Operating Costs ~2000 Carrera

[Eat-um-up]

So I'm considering a 99-01 Carrera. That year range as their prices seem to be in my budget area right now. But that aside I wanted to ask those of you who have owned these for a while what they true cost of operating one of these is like. Do they need constant maintenance like in the old days with valve running and what not? or for the most part they are like the everyday cars that just need oil changes.

at 10 years of age, how well do they hold up? What should I look out for when inspecting a possible buy?

This will be my first time trying to go with something so new. Ive all ways had pre-smog so with crossing multiple generation lines id be in something very unfamiliar. I just want to make sure I really know what I'm getting into before I go out and marry myself to one for a while.

[racer]

maintenance intervals are around 15K miles (filters, oil change). Minor service at 15K , "major" at 30K intervals. Waterpumps around 60K miles.

Easy DIY car - oil, brakes, etc

Rear tires will get eaten up around 9-12K miles. Fronts will go about twice as far.

Only possible concern is the m96 based motors that have known to fail. When they do, it tends to be terminal. Budget $10-15K for motor replacement.

There's a guy with a boxster site (can't remember if its Macster or Mike Focke) that is insightful, gien that the 996 and the boxster share so much design and parts. Do a search for it.

[Eat-um-up]

i heard somewhere that the Boxter had a repairable design flaw that can be fixed to prevent motor failure. I cant remeber what it was offhand. Ill have to research that. Is the M96 motor the standard for that era all together? What year/or trim line gets a more solid motor?

[dienstuhr]

Try some buyer's guides (Pelican Pete Zimmermann's is available everywhere including Amazon) and get a good PPI on your finalist car(s).

Then drive and be happy ;-)

Cheers

d.

[Matt Monson]

Be aware that the early 996 gearboxes had 2nd gear popout issues and a number of them also suffered from premature pinion bearing failures. It doesn't get the same attention that the engine problems do but it's just as common. Look for a car that has had the gearbox rebuilt or figure $3500 into your budget for the first year or two of ownership to cover a tranny rebuild.

Regards,

Matt Monson
Guard Transmission LLC

[Eat-um-up]

hmm. starting to sound like a smart move would be to have about enough on hand to almost replace the car again.

About when would you say that these issues have been ironed out? Id like to stay with this generation or newer. so if that means (guessing) a 2005 is the year to begin with then ill wait a while longer to make sure i got enough to get the ironed out year.

[racer]

The M96 is porsches internal code for the 986/996 and 987/997 based motors.

Some issues with the M96 are
1) RMS (rear main seal) - a seal that can fail and leave a little oil drip on the garage floor
2) IMS - Intermediate Shaft - when this fails, the whole motor fails. LN engineering makes an upgraded part to help prevent the failure. Do a web search.. my recollection is its an $800 part and the motor/trans need to be seperated to gain access.
3) D-chunk. An issue with the 3.4l motors, moreso, than the 2002 and later 3.6 motors.

Do a seach for Jake Raby and for LN Engineering to learn more about these engine issues and the improvements they suggest.

Finding a car with a remanufactured motor may be worth it, as they would have a 2yr warranty.

When these cars were new and failures occured, Porsche simply took back the motors and gave the owner a new "crate" motor. Now however, the 3.4 is well out of production, so you would either have to 1) find a used one and risk its use or 2) pay for a new one

To be honest, while the number of reported failures seems to have dropped as the engines get better, until the 2009 DFI cars came out, complete failure is still a potential issue. Some report that by 2006 Porsche had made enough improvements to reduce failure concerns, but I'm not so sure.

Finding a Porsche CPO car, or buying an aftermarket warranty might be a consideration.

And, of course, having said all this, there are 100K - 200K mile examples that have had NO issues whatsoever.

btw, the GT3, GT2 and Twin Turbo motors do NOT suffer the same indignities as the lesser "base" cars do. They are not based on the M96 motors.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Eat-um-up

hmm. starting to sound like a smart move would be to have about enough on hand to almost replace the car again.

About when would you say that these issues have been ironed out? Id like to stay with this generation or newer. so if that means (guessing) a 2005 is the year to begin with then ill wait a while longer to make sure i got enough to get the ironed out year.

The thing to be aware of is that after 10 years, many of the engine and tranny issues have been addressed. It really just requires that you be a smart shopper when you look at cars. If you find a 2000 with 60k mi that has had no engine or tranny work and are comparing it to a 1999 with 95k mi that has had IMS work and a rebuilt gearbox and both cars are the same price, I'd buy the '99.

[Eat-um-up]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

The thing to be aware of is that after 10 years, many of the engine and tranny issues have been addressed. It really just requires that you be a smart shopper when you look at cars. If you find a 2000 with 60k mi that has had no engine or tranny work and are comparing it to a 1999 with 95k mi that has had IMS work and a rebuilt gearbox and both cars are the same price, I'd buy the '99.

i cant agree with you more.

you all have been a wealth of information. That is what i love about this place. I can do the research properly so i have a good idea of what I'm getting into without learning the hard way. The IMS thing is the issue i had heard of before. now that I know what it is (again) i can figure that all out.

its good to know that when you say that issues have been address that means fixed. not just replaced with another part waiting to do it all over again.