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Forum knowledge sought Re buying 997.1

me&my997

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Joined
23 Mar 2019
Messages
165
Hello chaps , back on the 911 trail after a 8 year absence . Can't remember previous password so joined up all fresh
I previously enjoyed a 964tip (loved it like a child ) & a aerokitted 996C2 ( didn't keep that long after realising my big mistake in selling the aircooled )
Anyways ive been deep in the hunt for some time , done due diligence with my homework studies & feel i'm 85% educated but a couple of points are niggling me bad & thus keeping my wallet from opening :)
To keep it simple for now i have 2 questions id really appreciate forum thoughts on ( avid member of a similar forum & know what wealth of knowledge lies within these places )

1) lets say a 05/06 Carrera 3.6 or 3.8 had been well serviced & kept , even having a borescope inspection that was all good 10k ago , would that car if treat properly & cossetted be a better buy than a similar car without a borescope test as in could it still suffer a dreaded fail at any point ?

2) here's the big kicker that has been holding me back , i seem to read more & more that no matter what history , inspection or upkeep come 80k/100k /120k these engines WILL NEED a rebuild even if they show no outward signs of imminent failure ?

tia
 
...Hartech have certainly stated as much on these pages; the crank bearings wear thin with the consequential potential to damage the very expensive crank shaft...plus tensioner pads, valve guides etc will be worn at 80k plus...

All of which doesn't mean that the car won't run just that the engine won't be performing at it's best...

Mine was rebuilt at a cost close to £15k (loads of parts replaced/reconditioned heads etc) and all I can say is that it feels very much tighter and fitter now and it felt good before

:D
 
I would suggest that based on your concerns no amount of mixed views are going to get you wallet open . So IMO your the prime candidate to go find a decent spec but leggy cheap (sub 20k ) ideally 16/18k car or one with a known fault and spend 12k getting it rebuilt and have a totally sound car for the next 100k miles for about 30k no sleepless nights dreaming of imminent doom :grin: :thumb: :thumb:
 
Finding a leggy car in good order may be hard, remember air cooled 911's usually need a rebuild at 100k plus and that is considerably more expensive as a rule of thumb than the water cooled cars.
Drove a friends 997.1 last night with 85k on the clock, perfect !
 
Phil 997 said:
I would suggest that based on your concerns no amount of mixed views are going to get you wallet open . So IMO your the prime candidate to go find a decent spec but leggy cheap (sub 20k ) ideally 16/18k car or one with a known fault and spend 12k getting it rebuilt and have a totally sound car for the next 100k miles for about 30k no sleepless nights dreaming of imminent doom :grin: :thumb: :thumb:

Unfortunately i'm not looking for a forever car so see no benefit in that route , in fact at that spend id prefer to sink the £30k ( which is my upper budget incidentally) into a 20k 14/15plate 981
The car is purely a Sunday indulgence with occasional roadtrip , last 5 years ive had a few ///M cars & looking for a change of scene .
My op isn't to bolster my confidence , its merely to judge the opinion of those who have walked the walk & if the majority of opinion is that each & every 100k 997 is due a rebuild then ive heard enough , if however the underlying vibe is buy a decent one , maintain well , treat well & no reason why it will suddenly expire then i can make a rational & informed decision based on actual experience .
 
Frenchmeister said:
Finding a leggy car in good order may be hard, remember air cooled 911's usually need a rebuild at 100k plus and that is considerably more expensive as a rule of thumb than the water cooled cars.
Drove a friends 997.1 last night with 85k on the clock, perfect !

Ive sifted through a fair few dogs but to be fair have come across 3 really fine examples around the 85k/88k mark . None of the sellers have had any interest whatsover barring myself & its hard to ignore the prices right now on 997.1 (& 997.2 for that matter) seem to be falling month on month .
Can i ask what your friend with his 85k car has planned by way of engine rebuild in the coming 10k/20k miles ?
 
James thats a good suggestion as the OP is going to only use it as a Sunday driver so by the time he sells it ,it would be more like an ave miler and possibly suffer even less depreciation :grin: but as he's mentioned 981 as an option then suggest he drives both as some love the mid engined cars and other must have the rear engine 911 but both are very different drives
 
Your budgets within a sniff of a 997.2, so go that route
 
threads like this just make me want to keep my perfectly running 93k example forever....apparently, it's worth nothing now to anyone but me because of it's chocoloate engine and certain need for a re-build in the next 10 minutes

seriously OP, if you find a nice 85k miler with good history and which passes the well documented tests/checks, then go for it...they're fantastic cars and the low depreciation easily counters getting a lesser car
 
Ashgoods have a 997.2 C2 with 74k for 30k
 
Basalt911 said:
threads like this just make me want to keep my perfectly running 93k example forever....apparently, it's worth nothing now to anyone but me because of it's chocoloate engine and certain need for a re-build in the next 10 minutes

seriously OP, if you find a nice 85k miler with good history and which passes the well documented tests/checks, then go for it...they're fantastic cars and the low depreciation easily counters getting a lesser car

Indeed, our black 997S has just turned 80k miles. It doesn't tap, smoke or use oil. It does have an LTT fitted, it's had a bit of suspension work over the last few years, a new water pump a while back and just yesterday it got a couple of new engine mounts just as a precaution because they don't last forever.

According to internet experts she's worth about 50p.
 
RichardKS said:
Basalt911 said:
threads like this just make me want to keep my perfectly running 93k example forever....apparently, it's worth nothing now to anyone but me because of it's chocoloate engine and certain need for a re-build in the next 10 minutes

seriously OP, if you find a nice 85k miler with good history and which passes the well documented tests/checks, then go for it...they're fantastic cars and the low depreciation easily counters getting a lesser car

Indeed, our black 997S has just turned 80k miles. It doesn't tap, smoke or use oil. It does have an LTT fitted, it's had a bit of suspension work over the last few years, a new water pump a while back and just yesterday it got a couple of new engine mounts just as a precaution because they don't last forever.

According to internet experts she's worth about 50p.

Richard I can give you 70p for it :grin: :grin: :grin:
I Still struggle to get my head around the scare about these cars I had my gen1 for 4.5 years did 50k miles in it sold it on 89k miles had it scoped when sold it was clean as whistle and mine was one of the ultra chocolate tiptronics . yes of course no one wants to be in the unlucky few but the current widely accepted numbers are 8% of cars fail with IMS and 5% with borescore . that leaves a hell of a lot of good solid cars out there. and dont get me on the ultra reliable gen2 put aside the Hartech engine rebuild as thats not a weakness of the car and just cheap mods so we cannot count that cost, but the gearbox rebuild, new clutch and flywheel and coolant hoses that have been done in the past 12 months were not my fault and cost 9k so anything can happen if your unlucky .

Still on a positive note at least I haven't lost 20k in depreciation on a 40k BMW or Merc over the past 3 years and thats not 5% or 8% thats 100% of them :nooo: I wonder if there owners lie awake at night worrying about depreciation like 997 owners worry about the much less expensive engine rebuild on their cars with minimal depreciation. :?: :dont know: 8) :)
 
Phil 997 said:
RichardKS said:
Basalt911 said:
threads like this just make me want to keep my perfectly running 93k example forever....apparently, it's worth nothing now to anyone but me because of it's chocoloate engine and certain need for a re-build in the next 10 minutes

seriously OP, if you find a nice 85k miler with good history and which passes the well documented tests/checks, then go for it...they're fantastic cars and the low depreciation easily counters getting a lesser car

Indeed, our black 997S has just turned 80k miles. It doesn't tap, smoke or use oil. It does have an LTT fitted, it's had a bit of suspension work over the last few years, a new water pump a while back and just yesterday it got a couple of new engine mounts just as a precaution because they don't last forever.

According to internet experts she's worth about 50p.

Richard I can give you 70p for it :grin: :grin: :grin:
I Still struggle to get my head around the scare about these cars I had my gen1 for 4.5 years did 50k miles in it sold it on 89k miles had it scoped when sold it was clean as whistle and mine was one of the ultra chocolate tiptronics . yes of course no one wants to be in the unlucky few but the current widely accepted numbers are 8% of cars fail with IMS and 5% with borescore . that leaves a hell of a lot of good solid cars out there. and dont get me on the ultra reliable gen2 put aside the Hartech engine rebuild as thats not a weakness of the car and just cheap mods so we cannot count that cost, but the gearbox rebuild, new clutch and flywheel and coolant hoses that have been done in the past 12 months were not my fault and cost 9k so anything can happen if your unlucky .

Still on a positive note at least I haven't lost 20k in depreciation on a 40k BMW or Merc over the past 3 years and thats not 5% or 8% thats 100% of them :nooo: I wonder if there owners lie awake at night worrying about depreciation like 997 owners worry about the much less expensive engine rebuild on their cars with minimal depreciation. :?: :dont know: 8) :)

I failed to mention that our car is a tip' on purpose. Apparently, they're really rubbish...
 

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