Hroussard

I have been told by my dealer that I need to change the front bumper cover of my 1999 Carrera because they can not attach the cover to their attachments / supports . It seems some of these attachments underneath got ripped off ( maybe in touching the road at one point). There is a 996GT3R cover on eBay and I wonder if that would fit . I know I would need to get it painted and installed. Maybe another question would also be. What would you do ?? Would you buy an aftermarket product and so which one would you recommend or would you stick with a Porsche part . The dealer quoted a base price of around 1500 dollars,unpainted. Painting about 450 dollars .

HarryR

I am insured with Mercury and live on the Peninsular in the Bay Area south of San Francisco. I have a Carrera 2 (1999) and a Nissan Maxima (2000). Here is what I pay:

Limits: 100,000/300,000, uninsured 100,000/300,000, deductible 500

Nissan $ 350.00 per 6 months

Porsche $ 389.00 per 6 months

Total per year for 2 cars : $1,481.80

no tickets , no accidents,

HarryR

Gang, I thought this could be of use to some of you having Porsches that are going to are are out of warranty.

The Company I just contracted with to buy additional extended warranty is Western General, PO box 4493 . Woodland Hills, CA 91365 - 1800-242-9442

As my car was out of Porsche warranty I wanted to get some insurance. I was able to get another 4 years with additional 40,000 miles. Not cheap but then I do not want to pick up charges for engine replacements, gear box replacements etc. The cost was just below 1000 dollars per year !!! Not cheap but hey a Waterpump replace is 1200 dollars.

HarryR

C2 1999 33k miles

Thanks for all the input. Just got the prelim quote from the dealer for 1,200 dollars, they do not have the water pump in stock ..Might be lucky if they can get it all done by the end of the week they say.

HarryR

Well, this is an interesting thing. I was driving on the Freeway in Redwood Shores (CA) and I suddenly heard a faint squealing noise. This made me uneasy and I started to check for problems. I noticed ( within 30 seconds) that the Volt gauge started to go down to about 10 volts and about 30 seconds later I noticed my water temp going up . So it was me!!

I got off the Freeway in Foster City ( 2 miles in total from the time I first heard the noise) and parked asap. By then there was steam coming from under the car and when I got out I saw the coolant pouring from underneath the back of the car. Clearly looked like the waterpump gone bad :cursing: ( squealing noise), coolant pooring out.

Got the car towed into Rector Burlingame and I will see what it all turns out to be tomorrow.

First I was amazed that the pump seized up in a matter of one minute. My experience has been that a waterpump generally provides you with some warning ie squealing for 50-100 miles which gives you the time to get to a garage. Secondly, 33,000 miles is extremely low miles for a water pump to seize.

Any hints, input ? do they have to drop the engine for the repair? Any idea of the cost I can expect to pay for this? Will the new water pump get a life time warranty or 1 yr or what is the general situation??

Appreciate it

HarryR

C2- 1999 - coupe - 3.4l

Guys, I have a link to a 2 minute "wring-out" video of the Porsche GT3 which is being readied for Rally in Belgium. To be rented on a day by day or season basis. Some very high quality footing.

I somebody sends me their email address I will forward the link ( from PitTV Belgium) so you can make it available in this forum.

My email address is : hroussar@yahoo.com

Tough decision. My 2 cents... The metallic black looks much better just because the metallic particles in the paint sparkle and reflect the light better , thus I feel you get a "deeper" shine. Today I parked my car and when I was climbing out, a non-metallic black Carrera with beige interior stopped and parked 2 spaces away. So I had a good chance of looking and comparing. The non metallic black was clearly not as reflective and vibrant in color as a matter of fact it was rather dull. Now it could be that the car had not been washed and waxed of course ( and frankly that's what I was suspecting) because it was really dull. I have seen some black cars ( in one of the 6speedforum.com things where they were talking about Rejex application) that really look shiny. If you are interested , email me and I send you some pictures from my Carrera. Let me know

(email hroussar@yahoo.com)

HarryR

Hi, I have a black metallic 1999 ( with Boxter red leather interior) and I have been totally confused why it was called black metallic because this black metallic is not black at all. It's very very dark grey with some brown/rust undertones.

I must say that this paint color looks a foot deep and does not look dusty or dirty quickly. I always have been mightily impressed with the paint on Porsches and how long they last and appear like new. The problem is that touch-ups seem to be very difficult. I spoke to several Porsche dealership and they are telling me that it is better to have little stone chips just covered, they say it is difficult to have things matched up.

HarryR C2 1999

TD, remind me NEVER to move to VA!!!

HarryR C2 1999 ( leaded foot)

If everything works out, you should see a picture of my 1999 C2 . I have side skirts, no front or rear spoiler.

Enjoy

HarryR

Hello,

How can a "import "a picture as a response into this forum. I have a 1999 C2 996 with side skirts only and would like to show you how that looks like.

Please let me know.

Thanks

HarryR

Sound fair to me, luckily lots of other folks are also reading these journals and numbers seem to make sense, even to you , like it 90 bucks plus 4 plus 1 equals 95 and the math is right too!!

Salut

HarryR

A certificate of Authenticity is a certificate which is issued by Porsche America which shows the information on the car including all the options that is was shipped with, it also shows you the date of manufacture and the MSRP price. Thus if you make modifications or add aftermarket parts / mods to it, it will not be showing on this Certificate. The Certificate will cost you 95 dollars.

HarryR

I have those pipes and they were part of the "Aluminum/Chrome Package" which was an option in 1999 . It includes the pipes, door sills and the aluminum dial. I also have the Gear shift knob and brake handle in leather/aluminum as an option . I got a Certificate of Authenticity with all the options ( details) which includes sport chassis, leather sport seats, Xenon, HIFI sound package,computer , CD player, traction control with ABD and Limited Slip, 18 inch sports wheels etc . Total MSRP was 81,403.00 in 1999.

HarryR 1999 Ce , metallic black with full leather boxter red interior.

On the subject of your tires. Porsche's handbook for my C2 1999 tells me the COLD measurements should be 36 in front and 44 in the back for 18 inch rims. You may want to try that...I have to assume they ( Porsche) do have some tire jockeys that do know what they are talking about and from my experience, tires that run bold(ish) in the middle have been driven with the wrong pressures. If your fronts wear out correctly it tells me that you have the correct toe-in and camber etc . Generally, Porsche guys try to monkey with that to reduce or increase over or understeer based on their preference(s). Personally I drive the recommended pressures and check them ( and adjust) every week. I have Conti's . I do also find that the front of the car feels quite light and I am contemplating lowering the front ( and maybe the back) 20 mm or so but I do not want to have the hassle of hitting every curb in the area. I have the 030 suspension. Maybe, I just go for and change the shocks alone as I have 30K miles on the odo to get adjustable(s) so I can stiffen the rebound a bit... Don't know yet for sure. I am in Foster City..

HarryR

C2 1999 - black metallic with Boxter red interior , sport seats and a bunch of other options.

My 1999 C2 has the 030 suspension and that's the one I think is still light, floaty and does not track well. I suspect it's close to the ROW 030 suspension. I am riding on the 18 inch Porsche 10 spoke Sport rims ( very nice thank you) with Conti's. I believe they are BBS OEM's but I am not sure.

I have a question around the rims. I have some curb rash on the rear rims. What is the best process. As the rim consist of 2 parts would it be cheaper, easier, better to buy the part that has the rash ( the actual rim that holds the tire) new ,and keep the inner part of the wheel (the part that is the spokes and the holes etc to attach to the car) or forget about that option? Any idea where one can buy those separately and what they would cost? I have 8 1/2 in the front and 10 inch in the back.

HarryR

Gang, I have a 1999 C2 coupe and it has a 030 Sports group code as well as a 09991 code. This shows as " manufacture from the exclusive programme". What are the details of that 09991 code??

HarryR

I have a 1999 C2 which has the 030 option ( different suspension - close to the European / ROW I believe) and, coming from a Nissan 300 ZX TT with switchable shock settings ( touring / sport) I also found and still find, that the steering of my C2 is loose, too light and floaty. I am trying to live with it ( at least for the time being) because I do not want to upset or get rid of a handling that has been designed based on a variety of conditions by folks that, I hope, have a much better idea on what the car should feel and behave as I have. Having said that, I am eagerly reading about the folks on this and other sites and their experiences. In the end I may upgrade to some springs that lower the front a bit more than the back, to give a more "hunkered-down" feeling with some better control on the rebound and with some adjustable shocks so I can get it calibrated or changed on the car rather than having to take these things off again and again. My concern with shorter springs and stiffer chocks is the fact that it may handle too stifly and become uncomfortable or somewhat marginal in handling . In the end I want to have a car that I like to drive all through the week on all kinds of roads.

Now just to make matters worse, yesterday I had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari 355 Spider ( 1999) with 8k miles on the clock. The is the last year 355 Spider ( was replace by the 360 one year later I believe). I drove this yellow convertible from San Mateo(Ca) on the Skyline road to Saratoga, about 40 miles of sheer rush. Folks that know this road will tell you its a road which separates the boys from the men, lots and short sweeping bends with little or no view or visibility in front of you good for speeds up to about 120 miles, generally in 2-3-4 gear up to 8,200 revs ( yes 8200 revs!! ), a screaming 8 cylinder Ferrari 5 valve engine, superb gearing and massive brakes and , this model being the last year , it is part of the limited edition run of 100 units , they all have a a quick steering upgrade and NO body roll whatsoever. I must say that the handling of this Spider convertible is about 2 generations better than the Porsche, the brakes are one generation better than the Porsche. Now if I could get my Porsche to handle like THAT, I would have it done tomorrow morning.

HarryR 1999 C2

Guys, I sent an email out to Autoweek , Car and Driver and JD Powers with some information that may prompt them to have a look at the issue. Note however that, in general, these guys will not "bite the hand that feeds them" ie they will softpeddle these kind of issues. JD Powers may be the exception to that. Autoweek also seems to have some more interest because it is a weekly magazine and they have some advantage over the Monthly's because they can report stories and issues earlier of course.

If you guys want to do the same, go to Google, search for the magazines and send messages to their editor(s). The more the better.

HarryR Carrera 1999, coupe, no RMS leaks and hoping to keep it that way.

So Wolfgang,

Maybe that's what we should ask you to do. Could you drive to Zuffenhausen and get an audience with someone who cares. Introduce them to this website and suggest they check up and read what their customers think. Maybe this is the time to get something going aspecially as the folks in the UK seem to have such a bad time getting heard by the Porsche dealers. They may end up with a class action that will cost them ALL or a sizeable chunck of their profits.

Has anybody thought about talking and discussing this with some car magazines like Autoweek, Car and Driver and the like and what about contacting JD Powers? does anybody have some contacts? These guys will be more than interested I am sure as bad news is always worth more than good news at least for the News Media. Such a report would take the Porsche quality numbers down overnight. Look what happened with Mercedes and their JD Powers rating. The cost to their bottom line in the USA must have been horrendous.! Look what happened recently when it was reported that Nissan in the USA made some bad products. 200 Japanese engineers have been flown out to the US factories to clean this mess up. It was in the news only a few days ago.

Gruesse!

HarryR

Carrera 3.4 1999 with 30K miles ( luckily without problems) but getting nervous about all of this.

30K miles services is about 800 dollars, add some small stuff to it and you most likely will be close to what I paid ie 1300 dollars ( minus 250 bucks for a new hood release). It includes new sparkplugs, all new filters etc. Have them check you a/c and refill , mine lost some refrigerant and was not as cold as it should be.

Yep, give me a call and we can chat. There are several around. I own a Beech Sierra but do not DO instruction.

Harry R 650- 888 1622

I get 20.8 miles per gallon , mixed highway / city driving with my 1999 (3.4 ) C2.

At highway speed 80-85 miles is goes up to about 21 miles per hour. I am driving in California. Generally I will chang gears at 4.5 to 5 k revs.

Now here is a good one. I got my car C2 coupe 1999) back from the 30K miles services and I asked them to check my RMS. They said it was fine. The service guy looked at me and said " AHH ..so you know about the RMS issue " Then he said..yes there is a very small fraction of the older Porsches 996 who have this problem but Porsche considers the engine to be just a replacable part like an exhaust system and they do not consider it to be a part of the car ( like USA based companies do). He said that Porsche will modify the original records of the car to "erase" the old serial number of the engine so that it no longer exists in their database.

That also means there is no record of how many they have replaced...if they do not maintain the replacement database....

Oh yes, and the service was 795 dollars which included changing the sparkplugs, 10 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic 0-40 and the usual other items.

HarryR

Guys, I am contemplating buying these Xenon's to match with my factory Zenon low beams on my 1999 Carrera. Does it work and is it worthwhile?

They are currently on auction on eBay for 90 bucks. Type H7 from what I understand. Any issues ( high power requirement??)

YOU GOTTA HAVE THESE XENONS IF YOU OWN ONE OF THE GREAT PORSCHE 911 (996).

What makes these PREMIUM XENONS so unique is its ULTRA XENON GAS inside the ceramic-based tube, the glare my XENONS produces are one of a kind. They are not just much BRIGHTER than the stock and other brand bulbs; these XENONS are laboratory-proven to output CLOSEST light texture compare to PORSCHE factory XENON-Lowbeams.

Our PREMIUM XENON(Trademark) halogens bulbs are developed & engineered in Motron' Lab in Germany - the Hometown of Porsche. These PREMIUM XENONTM Halogens are the Closest performer EVER to the Porsche factory Xenon lights.

If you have the factory xenon lowbeam lamps, You can use my PREMIUM XENON Halogens as your Foglights & Highbeam to comply with your factory Xenon lights. So your foglight will not look "Yellowish".

These PREMIUM XENON halogens I'm offering are SIMPLY the BEST, They are made by XENON tm. I'm a PORSCHE fanatic, I've tried 8 different kind of bulbs prior these XENONS (PIAA super white $88, super plasma $140, plasma blue $137 & Solarix etc) and Nothing close to my Xenons as far as the performance and Xenon glare. My XENONS halogens IS the closest thing to the PORSCHE factory Xenon with fraction of the cost!

THESE PREMIUM XENONS ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!! The installation is easy as 1-2-3, I can be able to provide your Xenon installations via e-mail. I'm using these Xenon on all my cars and I LOVE IT! Every customer was surprised upon the installation of these Xenons. THEY ARE THE CLOSEST THING TO THE FACTORY XENON and look even better; the light texture is BRIGHT, BEAUTIFUL & LUXURIOUS! FYI, the installation of the factory Xenon is impossible because there's is no self leveling device, and they will DEFINITELY cause a conflict your in-dash computer systems (A message of "CHECK YOUR LOW BEAM" will flash every time you turned on your headlights) The factory Xenon is $1200 ~ $2000. Ask your Porsche dealer and they will tell you it is not doable even if you pay the high price. SO ACT NOW! These Xenons will be the BEST $ you've ever spent on your PORSCHE!!

You will get the BRAND NEW In-The-Box XENONS. Don't miss this GREAT OPPORTUNITY!

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Appreciate your input.

hroussard