potential 996 owner needs help...

[yuruyedur]

Hi everyone,

I am living in Amsterdam and I am an ex 1984 3.2 carrera owner and loved the car at that time... So now I want to go back to Porsche again... I am looking for a 996 at the moment.

I have a couple of questions and would appreciate your feedback.

1. I need a reliable Porsche garage/mechanic who can help me thru with my purchase. As I am living in Amsterdam I am mainly looking for cars in my region, so a name in or near by Amsterdam area would be perfect.

2. Apparently everyone here is aware of the fact that 996s have a serious engine problem. Not necessarily all the cars of course, but proportionally a large number of 996s are coming with trouble. My budget is pretty limited so it is not enough for a later model but only a car manufactured between 1998-2001. Is there any difference at all between a 1999 and 2001?

3. Is it feasible to assume a car that has 120,000 kms on it, is a safer bet (at least thinking that it didn't have any problems till now and at least the only problems I would have might be standard 10 year old 120,000 kms car problems but not an engine, RMS, etc problems)?

4. I am not a mechanic at all. I have only an average knowledge on engine, etc. What would you recommend me to look for while checking the car itself? Also if I have a test drive, what should I be expecting (an/or not expecting)...

5. Except for above, what else would you recommend?

I really do appreciate all you feedbacks in advance.

Demir

[Justin]

Welcome!

996 Mark 1 manual transmissions with about 120k km's or less are most prone to ims failure and crack's I believe.
996 Mark 1 tiptronic transmission is less prone to the problem I believe.
996 Mark 2 even less.

If you are really worried about it: read through the 'literature' at rennlist (forums.rennlist.com) or pelicanpartsforum (forums.pelicanparts.com), which is in your native language probably (the knowledge is also on this forum, only in dutch).

Mechanics from MH peize (www.mh-porsche.nl --> no official dealer, but specialist) really know their stuff when it comes to the 996 Mark1 engine I believe.

If Mark 2 is really out of budget, and you are really worried. Maybe a Boxster or a 993 (air/oil cooled 911 from a few years before)
is a good option?

What is the budget here?

What are the other requirements to the Porsche (colour, coupe/convertible/targa, carrera 2 or 4, lowered or normal ride height, black or other colour interior, manual/tipronic, etc.)

Good luck! Welcome to (Porsche) Holland!

[brian951]

And be aware of a gevoelige IMS Lager engine

[De Geus]

welcome welcome

[yuruyedur]

Really appreciate all your comments. I was not expecting a reply this early, let alone a couple of them

996 Mark 1 manual transmissions with about 120k km's is exactly what I was looking at unfortunately. I've already found 2 of them which have service history and 1 with bovag guarantee for 6 months... And another Mark 1 from 99 also with a bovag guarantee (a cabrio). I don't have any special requirements thou I would prefer to have a C4 or cabrio if it satisfies the minimum conditions and stays within my budget (which is max Eur 30k)...

By the way, do you think this bovag guarantee is worth considering. As I have seen the official Porsche approved occassions (from Porsche Amsterdam), they are much more expensive than other cars trying to be sold around from autoscout.nl or marktplaats.nl, etc... They have Porsche guarantee (whcih should make a difference), I know, but isn't a bovag guarantee somewhat replaceable with Porsche guarantee, at least for 6 months?

Thanks to you all onece again

[WillemB]

6 months BOVAG is the minimum guarantee on cars in Holland, and is given ONLY on engine, gearbox and electrical componants. Keeping in mind the prices for Porsche parts (and often a lot of workshop hours to replace the part) i am expecting a lot of discussion when you apply for warranty. This is especially important when you buy a Porsche from a garage/dealer who has no experience with Porsche.

Most brands (like Porsche) offer a brand-guarantee on their used cars which often consist of 6 months Bovag and extented with their own warranty system.

You have mentioned that you are not a mechanic, so my advice to you would be, if your budget allows it and want maximum warranty, to go for the Porsche approved cars.

As mentioned earlier, a good 964 is no option With your budget it should not be a problem and you keep some change for future repairs.

Also don't forget, if you have found a car, to have the car checked by a dealer or specialist, other than the selling party, in Holland known as AKK It will set you back about € 150,-- but it gives you a clear picture of the state of the car.

Good luck and welcome

[erwin996]

I would consider Leonardo's car viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27898

By the way, the Porsche Approved guarantee is only available for cars younger than 9 years and with less than 200.000km http://imp.porsche.com/netherlands/nl/a ... dwarranty/

I guess that Porsches older than 9 years and sold by P-dealers are sold with Bovag guarantee only, perhaps extended with the dealer's own guarantee (but not the official "Approved" guarantee). That said, I would put more trust in a guarantee offered by a Porsche dealer (whether the Bovag guarantee or the P-dealer's own guarantee) than in a guarantee offered by the eerste de beste Porsche trader.

[maurice]

Welcome Demir. Several questions are answered by the previous posters already but maybe I can add some information here.
The early 996's suffer more from engine trouble then the later models. Numbers are unclear but apparantly it should be around 5%. That also means that 95% does not suffer from any problems. To answer your question, there also is a big difference between the model years 1998 and 2001. The 1998 models seems to have more troubles with the engine while the later modelyear 2001 has an improved engine already due to the modifications that Porsche made.
Since the problems seems to occure at cars which are not taken care of well, such as driving on high rotations with a cold engine it is important to search for a car with a complete history and preferable a known previous owner.
It is no guaranty ofcourse but at least it can give you a feeling how the car is treated.
There is a difference between the waranty Porsche will offer and the Bovag waranty. Porsche will only offer the waranty if the car is checked on at leat the 111 specific points and all points meet the criteria. The Bovag waranty is more general but in both cases make sure what is included in the waranty. Sometimes major engine or transmission failures are excluded.
Prices for a good 996 from eg 2000 range from approximatly 30k till 40k. Not for nothing, cars kept in a good condition with a reliable history and dealer maintained will be higher priced then the cheaper offers. As far as I have seen do most cheaper 996's contain some problems or lack of maintainance which for which you as a new owner will be presented the bill.
Good luck with the hunt for a great car.

[WillemB]

That said, I would put more trust in a guarantee offered by a Porsche dealer (whether the Bovag guarantee or the P-dealer's own guarantee) than in a guarantee offered by the eerste de beste Porsche trader.

@Erwin996, that is exactly what I was tying to explain, you have explained it better then I did

[Olaf]

I would consider Leonardo's car

.. and I don't even think he minds to drive it to Amsterdam

[yuruyedur]

I have checked the ad on the other forum, and apparently Leonardo is a trustworthy guy here To be honest it looks like a nice car, I'll contact him directly maybe later on...

I have checked 4 cars till now and 2 out of these I have short-listed to pay another visit this week. I'll go and speak to Porsche Centrum Amsterdam this afternoon and see when they can make an appointment for an AKK so if I get the guys to take the cars for an AKK, I can get it done...

Maybe you can give me more info on the these, if you don't mind... Links for both are below:

http://www.autoscout24.nl/Details.aspx?id=vi23ow1vmodx

http://www.autoscout24.nl/Details.aspx?id=biycg4okushv

Apparently the bovag guarantee gives a little bit of peace of mind. I agree an official Porsche guarantee would be much better. On the other hand, given my budget and given the fact that they don't offer any cars older than 9 years, it's out of the picture for the time being...

[yuruyedur]

As far as I have seen do most cheaper 996's contain some problems or lack of maintainance which for which you as a new owner will be presented the bill.
Good luck with the hunt for a great car.

Thanks

I cannot believe how wide range of prices there are out there... I have seen the same car with more or less the same specs for Eur 19k and Eur 29k... Don;t know what;s wrong with the one that's for sale at Eu1 9k, but apparently one needs to be pretty carefull while buying and as you said, knowing the owner makes a huge difference, although it's really difficult to assess for the rest...

[erwin996]

http://www.autoscout24.nl/Details.aspx?id=vi23ow1vmodx

This car seems to be offered by a Jaguar dealer (which seems a bit reassuring). Apparently the car was previously sold by Hans Bos. Perhaps you can ask Hans Bos about the history of this car www.hansbos.nl

[yuruyedur]

EDIT by Mod: Unnecessary QUOTE deleted O.

Cool... I'll check with them as well...

Apparently the other ad is missing, I just checked it and seen it was gone. Though if you don't mind the hassle you can still see it here:

http://www.dirkbarten.nl/alleoccasions.php and select Porsche as the merk...

[yuruyedur]

By the way, just out of curiosity; how did you come up with that it was previously sold by Hans Bos?

[erwin996]

The name of Hans Bos appears on the license plate holder This suggests that the car was previously sold or maintained by Hans Bos.

[yuruyedur]

The name of Hans Bos appears on the license plate holder This suggests that the car was previously sold or maintained by Hans Bos.

aarrgghh. Well spotted...

[Ernest 986]

So this guy sold his 996 to a Hyundai dealer because he bought a Hyundai scoupe? And you are willing to buy it.

But now more serious, it can be pretty interesting to buy a Porsche from a dealer who can't do anything with this car. Probably you can do a nice deal, because he is not selling Porsche's everyday, I suppose. And it's one of the last 3,4 liters with probably all the modification's(2001). Please note to do a check with a Porsche specialist or dealer before you buy it. In Dutch known as a AKA.

[Olaf]

In Dutch known as a AKA.

No - it's Also Known As AKK

[Ernest 986]

@Olaf Soepkip he en thnx

[WillemB]

Priceless

[bully]

I was not expecting a reply this early, let alone a couple of them

Yes it's here not the belgiumforum

[yuruyedur]

Definetely...

I'll update with my progress, thanks to all again...

[Justin]

Reading the language here, if you are from the Uk,
why not buy there? You are used to the steering wheel on the other side.
And prices are much lower there (even if you import them most of the times), while modifications are easy.
Brings newer 996's in your budget. If you're not from the UK, don't mind this reply.

[pcrat]

I agree, there is a lot of variation in the prices. I guess it has to do with the economic situation. People bought a car 3-4 years ago and paid top$ now they still have this price in mind. My advice, find a 996 mkII 2002 with approx 120.000km and check how long it has been for sale. You might get lucky and get it close to your budget