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Newbie to forum & Porsche ownership, any advice welcome

DP911

Active member
Joined
28 Apr 2017
Messages
36
Used to spend some time on BMW car club forum many years ago as a long term BMW man finally going to make the plunge into a 911.

Got a deposit down on a Gen 1 05 plate 997, Carrera 2 s in silver with 50k miles and the Indy dealer has just gave Cath Burrows 7k to rebuild the engine with the dreaded bore scoring.

Having read the forum & done bit research I'm seeing this rebuild as being a good thing if it's been done well as Cath has I'm sure she seems to have good reputation around Lancashire.

Sale is still subject to her going through a full mechanical inspection for me this week I'm just trying to get as much info as possible at this stage so any help would be great.

Is this as decent a buy I'm going to get?
Car would be daily driver and is obviously 12 years old or so now is there anything else I need to consider?
 
Hi and welcome, a rebuilt car is always a plus, but not a normal situation you are in?

What spec and how much did you pay if you want to know if its a good buy that is the question?

What exactly is getting rebuilt and what parts with and what happens if other things need replacing?

Theres a lot of things that could be replaced while the engine is out but hard to say in advance ???? :?:
 
seeforez said:
Hi and welcome, a rebuilt car is always a plus, but not a normal situation you are in?

What spec and how much did you pay if you want to know if its a good buy that is the question?

What exactly is getting rebuilt and what parts with and what happens if other things need replacing?

Theres a lot of things that could be replaced while the engine is out but hard to say in advance ???? :?:

Unusual situation for sure, I think perhaps with what we know about these engines it's maybe a lucky 1?

Dealer took the car in trade, apparently sold it then new customer brought back drinking oil they wouldn't have noticed I guess while it was sitting on fore court so whoever traded originally probably knew about the bore score issue and jumped ship.

Not sure exactly yet what's been done I've saw the bill for 7k and I've spoke to cath burrows on the phone who seems very straight forward & helpful in meeting with her tomorrow at her garage where the car is back in apparently she has discovered some tapped rattle at 2000rpm & that's getting changed at dealer expense.

Following on from her overall inspection I guess I'll know what I could do to make the car better/more reliable?

And finally car was sold to me at 22.5k, full service history Porsche up until the warranty expired I assume indies after that.

Spec wise it has the 19 inch claw style alloys & sat nav over & above whatever the normal S spec includes memory seats xenons etc.
 
seeforez said:
Hi and welcome, a rebuilt car is always a plus, but not a normal situation you are in?

What spec and how much did you pay if you want to know if its a good buy that is the question?

What exactly is getting rebuilt and what parts with and what happens if other things need replacing?

Theres a lot of things that could be replaced while the engine is out but hard to say in advance ???? :?:

:agree: +1, where to start??? The list is as long as it can be. 12yrs old... I'd just quite literally start at the front and work backwards. If you're new to Porsche I'd open the laptop and watch a many YouTube inspection videos as possible, it's faster than reading. Having said that DO NOT BUY THE CAR UNTIL YOU HAVE IT INDEPENDENTLY CHECKED BY A PORSCHE CENTRE OR PORSCHE SPECIALIST. Forget history and paperwork etc, (well not entirely) the only piece of paper you should be interested in and that's a full 111 check. Aesthetics can be put right during ownership. Do your research on items like front condensers, coil packs, brakes, etc to get an idea of running costs. Most of the 911's that are 9lemons are because people like the idea of driving a 911 but fail to be able to run one with the costs. Often resulting in a high performance car that has been run on a shoe string and a case of get rid when before it won't make it onto a dealership to part ex. They can all look pretty with some fairy washing up liquid and a slap of polish. That's where the experts come to their keen eyes and fancy plug in computers. :thumb:
 
MNC911 said:
seeforez said:
Hi and welcome, a rebuilt car is always a plus, but not a normal situation you are in?

What spec and how much did you pay if you want to know if its a good buy that is the question?

What exactly is getting rebuilt and what parts with and what happens if other things need replacing?

Theres a lot of things that could be replaced while the engine is out but hard to say in advance ???? :?:

:agree: +1, where to start??? The list is as long as it can be. 12yrs old... I'd just quite literally start at the front and work backwards. If you're new to Porsche I'd open the laptop and watch a many YouTube inspection videos as possible, it's faster than reading. Having said that DO NOT BUY THE CAR UNTIL YOU HAVE IT INDEPENDENTLY CHECKED BY A PORSCHE CENTRE OR PORSCHE SPECIALIST. Forget history and paperwork etc, (well not entirely) the only piece of paper you should be interested in and that's a full 111 check. Aesthetics can be put right during ownership. Do your research on items like front condensers, coil packs, brakes, etc to get an idea of running costs. Most of the 911's that are 9lemons are because people like the idea of driving a 911 but fail to be able to run one with the costs. Often resulting in a high performance car that has been run on a shoe string and a case of get rid when before it won't make it onto a dealership to part ex. They can all look pretty with some fairy washing up liquid and a slap of polish. That's where the experts come to their keen eyes and fancy plug in computers. :thumb:

Thanks for advice mate Cath is doing a full inspection for me before I sign off anything since I know nothing about the cars I'll leave it to the experts.

In terms of me personally & where I'm coming from its from a brand new 330d m sport plus m performance fully loaded all singing all dancing spec from new by me 2 years ago at a cost of 50k & now at best it's probably worth 25k so in my mind I think I could own that 911 for what I've paid in depreciation & I'm looking for something with some charm a measure of reliability as it will be my daily driver but I'm also not going to be shy or kid myself I'll need to either future proof the thing or firefight a few issues over couple years ownership anyway at least. What I've blown like most new car owners on depreciation I would rather sink into something with better residuals and accept higher running costs are all good with me I just don't want to be on the hard shoulder every few weeks and I've not ran a car this old before so looking for best advice.
 
sounds like a decent buy if its all sorted with a good quality rebuild but as above there are many other things that could also need to be replaced...and it may be worth considering an independent check or at least takig somebody along who knows these cars
 
seeforez said:
sounds like a decent buy if its all sorted with a good quality rebuild but as above there are many other things that could also need to be replaced...and it may be worth considering an independent check or at least takig somebody along who knows these cars

Relying on Cath Burrows for the inspection hopefully willl get a good chat to her and another look round the car tomorrow as it's at her place now.

Battery was flat when I took it out spin it needed to be jumped so I assume that's a common 1 if it's on the original Porsche battery make sure they change it to a new 1 for me prior to taking the car?
 
@OP Sounds like you have done your home work with a good approach to buying into this marque :thumbs:

Funny that you mentioned that you decided against another BMW purchase after being hit with the depreciation bat. I was in the exact same position late last year and even though BMW were doing everything they could to move me from my 420d to a new M4 I just couldn't make the math work for me anymore knowing what I was going to lose in 24 months. I lost over 20k in that car in 24 months :( When I told the dealer what I finally made up my mind to do he just said 'Don't blame you be sure to bring it around to show me when you get it, I love 911s'! :D

I assume any engine re-build will come with a warranty as will the purchase from the dealer and if so that should take some worry out of the equation. If everything else stacks up it sounds like a decent buy . Good luck you will not be disappointed and yes the batteries on these cars can be a bit crap if not run often or maintained with a trickle charger
 
Monkeynutz said:
@OP Sounds like you have done your home work with a good approach to buying into this marque :thumbs:

Funny that you mentioned that you decided against another BMW purchase after being hit with the depreciation bat. I was in the exact same position late last year and even though BMW were doing everything they could to move me from my 420d to a new M4 I just couldn't make the math work for me anymore knowing what I was going to lose in 24 months. I lost over 20k in that car in 24 months :( When I told the dealer what I finally made up my mind to do he just said 'Don't blame you be sure to bring it around to show me when you get it, I love 911s'! :D

I assume any engine re-build will come with a warranty as will the purchase from the dealer and if so that should take some worry out of the equation. If everything else stacks up it sounds like a decent buy . Good luck you will not be disappointed and yes the batteries on these cars can be a bit crap if not run often or maintained with a trickle charger

Same story mate Harry Fairbairns in Glasgow rang me last week probably after seeing the car being searched for an HPI or something & started probing me when I told them what I was doing he started telling me about a lovely M4 5£36 had sitting that in 'the real world would blow away a 911 anyway' and if I wanted to still go ahead with 'my midlife crisis supercar' then he would understand lol he was only having bit of joke and banter & the conversation ended with come on in & chat anyway & fair play to you if you do it bcos it's a beautiful car & highly desirable but 'you'll be back like many others have'

But for once I don't believe him, I haven't even got my hands on a 911 yet & I know owning 1 is going to be something very special I love BMW's I think they are fantastic cars but not as special as the Porsche and well yes the depreciation curve is horrendous on them. I could have owned a couple of 911's by now in what I've lost & still have the money looking timeless, providing a big grin & still sitting on my driveway so perhaps it won't be my last BMW ever but I'm already thinking it won't be the only Porsche I ever buy either.
 
DP911 said:
Same story mate Harry Fairbairns in Glasgow rang me last week probably after seeing the car being searched for an HPI or something & started probing me when I told them what I was doing he started telling me about a lovely M4 5£36 had sitting that in 'the real world would blow away a 911 anyway' and if I wanted to still go ahead with 'my midlife crisis supercar' then he would understand lol he was only having bit of joke and banter & the conversation ended with come on in & chat anyway & fair play to you if you do it bcos it's a beautiful car & highly desirable but 'you'll be back like many others have'

But for once I don't believe him, I haven't even got my hands on a 911 yet & I know owning 1 is going to be something very special I love BMW's I think they are fantastic cars but not as special as the Porsche and well yes the depreciation curve is horrendous on them. I could have owned a couple of 911's by now in what I've lost & still have the money looking timeless, providing a big grin & still sitting on my driveway so perhaps it won't be my last BMW ever but I'm already thinking it won't be the only Porsche I ever buy either.

Likewise, I love BMW right from when I bought my first one over 10 years ago. Still like them but I can't stomach the money lost anymore when there are affordable 911s out there. The only BMW I would buy now is an E46 or E90 IF I had the spare cash and space but I don't and the 911 is a joy. I don't miss the toys from the BMW at all now and am firmly of the belief that the toys are needed in those cars because they are not that fun to drive. I don't care that I don't have DAB anymore, iDrive or a seamless phone interface in fact I rarely have the radio on at all ;)

Only other advice I would throw out there is to get involved in the community like PCGB, Tipec and of course the community here. Go to some of meets etc. It's been a real eye opener for me and I have already made some cracking friends as well as learnt a huge amount about these cars. I went to the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, fantastic event and to see over 500 Porsches in the in-field parking area was just something else!
 
OP as its an 05 I would check with Cath in the morning they did change the IMS bearing to the later better one as part of the rebuild if not this will cost you 1k to do and isnt something you should leave for long before doing or you could be doing another rebuild. Other than that sounds like a decent car at a good price . they make great daily drivers . knock up the miles and enjoy it you will grin far more than you ever did in the beemer. :thumb: :thumb:
 
Phil 997 said:
OP as its an 05 I would check with Cath in the morning they did change the IMS bearing to the later better one as part of the rebuild if not this will cost you 1k to do and isnt something you should leave for long before doing or you could be doing another rebuild. Other than that sounds like a decent car at a good price . they make great daily drivers . knock up the miles and enjoy it you will grin far more than you ever did in the beemer. :thumb: :thumb:


Thanks mate yeah that was going to be one of my first questions for her & also I know the clutch on these cars tend to be quite difficult anyway compared to more standard machines so I guess the way it 'feels' will just take some getting use to also I'm coming from BMW's latest 7 speed auto flappy paddle job aswell so probably just me finding I was fighting with the gearbox a little on my test drive again I'm guessing it's just characteristics of the car vs what I'm use to I'm sure any good inspection will pick up the condition of the gearing & clutch anyway. At 50k I'm thinking clutch cable has maybe just been changed or about to need it from research on similar miles 997's I've seen.
 
DP911 said:
Phil 997 said:
OP as its an 05 I would check with Cath in the morning they did change the IMS bearing to the later better one as part of the rebuild if not this will cost you 1k to do and isnt something you should leave for long before doing or you could be doing another rebuild. Other than that sounds like a decent car at a good price . they make great daily drivers . knock up the miles and enjoy it you will grin far more than you ever did in the beemer. :thumb: :thumb:


Thanks mate yeah that was going to be one of my first questions for her & also I know the clutch on these cars tend to be quite difficult anyway compared to more standard machines so I guess the way it 'feels' will just take some getting use to also I'm coming from BMW's latest 7 speed auto flappy paddle job aswell so probably just me finding I was fighting with the gearbox a little on my test drive again I'm guessing it's just characteristics of the car vs what I'm use to I'm sure any good inspection will pick up the condition of the gearing & clutch anyway. At 50k I'm thinking clutch cable has maybe just been changed or about to need it from research on similar miles 997's I've seen.

Great sounds like your armed with everything you need , good luck keep us posted on how it goes mate .
:thumb: :thumb:
 
Kath Burroughs has a great reputation. I think I'm right in saying that she is ex Hartech.
By all means ask any questions you may have, but I think you will find that in he safe hands no stone will be left unturned 👍🏼👍🏼
 
Hi, if you buy a sorted 911 you won't want a beemer again I'm sure :D

Then it's the deep pit of mods you'll find yourself looking at.

Be warned. Once you start, it's very addictive :grin:

Good luck and keep us posted with developments :thumb:

Ps- I would advise to leave the ims bearing well alone.
 

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