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997 Purchase - What to watch out for?

chunkymonkey1982

Well-known member
Joined
19 Jun 2017
Messages
111
Hi All,

I'm new to this forum so please point me in the right direction if this has already been covered.

I have found a 997 (Gen 1) i like the look of and is in my budget, but some negative points that i would like your opinions on.

1. The cab roof has green stains, the car has been parked under a tree, could that cause it? Is it easy to fix? Doesnt look horrible, but you can notice it.

2. There is a sharp dent above the rear wheel arch, about the diameter of a 50P coin. Can this be filled and sprayed?

3. On the test drive, we noticed what looked like very faint green stain on the drivers seat headrest and on one of the rear seats. is this mold? can it be fixed? Its not at all bad.

4. How do i go about getting a PPI, any recommendations of companies in north London? its a 3.6 with <60K will it need a boroscope?

5. We went on a test drive, no knocks, acceleration was good.

What do you think?
 
Welcome to the forum! Yes yes yes get a full inspection including bore score!!

911 are a special car and need to be looked after. Some buyers think when they buy a top brand that quality will be well top "what can go wrong it's a Porsche" porsches still go wrong and cost big when they do but a well cared for 911 wow its special.

Give us some more details, your budget and what area you live so we can suggest a good indi?
The mold could be lack of use or it could be bad damp from a leaking roof! If someone selling a car of this type and can't be bothered to clean mold I'd run a mile!!!
 
Hi Silvermilnec, thanks for the reply, and welcome to the forum.

The car has not been used much in the last 4 years and the owner has had it the last 8. I have a HPI report and can see regular MOTs and no advisories. In terms of budget for a indy inspection, i'm not sure how much one would cost... would £250 be reasonable? Would that include a boroscope? The car is in Amersham.

I want to get a 991 before the kids come along!
 
chunkymonkey1982 said:
Hi Silvermilnec, thanks for the reply, and welcome to the forum.

The car has not been used much in the last 4 years and the owner has had it the last 8. I have a HPI report and can see regular MOTs and no advisories. In terms of budget for a indy inspection, i'm not sure how much one would cost... would £250 be reasonable? Would that include a boroscope? The car is in Amersham.

I want to get a 991 before the kids come along!

I would get a ppi with borescope cost from £300 to £400 you don't mention year , if its pre march 06 then you need to know if it has been fitted with the newer IMS bearings if not or unsure as there is no way of knowing without an invoice, then factor in 1k to have them retro fitted THIS MUST BE DONE ASAP as failure is sudden and will be a rebuild. this IMO is more of a potential issue than borescore. post march 06 then it will have had the newer IMS fitted at the factory. I have the pre and post engine numbers let me know if you need them.
If you cant find anyone local to ppi it there is a porsche tech down here who is mobile he would come to london and do it but inc his fuel and driving time would be the higher of the prices i suggested, the advantage of him is he will go to the car whereas most want the car brought to them his reports are very thorough .let me know if you need his number.
The light green wouldn't worry me much as that is a symptom of lack of use.
and ventilating. the dent can be fixed if the paints not damaged a paintless guy or if it is then a panel spray.
3.6 manual cars are the least likely to have bore score, and the 3.6 gen1 engine is a strong reliable unit. many prefer it to the 3.8 .
 
Phil 997 said:
chunkymonkey1982 said:
Hi Silvermilnec, thanks for the reply, and welcome to the forum.

The car has not been used much in the last 4 years and the owner has had it the last 8. I have a HPI report and can see regular MOTs and no advisories. In terms of budget for a indy inspection, i'm not sure how much one would cost... would £250 be reasonable? Would that include a boroscope? The car is in Amersham.

I want to get a 991 before the kids come along!

I would get a ppi with borescope cost from £300 to £400 you don't mention year , if its pre march 06 then you need to know if it has been fitted with the newer IMS bearings if not or unsure as there is no way of knowing without an invoice, then factor in 1k to have them retro fitted THIS MUST BE DONE ASAP as failure is sudden and will be a rebuild. this IMO is more of a potential issue than borescore. post march 06 then it will have had the newer IMS fitted at the factory. I have the pre and post engine numbers let me know if you need them.
If you cant find anyone local to ppi it there is a porsche tech down here who is mobile he would come to london and do it but inc his fuel and driving time would be the higher of the prices i suggested, the advantage of him is he will go to the car whereas most want the car brought to them his reports are very thorough .let me know if you need his number.
The light green wouldn't worry me much as that is a symptom of lack of use.
and ventilating. the dent can be fixed if the paints not damaged a paintless guy or if it is then a panel spray.
3.6 manual cars are the least likely to have bore score, and the 3.6 gen1 engine is a strong reliable unit. many prefer it to the 3.8 .
listen to Phil he so wise👍👍👍😂😂😂
 
Jaz Porsche are in St Albans... you're less likely to have problems with scoring on a 3.6 (apparently), but I would still be getting a pre purchase inspection. Is it a private sale?

I've used autoglym fabric hood cleaner on both my 911 and previous S2000 to good effect. It does a great job with green stains, but you need to be really pernickety to get in all the tight spots to keep it clean. I wouldn't be put off if it's priced right.

Leather similarly can be sorted. First step would be a leather cleaner and conditioner, but there are places which will re-dye or worst comes to worst re-trim. Again it depends on the price, but these problems are fixable.

The paintwork will depend on the nature of the dent. Even with a really good dent puller you'll still have a slight crease there. The disadvantage with a respray is that even if you get a really good match you're likely to notice a subtle difference. That will depend on what colour the car is and how keen and eye/how bothered you are about it.

Good luck with the purchase!
 

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