High mileage 996's

Pompeydave · 5 Oct 2019

Hi all, first post and all that so be gentle please! Looking to buy my first Porsche and it's an entry level 996 that I'm looking at for starters. Are mileages in excess of 100k anything to worry about if servicing has been done properly? Is there a recognised point at which even with good maintenance an engine is officially 'tired'?

T8 · 6 Oct 2019

:welcome: to 911uk 'Dave.

You'll get plenty of useful fresh answers to your question from the helpful people on here but if you have a scroll down this sub-forum you'll find loads of threads relevant to your question and to your idea in general.

To kick you off this one may be of interest.

---> http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=12...0&postorder=asc&highlight=high+milage+mileage

I'd never be one to put off someone from buying any 911 but if it's the current market price of high mileage 996s that's attracting you and that £ figure is your budget I'd strongly advise you to do a lot of research before buying one. 'Proper service history' may not be enough and 100k may mean that it's not just the engine that's tired.

Buying one of these cars is only the start.

Counter Of Beans · 6 Oct 2019

Welcome Pompeydave - you will find loads of useful information on this site. There are opposing views on your question, namely:
1) these cars can take high mileages, buy on condition, or
2) it's a case of when, not if, they will need a rebuild. That will cost a lot of money, cancelling out the low purchase price.

I suppose the best advice is to get a potential purchase professionally inspected including a borescope. Other posters will offer their views no doubt!

bazhart · 6 Oct 2019

Service history will make liitle difference to the chances of a high mileage failure occurring.

There are a number of contributing factors. Some relate to owner history (driving style, service and oil change frequency, grade of oil used, warm up procedures etc), some are random (depending on distribution of silicon in the bore material, bonding strength of piston coatings, tolerances in manufacture etc).

So if you get a badly maintained and thrashed car that inside the engine has a random poorer quality number of parts - it will probably have already failed or be on its last legs. But if you get one that was always warmed up properly, driven sympathetically, regularly maintained and with all the original engine internal in the best condition (which describes the majority) it will probably last a good while longer.

The difficulty in establishing its past and internal condition means that the uncertainty may require an engine rebuild and if you could not afford it probably best to avoid this type of car with high mileage.

If you are sufficiently interested to read a huge long technical report on the 4 main weaknesses please contact [email protected] for a copy.

They are however absolutely brilliant cars and a lot of car for the initial money and the odds are you would be OK - it is just that if you were unlucky it could be expensive to fix.

Baz

arry · 6 Oct 2019

Go in with a decent slush fund you don't mind spunking if it all goes wrong. Buy sensibly and carefully. And relax. It'll most likely all be fine.

TurboRob · 6 Oct 2019

Pompeydave said:
Hi all, first post and all that so be gentle please! Looking to buy my first Porsche and it's an entry level 996 that I'm looking at for starters. Are mileages in excess of 100k anything to worry about if servicing has been done properly? Is there a recognised point at which even with good maintenance an engine is officially 'tired'?

100k miles would be ~5k miles per year average, not much and therefore probably sat idle for months at a time. Would sooner have one that's done 10k+ miles per year average, been used daily and serviced/maintained/rebuilt as required.

Alex · 6 Oct 2019

That'd put mine on 190k. Would you prefer to buy that or one at 100k?

TurboRob · 6 Oct 2019

Yours at 190k as it must've been consistently well maintained to get there, and most likely has had everything replaced or rebuilt in the process of doing so.

cvega · 6 Oct 2019

bazhart said:
They are however absolutely brilliant cars and a lot of car for the initial money and the odds are you would be OK - it is just that if you were unlucky it could be expensive to fix.

This. Buy with eyes open. You can't predict the future - it will be what it will be...

mine is at 145k but going strong.. if it blows, will rebuild, it's as simple as that.

Pompeydave · 6 Oct 2019

Thanks guys. Suspected replies would be like these. I've always bought high milers whenever I've wanted to step up to a brand/model that perhaps I couldn't really quite afford and I've always got away with it. One rule I always stick to though is that whatever I buy it must have a full dealer/indie service history. I also treat the car with respect which helps. I'm in no hurry so can wait for the right car to come along.

911munKy · 7 Oct 2019

Pompeydave said:
One rule I always stick to though is that whatever I buy it must have a full dealer/indie service history.

Might be worth rereading the first line of the above Baz Hart post, this guy knows his onions.

Chances are that a 100k+ car will be OK if you get a decent PPI before you buy however these cars are cheap 911's for a reason (inherent weaknesses) and there is a small chance that you'll get an unluckily one that requires possibly large expenditure so best prepare for it and feel lucky when it doesn't happen.
They are a lot of car for the money if you get a good one but you should expect to spend a few £k in the early years sorting out problems and replacing worn components at that mileage.

Griffter · 7 Oct 2019

People talk about preventative rebuilds to avoid the costs escalating enormously if the crankshaft wears. Obviously as mileage increases you're going to be closer to the point of a rebuild, not further from it.

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=128514

cvega · 7 Oct 2019

911munKy said:
They are a lot of car for the money if you get a good one but you should expect to spend a few £k in the early years sorting out problems and replacing worn components at that mileage.

Amen. My "cheap" 911 that was in good shape so far has cost £9k over 3 years, a lot of that was preventative maintenance and stuff that just needed doing..

mattomg · 8 Oct 2019

Dave, if you're in the PO1 area PM me I can let you have a look at my 100,000+ C4S & show you perhaps what to expect

I can also point you towards my Indie who can also get involved in your search with his knowledge & PPI's

Matt

demon · 8 Oct 2019

I bought high mileage and then had a Hartech rebuild a couple of years down the line... now its even higher mileage but the majority of those are now my own miles - its always been my daily driver, I'm sympathetic to the car, whilst still using it as intended...

Factoring ~£3k annual costs for basic preventive maintenance and "fiddling/fettling" to your own taste is a pretty good and true rule of thumb

Ultimately once you pass that last factory specified service point you're out in the lap of the gods/your own hands anyway. I've always relied on a good independent that will lay out a bit of a roadmap of what will need attention... and a bit of a hobby of collecting better condition "bits" whenever I happen across them...

High mileage 996's

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