Daily driving a cheap Porsche 911 (996) - what could possibly go wrong?

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Gotta love real mechanics.

Looks like typical used car issues on the headlight and air box. Only difference between this and normal cars is the parts prices. I found that my 996 was very reliable and if the problem areas (IMS) are addressed they are very reliable. Continuous development since 1963 has it benefits.

Here's a picture I took when I DIY'd my IMS bearing:

It doesn't seem like these old 996's are really that bad to deal with. Apart from the mechanicals, how's the interior/creature comfort stuff holding up? Is it a rattle trap, or is tight and quiet and rattle-free as I imagine Porsche's to be? The only VAG product I have owned is a '12 Passat I still have, and it has zero rattles or squeaks or anything, its quite nice on the road...which has put a 996 C2 on my brain. In my mind I'm imagining that these are high quality/tight/no rattles and squeaks to drive you crazy. Is my assumption correct? I'm also of a mind that right now these are undervalued on the market. I could be wrong, but it seems like a good time to buy one at the bottom and hold onto it. Or butcher it and restomod one.

I've read this whole thread and...it just doesn't seem that scary if you DIY. I mean how hard could it be?

The interior is in decent shape for 135k, but this one has the full leather interior. Those hold up better. It does have some rattles, but it's generally OK.

I now have a 996 with some involuntary bodywork modifications. For obvious reasons I'm not going to write up much in the way of details but it looks like I got a love tap on the drivers side rear, spun out into the centre divider of the highway.

At first glance it needs a front bumper plus the crap underneath, a hood, a rear bumper cover and some massaging to the rear fender. That's what I can see at right now.

It also appears to be leaking coolant for roughly the centre of the car.

Until this evening, this was actually shaping up to be a decent week.

Woof. Sorry, man.

Ugh, sorry to hear that!

Dammit.

Also seems to smell like gas when the motor is running, but not when it's turned off. At least it did that when we moved it off the tow truck and into my garage.

Top marks for AAA to getting me home pretty efficiently, too. That Premier membership just paid for itself.

Dammit.... Wait where's Dammit?

Damn. Es tut mir leid. Glad you are ok. I take it the other person kept going after the pitt manoever

Ouch.

Bad day at highway median. Glad you are OK.

In reply to oldtin:

According to the CHP officer who dropped by to take my report, the other driver did pull over a bit further down the highway and called in the accident also, I think a few minutes before I did. Given that we're talking big rig going 55+, it takes a while to stop and I had to get my senses together enough before I could call 911.

coexist wrote: Bad day at highway median. Glad you are OK.

Honestly the barrier on the median saved my behind because I didn't get pitched across another two lanes of heavy traffic. Well, that and the fact that I spun across a lane in front of a big rig going at speed without them hitting me, at least not in a worse manner than they did.

I'm not a particularly devout person but someone's guardian being/spirit/angel worked overtime yesterday.

This could've ended very badly and in the back of a care flight, instead I was a little shaken with bit of back pain from the initial Nascar maneuver. I guess a little bit of experience on what to do when you spin and leave the road surface also helped me not bounce back into traffic.

In reply to BoxheadTim: Sounds like you had one hell of a ride Tim... I'm just glad you're ok man.

Woah. That could have ended a lot worse. Any explanation what the hell the semi driver was thinking?

There is something to be said for how well VAG products tend to handle wrecks. Sorry to hear it, but glad you are still here to tell us about it.

In reply to oldtin:

I think I'll have to wait for the accident report. I didn't see the other driver stopped, only going by what the CHP officer told me.

Sucks about the car but at least you are OK.

Definite smell of gas with the engine running. Not good.

I think that's a little beyond scope for paintless dent removal...

That hood is fully closed, you can see it's bent up. Amazingly enough it still opens and closes like nothing happened. Not sure what's going on with the headlight, that's shifted as well and if that needs to be replaced, that's close to $2k just in parts cost, being a Litronic headlight.

I'm pretty sure this is not what the latch is supposed to look like...

Maybe you can get the headlight clip thing fixed now

That may just end up being a financial total.....

That's really bad news on the car front, glad to hear that you are ok.

Pull the engine out of this and drop it into another 996 which is in good condition bar a borked motor?

Guessing the roll-over hoops both deployed when you hit the barrier?