Buyers Advice wanted

[Phil 997]

I think most points have been covered so far except IMS this was upgraded by porsche during 2005 so some 05 and all cars post March 06 have the better stronger IMS bearing this is not regarded as a potential risk . the 3.6 generally is regarded as having less chance of borescore, but it does happen but much lower risk, but the tip is regarded as having more risk of scoring due the the strain on the engine of using as default 2nd gear to pull away in. So of the 997.1 Carreras a 3.6 manual post march 06 or at 05 but with the better newer IMS would be regarded as the lowest risk of those mentioned issues. Although I dont agree totally with the argument that they will at some point all need a rebuild , any more than at some point and at some mileage all engines from all marques will require a rebuild, and highly tuned sports cars are by nature probably under more strain in their lives than a standard saloon car. and I have said this before and it must be considered by anyone looking at 997.1s these cars depreciate less than most other marques therefore if you brought a 997.1 intending to keep it for 5 years and it needed a rebuild you would only end up losing about the same money as you would lose in depreciation in pretty much any other marque . so if you look it as worst case your going to own and enjoy driving a 911 for the same cost over 5 years as it would cost to own a BMW or Mercedes etc and should it not go bang its a nice bonus when you sell it. It always amuses me that guys seem happy to buy a 30k BMW and after 5 years sell it for 8k losing 22k in depreciation, but are frightened at the scenario of buying a 26k 997.1 maybe spending 14k on a rebuild selling it in 5 years for 20k and lose 20k which is 2k less than they would lose on the BMW or Mercedes. So I suggest you consider this when others are saying never buy a 997.1. there is always more than one way to look at these things ,you must consider all the facts to get the true view. and the 997.1 option is only ever a worst case the bmw/merc option is a will happen case. I had my 997.1 3.6TIP for 4.5 years drove 50k miles in it sold it on 89k miles for 3k more than I paid for it had it borescoped and it was clean as a whistle and 3years later is still going strong with its new owner. :thumb: I hope this is a good counter argument to the many negative comments about the 997.1 currently the accepted percentage of 997.1s that suffer borescope is around 5% and IMS is 8% that still leaves 87% of cars as being good so its hardly the huge scary story the internet would have you believe remember no one posts on the internet "I drove my 997.1 today and mmmm well nothing it was fine" so the stories are biased by the few that do have an issue and scream all across the internet about it. also for anyone looking to buy a 996 or 997 you must budget to spend £2/2500 pa to maintain and run one of these cars this is the ave pa over the life of the car but it doesn't drip, you could have several years of it costing 1k pa then you could have a year where it costs 4k but it averages out at between £2000 to £2500 pa. hope those thought help :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[rickprice]

I have a 997.1 C4S with 118k miles, 95k when I bought it. I bought the Porsche warrantee 3 years ago, so most of the below has been covered by Stuttgart:

Brand new manual gearbox (synchromesh) and clutch
New starter motor and associated wires (hot start issue)
New rear brake discs (including new fluid, pads etc)
New exhaust, engine to air (they covered the inlet manifolds, I had to pay for the exhaust system - £2.3k for a retro-fit PSE, but I could have gone a lot cheaper - but was under warrantee so had to be OEM of some form)
Window regulators
Various pipes / tubes / stuff I can't name
Aircon condensers (avoidable if you protect them with mesh)

She had an engine build at 50k miles under the previous owner, again warrantee.

She is currently in for a look at the front discs and the suspension. The front, if needed, should be covered buy warrantee. The suspension might be, I'll find out in the net few days.

So...

Higher mileage cars come with worn out parts - no ***** Sherlock. But if you get the right price (I did) then this is part of owning an older car. The bills are no higher than my TVR, which lives in the garage covered buy a cloth, covers 500-1000miles p.a. and which gives me a £3-5k bill every 2 years or so. And yes, its a nice TVR which doesn't break down. Its just old and built in Blackpool by humans.

If you are looking at a cost-effective car with minimal ongoing costs then you are on the wrong forum. You need to factor in that all sports cars cost money - and not just to buy.

Whether you need to worry about disaster scenarios is really up to the type of person you are; you will never buy a car that is guaranteed to be bullet-proof. My Audi was a pile of s*** and I couldn't wait to be shot of it. Best car I have owned outside Porsche was probably an MX-5. No car is without risk.

Mind you, once you drive them, you tend to forget all that... :lol:


Rich

 

[Robert SausageTrousers]

My 05 3.8 C2S Tip's done 77k, full engine rebuild at 49k, it's been 100% reliable since the rebuild and hasn't even used any oil between changes (6k miles), they can be fantastically reliable! Other than services it's cost me next to nothing. I think some of it comes down to buying the right car, and some of it is just pot luck! My 2-3 years of 911 ownership has been amazing and cost way less overall than a lot of other more 'boring' cars would have done, I'm about to sell mine and will miss it hugely!

 

[Supersport Mike]

Its good to hear some positive comments about the 997.1 (Thanks Phil 997) I have a 3,6 Man bought it 2yrs ago of a chap that bought it new , larger IMS no worries about it at all I do is change the oil every 6 months
These are great affordable cars just wish people would stop slagging them off

 

[pinnerman]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. After looking about for a while and test driving a few cars i have lept in with both feet and Brought a 997.1 Carrera S, yes I know it might be more prone to bore scoring but with depreciation less of a factor I am willing to look after it and take that risk. It would seem that from the specialist that I have spoken to the risk is relatively low although it does happen.

I had a full PPI and the results were great with no major problems. I did have the IMS (an clutch) replaces and a low temp thermostat fitted so I hope that I have done the preventative maintenance.

Thanks for the help and yes its parked on the road and i intend to drive it as often as possible rain or shine.

 

[T8]

:congrats:

What year, what mileage :?:

 

[Andy 997]

Looks lovely. Do i recognise that yard? FGP by any chance? If so im sure you wont have any issues as they seem to be a very reputable team

 

[jwb1380]

Pinnerman looks good and congrats. Yes, more specs please?

I bought my first 911, 997.1 4S 2007, 3 years ago and have done 10k miles, 66k to 76k. It's only needed basic servicing between me and OPC, a few mods but the only repair so far was the passenger door window motor, bought a replacement on ebay for less than £100 - no choice with CV19 lock down, just did it myself. Problem fixed with help from the folks on this forum - very helpful. I did a 2k Europe road trip and used hardly any oil, one block max on the oil level check, no bad for a condemned no hoper bore scorer?

They are brilliant fun cars enjoy and use as much as possible. Looking forward to that 100k milestone - haha!

 

[pinnerman]

Looks lovely. Do i recognise that yard? FGP by any chance? If so im sure you wont have any issues as they seem to be a very reputable team

Yep it certainly is and I have to say I had a really great experience with Luke.He was very helpful and and fixed all of the issues that the PPI check picked up without any problem at all (mainly small niggles rather than any real mechanical problems) . I would highly recommend them, they also have an onsite mechanic with full lift so looks like they are really going for it.