newby questions

[todd049]

Hi I am new here. I am looking at a buying a 1999 996 with 62000 miles on it. What should I look for? I use to work in a shop (10-12 years ago) that specalized in porsche, bmw, mercedes, ect but am lost on the newer models. I am reading alot about RMS and engine failures. What is the cost of a new motor? Can they be rebuilt? I have always loved 911 but reading the article all over the net are scaring the h3ll out of me. I don't remeber the mid 80s car having that many problems.

[MechanicalEng]

The engines costs are between $10 - $14k depending on the engine size and delaer reates..

[viper501]

The Porsche reman'd engine itself is about 7800 plus shipping from Sunset Porsche. That is a fully dressed motor with completely new everything except for a/c compressor. Install is fairly straightforward and is essentially plug and play.

RMS is not really a big deal. Stupid and unsightly yes but not the cause of a catastrophic engine failure. And a non-leaking RMS is no gaurantee of not losing the engine. My engine had 126k miles from three owners when something failed. I suspect a valve spring as I have no compression on number 2 but the engine will run, albeit not well, but won't idle.

The engines can be rebuilt, just like any engine, assuming you can locate the parts and want to spend the labor. That is where the rub is. To pull an engine, undress it, redress it and replace it in the car is about 30 hours of labor. And that is without any 'work' really being done on it. To replace the engine with a reman'd unit is about 10 hours of labor. The math, and the risk utility analysis really calls for replacement when there is a major failure, especially where the car has as many miles as mine did.

And as far as the 80's cars go, I think you're having selective memories. They've all had issues. And God forbid you need to rebuild or replace a 993 engine. Ouch!

Dealer installed reman'd engine prices depend on the dealership. The dealer in Podunk Tennessee qouted me 10k and change for an installed reman'd engine. The local dealer where I live qouted me 16k. Obviously, it pays to shop around.

[todd049]

I didn't mea to say to 80's cars didn't have problems. I meant if you read on the different web sites it seems like every other car has either RMS or engine failure. That is the worry some part for me. Is getting over 100,000 miles common in the 3.4L engines? Are the 3.6L in the 2002 car alot better? Thanks for the replys I am learning.

Todd

[viper501]

All of the years have had issues, at least anecdotally. I had 126k miles on my engine when it started having problems. And I am the third owner so no tellling how she was treated before. If labor wasn't so darn high, repairing this engine might be worth it. Up until this issue, she'd been running great, had done plenty of high rpm driving, and was smooth and powerful. While the money I am spending is really a PIA, I can't complain too much considering that I've put about 65k miles on the car in two years. The ones that seem to have problems more frequently are the low mileage garage queens.

Unfortunately, the internet is great for spreading information, including that the sky is falling. :)

[slbates]

Hi I am new here. I am looking at a buying a 1999 996 with 62000 miles on it. What should I look for? I use to work in a shop (10-12 years ago) that specalized in porsche, bmw, mercedes, ect but am lost on the newer models. I am reading alot about RMS and engine failures. What is the cost of a new motor? Can they be rebuilt? I have always loved 911 but reading the article all over the net are scaring the h3ll out of me. I don't remeber the mid 80s car having that many problems.

Although I have never had an RMS leak on my 996, I did have one on my 81 911. I didn't throw away any cardboard for several months (keeps the floor clean). It finally started leaking quite a lot of oil and otherwise annoying me so I had it replaced. I also replaced the clutch at the same time but not from oil contamination. With the pie-plate sized oil spots under the car I would have thought oil would have been all over the clutch...not the case. The 80's engines were not trouble free...

I had a valve spring break as well at 96k miles on my 996. I think I talked to about 3-4 others who had this happen as well. One (on this board I think) did elect the replace the spring. I did not elect to go this route since the replacement engine was only 7900 including shipping costs. At this price I just did not feel like experimenting with engine longevity since the reman engine comes with nearly everthing new except the AC compressor on the 99 model.

Edited July 14, 2007 by slbates

[cowboyzx6]

I have an 02 996 with 8200 miles on it and 1 month past warranty expiration. Car just got diagnosed with a porous engine case requiring a new engine. Waiting on a price quote from the dealer now. They said they would be willing to pay 1/2 of the total cost to replace.

We'll see what $ they come up with.

cowboyzx6

[PeterC4]

I had a 2000 C4 for 3 years purchased it with 54,000 kms and sold it at 88,000 kms. The car was a Porsche Certified used car and was in very good shape. During the warranty period they changed the RMS at about 65,000 kms and then it was perfect. The new seal reportedly is much better. I now have a 2004 C4S with only 22,000 kms and it is a great car. For sure, the cars after 2001 are different in a couple of ways, the engines are slightly bigger and structurally the cars are more ridgid and you do notice the difference. If the car you're buying has been taken care of, chances are RMS has been replaced. Personally, I don't think an RMS failure means catastrophic engine failure. Know the seller and learn about the car and you'll feel good about your purchase.