dotframe

Really?? I didn't know that about Robert. I bought my car from him as well and he was cool as hell. The C4S I bought from him has been amazing and I couldn't be happier. Surprised to hear he has a bad rep online.

jdjones2010

Hey Dot, believe me I didn't have NO Idea either at the time (could you imagine after a pretty big investment (this was BEFORE they bottomed out) & then reading all this crap) I definitely thought I had messed up. But, its been a few years back & like you said he seemed to be a good guy (definitely a Good Salesman) & probably knows as much about air-cooled Porsches as anybody around. Some of them said that after the sale if they had any issues you could never get him to answer his phone or call them back. But I never had any problems, as a matter of fact mine didn't have a cig. lighter (I don't smoke) but I really wanted it for my car & sure enough he made it right & ordered me one. Anytime I've called him on his cell phone he's answered or called me back, maybe me & you just got lucky. If you want to read some of them pm me & I'll tell you which forums they were on.

AndyK

Reinforcing the idea that "there are no cheap Porsches".

Speedyellow993

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck.

I think your problem is that the 99s were the worst of the bunch. A bit more internet research would have net you a wealth of info.

jdjones2010

Man, is there any truth to that! The more you do your homework the better off you'll be in the long run (I've got to admit though when I bought my 996 I didn't even get a PPI, hey it doesn't get much more stupid than that, but I got REAL Lucky) Not many people get that Lucky. I learned this lesson years ago when I bought a 928 (Beautiful Car & Dirt Cheap) but when something breaks on it, its not cheap by no means for the upkeep on these cars. When you have to order something for it you're still ordering things that go on a Porsche! You can even buy an older Ferrari cheap, but when you have to pay for the maintenance & upkeep on that old Ferrari, its No Longer Cheap! And thats not even talking about if you have to buy a motor for one! jmo

Edgy01

When you buy a 911 for $15,000 that is 11 years old--and then later sell it for $12,500--because of all sorts of bugs--that's not that bad.

You should have started with something much newer. The old Porsche adage of buying the newest one you can afford really fits here. If you could only afford $15,000 you were shopping for the wrong car. You should have been looking for something much different.

JRW-910

Wow, I can't believe that this discussion is still going on. I do appreciate all of the comments... positive ones and negative ones...

To a certain extent, I agree with most of what everyone has posted about my situation.

• It was my fault for not getting a PPI. Whether a PPI would have alerted me to this potential issue seems to depend on how thorough the person doing the inspection goes.
• I purchased a Porsche for $15k with 92k on the clock.... so I shouldn't be surprised that the car had issues.
• Had I done more research, I would have seen all of the potential problems related to the 3.4L Porsche engine and therefor have avoided it.
• Etc etc...

Not that I'm really looking to drag this on further, but I'm really surprised at the lack of outrage towards Porsche from this community. These engines (3.4L and 3.6L) have major issues... from cracked heads, to cracked cylinder walls, to the famous IMS bearing failures. To the best of my knowledge, Porsche has done nothing about theses issues. Thankfully, innovative companies like LN Engineering have come to the aid of owners and provided a strong response to some of these issues.

So, I have moved on ... not exactly by choice... but I did truly enjoyed my year with the 911 and might hop on a 996 Turbo at some point should the right car come along.

I hope everyone else here has better luck with their cars.

-JRW

jdjones2010

JRW, I definitely understand where you're coming from! I wasn't a Porsche Purist & didn't do as much homework as I should have (nor a PPI) but I've been VERY Lucky (at least so far) I've had mine 5+ years with NO issues bigger than replacing a water pump. But one thing that has bugged the crap out of me is the dang CEL's (ANY lil' thing & they come on & its NEVER as simple as just replacing a fuse or bulb). As for as complaining to Porsche about the issues with the 2 Big Ones, do you really think that would do any good. These threads will never end as the % of these cars that Actually have these 2 issues, like I said earlier some have been lucky & some haven't been so lucky (you were definitely the latter). Though some people buy these cars with 100k + & Never have any issues (remember they say these cars are good for 300k +) some ARE, some AREN'T! The ONLY reason I bought a 996 was the extra hp & a lil' more creature comforts, but it Definitely wasn't because of the looks (to me just a stock 996 is very average looking at best, thats why I did the things I have to mine, but some people like them JUST stock) if I do ever get another Porsche it will be either a 993 or 964 Turbo or Turbo Look! jmo

Targatoo

IMO, Porsche does about as much as any other manufacturer for owners of 15 year-old products. They replaced engines when the cars were reasonably new, but now, it's in the owners' hands.

The front wheel fell off a 12-year old Honda we had. What should I expect Honda to do? That injury was a write-off for that car, given its age and value.

You'll be in the exact same place with your Camaro if it happens to be the 1/100 that has a unanticipated catastrophic flaw 12 years from now.

My Targa has been perfect. So long as nothing catastrophic happens to me, I'll be trading it for a newer one in a year or two - because until it's real, this is all just unquantifiable internet hysteria.

There's an internet community much bigger than Rennlist that is certain that the world is going to end in December. Who's right? Maybe I shouldn't worry about my cylinder walls so much.

JRW-910

...and, I'll agree that Porsche doesn't have too much of an obligation on a 10+ year old car with 100k miles. But... what about the failures of lower mileage cars? Searching back, there were reports of major failures many many years ago... yet Porsche never did anything about it.

What if LN Engineering and other such companies never stepped up to the plate? My hunch is that there would be MANY more failures and extremely unhappy owners.

.... and let's hope that the world doesn't end in December!!!

-JRW

500

Hang around on any marque forum long enough and you will develop a negative perspective.

I base my own personal opinion on my experiences with real world owners (PCA etc.) and the 996 is a pretty reliable car.

Targatoo

I'm sure this has been referenced in other places on this forum:

"Least Defective Vehicle of the Century"

http://www.caradvice.com.au/150747/p...f-the-century/

Nothing is conclusive, but seems to give weight to the argument that other cars have worse problems, notwithstanding the poor guy who has an IMS failure.

dennis hiip

Targatoo, thanks for that link

Gonzo911

It is? Great. Something else to worry about!

911Königin

This is scaring me!!