Buying a high mileage 997.1 base Carrera 2

[Punchdrunked]

Thanks to the advice and guidance from this site I managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when I got let down at the last minute when looking to buy a High Mileage 996.2 C2 Man. So here I am with a 2007 C2 Carrera instead and I'm mighty chuffed.

A 2 owner manual car, the last from 2011 at 27k miles to its current mileage at 134k miles. It comes with PASM, Nav, 19" wheels, extended leather, Litronic lights, rear wiper, Bose and no sunroof. The colour is Atlas grey with grey leather.

OPC FSH from new up until 2020 at 127k miles and just one independent specialist when I collected the car.

Before purchasing the car I used my Foxwell NT530 to scan for codes - most were related to low battery voltage as the car had only driven 14 miles since its last MOT in September 2020. Over rev data was limited to bands 1 & 2 only so I bought the car and drove it home. Now that the car is tucked up in the garage what does the DME data actually tell me?

- 899 ignitions in band 1, last 1118.9 hrs in
- 68 ignitions in band 2, last 1118.9 hrs in
- Total operating hrs: 3635 hrs
- Average speed 35 mph

Based on my limited knowledge of these cars, it looks like the 2nd owner that purchased the car in April 2011 spent most of his time trundling up and down the motorway having put on 100k miles during his ownership and choosing not to trouble the cars rev limiter. I could of course be misinterpreting the data so if there are any other interpretations of the DME data please let me know.

Happy days.

 

[T8]

Looks great. :congrats:

107k in 12 years is under 9k a year so it may be that the second owner just enjoyed it a lot at weekends and on holidays. :dont know:

 

[Punchdrunked]

I'm learning more about this car and its quirks as the days go by.

As an ownership proposition I can't help but compare it to my 2005 SLK 55, a car that has a Quaife LSD, Cat back exhaust with an X-Pipe and a throttle commander. In fact before the 55, I had a 2015 SLK 350 again with a Quaife, KW Coilovers and a tune to 330 bhp. Yet for some odd reason this 3.6 Carrera seems to be a lot faster than both. I can't get my head around it. The 55 should be quicker ~ 0-60 in 4.3 secs, but it doesn't seem to be faster.

Before buying this car I tried a 996.2 3.6, same engine as the 997.1 apparently, but it was nowhere near as fast nor was the throttle response anything like this car. The throttle response is just ridiculous and the howl at 6.5k rpms is just crazy. God knows how good the 3.8 must be, or a GT3.

What a car. :worship:

 

[remarklima]

Pleased you're enjoying it!

I was used to slower stuff, that you had to wring the guts out of, my old Lotus Exige was only 190bhp, but 800KG - still needed to be pushed to 8500rpm to work it.

They're great cars, and there's something about them and how they're been all put together in a really cohesive way.

 

[Punchdrunked]

I'm still into the 911 and figuring out some remedial jobs to do that were highlighted in the last MOT one of which, 'play in the steering" is particularly pressing as is 'misting" on one of the shocks and 2 tyres at or near the west bars.

So I've picked up a set of Koni B6 dampers with Techart springs (for PASM) and a set of Michelin CUP 2's in 235/305 R19 guises and I'll replace the inner and outer tie rods.

What about exhaust ideas? I'm guessing search is my friend in this regard - a quick question, how easy is it to retrofit PSE to these cars or is the Gundo hack still a thing in 23?

As is the way we these things, I can't help comparing it with my SLK 55. The 55 is still easier to just jump in and drive fast and is perhaps more agile than the 911 but the 911 is a Porsche. Nuff said.

 

[tom_nieto]

Get the suspension sorted and the cohesiveness and the ability to drive it round corners at astonishing speeds will demonstrate itself! The only thing is that compared to a front engined RWD car, there are a few handling balance differences in the rear engined 997. Overall I find mine really planted and confidence inspiring, and mine doesn't even have a roof!

I'd personally Gundo hack the exhaust if it's in good nick as it'll be cheaper and you can save your pennies for when the exhaust needs replacing because it's rotten!

You've got such a smart looking car there, glad you're enjoying it.

 

[plavix]

My take on PSE is retrofit PSE; I did as have many others. I love the ability to switch it off, because I don't want to always be annoying. It's not cheap though.

I do love your wheels. Needs lowering though.