Planning to get a 996, got a few questions

[vwrado]

Hi, I am new to this forum and I have always wanted a Carrera. Looks like I am going to get the early model 996 such as 99-00 in the next few months. I am planning to spend $30k on the car total. I planned to find one for cheaper and set aside a few thousand for maint.

The question I have are:

How is the 996 as a daily driver?

I see a few treads stating that the engine has gone bad at aprox 125k miles...is this common?

Whats your mileage?

What mpg do you get?

I am coming from a 97 e36 m3. I am used to owning cars with 100k + miles on it. My previous bmw 325is had 240k miles!

Edited March 14, 2007 by vwrado

[Danyol]

I've been using my '02 car daily for a couple of years and it is very civil for a manual performance car. I track it every couple of months and replace the oil (appx 9qts synthetic) every 3k, along with brake fluid yearly.

I have 38k miles on the vehicle and early engine problems can happen. The intermediate shaft broke at 18k for the previous owner (I purchased at 19k with a fresh engine), although this appears to be uncommon. Many people have had rear main seal leaks although I've never seen these on my car.

I get around 18.5 mpg for my 15 mile blast to work, around 23mpg on a long run.

Besides the early engine failure the car has had very few issues otherwise. I believe these cars like being run hard, they get unhappy spending too much time in a garage :D

[vwrado]

Thanks for the info Danyol.

Would these early 996 model last till 150k or even 200k miles? My old bmw 325is lasted me until 240k miles then it got t-boned.

I do change my oil frequently...My m3 is suppose to be changed at 6k miles but I change it every 3k. I think I am pretty good at keeping up with the maint. on my cars.

My main concern is, will I see problems if I buy a carrera at around 75k miles? I plan on keeping it for a while and racking up miles on it. Prob no track time but mainly street driving. Also, I don't hammer my car around town..I like to drive it more lightly for the most part. Does anyone have a 996 with over 150k miles?

Edited March 14, 2007 by vwrado

[djantlive]

Most 99-00 996 have lower mileage between 30-75k. It should have no problem making 150k but i would not bank on over 200k. Just look at 993 or 964, most have major issues w engine at some point which turns into a money pit.

If you are going to put a lot of miles, I'd recommend a Japanese car. They run forever. I know that's not what you are looking for though!

[vwrado]

I have owned a Honda Prelude back in the days. I ran over a pot hole and cracked the car in half! The car separated from one strut tower to the firewall and to the other strut tower. It was separated about 1". I will never drive a honda again after that horrible experience.

I think I will take my chances with the 996. It has been my dream car for as long as I can remember.

I am glad that you think it would have no problem making to 150k miles. Just what I wanted to hear!

[violaGT3]

Hi, I am new to this forum and I have always wanted a Carrera. Looks like I am going to get the early model 996 such as 99-00 in the next few months. I am planning to spend $30k on the car total. I planned to find one for cheaper and set aside a few thousand for maint.

The question I have are:

How is the 996 as a daily driver?

I see a few treads stating that the engine has gone bad at aprox 125k miles...is this common?

Whats your mileage?

What mpg do you get?

I am coming from a 97 e36 m3. I am used to owning cars with 100k + miles on it. My previous bmw 325is had 240k miles!

Hi I've had my 996 for about 2.5 years and I get on average 320 miles to a tank freeway and approx 230 spiritedly driving.

Mine does have a minor main seal leak, More than likely when you get your clutch changed you can just have them upgrade yours to the new version. It is not expensive at all. I looked for a porsche for 4 years before I found this one, but I am very picky. I am at 75kmls. and it is a wonderful driving car. I had an 04 M5 and it's just not the same. The oddest problems I have had are the tensioner bearing and the A/C clutch, their bearings failed. The hardest issue I am having is my 2nd gear is tempermental when the weather is cold. I'm guessing that it was the previous owners favorite gear. But it seems the parts are being released now so you can just get the tranny repaired. If you buy it from a dealer make sure they give you and extra remote key. It'll save you a bit later if one of the remote chips goes bad. But really these guys on here have made things very easy for me to jump into working on the car myself doing my own maintenance like oils and belts, as well as a ton of info on DIY upgrades. But I would recommend if you get one to try and find one that has some of the upgrades you want on it already as performance parts are kind of high, as well as standard parts like interior and aerodynamics. Great quality but again costly. I would recommend getting one with the litronic headlights this is one upgrade that'll cost you $2k to have retro-fitted or $1500 if you do the wrenching. Oh yea and the stereo's blow, speakers etc. I love the ease of use and auto tunning on my 220 but, it does not hold a candle to the BMW basically if you love to hear your car with a little background hissing, then you are good. I added a tap in set of subs, drop the factory bass and used the 8" subs to complement. I am not a bass junkie, but I like my music to sound good "note music, not booming nursery rhyme". = )

[BigSquid]

I recently bought a 1999 996 Carrera with 10360miles (January 2007) at the time, I just hit 11000. I get about 18mpg on city, 26mpg on pure highway (according to on-board computer). I drive my Toyota Tercel to the hospital every day, and I save the 911 for weekends and conferences, so I can't comment on it as a daily driver. It has had no previous engine problems, as I saw all the records. The only problem was the sunroof, as it would not retract. It was under warranty (now long gone) and the motor was replaced. I think if you're looking for a sports car like a 911 especially a 996 in excellent condition, you'll be spending over $30K on it. If you think about it, unless you know the previous driver's style of driving, 30K miles in a year 2000 car sounds pretty great. But 30K miles in a sports car is different from 30K miles in a Kia Sorrento. The 30K miles in the sports car can be hard driven, balls-to-the-wall 'till you burn oil kind of driving. If you plan on keeping the car, then I'd be patient and find one that you feel that has been well taken care of and that you'll be able to enjoy. Better to take it out and enjoy in the ride than continuing to leave it in the shop trying to save a few bucks. The Carrera was my dream car (next to the McLaren F1, but that's a bit more unattainable) and I do not regret my purchase one bit, which is the a great feeling. Patience, grasshopper...

-Mike

[dphil66]

Dream car it is...but, the luster tends to fade a bit if you drive it every day. In the end, it's just a car. I still enjoy its performance every day, and I love simply looking at it every day. But one tends to get used to it after a while, however crazy that may sound. If you have another car to drive sometimes for comparison, the shimmering halo over the car will not fade. It really is a great car.

I drive mine in snow. It's a C4 with PSM and a manual 6-speed, so even a beginner can master it on ice. Turn off the PSM and...I've never had so much fun in any car doing donuts in a parking lot. Heated seats are great, as is the HVAC system. Never any oddball problems with extremely low temps, this car is very well sorted out. Paint and undercarriage hold up well in severe salt, gravel, and ice.

My only gripes are sometimes, the interior feels a little cheap. I have full and supple leather, tons of nice other options, but that plastic surrounding the instruments and nav system in the dash are pretty weak for a $100k car. Headlight washers fail with age because the pop-up part that holds the little spherical directors ages and cracks, and the pressure shoots the little director spheres right out, and then it's just a sloppy soaker on your headlights. $125 each. Had some oil leaks at about 40k that cost $400 to repair. Now I'm having a problem at about 55k with bank 2 cam adjusters, 11 hours labor and $750 in parts. Now THAT one...should not happen. I keep hearing about engine failures on many cars, and I'm hoping for the best. I'm not that worried though. I don't drive my car like a 16-year-old in his dad's Mustang Cobra, so I'd expect it to last for at least 200k miles. At least, that's what I expect from a car like this. If I blasted its brains out at every stop light, and the engine failed at 60k miles, I would hardly be surprised. So don't get to hung up on claims of weak engines.

Otherwise...very solid, reliable car so far. I'd love to know how well they do with 100k miles and more. Any car should be almost perfect up to 50-70k miles. It's after that which counts most. My Audi A6 2.8 was just awful - front control arms, transmission, window regulator (2x), memory seat control module, a freezing throttle body at -5 deg F and 75 mph, failing water pump, failing cam and front main oil seals, and many other completely inexcusable problems, before the car even had 100k on it. We'll see about the 911!!

[dphil66]

On oil changes:

You're wasting your money changing 9 quarts of synthetic oil every 3000 miles. The only time you may want to do that is if you spend a good part of your time driving over 4000 rpm, i.e. you track the car all the time.

If you drive the car like a normal car, there is nothing wrong with the factory recommendation. Look at it this way: a 3.4 liter 6-cyl engine would normally take about 4.5 quarts of oil. The 911 uses twice that, so your oil life will be extended. Synthetic oil lasts a lot longer than conventional oil, so that extends the life as well. If you got twice the life from having twice the oil, and twice the life from using synthetic, then divide the 15,000 factory interval in half twice, and you get 3750 miles. Not a bad interval for changing oil.

I'm sure that's grossly oversimplified...but 9 quarts of synthetic every 3k? That's just tremendous overkill. Stretch it out to 7-8k at the very least. It's really not necessary unless you drive the car at 6 grand on a dirt track all the time.

[714dre]

I got my 996 in May and have been using it as my daily driver ever since.

She is a great daily car-

Comfortable

Reliable

Great A/C

Even my 87 year old grandmother says it is a comfortable ride... and if you knew my grandma, that is definitely saying something about the ride.

I have put about 5k miles on it... and my MPG is right around 15-18... and that is driving like it is stolen every chance I get.

I am sure if I babied it I could get into the low to mid 20s on MPG...

I still have just under 60K on the odometer, so can't talk about the high mileage reliability

I did pay just over 30K... knowing what I know now I could've got for maybe 27 or 28... but I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

Good luck... where you been looking?

[viper501]

Hi, I am new to this forum and I have always wanted a Carrera. Looks like I am going to get the early model 996 such as 99-00 in the next few months. I am planning to spend $30k on the car total. I planned to find one for cheaper and set aside a few thousand for maint.

The question I have are:

How is the 996 as a daily driver?

I see a few treads stating that the engine has gone bad at aprox 125k miles...is this common?

Whats your mileage?

What mpg do you get?

I am coming from a 97 e36 m3. I am used to owning cars with 100k + miles on it. My previous bmw 325is had 240k miles!

Mine is my daily driver. I put about 60k miles on her in two years. Yes, I drive a lot. Even with the X74 suspension she's great. Really makes some trips a lot more fun (and take a lot less time :D )

My engine 'died' at 126, 1XX miles. Died is in qoutes because it really appears that the most likely cause of the loss of compression on number 2 was a broken valve spring. I decided to replace the engine based on economics. For the labor involved in removing the engine, stripping off the accessories and opening up the head, I was halfway to a Porsche reman'd engine with a two year unlimited mileage warranty. It didn't make economic sense to me to spend that kind of money on an engine that was that far along in mileage when I could get an updated engine for a little more.

My current mileage is 126,6XX. New engine is sweet, especially with the new FVD branded AASCO lightweight flywheel.

Highway mileage varies depending on the right foot. Cruising about the speed limit I can get 28 to 30. Going to the mountains is a *bit* less. :D Around town is about 20-22.

Having come from an ///M Roadster to my 99 996, I'd caution you to understand that parts are a bit pricier, especially if you don't have either a good dealer or the patience to order from Sunset Porsche or another dealer ( DO NOT GO TO BRANDYWINE PORSCE - DO A SEARCH here and on 6speedonline.com IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY ). The cars themselves are no more difficult to work on though, just gotta find someone that knows what they are doing or learn how to do it yourself. Maintenance is easy to do yourself assuming you can turn a wrench and follow directions. RMS leaks are normally not fatal or catastrophic so don't freak about them. The IMS failure is fatal and is catastrophic but you can't tell when that may happen. There is an updated IMS solution out there. Search for Autofarm in the U.K. for more info on that.

BTW, even though I just spent a lot of money on her, I still love that car. Oh and of course :renntech:

[phillipj]

I bought my 996 with 50k miles 3 years ago. It had all the stuff I wanted on it., Fabspeed mufflers, chip, Short shift kit and super lite Carrera alloys and a body kit.

I drive it a few times a week (maybe 3k miles a year.)

I agree that although it can be a daily driver you will appreciate it more if you drive it part time.

I don't get very good city mileage because of the way I drive it. But on the freeway I think I get around 24 mpg.

I have had a BMW M6 (old version and a M3 (E36), I agree that there is no comparison to the Porsche. The Carrera is more like a comfortable go-kart (which I love.) It makes me smile every time I drive it.

The only problems I have had were an ignition switch and replaced a starter. My cam covers weep a bit but never a drop on the floor. My mechanic said I should have the cam covers done (not cheap.) I asked him "Is it a serious issue?" He said "no". "Will it hurt the motor?" He again said "no". So I said "So why the heck should I fix it?" He didn't have a good answer.

When I drive the car I drive it fast. That's why I got it. Although it is always spotless (never even has brake dust on the rims) it is not a garage queen!

Look at lot of cars before you buy one and definetly have a good mechanic look at it before making a decision. Try to find one with performance upgrades so you don't have to pay for them.

Good luck and be patient. Let us all know when you find a car!

Phillipj

Edited July 27, 2007 by phillipj