Looking at a '99 996 - Need some opinions

[TxAgs996]

Good evening all!

I am looking at buying a 1999 996, NA, 6 speed. I know nothing about 996s except the bit I have learned at the 6 speed forums.

Here's the info -

17,850 miles, yes really. The woman who currently owns it is a widow. Her husband bought the car in June of 1998 according to the manual and window sticker. He used it to drive to football games up in College Station (Aggie!). He died in 2009 and the car was parked in the garage. It was driven seldom over the past 2 years.

I looked under the car, felt around and looked at the garage floor. I couldn't see any sign of oil leaks. The oil was still very clean, clear and yellow. Everything worked fine. No broken hinges, no buttons falling off. It does have two door dings in the passenger side. Tires and Pirelli PZeros and look to have about 15k miles left on them. The hoses and belt had no cracking and still felt pretty supple, not hard. The owner just paid a tow truck to haul it to a local repair shop for a new battery.

So, of course I've seen the info on the IMS, RMS and total engine failures. I am aware that that is a possibility.

Are there any other things I need to be aware of? Any other things I should look at. The car drove like a dream.

Thanks for any info you guys might have. Looking forward to becoming a contributor!

Jason

Edited August 27, 2011 by TxAgs996

[j_beede]

I can't imagine a more impressive $20,000 used car than a MY99 996! Great looking and too much fun to drive. Just keep in mind that these cars cost $60,000 to $80,000 when new and the prices for parts and service do not scale with the car's resale value. Has the engine been replaced? It was not uncommon for MY99/00 996s to have their engines replaced. The issue with the reman engines is that they are often not candidates for the LN Eng IMSB retrofit--if you care about such things.

[HalM]

I just went through the learning curve of buying one of these myself. FWIW, here are my thoughts. 1.) At that mileage and age, I would guess it has the original IMS. I would just bite the bullet and get the LN Engineering upgrade installed. 2.) Change all the fluids including the brakes. 3.) Check the date codes on the tires. You don't want to be driving around on any of the originals.

I am sure I missed something, but it looks like a great buy. I am sure you will enjoy it.

[whall]

Jason,

It is imperative that you arrange for a Pre-Purchase Inspection before you purchase the car. As j beede succinctly points out "Just keep in mind that these cars cost $60,000 to $80,000 when new and the prices for parts and service do not scale with the car's resale value."

I would suggest either a dealer or an independent Porsche shop do the inspection. I would steer clear of friend of a friend's shop that works on "a lot" of German cars.

Good luck.

Bill

Edited August 27, 2011 by whall

[ltumacder]

Bought a MY99 cabrio last year with 40k miles and excellent condition - here's my thoughts.

Definitely get a PPI from a dealer or better yet an Indy who specializes in Porsches. The indy will be brutally honest and will do it cheaper and better if he feels you may be a future customer. During the PPI offer the owner a free oil change and have the mechanic thoroughly inspect the oil filter for metal fragments. If you are satisfied with the PPI then buy the car and don't worry about upgrading the IMS until you decide to change the clutch, which in my case will be in another 5k miles.

Another thing I did was talk to a service rep at the dealer where my car was exclusively maintained. I told him that I may have the 60k checkup done (a $1k job) at his location if the previous owner had neglected any periodic maintenance. So the rep told me the entire history of the car and the mileage at every visit from the first scheduled maintenance - 11 years worth of data.

Edited August 29, 2011 by ltumacder

[j_beede]

Repeat: Reman engine probably means no IMSB retrofit for your car.

[HalM]

Repeat: Reman engine probably means no IMSB retrofit for your car.

I think this might be a "is the glass have full or half empty" type of dilemma. And it was my biggest concern. Obviously with an original or 2 row IMS you can install the LN Engineering upgrade. And that is important to a lot of folks. Any for the final version, you cannot and that restraint will put off a number of buyers.

After a lot of research, I could not find measured or anecdotal evidence of IMS failures for the final version. In other words, it seems to me that the final version IMS was pretty good. And this is what I have purchased. As a matter of fact, I leave in 2 hours to drive 200 miles to pick it up. That is not to say I won't put Jake's new Guardian on my car when it is released, but that I feel the 3rd rev of the IMS is OK and not something to lose sleep over.

YMMV

Edited August 29, 2011 by HalM

[baronb55]

Repeat: Reman engine probably means no IMSB retrofit for your car.

I bought a 1999 996 with 78,000 miles. I made all the mistakes you can make including not getting a PPI. Thank God, I lucked out and no major issues were found. I did have to change the control arms (one was broken and just decided to change all of them,. I immeditely changed all the fluids, clutch, suspension (installed H&R street performace coilovers), rotors, pads, chain tensioners, polyrib belt, spark plugs and harness, light weight flywheel, headers, mufflers and installed cat by pass pipes. The IMS bearing (L&N engineering) and rear seals were also replaced. Finally, I installed 19 inch wheels with new tires. I paid 20K for the car and have spent about 12 K in improvements and maintenance. The end result is a 32K 1999 996 that looks and performs as good as any 12 y/o car with 78K miles can. Was it worth it? I think so. Looks to me that you may be getting more car than I did. Just be careful with the engine seals. 17K miles in 12 years does not seem to be much. These seals (I have been told) will dryrot in old low mile garage queens.

The mechanic told me that the replaced IMS bearing in my car was still good. I intend to drive the car in DE events and autocross and enjoy it. For this reason, I probably went overboard with maintenance and upgrades. I personally like my lightly optioned 996 more than the newer cars with GPS systems and lots of electronics. My humble opinion...go for it after a good PPI so that you know what you are getting into.