My first 6 months of C4 2001 Ownership

[stupidget]

So, after upgrading from my 2004 Boxster S back in May, I thought I'd share my experiences of the past 6 months of owning my 2001 C4.

After deciding on a 996 at my local garage I started doing a lot of research into what I could expect from owning a 20 year old car, and it was the usual things. IMS bearing nightmare, expansion tank leaks, bore scoring, a/c condensers failing etc etc and if I was a cautious fellow I'd have spent my £15k on something far more sensible and boring. But I'm not cautious, I'm somewhat stupid when it comes to things like cars and just bought it

The garage did a load of work to thee car before letting me pick it up, namely:

New alternator
New a/c condensers
New spark plugs
Full Service
Changed oils/fluids and filters

So after the first 3 months everything was ok and then things started to go wrong. First of all the clutch started to get very very heavy, so I decided to have a new clutch fitted, whilst the clutch was out I decided to have the IMS DOF (direct oil feed) fitted, just for peace of mind. This was all done within a week and I was back on the road with a new light clutch. 4 weeks later there's steam coming out the spoiler grill. So I take the car back to the garage and the water pump is knackered. So I have a new water pump fitted, all sorted. 3 days laters there's more steam, so car goes back to the garage, and this time the expansion tank has cracked, so I have a new tank fitted. New tank fitted, all sorted and no more steam. 2 days later the car is running like an absolute dog, CEL light flashing on and off then staying on, rough idle and nearly stalling when pulling away in 1st. I go into panic mode and look at the symptoms on the dreaded 'tinter web!!! Failed head gasket, bore scoring full engine rebuild!!!! PANIC I drop the car off at the garage again and basically because of the coolant issues I'd had the coolant had leaked all over the coils and knackered them. Full set of coils laters and the car runs like an absolute dream.

So, after 6 months, yes I've spent a small fortune on the bloody thing, but do I regret buying the 21 year old silver beast? Absolutely not, it's a joy to drive -when it's working- it's great on country lanes and easy to drive on the motorway. It sounds amazing, it looks stunning and the main thing....my wife likes it so much more than the Boxster.

So heres to another 6 months, and hopefully a lot more, of incredibly enjoyable driving.

 

[T8]

A nice read :thumbs:

It took me back to a previous life when I had my 996C4. :cloud9:

---> http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=58008&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=annual

 

[Luddite]

I enjoyed your 996 journey so far, and hope you get a bit of a break in terms of repairs, it seems that is one lucky Porsche having found just the right owner... :thumb:

 

[djguru]

Frustrating but ultimately enjoyable eh?
Hope that's you over the 'hump' and trouble-free motoring is heading your way.
Dave

 

[stupidget]

Frustrating but ultimately enjoyable eh?
Hope that's you over the 'hump' and trouble-free motoring is heading your way.
Dave

Yes, still very enjoyable. Even after 6 months I'm still going out in it for absolutely no apparent reason other than just simply driving it.

'We've run out of bread'
'Don't worry I'll go and get some' and off I go.

It's amazing how much longer it now takes to get to the shops than it used to :wink:

I also bought one of those cheep OBDII readers and it's interesting to see that a P0420 (catalytic converter error) can be triggered by a faulty coil. I'm surprised any of the coils on mine actually worked. The garage showed me the 6 they removed and the hot coolant had really knackered them and the fact that they were 21 years old, cracked and in some places exposing bare metal I'm pretty impressed that the car even started.

 

[sparkywig]

Yes, still very enjoyable. Even after 6 months I'm still going out in it for absolutely no apparent reason other than just simply driving it.

'We've run out of bread'
'Don't worry I'll go and get some' and off I go.

It's amazing how much longer it now takes to get to the shops than it used to :wink:

I'm exactly the same.
I've waited almost 40 years to own a 911, so I'll drive it where and when I want to.

 

[Maxthedane]

I loved my 996 C4.

Pork gets under your skin!

 

[stupidget]

First long drive since having all this work done and I have to say, it was excellent. 108 miles from Wolverhampton to Rhos-no-Sea (North wales) and the temp gauge didn't go past vertical, there was not a single misfires and no CEL. On the return journey the temp gauge went into the 0 of the 80 when I was stuck in road works and stop start traffic but that was about all that happened. Now all I need to figure out is what is making the god awful creaking sound that's coming from the front n/s :x