Are the Rock Auto bits genuine Porsche parts? Even at our-shop-cost from a local distributor (KW maybe? One of those big groups that supply all the dealers and such in a town) the Porsche stuff was generally more than similar modules for BMW/Audi/Merc. I wish I could remember some comparisons but it's been a long time.
I support the Boxster first idea. Same sort of issues as the 996 (IMS, interior) but cheaper entry cost and better handling/chassis balance. You might end up going Cayman instead of 911, too 
In reply to jsquared and Flight Service: I looked at Rock Auto for a BMW axle, and they didn't have an OEM one. I didn't look at the other parts, but it could be the same. I know that you know about fixing many problems yourself, but I will also suggest not driving it every day, maybe 4 or 5 days a week at first to help keep some repair costs down, especially at first.
I bought 2 BMW M3 axles from Autozone last season for something silly cheap with a lifetime warranty because I was in a pinch and needed an axle to make the race weekend.
Bottom line, I raced them all season including test days, two freakin' endurance races, club race school instructing and so on... fine. No issues at all. The next set is free when these explode because Lifetime Warranty! I'm sure they are hit and miss so buy 4 JIC ;)
I'm sure they have the same thing for 996s. They had everything. I priced my wife's XIT and my BIL's Cayenne. When I say silly cheap I'm talking like $70 + core IIRC... so if the Porsche tax makes them $90, WGAF?
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
I bought 2 BMW M3 axles from Autozone last season for something silly cheap with a lifetime warranty because I was in a pinch and needed an axle to make the race weekend.
Bottom line, I raced them all season including test days, two freakin' endurance races, club race school instructing and so on... fine. No issues at all. The next set is free when these explode because Lifetime Warranty! I'm sure they are hit and miss so buy 4 JIC ;)
I'm sure they have the same thing for 996s. They had everything. I priced my wife's XIT and my BIL's Cayenne. When I say silly cheap I'm talking like $70 + core IIRC... so if the Porsche tax makes them $90, WGAF?
That's good to know. I put a pair of those $75 Autozone axles on Ugly, and the BMW forums have assured me that they will soon explode and take out the back 1/3 of the car. But, when compared to $400-ish for the OEM ones, it was an easy call, especially with the lifetime warranty.
I put on an Autozone axle, and I got an annoying driveline vibration from it. The vibration has changed since I replaced my balljoints, but it just doesn't give me the BMW feel and ride with that vibration.
fyi, i have a story to tell when working for a certain well reputed oem and aftermarket parts manufacturer.
It's why the same part number costs differently between vendors.
the oem parts have a HUGE chargeback for 0 mileage returns. This is items that die on the assembly line requiring the vehicle to be pulled asside to be fixed. (something not alloted for in work time.)
the aftermarket parts dont have this chargeback... the profit is higher on them too.
so the OEM part went through three or four checks for quality. The aftermarket? 1. one quality check. the difference in costs due to turning off the other quality checking/verification stations were such that the oem paid ~40 dollars per part. aftermarket paid 14. however, new part costs were around 150 to 130 from both...
Since we at the plant could never know what went to storage for warranty repairs vs what was aftermarket (autozone etc.) all oem parts get the full quality check.
now when you start getting into much older cars where no oem is buying new parts. Usually those manfacturing lines do not even have the extra quality check machinery anymore, it's been repurposed to a different line that works on new parts... Then it doesnt matter. Also, for most parts, nearly all of a certain type will be made by one factory. moog/ac delco etc. All the same plant in china somewhere minting millions of the sameish part with different boxing... Usually without an engineer or oversight that actually is verifying or even knows what the part is for, they were handed a manufacturing line and told to make 24,000 of x part every day. so they do. everyday.
For once, a real update...
Just got it back from it's 1000 mile since engine refresh service. Since the tensioners have been replaced, I haven't had any funny rattles from the engine and the latest service confirms that no more chain guide debris is floating around the engine. So from that point of view, we're good.
To celebrate I've ordered a hardtop storage cart and hopefully next week I (finally) take the hardtop off.
Thanks 
.
To celebrate the occasion (or take advantage of it being able to move under its own power), I finally had the snow tires taken off and replaced with some nice and fresh BF Goodrich rubber (guaranteed to not be Porsche approved) and took the hardtop off today. And then promptly ordered some soft top cleaner while wondering just how it got so filthy.
Not much to report, it's been doing shared DD duty with the motorcycles and I've done on some short to medium road trips in it (usually in the 300-500 mile/day range) with no issues. It's nice with the roof down, even though I find myself using the windblocker a fair amount on longer distances.
Yesterday I encountered the first big issue since the above update - the tires need some air put in them as they're about 1-2 psi low. Other than that, really nothing to report in the 3k+ I've driven it.
Fuel consumption is so-so, as expected. I'm getting about 22.5 mpg on my commute to work (a few miles through town, the rest on open roads with 50-ish limits) and up to 24mpg on proper longer trips. It actually does seem to use less fuel when you go a bit faster.
Good news is that after the engine refresh the mpgs actually went up by about 10%. Not that that's going to pay for the work anytime soon.
If you can ... what is the "true cost of ownership" for you at this point? Labor, parts and cost of the car. I actually do really like the idea and wonder how much I can tolerate the worst case scenario here if I were to DIY the engine build and install, etc.
I also wonder about the costs associated with buying a 997 motor + ECU and updating an already failed 996 like we do with BMWs. I imagine it's still less money than dealing with Renegade parts + LS7.
G. P. Snorklewacker wrote:
If you can ... what is the "true cost of ownership" for you at this point? Labor, parts and cost of the car. I actually do really like the idea and wonder how much I can tolerate the worst case scenario here if I were to DIY the engine build and install, etc.
Back of the envelope says about $31k all in, about $8k of it being labour and the cost of the car at a bit below $17k. That's excluding tires (I needed two sets of tires for it) but including the catch-up maintenance and the engine work. The engine work was about $3k-ish in parts, the rest of the almost $11k was labour.
G. P. Snorklewacker wrote:
I also wonder about the costs associated with buying a 997 motor + ECU and updating an already failed 996 like we do with BMWs. I imagine it's still less money than dealing with Renegade parts + LS7.
From what I read, you can build the M96 from 996 to be reliable. IIRC the 997 engine has its own set of issues and may not be that much of an improvement over the existing 996 engines.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
I bought 2 BMW M3 axles from Autozone last season for something silly cheap with a lifetime warranty because I was in a pinch and needed an axle to make the race weekend.
Bottom line, I raced them all season including test days, two freakin' endurance races, club race school instructing and so on... fine. No issues at all. The next set is free when these explode because Lifetime Warranty! I'm sure they are hit and miss so buy 4 JIC ;)
I'm sure they have the same thing for 996s. They had everything. I priced my wife's XIT and my BIL's Cayenne. When I say silly cheap I'm talking like $70 + core IIRC... so if the Porsche tax makes them $90, WGAF?
Wow, I got an Autozone axle for my Forester and it died in a week.
BoxheadTim wrote:
G. P. Snorklewacker wrote:
If you can ... what is the "true cost of ownership" for you at this point? Labor, parts and cost of the car. I actually do really like the idea and wonder how much I can tolerate the worst case scenario here if I were to DIY the engine build and install, etc.
Back of the envelope says about $31k all in, about $8k of it being labour and the cost of the car at a bit below $17k. That's excluding tires (I needed two sets of tires for it) but including the catch-up maintenance and the engine work. The engine work was about $3k-ish in parts, the rest of the almost $11k was labour.
There is a 986 Boxster S for sale on base, asking $13,500, and this is the 2nd biggest thing keeping me from calling the owner to have a look around. The 1st biggest thing is that '99 Miata in the classifieds section on here I'm pretty sure SWMBO might hang me up by my toenails if I bought it without selling the 240SX, though...
Some updates, after a period of quiet.
The secondary air pump is getting a little noisy, so I had the shop check it out and install an LN Engineering spin-on oil filter conversion and uprated oil baffles at the same time as it was due for a service. The uprated baffles are mostly for peace of mind if I want to go and autocross the car. The really good news is that oil and filter are clean so the engine is in good shape now.
It was all rainbows and unicorns until a couple of days ago, when I managed to use it to collect a gas can somebody had lost. At 65mph, no less. The good news is that there was no gas in it, but rather some frozen liquid. Great. Back to the shop to get it checked over, fortunately the damage is only cosmetic but the car will need a front bumper cover and one of the air guides to a radiator replaced. Plus paint, looks like a cool $2k-ish fix for some asswipe not securing their E36 M3 in the back of their vehicle. Yeah, I'm a little upset about this. Currently trying to figure out if I just write a check for the damage and be done with it as I don't necessarily want to involve the insurance. I may just try to get a good used bumper cover off the 'bay, fit it myself and then have a shop paint it.
While I had it at the shop they noticed that one of the CV boots had let go so I get to get those changed out, too, before driving it through more winter storms. Yay me.
At this point I'm thinking about selling both this car and the MR2, then get an EVO VIII or IX if I can find a good one (yeah, I know that's going to be a problem). That way I've got the track vehicle and winter driver[1] covered in one car rather than two and I know I do fit the earlier Evos better than an Evo X. Of course there's the little issue of finding a mechanic that'll work on one and doesn't awfully look like me.
[1] Yes, I need AWD in winter for various reasons. Let's not warm up that discussion again...
So the inference from the news media is "Porsche 996 is more problem-matic than an Evo?"
You could see about getting updated front end parts. Porsche Aero front bumper. Or the turbo bumper.
I believe (it's been a while) that they bolt on, and the parts cost might be the same... Just a thought.
In reply to Flight Service:
With my car buying luck I might still disprove that theory.
In reply to Mad_Ratel:
At least the aero bumper is a straight bolt-on, but they're considerably more expensive either used or new. Like, about twice as much as the regular one.
OW.
I remember for a while the GT something or other bumper was cheaper than the stock one.
Seems that sticking with the later 9A1 engine is the best bet for avoiding a variety malady's that potentially afflict the M96/M97 line. Back in the day when I had my first 911 (air cooled), even minor repairs came in $1000 and $3000 sizes; major repairs = more. Today's water cooled engines come with $5000 and $15000 sizes. No substitute for cubic dollars.
That's inflation for you 
. While the engine work clearly was a big financial hit, it's the smaller stuff that seems to creep up every couple of months that's getting on my nerves most.
I was really considering one of these on Craigslist that I found nearby for $13000, has the ceramic IMS bearing and what not, but it's this thread that keeps me from getting one.
Heck, this thread is putting me off and I started it...
In reply to BoxheadTim:
We know you're just trying to keep prices low so you can stock up...you probably already have a pile of them out in the desert. 
Dang it, they're onto me 
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