Hey all,

I hate that my first post is needing help on a car I am about to purchase but I can't help it, so I apologize. I just made an offer on a 2000 911 cab. I have always been in love with the 911, it started in me when I was a little kid and has only grew. I stayed away from them first and foremost b/c of the expense. A few years ago I came across a 79 SC that I was in love with and I bought it. I kept it for several years and it never gave me a problem, although I only put a couple thousand miles off it. I sold it to get something else (wish I had it back at times though) and actually made money ona car for the first time lol.

Well the bug has bit me again hard on the 996's and I have found several for under 20K with between 65K and 90K miles on them. I narrowed it down to two, one from a buy here pay here dealer and one from an individual. I decided to make an offer on the individuals 2000 Cab b/c I loved the color and 5 speed vs. the tiptronic in the coupe at the dealer. The car has 90K miles on it and is really clean. I test drove it and it appears to be a wonderful tight car. I looked under the car when we got back, no leaks or even residue on anything (the dealers car had an oily residue all over the bottom of the engine btw).

So the guy wanted 22.5 for the cab, but in this economy I didn't think they were bringing that. He then listed it for 19.5, and again no one bit. So I am the only serious offer he has. After a few days of negotiating he said he would take 17,250 for the cab which I thought was a pretty decent price, even with 90K miles. So I told him I would give him that minus my taxes and a pre-buy inspection at the dealer to which he is deliberating on. He may tell me to screw off or he may take it, to be honest I'm nervouse about either.

I really want the car, bad. I think it is a wonderful car and would be an absolute joy to own. That is however pending it does not cost me a fortune every time I go to start it. Sometimes I hate the internet b/c when I go to buy something I hear all the negative things people say that scares me away from a purchase, and this 911 is no different.

I hear all about this catastrophic IMS shaft breaking and have looked into it thouroghly. Well needless to say I am worried about it. I called the dealer and they said there was a problem on some, but it was a "flaw" not a part that wears out and most went within 20K-30K miles and if they go past that it is very rare it would happen. The problem is I don't see a way to verify any of this. People that have had it happen are jilted (understandably so) and preach it will happen to ALL of them, I've heard some people say that 18-25% of the cars have failed. Others have said it is less than 1% (which sounds more realistic to me b/c I believe Porsche would have a real problem on their hands if 1 out of 4 of there motors self destructed, but oh well).

And then I read where someone said you basically need to be prepared to drop 10-15K dollars at any time as a "cost of doing business" when owning one of these. Well I don't know about anyone on here, but unless you are a millionaire I can't see anyone operating that way and being ok with it. I am blessed to have money but not the kind of money where 10K or so is like flipping a nickel into a fountain or something, so yeah I do not want to just operate thinking "well I own a 911 so I better be prepared to spend 10's of thousands b/c I own one", that is assinine thnking IMO, but maybe I'm wrong. I have had Corvettes, Cobras, older Porsches, supercharged Mustangs etc. and I have not had any issues with them.

I recently bought a Lexus RX300 SUV for my daily driver and I went through this same thing. I cetain number of people have had tranny failures etc. on these and if you go to the message forums they preach it like 80% of them have failed which is ludicrous but it is hard to find any real numbers. So again it is just jilted people using scare tactics to get their point across. I bought the car anyway and could not be happier with it, but honestly I wish I never would have looked for info on it b/c I worry a lot b/c of what I read and it may never come to pass.

Well I see this happening with the 911, and as much as I want it, I don't want to have to constantly worry about it. And if heaven forbid the motor did seize b/c of an IMS failure, I think it sucks *** that a damn engine costs 15 grand to put in the car, that is crap, but it is what it is I guess.

So I guess I'm asking for some HONEST feedback about the 911 i'm considering. I know it is a great price, but that is all relative to whether the motor blows I guess, and I just feel that 90K dollar cars when new should last a few hundred thousand miles if taken care of, but maybe that is just me. So sorry for the long post, but can anyone give me the straight up on IMS, how likely is it, should I be worried on a car with 90K miles, am I paying to much/too little should I just forget the 911 and buy something that is more reliable? Thanks for any help.

 

Lol, 25% failure rate would mean Porsche would have had to do a recall and replace all the motors at their cost. The rate is very very low, but keep in mind, there is a possibility of having engine problems with any used car. Can you afford the 20k to put in a replacement motor? If not, I would suggest looking into an aftermarket warranty to cover yourself. Not to say that it will happen, but if by chance it does, what would you do.

For the most part the 996's are extremely reliable, do the basic maintenance items and put gas and oil in on a regular basis and you are set to go. I haven't maintained many above 90k miles though, so I don't know how everything is holding up beyond that mileage.

 

Porsches are very durable, but failures do happen, and even if rare, if you are worried about being able, in a painful stretch, to replace a motor or a transmission then it probably is not for you. Frankly, they are not that expensive to fix, relative to other cars, but a new engine in a 'vette, or a 911, is expensive, so think about it. Also think about this,they require really good maintenance, or they do detiorate: you can neglect the hell out of a 'vette and it usually does not affect it that much. Do that to a 911 and you have gobs of problems.