Daily driving a cheap Porsche 911 (996) - what could possibly go wrong?

BoxheadTim wrote: My apologies for derailing the discussion with an update .

Sure, just don't make a habit of it

Waiting anxiously for the final result. Make sure they take lots of pics for us, err I mean you

Well... at least it will be ready for a lot more miles after this!

it's been nearly a week since the shaft was sourced. Any news?

thatsnowinnebago wrote: The 996TT doesn't have the IMS. So that's the more adult choice. Because reliability

A Porsche tech on another forum was just lamenting on behalf of a client who brought his 996 Turbo in to diagnose a small oil leak. In the end both turbos needed replacing at over $3000 each, plus labor expenses. Damn!

I think he said he was out of town for work this week.
This makes me realize that I might spend too much time on the forum.

They haven't called with more bad news yet .

Actually I'll be out of town next week and the car should be ready by the time I come back. Can't wait to get it back.

That's a pretty ominous "yet..."

There shouldn't be any more bad news, but I'm getting used to unexpected calls...

It's back in my possession as of this morning, after applying Colin Chapman's design principle to my wallet...

The engine feels different (smoother), so we'll see how that goes. Got to go back to the shop in a thousand miles for an oil change. They'll check the oil filter for foreign material at the same time and then I should be back to 5000 mile oil change intervals.

Total bill for this ordeal ended up being slightly North of $11k. I'm glad to be back to driving the 996, for some reason I prefer it over my truck for the commute .

Of course I could've done without the airbag light coming on (seat belt latches, what else...) so now I get to sort that out, but that's at least easily DIYable.

Great news!

BoxheadTim wrote: Total bill for this ordeal ended up being slightly North of $11k. I'm glad to be back to driving the 996

I really really really, like seriously really want a 986S or 996 for my next car. I can rationalize costs, I can plan for a preventative IMS bearing replacement and clutch before taking delivery, but $11K is what many of these cars change hands for. As much as I desperately want, need, understand these cars, that is really hard figure for my brain to process and still come out with a 'Yes do it'

P.S. Edit Sorry, didn't mean to be a Debbie downer. Great that you have it back and are loving it again. I now want 18 months of regular updates, putting 15K+ miles on per year with nothing but glowing praise and oil/tire changes to make me (and you I assume) feel better.

So, the way one rationalizes a 996 is to say "It's a helluva lot of car for $25k" and then buy the cleanest one you can with a bad motor. Then, you end up under your expectations.

This is consistent with all 911 purchases, IMO. You buy at whatever cost - but it's still a $25k car in the end.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote: Total bill for this ordeal ended up being slightly North of $11k. I'm glad to be back to driving the 996

I really really really, like seriously really want a 986S or 996 for my next car. I can rationalize costs, I can plan for a preventative IMS bearing replacement and clutch before taking delivery, but $11K is what many of these cars change hands for. As much as I desperately want, need, understand these cars, that is really hard figure for my brain to process and still come out with a 'Yes do it'

I hear you. At the cheaper end these cars are a bit of a gamble and in that sense I lost. I'm in the lucky position that a bill this size doesn't mean I'll be eating Ramen for the forseeable future, but even in this case when I supposedly did everything the right way (thorough pre-purchase inspection of the car by myself including a good rummage through the oil filter, plus I had the pros look over it afterwards, too) I've now spent almost as much as the purchase price on maintenance and repairs. That's not giving me the warm and fuzzies because at this point, obviously.

Part of the idea behind this thread is trying to give people on this forum an honest idea of what it's like to live with a cheaper one of these, warts and all.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: P.S. Edit Sorry, didn't mean to be a Debbie downer. Great that you have it back and are loving it again. I now want 18 months of regular updates, putting 15K+ miles on per year with nothing but glowing praise and oil/tire changes to make me (and you I assume) feel better.

No worries .

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: So, the way one rationalizes a 996 is to say "It's a helluva lot of car for $25k" and then buy the cleanest one you can with a bad motor.

You're definitely right about the $25k part (which oddly enough was my overall purchase budget) but trust me, unless you're planning an LSJuan conversion you do not want one with a bad engine.

This cheap repair was caused by $500 worth of plastic bits that needed replacing, the engine appeared to be comparatively sound otherwise with the exception of the IMS sprocket. Some of the cost was caused by replacing some parts while we were in there, like the rod bearings, because the engine builder at my local Porsche specialist didn't think they were 100% up to snuff, but the engine was in good enough shape that they even advised against re-ringing the pistons or similar work like that.

Obviously if I had had the time to do the work myself, I would've saved over 50% of the bill, but I also wouldn't be able to drive the car this year...

I didn't think it was possible, but it certainly looks like you have far worse luck with used cars than I do. And I, traditionally, have had catastrophically bad luck with used cars.

My LS swapped 951 is a prime example of that...

I'm glad you're able to drive it again! I really appreciate your honesty in documenting what it's really like to live with one - both the bad and the good. Here's to hundreds of thousands of trouble-free miles!

docwyte wrote: I didn't think it was possible, but it certainly looks like you have far worse luck with used cars than I do. And I, traditionally, have had catastrophically bad luck with used cars. My LS swapped 951 is a prime example of that...

Most of my friends are convinced I have what they call an Inverse Midas touch.

I also appreciate honesty for Porsche ownership. It helps us all.

Jump in with both feet. As the tag line goes - there is no substitute. Bone saw on the right; scalpel on the left.

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There is something about driving a 911 that helps soften the blow of the occasional large repair bill. That's how I feel about it anyway.

Good times. Sorry it worked out that way, but drive it for another 50k or more and that will soften the blow.

It's going back to the shop in the next couple of days - it suddenly is running warmer than expected/than it used to on long-ish uphill drives, plus it started making a slightly different but still disconcerting noise when you start the engine after it sat overnight.

And yes, it's had a new waterpump a couple of thousand miles ago.

Even by my standards, I seem to have royally berkeleyed up this purchase even though I did everything "right" with a very thorough inspecting both by myself and a specialist.

I deeply deeply hope it's no big deal both for your pocket book and my aspirations

Thank you, I hope so, too. The shop I've used for the engine work has always done right by me plus there is a warranty on the repair, but still..

Oh, and now I don't really have a decent working daily driver after I sold the CRX. Oops. Looks like I may have to drive the MR2 then as that currently needs the least amount of work between my vehicles.

Have you cleaned between the radiators and AC condensers? Other than that, possibly an air bubble in the system? The cooling system on these cars seem to be notoriously difficult to fill/bleed properly.

I must have gotten lucky when I replaced my heather core...

Side note, how is your car as far as suspension noise is concerned? Mine has developed a few rattles and thumps, which I attribute to droplinks and heat shields. I plan a thorough investigation in the next couple of weeks.