1999 996

[reidhislop]

I'm looking at buying a 1999 911 Cabriolet, with 65k miles on it. Out side of RMS and IMS, what the top 5 other potential mechanical issues I should be looking at? First post - thanks.

[997RS1]

The 99 years had dual ROW IMS, which made them very unlikely to have IMS issues. Of course a very small percentage had issues, but we are talking less than 3% of all cars. If it's been done, great! If you want to do it for peace of mind, go for it. However, it's not necessary on the 99s.

How do I know? I have a 99 and have had it for almost 20 years and I'm on the same IMS bearings. No issues. 65k miles is relatively low. Best thing is to have a reliable Porsche mechanic do a PPI on it.

Good luck!

[Rapewta]

I have a 99 996. Over 100K now. Only 3% had the bearing failure. I had the IMS replaced with the last clutch replace. If you read the 996 Carrera threads from the past, you would think 75% had the bearing failure. Buy the car and drive it as much as you can. The 99 Carrera is a $20K car with 60K miles or less. The owner history is more important than anything else. Less than 3 owners is good.
The 996 (fifth generation) was called a slab side. Egg looking headlamps... Blah, Blah Blah.
Best deal you will ever get. Liquid cooled block and heads means reliability.
10:1 weight to horse power means you will hauling arse. Very reliable.
A lot of Porsche 911's are investments. the 99 996 is not.

[tonythetarga]

I bought a ‘99 that had an intermix. Ended up replacing the engine and did all the necessary updates before driving, and later selling the car.
A lot of the early liquid cooled cars are susceptible to cracked heads if overheated. If you’re looking for preventative measures, look at the water pump history. If there is no record of it being updated, then I’d replace it. New coolant as well, obviously.
Get a factory water pump only.
The other thing I’d suggest is to remove the front bumper cover and clean between the A/C condenser and the cooling radiators on both sides. You can only do this by removing the bumper cover. You will be amazed at the sand, leaves, cigarette filters and fluff that can get in there and reduce cooling capacity.
If you plan to do any DE’s then while you there, add the center radiator for increased capacity.

[Rapewta]

As mentioned.... If you don't know how many miles since the water pump was replaced, I would go ahead and replace it. If you have the dough, get a Porsche replacement. I picked up a rebuilt from NAPA and have over 30k and still hanging in there.
It drops out through the bottom and you got a little shoe-horning to get it drop down. Might a well throw a new serpentine belt on at the same time.

As mentioned also.... Remove the front clip and remove the leaves, dead dragon flies and small errant car parts from behind the radiators. I got a grocery bag filled with leaves.
Nice sports car. A blast on the curvy mountain roads.

[reidhislop]

Thanks for all the replies and advice.