Purchase Advice--2002

[jeffgale]

Hi. Hoping I can tap into the collective wisdom here. I am considering buying a 2002 996, 6 spd, 50K miles. Price seems fair.

These have that Rear Main Seal issue, I know. The car had it big time and the engine was replaced by the dealer at 36K in 8/06. Also had a new clutch at 40K in 1/07. (Doe these really wear that quick? Receipt says it went into the dealer with some sort of grinding sound.)

Car also has an extended warranty with Service Protection Direct which runs until around 149K.

Questions:
-Did Porsche figure out the RMS by 2006 so that the engine doesn't have the issue any more? I've never read anything about repeat failures on these.
-Do clutches really go that quickly on these.
-Anyone ever heard of that extended warranty outfit. It was sold through a dealer, I think.
-Is 2002 a real problem year with lots of stuff going wrong?

I have owned a '78 SC and an '88 Carrera. But I am a novice on the 996.

Thanks for whatever help you can give.

Jeff

[Wayne 962]

The rear main seal is not a very big problem. As far as I know, the issue was with warranty claims - a new car under warranty shouldn't leak oil. In the worst cases, the seals would leak oil into the clutch area and cause problems. A newer type of seal plus some Curil-T solves this problem on the older cars. Also check installation depth, I believe they are not installed flush (can't remember off the top of my head - check the manual). Bottomline, I wouldn't worry about it.

It's curious that they replaced the engine for a real main seal problem at 36K - I haven't heard of engines that were that old being swapped. I suspect there might have been other problems. By 2006, they had gone to the updated intermediate shaft bearing (I believe), but this design is still faulty, and it should be replaced and/or inspected at each clutch job (more on this in my new book).

40K for a new clutch seems good, I tell people about 30K or less, especially with a 911. Driving habits have a lot to do with it. You can replace the clutch pretty easily in these by just dropping the tranny, so it's not a huge deal.

I've never heard of any extended warranty going out to 150K miles. That's a bit suspect. I wouldn't put any stock in a company replacing anything on a car that has over 100K miles.

2002 was the first year of variable valve lift, and the 3.6L engine. It has a power bump over the 3.4L engines from 1999-2001. The gauge clusters are also upgraded too, as well as the front headlamp area (so they don't look just like a Boxster). In general, the 996 is a pretty good car, there really aren't too many pressing issues, except for the intermediate shaft bearing, which now can be fixed.

Hope this helps,

Wayne

[Talewinds]

Funny, I shopped heavily for a 2002 before I landed on my 88'. If the engine issues have already been adressed, which they look like they have, and the price is right, these took a major $$ hit this year as you must already know, I'd DEFINITELY buy one.
Incredible cars for the money!

[Rrrockhound]

I just bought one unhesitatingly. Rear main seal leaks are a nuisance I'm familiar with, having owned several old Euro cars, and can be fixed. (Mine doesn't leak anyway). Intermediate shaft problems are much more serious, but I think they've been exaggerated. 996s are poorly understood and come in for a lot of bigotry by some of the "purists." Keep that in mind when you hear stories about them.

[jwetering]

I'm on my second 2002 996. I sold the first because I moved. I absolutely love the cars. The one I bought this year had 70K miles, with a new motor at 40K miles (in 2005) The details are sketchy on why the new motor was installed but putting the pieces together suggests and IMS failure.

As Wayne said, the RMS is a non-issue.


Love the car...I've just picked up a se of PSS9 and have elready installed H&R sway bars....mind blowing performance (ok maybe an exxageration).

I paid $26.5K by the way.