Winston wrote: The biggest problem for the 996 is the looming threat of a $10k engine repair, IMO.
But you have that threat with all of the older air cooled cars to some extent too. The older the 996's get the less I worry about them. The failure prone cars have failed and been fixed. You should probably spend the money on one of the IMS 'fixes' but these are a serious bargain right now. You should buy one Winston.
I'm very interested in this. I have always liked the 911, just need to convince the wife that we should have one.
I'm thinking the 996 Turbo isn't a bad bet in that it doesn't have the IMS issue and I doubt it will go down much in value at this point. Then again those are going around $40k now so it's a bit more of an investment.
maj75 wrote: Don't bother with leather conditioner on those seats. Because of the artificial finish that Porsche applies to the leather, leather conditioner can't get anywhere close to the actual leather, unless the seats are cracked to hell, and then it's too late anyway. My Boxster S seats were badly cracked and I tried several leather conditioner products and they would not soak into the seats at all. I did some research and it seems that the modern seat leather is literally painted and clear coated to give a perfectly uniform finish. This coating seals the leather and will not let conditioner soak in. You can clean dirt off and use Simple Green or Citrus cleaner, because it can't soak in and do any damage to the leather underneath.
For 85% of the 996 Porsche's this is true. The turbos and a few of the 4S cars got the exclusives tufted leather that does not have that coating.
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