TonyTwoBags

A responsible prior owner is important with these cars. I bought one that was at the end of a 3rd party warranty, 10yr owner with consistent service & have been happy. The cars drive great, so find one with a healthy drivetrain and enjoy it.

az968gpw

It sounds good, on the surface. A PPI from a qualified shop is the best money you will spend.

cuttinsod

My 2001 C2 had a dual row IMS...replaced at 90K mile and showed no play or wear......at 105K miles now and the car has been very reliable...

roguiethegiant

I bought a 2001 996 Coupe Tip a year ago and it's been a great daily driver. That said, I did have to spend about $7k in old-age related updates/fix-its and repairs to make it reliable (including IMS/RMS). And now I'm moving on towards nice-but-not-necessary performance upgrades such as a double-din radio and air intake systems. If you go for this model, and you purchase one below $15k, I'd budget a lot for repair work. Old rubber, old hoses, old joints all add up to potentially expensive work. Find a reliable technician or learn to do it yourself - either way, I love tinkering and playing with the car to make it my own, so every piece of work done has been enjoyable. Fingers crossed on your end.

dporto

You don't mention whether you'll be doing your own work or not... It'll make a BIG difference in your maintenance costs. I'm not trying to scare you but, these are things you should take into account. Just one example - and I've been pretty fortunate. I bought my car (my '99) with 135,000 mi. on it. It was a well cared for daily driver with 3 previous owners (the last owner only had it for 8 months and roughly 4000 mi.). My car never broke down, so I wasn't forced into doing any mechanical work. This being said, so far (over the last 3.5 years) I've done...1) suspension - about $2200 in parts - I did the work, as is the case with all the following as well. Center Radiator, low temp thermostat - $650 in parts. IMS Solution, cam chains and pads, water-pump, new serpentine belt, a few cooling hoses, AOS, Clutch, manual trans. oil, associated hardware etc... approx $4k parts, tools etc... Brakes - Rotors and pads, new parking brake cables - approx. $600. Totally elective work - Numeric shifter and cables - approx $ 900. There are lots of other little things including but not limited to: wheel center caps ($200) assorted tools (electrical connector removal tools, various connectors, non-marring plastic rivet removal tools, etc... - none of these things are crazy expensive, but they're necessary and everything adds up). Wheels re-finished - $approx - $800. Add in 4 oil changes at approx $150 ea. and I'm right around $10k - averages out to around $3k per year not counting labor (I like to look at this as I'm paying myself the labor ) - I figure if someone else was doing the work, it would be at least 2X as much and most likely more, as all mechanics either A) break stuff while they're working which you wind up paying for to fix or B) Up sell with things the you may as well fix "while I'm in here"... Good luck, and make sure you go into this with your eyes open... PPI ! Oops, forgot tires...throw another $900 (Michelin PSS 18") on there...

Vincent713

I'm also searching for a 911, I initially wanted a 996.2, why this model? They redesign the varioCam to the Plus which deleted the chain pad. If this pad gets warned out, you have to tear your motor apart to replace them. In addition, this model has glove box, better looking steering wheels, some upgraded interior, headlights and the big 3.6L engine is a HUGE plus. Yes they have smaller IMS bearing but I think all 996 should have them replace just for peace of mind. IMO the Boxster are ugly and they are the lesser Porsche. Why not get the flagship 911 if you can?

Volkert