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Why is it so hard to buy a car?

Good luck with your search it is worth being patient. There are some cracking cars out there on the private market and with a good PPI you can buy with a degree of confidence. Some of the indie/dealer warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on anyway. Be bold with your offers you have nothing to lose ;)
 
Cheers Iain. You were certainly right. And thanks to everyone for the help and advice.

The search continues :thumbs:
 
Hi Jackzi,

I'll be advertising my 2002 (51) 996.2 C2 manual in the next couple of weeks. It's standard aside from Dansk Sport exhausts (barely any different to standard to be fair). Pretty good spec, no nav but it does have cruise and sport seats.

It's on 96k miles, full and very thorough service history with new brakes and tyres (N rated) all round this year. New clutch with RMS and uprated IMS bearing last year. It's Midnight Blue with grey leather interior. Very good condition.

Let me know if you'd be interested, it'll be going up for £15,500ono. I'm in Derby

Thanks, Matt
 
Saint Matt said:
Hi Jackzi,

I'll be advertising my 2002 (51) 996.2 C2 manual in the next couple of weeks. It's standard aside from Dansk Sport exhausts (barely any different to standard to be fair). Pretty good spec, no nav but it does have cruise and sport seats.

It's on 96k miles, full and very thorough service history with new brakes and tyres (N rated) all round this year. New clutch with RMS and uprated IMS bearing last year. It's Midnight Blue with grey leather interior. Very good condition.

Let me know if you'd be interested, it'll be going up for £15,500ono. I'm in Derby

Thanks, Matt

PM sent :)
 
If I was buying again I'd be paying £20k at a good dealer for a sub 80k mile 3.4. With the present uptick in values, in 5 years time you should be able to flog it on without a loss. And you can enjoy it without crawling under it.

What I did 4 years ago was pay bottom dollar for a car with good history that needed a few big jobs, and do them myself - but that was to minimise my own risk as values were still on the way down. If I was to sell right now my car has been free motoring.....

Personally I'd not be going near a 996.2 without hartech liners, unless it was a really low miler - bore wear will wipe out any value uptick unless you keep it a long long time afterwards. It will happen unless the car is a garage queen. 3.4 all the way!
 
I find the last post really interesting , are you saying that a 3.6 that hasn't been rebuilt will inevitably fail ? I'm still looking for a car too and I would prefer a 3.6 but I've heard a couple of people saying this now about the 3.6 don't buy one unless it's been rebuilt by Hartech. It's playing on my mind a bit so much so that I've started looking at other makes now too .
 
Cant beat at bit more scaremongering about the 3.6 :hand:

Every car will require engine work at sometime , but you don't recommend they rebuild every car engine because at sometime it will need doing .

Most 3.6 are fine , very few have issues
 
:D I know if you believed everything you read on the internet you wouldn't buy anything !!
 
Thats interesting, I am currently trying to sell my 996 c4 it is on Autotrader for £15995 and not even a sniff of a call. Now, either the car is overpriced or its a bad advert I haven't the foggiest. All I know is I'm gutted to have to sell it having got it to how I want it,
 
To give you some idea of running costs I bought my 996.1 C2 2.5 years ago with 80,000m on the clock after a £250 PPI, the dealer completed a full service and addressed the main PPI issues - cost £11k.

I've spent £4.7k on parts/upgrades etc during my 20,000m ownership of which only £2k was really needed inc minor service at a Porsche indy, the rest has gone on suspension upgrades, performance, Hifi etc with me doing most of the work (easy to work on and non genuine parts are cheap). The aircon needs a leak sorting but apart from that nothing else really needs doing (I'm going to continue to improve it though), I don't care about stone chipped PU's.

A quality PPI is the key otherwise you could find yourself with some very big bills even if you can wield the spanners yourself. At this age there are several areas that will start to wear out so I wouldn't be afraid of a high mileage car that has been used regularly over the past few years to give it a good shake down (let someone else replace all the consumables!). Regular maintenance and use makes them live long and healthy lives. It's a great daily driver if you take it on decent runs out. Tax & Insurance are cheap and it returns a 26mpg average despite some good blats.
 
I had my car a Mazda 3 MPS on autotrader for 2 weeks not a sniff , it's back on eBay had a few offers just not close enough for me to accept . I will just have to bide my time I've emailed a few dealers with 996,s asking if they would take my car in part ex they haven't bothered replying .
im hoping a local ish. Garage gets a decent 996 in and I will trade mine if I get a half decent price .
 
targa

brought my targa with a few issues , because i wanted a targa had them sorted now i have a reliable fully loaded 09991 car that is slowly going up in value , used often enough its just basic servicing to keep it on the road
 
I've been following this thread for the last few days so thought I'd add my 2p worth....

I wouldn't limit myself to a Targa search. I'd rather have a full cabriolet if I was that way inclined or a full hardtop. The Targa has a load of weight in the worst possible place. Big lump of glass on the top. They can creak and if they go wrong they're an expensive nightmare. But hey their owners love them and there's a bum for every seat.

996.1 vs 996.2.
Unfortunately even Baz Hart has stated that due to the nature and design flaws of the engine "every 996.2 will bore score", some from as little as 20k miles. Some much sooner obviously.
A bold claim but that's what I read once. Don't make me go and find it, but I will if I have to. :grin:
The single row IMS in the 996.2 is more prone to failure also.

996.1 can borescore. The people that say they don't are wrong.
But.. it's very very rare.
The early 3.4 (996.1) has a better coating on pistons and arguably the best IMS bearing, being the dual row.

However 3.4s can still -
D chunk
Oval bores
Drop valves
IMSB fail
Chain tensioners snap
Crankshaft bearings wear through
Etc

All 996 (non mezgers) can throw up a huge bill. Some you can protect yourself from, others are down to pure luck.

I went for an early 3.4 C2 manual Coupe with sub 80k, as there are a few issues that are definitely mileage related, e.g. crankshaft bearings.

That brings us into the sub 80k requiring no work argument.
Loads and loads of items in these cars are ready to be renewed due to age, irrespective of miles.
Rads, suspension, waterpumps, blah blah.

You WILL throw a couple of grand at least, at all but the best enthusiast owned cars out there.
If you do find a mint one with everything done it won't be £14k-£15k. It'll be £18k+, more like £20k+, easy.

So either pay it all out at the start with a £20k one or pay £14k and bring it up to scratch over time.
Either way the 996 is now a £20k car however you do it.

OP - Ignoring the Targa/Coupe/Cab choice, the manual/tip choice and the C2/C4 choice, (of which C2, manual Coupe will always be the most expensive), I'd be going for a 996.1 with upto 80k on it.
That would give you the best start to things.
Then add an LTT, flip the IMSB seal open, make sure rads are good or new, fit a new waterpump and renew coolant, stick some millers 10/50 in it and hope for the best.

After that it's pot luck as to whether you'll be one of the unlucky few.

Obviously on top of all that you then get into leather interior refreshing, suspension overhauls, paintwork perfecting, then putting your own stamp on it, eg aerokits, bucket seats, etc. So you can see where thousands of pounds can go very quickly.

Awesome cars though and finally being recognised for the unfiltered analogue thrills they provide.

It also depends on what sort of owner you are. You'll hear stories of cars needing nothing but routine maintenance but these are probably the type of owners who just cruise about and don't really lean on the car.
Start delving deeper and cars like that are ready for quite a few parts if you like things "right".

Anyway just my opinion and we all have one.
Good luck with the search. Remember the early cars are now 20 years old. If a car is described as excellent condition I'd still expect minor stone chips and signs of usage elsewhere, such as interior. It shouldn't be rough of course, but don't expect new. They simply aren't. Just because values are climbing that doesn't undo 20 years of wear from being used.
That's what I'm guessing your issue is and why your search is proving difficult.
Nobody likes imperfections but be realistic. :thumb:

Sorry for long post.
 
Marky911 - couldn't agree more - look at the 'air-cooled' bunch and there's an increasing amount of money required to keep vehicles up to scratch historically (with corresponding benefits).
Whatever Porsche you opt for, it's going to cost you, but we need to consider those costs as an investment - not just if you wish to sell, but to keep it up to the standards where you can exploit it's potential.
Buy, Spend and Enjoy!
 
Has anyone any experience of friends green porsche ? he is advertising a few 3.4 cars at the moment although he never got back to me when I offered my car as a trade in
No one wants me wee Mazda :sad:
 

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