Thinking about buying a 996. Want some input!

I know that we have several Porsche lovers on this forum and lots of people with more experience with these cars than I have, so I figured this would be a good place to ask a few questions about the car I am considering buying...

Now on to the good stuff. The car I went and test drove was a 1999 911 N/A. It has 60K and is lightly modded(wheels, short shifter, exhaust). The car was really clean and had complete maintenance records since the day it was driven off the lot. The car ran and drove great, and the sound it made was amazing. I really liked the car and could see living with it on a daily basis. Based on other recommendations I would obviously get a pre-purchase inspection before I actually buy one.

Here are my questions:

Were there any problem with the 99 models in particular? I understand that this was the first year of water cooled 911s so I was wondering if Porsche had any issues with the first model year.

How reliable are the N/A 996s? I have heard that they are dead reliable, especially compared to the turbo models. Having owned 90% Japanese cars in the past reliability is extremely important to me and German cars make me nervous in general. I have had several friends that had nightmare experiences with their BMW/Audi/VWs.

How long can I expect this thing to run for? Assuming it has been well maintained and will continue to be so. I would likely own the car for a long time, so I would like to get another 100K out of the engine.

Next concern is maintenance and parts cost. While I was looking at the engine bay I realized just how difficult this car could be to work on. I generally maintain my vehicles myself, but if I chose not to how bad should I expect repair bills to be?

Another thing I would like to know is how much more power you can get out of these cars w/o adding forced induction? The power was adequate stock, but with any car I buy I know that down the road I will be wanting more. So what are the common modifications and approximately how much power can you expect to gain?

I would also appreciate links to companies that manufacture or sell aftermarket parts for these cars. Power adders/suspension/etc.

Thank in advance for any help you guys can give me!

Josh

The recurring joke about Porsche OEM parts is that when you get the box, you start looking for the free diamonds that got to be somewhere in there...

IIRC there have been some engine issues with 996s (I'm not that much up to speed with the watercooled stuff) but if you get a good one, they should easily do another 100k. Generally 911s of all generations are very long lived.

I would say, get one that is a drive by wire, much easier to tune. Think they began around 2000...

I'd SERIOUSLY take some time to convince yourself that the water-cooled engine is as reliable as the last iterations of the aircooled motor. I've heard lots of rumblings about failures: not as bad as the Boxster, but not a cheap repair to say the least. I "think" I read that a lot of the issues were related to the move away from dry sumps on the non-GT3 models. I could be completely wrong, and if so: tell me! I really want a 996...

Nathan

I think the whole 'not dry sumped' issue is blown way way way out of proportion. The early water-cooled engines had some core shift issues, but they were on the Boxster's, that was mainly resolved by the time the 996 came out. Early cars do have some rear main oil seal issues, it's hit and miss and more of an annoyance than a problem. Park with a tray under the car if it's one with a problem and pretend it's a British car. A weeping oil seal isn't going to kill the car. From what I've read the instance of failures is very very low, just magnified by normal internet hysteria where 2 failures obviously = 99.999999999% of the population have an issue. The air (really oil) cooled engines are massively reliable, but horrendously expensive to re build. The water cooled engines are much more affordable, but re-build parts are really only just starting to come on line. Most people with a major issue just replace the whole engine. Not cheap by 'normal' car standards, but positively bargain basement by 911 standards. Once I reach that 'P' car time of life it's most likely going to be a Boxster S rather than an air cooled 911.

996 shared crankcase designs with the 986 (boxster), and are prone to the same failures. There are low points in the casing, and if you have a pressurized airbubble in the coolant system, it can break the wall leading to massive failures.

Usually, if the car has made it 60,000 miles, it is probably going to last at least 60-70 thousand more.

RMS is blown way way out of proportion for reality. The motors if treated right will go 100K+ very easily. The 996's do not have a DME so overrevs are not as easy to detect.

My opinion if you are going to do a early 996 fin a exclusive aero car as they hold there value the best and just look amazing.

wearymicrobe wrote: My opinion if you are going to do a early 996 fin a exclusive aero car as they hold there value the best and just look amazing.

Was this a dealership or factory option? It looks like an aero kit can be added from a cursory interwebz search. Is this a fakey no-no in P-world or akin to simply adding a factory bodykit?

+1 on the aero cars. GT3 looks for half the price.

OP: keep in mind that the cost to insure these cars is very high. A ten year old 996 may only cost $20,000 in a private sale, but insurance companies still regard it as an $80,000 car.

OK, so... input... they are cheap to buy and they look like a 911. They had some teething issues but if they lived to 70k then they are probably ok.

They will continue to depreciate because the 993 before it and the 997 after were much, much better cars. They had wonky, unlovable handling so you have to change out the coilovers/sways for something better if you plan to track it... and you need to deal with some oiling issues if you run slicks thru long sweepers lest you starve expensive shiny bits. There is no discount on the parts vs the other models so you pay for stuff you can't buy from Worldpac. For the same money it takes to get it right, you can buy a really nice 993 that won't continue to depreciate further.

If you are looking at a 996 GT3, then its all insanely good... Its not just aero, its engine, dry sump oiling, all different suspension, tuning, chassis gussets and brakes. Its almost a whole different car. Its still 80k for that reason. If I could afford it though.... do want.

Matt B wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: My opinion if you are going to do a early 996 fin a exclusive aero car as they hold there value the best and just look amazing.

Was this a dealership or factory option? It looks like an aero kit can be added from a cursory interwebz search. Is this a fakey no-no in P-world or akin to simply adding a factory bodykit?

So early cars went thoguh a extra poss called "exclusive" where the cool options were kept. Things like deviated stitching, M030 suspensions, paint to sample that sort of thing. A good number of the 996 launch cars were ordered in cool colors with full aero kits. Its basically the GT3 euro wing, side skirts and front end and they were typically lowered.

Here is my 99 Aero..

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: For the same money it takes to get it right, you can buy a really nice 993 that won't continue to depreciate further.

I may be in a minority of 1 here. But I'm not a fan of the 993. It was awesome when it came out, but to me it hasn't aged well. All the B.S. about it being the last oil cooled car has overblown it's value. The 996 was a better car in every way. Lighter, handled better, cheaper. If I were going for an affordable oil cooler it would be a G50 911.

Everything's pretty much been covered. I'll warn you not to hook up the battery backwards, though. I had a customer do that getting his car out of storage and it fried just about everything with a computer on the car. Cluster, radio, hvac, various ecus, etc...

I've also got a set of stock 996tt springs I'd let go real cheap. I'm not sure if they'd be an upgrade or not, but they've been sitting in my garage since 2001.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: For the same money it takes to get it right, you can buy a really nice 993 that won't continue to depreciate further.

I may be in a minority of 1 here. But I'm not a fan of the 993. It was awesome when it came out, but to me it hasn't aged well. All the B.S. about it being the last oil cooled car has overblown it's value. The 996 was a better car in every way. Lighter, handled better, cheaper. If I were going for an affordable oil cooler it would be a G50 911.

I drive a 964 because I don't care for the 993 look either. It is the "one to have" though if you don't want to lose money over the years.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: They will continue to depreciate because the 993 before it and the 997 after were much, much better cars.

Not sure where you got this info , but it's not exaclty right

The 997 is a better car in terms of fit and finish and interior design, the motor ...errrr Not so much. Our car ate a motor in 5000km , and it's not an uncommon for it to happen (check 6speed forums) The cars suffer from faulty oil intermediate shafts. the car is a blast to drive, but compared to the 964 we had it's downright fragile. Look at later GT2 / 3 and turbo cars , all the blocks until recently were from 964 cars, and even had it stamped on the side.

Fun stuff, AWE headers, 200 cell cats, mufflers , Giac reflash , bored TB and "flowed" adapter , air intake. Peppy little car. Sadly still not as fast as the LS1 corvair

Don't ever buy a porsche and expect cheap transportation.

In reply to AutoXR:

Damn, that is one sexy rear ...

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: For the same money it takes to get it right, you can buy a really nice 993 that won't continue to depreciate further.

I may be in a minority of 1 here. But I'm not a fan of the 993. It was awesome when it came out, but to me it hasn't aged well. All the B.S. about it being the last oil cooled car has overblown it's value. The 996 was a better car in every way. Lighter, handled better, cheaper. If I were going for an affordable oil cooler it would be a G50 911.

911 SC or Carrera with a 993 engine in the back

BoxheadTim wrote: 911 SC or Carrera with a 993 engine in the back

I could dig that, but I still want a G50 geabox.

Damn, I thought this was a Ducati thread.

For the price of a 996 you could have a hundred ford festiva's, or 50 festiva's and 50 dodge omni's.

Andrew

digdug18 wrote: For the price of a 996 you could have a hundred ford festiva's, or 50 festiva's and 50 dodge omni's. Andrew

And never, ever, get laid.

You could still get laid,just not as often & it'd take a lot more beer.

Fat girls need loving too. And for some reason fat girls LOVE small cars, I think its the rush they get when cornering to the right, all that added weight makes you corner alot faster....

Andrew

Brust wrote:

digdug18 wrote: For the price of a 996 you could have a hundred ford festiva's, or 50 festiva's and 50 dodge omni's. Andrew

And never, ever, get laid.

Eh, hold off on a dozen or so of the Omnis and you could probably afford that too.

Thanks for all the info guys, very helpful! After thinking it over I think I may just go with a C5 Z06! Found one locally, going to go drive it next week. I cannot believe how cheap you can get C5 Z06s these days... I think it would be a much better option for me than the 996 is!