triplejs

So I've always wanted a Porsche 911. Now, thanks to the toys thread on THT, I really want one. Im hoping for some advice from any knowlegeable folks here. Im looking for an older early 2000 model car, under about 30-35k. Im hoping someone here is familiar with the cars and can chip in some advice, like any particular bad years, engines, etc. I know I want a targa if possible , no cabriolet. Aside from that, don't know much about them. Not looking to buy someones car necessarily, just advice on good , bad and ugly.

And yes, I know I will have to deal with the usual THT keyboard %$#@!&^* who will make stupid comments and give stupid advice.

Anyways, thanks ahead of time.

bamaboy473

You have good taste and the model year you mentioned belongs to the 996 body style, the most popular (largest-selling) of all 911s. Pricing is attractive because there are so many out there, so condition becomes the sliding scale of cost vs. R&M down the road.

You will learn about a thing called an IMS bearing; and that is the singular most expensive fix for those cars. If it fails, you buy a new engine, so getting one that has had the IMS bearing retrofitted is a BIG deal....unless you buy a 1999 model through early 2000, in which case it was not an issue. Look for a 1999 and rest easy, the rest of them you want to know whether the engine is good or not, so a PPI from a REAL Porsche wrench is mandatory.

Google up 996 owners' forum and join one or two of them. Tons of information from helpful guys.

Rules of thumb: $25K should get you a pristine example, low miles, IMS done, excellent condition. $15K gets you one that you can work on to get little things fixed or replaced, and likely you'll need to spend about $4K on the IMS bearing fix. In between those numbers are most of the cars, and above them are the Turbo C4 models. Below $15K can be worrisome examples; especially for somebody that doesn't know what he's looking at.

Not sure if they made a Targa model, but if you decide on a cab, many of them come with the hardtop included.

triplenet

Targa will limit you’re search and cost you $$.

I would find a nicely sorted 996 or 997 with a manual transmission. I prefer wide body C4S personally.

good luck on the search.

triplejs

thank you sir!!!!!

loverofshells

Take some time to read the model reports and completed auctions here:

https://bringatrailer.com/search/2000+porsche+911/

Be sure to read through the completed auction comments from people all over the world with input - There are a few comments that are irrelevant - should be apparent

My feeling is that this is a great car to pursue & hence worth the time to do the homework for due diligence

Best of luck & wish it was me

Carolina Custom

Bamaboy pretty much covered it. Just picked up this little red cutie over the weekend. They are a blast to drive!

triplejs

nice congrats

bigjimmie

two words : Air cooled

hedgemere225

A lot of good advice above, so take the time to do the research- it is actually fun. I bought a 2012 911 last year, and it is just a super car and so much fun. I did a lot of looking and talking to knowledgeable people, and I found the perfect car for me. Took about 6 months. Agree that the Targa will limit your options, but they are cool. One way to avoid some risk is to buy from a Porsche dealer or from a very reputable outfit that deals only or almost only with 911's. Dealer can possibly give you a warranty. There is a specialist seller near me called Holt's Motorsports. Google them and you can see what I refer to. Don't know where you are, but look for a similar specialist in your area and talk to people who have bought from them. The years you refer to are lower cost than other eras, but I think the cars are fine. The air cooled years can be very expensive. Recent small downward movement in air cooled prices, but not by much. I bought from a P dealer, and they also service my Macan that I bought there new, so I get great service. They are not cheap to maintain, but like I said, they are a tremendous amount of fun, and owning one will make you smile a lot. Good luck and keep us posted.

psychocuda

I have an 05 Boxster S I bought new with the original IMS bearing & have about 50,000 miles on the car. Read that it's about a 10% failure rate with the bearing on all the motors that have them. Hoping I'm in the 90%. Dealer told me not to worry about it but if I ever do a clutch job replace it while they are doing that.

D_Westie

The '99 had a slightly smaller engine, 3.4 vs 3.6 liter.
The '99 also had a dual row IMS bearing which meant the failure rate was a lot lower than mid 2000 and later models. I have 135,000 km on my '99 and has the original IMS. The other thing that I've heard and I don't know if this is true or not but if you drive it as it was meant to be driven the failure rate of the IMS is lower as the oil circulation is better when the RPMs are over 3000. You will find it easy and more fun to drive it that way anyhow.
They can get expensive for maintenance if you get a shop to do it but there are lots of resources online to help you with doing it yourself.
I have to replace spark plugs and brakes on mine this winter.

The Targa didn't come out until 2002

hedgemere225

BTW- it is Holt Motorsports Inc, in West Chester , PA.

bamaboy473

Makes sense and I've read that, too, especially about Tiptronic trannies. My '99 is a Tiptronic that is Perfect for commuting, when using cell phone, etc., but it up-shifts early and lower RPMs. If the car you look at has been commuted and doesn't have IMS retro-fit, beware. I live in the country and use the Tip when I can get on it and watch the speedo climb as RPMs climb to 6K. Doesn't matter that mine is a 1999 model that doesn't have to worry about IMS bearing, what matters is the sound and the speed and the grin factor...

CruiseToFish

Get a real one, that means air cooled.

finatic_21

Crap, Now I want one ..!

My dad had one when I was young , He worked for his buddy as a service manager at a Porsche dealer ...

Have always loved them ..

Bamaman

As far as I can tell, we have the largest used Porsche importer/exporter anywhere in my hometown in Florence, Alabama.

His shops are in a huge warehouse in our industrial park, and we often see transport trucks coming and going to and from our city. Thomas Trissl can be reached at 256.766.0911, and his website is trisslsportscars.com.

Every year he throws a huge open house, and you ought to see the cars that come in for that.

I once purchased a car in Marin County, California, and transporting it here was no problem. Trissl had a car coming in from San Francisco too, and they were delivered together in a couple of days.

D_Westie

Those ones are getting expensive.

Daven917

Targa’s rock. Convertible feel with better wind management and roll bar. Get exactly what you want. So what if the search takes longer? Again, get what you want. Here’s my old air cooled ‘85 hot rod. Miss her, but tripled my money in 4 years...

bamaboy473

My first was a '73 911S with mechanical FI, the last year before the smogging crap started. Sold it for a profit, but today they're worth 6X what I got for it. Tripling your money in 4 years takes the trophy, though!

BLUESMAN

Ims, rms, aos right down to the water tank and cap. Your research will turn up all the worst case and you’ll want to run. The early 996 models with the dual row bearing have an extremely low rate of failure. What ever model you get, replacing the bearing will add value and I’d do it when due for a clutch. Pricing already stated is spot on, you’d be hard pressed to spend 30k or more unless you get into a 997. I think they eliminated the ims bearing in 2009 model year but may be above budget.
Do your research, get a ppi and buy one and drive it. They are great cars.