The Hunt

[Cuda911]

I sold my totalled 150k-mile 996 (tip) for 10k.

[gnat]

I sold my totalled 150k-mile 996 (tip) for 10k.

After you made 80k off it from the insurance...

[Cuda911]

I sold my totalled 150k-mile 996 (tip) for 10k.

After you made 80k off it from the insurance...

Well, at least that allowed me to replace it with this!:

[B3DAWG]

All I really need is for the car to smile at me.

Just remember, lots of ladies love to give the fine heeled gents a smile on a date, but then rob you blind in the night.

You wake up with your wallet and dignity stolen.

If you definitely want the '99 or '00 model, just remember three top things to check on the engine...
1. Cylinder Bore Scoring - listen for a ticking sound on the passenger side of the engine and soot on the driver's side tail pipe.
2. Intermix - check the coolant and make sure it's clear - orange/red in color
3. IMS Bearing - Even though these are dual row cars, you could have a AT replacement engine with a single row. Double check the serial number. Remember, even dual row bearing can go bad and so my advice is to replace it during a clutch change and for goodness sakes, monitor the filter media for metal. (but you know that by now)

Also,..

1. Check for chain guide material. Jake Raby says this is one the most common problem with the early 5-chain engines. The solenoid, chain adjuster, and wear pads start to crap out. How to check? The easiest way is get a Durametric and check for cam shaft deviations and/or examine the oil sump for brownish black plastic bits.

2. Check for misfires. Could be an easy fix with coil pack replacements, but could be something more serious.

3. If you have access to a Durametric, then check the rough running index. That will show the health of the cylinders.

I won't advise you on the aesthetics and/or cosmetics. You're the resident expert on those things.

[JohnIreland]

Yes the truth is, I'm having fun. I keep $15,000 taped to my forehead so I have something to shoot for. If I'm going to spend more, the car and the seller has to earn it from me. I'm looking at a seedy car dealer piece tomorrow...$13400 in a color I really don't want. But it is a tip...and it will give me driving input that I can compare to another car that I am seriously considering. At the same time, this car I don't really want to like has a very early 98 build date. At $13,000 that gives me lots of extra money to cure any ills.

I like the feel of the 3.4 over the 3.6...just a personal thing. I know (have been told) that changing the IMS on a tip is a bigger job because the whole engine has to come out to separate it from the trans. Anyone hear of know of any other cost issues specific to the tip models? If the car I chose has around 100,000 miles, give or take ten thousand, I'll probably pass on changing the IMS and go with the gods of fate. If the engine goes, I can always find a donor to throw in it. Every time I look at another car, I like the first one I saw better. I may go back with another offer of $15500. He keeps saying $16000 and I keep fighting him.

Maybe I'm getting to greedy...or stingy. Have a good night everyone.

[Battery Guy]

I know that you are looking for a tip, but otherwise this one will probably end up in your price range and looks decent from 2,000 miles away. It is in your state at least...

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999- ... rera-4-21/

Zenith Blue to me is a cool color. Not a huge fan of the gray interior but it appears to be intact.
Daryll

[JohnIreland]

Thanks for the words. Just can't get behind any of the Porsche metallic blues. If I get a tip, the swap of the IMS bearing requires removing the engine and trans to do the job. And all that labor starts to add up. All the problems with the engines that you mention are true...and yet more than 95% of the original motors are still out there chugging away. I'm starting to track 99/2000 donor engines on ebay...can be had in the 50k range of miles at about six thousand dollars. No guarantees you aren't buying more trouble, but they do make a fast and dirty fix very possible. My wife and I have had the last cars in our lives discussion. She's down to driving a thousand miles a year. Her 2014 Mercedes C250 is in great shape and a decent 4 door sedan for all our practical needs. The Alfa Giulia has been fun but I want to move on to a 2 door again and the 996 is the best option out there. Her car is the practical family car, the 996 will be my personal toy/daily driver. If it breaks, I drive her car while mine is being fixed. If it doesn't break, I drive it until both of us are just scrap metal.

[B3DAWG]

Thanks for the words. Just can't get behind any of the Porsche metallic blues. If I get a tip, the swap of the IMS bearing requires removing the engine and trans to do the job. And all that labor starts to add up. All the problems with the engines that you mention are true...and yet more than 95% of the original motors are still out there chugging away. I'm starting to track 99/2000 donor engines on ebay...can be had in the 50k range of miles at about six thousand dollars. No guarantees you aren't buying more trouble, but they do make a fast and dirty fix very possible. My wife and I have had the last cars in our lives discussion. She's down to driving a thousand miles a year. Her 2014 Mercedes C250 is in great shape and a decent 4 door sedan for all our practical needs. The Alfa Giulia has been fun but I want to move on to a 2 door again and the 996 is the best option out there. Her car is the practical family car, the 996 will be my personal toy/daily driver. If it breaks, I drive her car while mine is being fixed. If it doesn't break, I drive it until both of us are just scrap metal.

Looking forward to seeing what you purchase. IMHO, many so called "sports cars" are becoming less engaging and blend in with their counterparts. Maybe it's the homogenization of the auto industry to keep up with all the techno-gizmo-nanny technologies? Anyway, post some pictures when you have time.

[JohnIreland]

I know that you are looking for a tip, but otherwise this one will probably end up in your price range and looks decent from 2,000 miles away. It is in your state at least...

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999- ... rera-4-21/

Zenith Blue to me is a cool color. Not a huge fan of the gray interior but it appears to be intact.
Daryll

Thanks for pointing out this car. I'm watching it and a few others, and looking at all the websites...Hemmings, KBB, True Car, auto trader, Craigslist, etc. Buying a car long distance means not really knowing what you will get, no matter what anyone says or what paperwork they show. If you can't drive it before you buy it, you're in a crap shoot.

I'm looking at a local car that drives and feels very tight...being offered by a local flipper...has some messy scuffs and a small dent which I'll call patina...tiptronic and shifts beautifully...but when you go into kick down mode (full throttle to the floor) at 30 or 40 mph, the trans drops down into the lowest gear it can find and there is a loud clunk from the rear. Again, does not feel like anything inside the trans. Maybe the trans mount support bushing...don't think its a motor mount based on the way the tail pipes are sitting. Anyway at this point it isn't my problem and I'm letting the seller worry about it for now, while I keep looking. But of all the cars I've seen, it is the one I like the most so far. (Hint...I took one of the pictures of it and made it my desktop background.)

So comparing that imperfect local car to some others that read even nicer on paper, and cost anywhere from two to five thousand more, but are out of state so that would add approximately $1500 to $2000 in shipping costs...and suddenly having all that extra cash available to use as needed in a less than perfect car that I have driven, seems to make more sense. Even a very nice local car at four thousand more than the one I like...and in much better cosmetic condition...that is still $4000 I could put as needed into a car that I prefer. This other car is very nice car, silver with the gray interior...manual trans, nothing to hate and seller claims it had the IMS done...but I'm still waiting for the bearing number so I can run it by LN Engineering.

The car I like also had the IMS Retrofit by LN Engineering six years and 25k miles ago...according to repair shop receipts from the previous owner that I've looked at. After reading about the LN Retrofit, and that it is the exact same design and material that Porsche has finally used (copied?) in their own IMS fix they came out with in 2017, I've concluded that it should be even longer lasting than the original factory bearing for two reasons. 1. It uses superior hybrid ceramic ball bearings. 2) It isn't a sealed bearing, but gets excellent oil splash from the crankcase for lubrication. Not as perfect as the IMS Solution, but the Solution cannot be performed by just anyone and requires an engine qualifying process. The only shop authorized by LN to do this in the Los Angeles area quoted me a total price (including qualifying inspection) just shy of $10,000 to do a Solution on an 03 996 tiptronic. At that price I'll give the Retrofit a chance first...especially since the work has already been done.

Again...no matter what I buy and no matter what work has been done...they all have something else that can and will break. Even spending tens of thousands more for an 08 997 gives no promise of mechanical nirvana.

So why buy now when I'm in no rush? Because cars are like sex, it is never too soon.

Autocheck is useless. I went to look at a local car that had a higher than average score, and it is absolutely the worst car I've seen...with a laughable respray in which not all the parts were put back on. I got to the dealer, walked around the car once, kept walking back to my car and drove away.

[5chn3ll]

But more importantly...what are you wearing?

Welcome...

So why buy now when I'm in no rush? Because cars are like sex, it is never too soon.

Mrs. Schnell would probably disagree with this wording.