Advice.
- Thread starter Frenchy
- Start date
Also, check for:
- rust under the rubbers around the windows
- Check how much wear is left on brakes/discs as it can cost in teh region of £1k to replace all of them
- Check wear left on tyres
- Ensure the door check stays are solid as these can go
- Check for oil leaks
I am sure others will be along soon to suggest other things as well
- rust under the rubbers around the windows
- Check how much wear is left on brakes/discs as it can cost in teh region of £1k to replace all of them
- Check wear left on tyres
- Ensure the door check stays are solid as these can go
- Check for oil leaks
I am sure others will be along soon to suggest other things as well
carrerasport
New member
Well no because it doesn't have the variable valve timing you speak of(variocam). It has varioram ,a variable inlet manifold system which has only one common fault in that the vacuum supply to it is restircted by a collapsed distribution pipe,best seen at the rear of the left hand engine bay at the top and with one 8mm pipe going in from the side and two pipes coming out from the bottom,one is 8mm and one is 3mm .The junction piece colapses and restricts the supply of air to the reserve tank.The varioram valves all move to their limits once every time the ignition is switched on(this can be heard at the engine bay) and untill the vacuum supply is depleated,(at least 5or 6 times) without the engine running. Sometimes other faults are introduced when removing the inlet manifold for other work such as the wireing loom mod or replacing the ht lead set!Obviously any fault with any vacuum supplied system (heating valves for a start ) will render the varioram inefficent because their will be a shortage of air to move the valves.
But quite honestley this is the least of your worries when checking a 993 over.I must strongly suggest that you employ an expert to assess the condition of the car for you as it really is all too easy to spend 5k plus on what seemed a good car.I kidd you not a clutch change on a n/a 993 usuing genuine porsche parts wills eat around £1000,Ditto a complete brake overhaul usuing gen parts (the best most will agree)rear pu supports and heat shields another £500 and it goes on and on.I know this makes the cars sound like a load of old rubbish,But they are all old cars now and exposed metal and all rubber bits are failing on most examples and with porsches ridiculous pricing strategy for classic models they are not cheap to get into good order.it will suprise you how many owners scrape enough to buy the car without getting it inspected and then have only rountine servicing carried out and whatever else breaks which stops the car going ,and then try and resell one of two years later for about what they paid for it,having addressed none of the issue present when purchased and not dealing with ones which occur in their ownership.And when a enthusiastic new owner buys it and has their first work carried out on the car or has it looked over post purchase, a good indie who has not seen the car before will want to have a good look over it to give you an honest assessment and its awful informing the new owner about all the remeidial work required to get it into decent shape, and i dont mean like brand new,i mean with none of the common issues and mechanically sound.Its no good having a 60k sports car with loads of issues and thinking that your sampling the breed as it was intended,it's just not what the car should be about.
As an owner of the model for 6 years plus i've done my fair share of repair work to keep it in good order as it was when i bought it. it's not reasonalble to expect the cars components to last this long without some renewal/repair and the lack of use sometimes makes it all worse.I often think now that the thought of a 996 makes good sense as the repairs of a rough 993 can easily overtake the cost of an engine problem with this newer model!!Although the resdiduals might not be as good.
In short the 993 is an exceptionally well built car but its age (not necesarilly its mileage) is bringing parts of them to the end of their life,and after 13 odd years nobodys complaining about the quality but it doesn't alter the fact that repairs are now costly on these models. Buy a bad one cheap or good one for decent money and as far as cars go it will be quite a good Waste of money!,but if you dont get it up to standard you will wonder what all this fuss about the model is about?And you will end up selling it with your impression of a 911 all distorted.
I think thats enough rambling for tonight!!
best of luck C
But quite honestley this is the least of your worries when checking a 993 over.I must strongly suggest that you employ an expert to assess the condition of the car for you as it really is all too easy to spend 5k plus on what seemed a good car.I kidd you not a clutch change on a n/a 993 usuing genuine porsche parts wills eat around £1000,Ditto a complete brake overhaul usuing gen parts (the best most will agree)rear pu supports and heat shields another £500 and it goes on and on.I know this makes the cars sound like a load of old rubbish,But they are all old cars now and exposed metal and all rubber bits are failing on most examples and with porsches ridiculous pricing strategy for classic models they are not cheap to get into good order.it will suprise you how many owners scrape enough to buy the car without getting it inspected and then have only rountine servicing carried out and whatever else breaks which stops the car going ,and then try and resell one of two years later for about what they paid for it,having addressed none of the issue present when purchased and not dealing with ones which occur in their ownership.And when a enthusiastic new owner buys it and has their first work carried out on the car or has it looked over post purchase, a good indie who has not seen the car before will want to have a good look over it to give you an honest assessment and its awful informing the new owner about all the remeidial work required to get it into decent shape, and i dont mean like brand new,i mean with none of the common issues and mechanically sound.Its no good having a 60k sports car with loads of issues and thinking that your sampling the breed as it was intended,it's just not what the car should be about.
As an owner of the model for 6 years plus i've done my fair share of repair work to keep it in good order as it was when i bought it. it's not reasonalble to expect the cars components to last this long without some renewal/repair and the lack of use sometimes makes it all worse.I often think now that the thought of a 996 makes good sense as the repairs of a rough 993 can easily overtake the cost of an engine problem with this newer model!!Although the resdiduals might not be as good.
In short the 993 is an exceptionally well built car but its age (not necesarilly its mileage) is bringing parts of them to the end of their life,and after 13 odd years nobodys complaining about the quality but it doesn't alter the fact that repairs are now costly on these models. Buy a bad one cheap or good one for decent money and as far as cars go it will be quite a good Waste of money!,but if you dont get it up to standard you will wonder what all this fuss about the model is about?And you will end up selling it with your impression of a 911 all distorted.
I think thats enough rambling for tonight!!
best of luck C
matthewb
New member
![[FONT=verdana,geneva"]](/forum/styles/default/pcgb/space.gif ". [FONT=verdana,geneva\"]")
Apart from the obvious things like tyre wear and paint chips ...- heatshields
- suspension top mounts, springs, dampers
- distributors and rotors
- clutch
- steering rack and tie rods
- wishbone bushes
- engine wear - do a cylinder compression leak test
- gearbox mounting
- brake disks and pads
- rear pu bumper hanger brackets
- rust under front and rear screens
- door check stays
- screen and headlight washer pumps
- aircon
If you need to address all the above (which wouldn't surprise me) expect at least £10k incl. labour and VAT, assuming the engine and gearbox are OK. Don't ask me how I know.
Variocam is not a problem on 993s (variable valve timing didn't appear until the 996). Varioram rarely a problem.
M
This might also help:
Common problems
poor geometry (£150-£300)
rusting windscreen and rear screen (£500-£1500)
corroded caliper plates (£50 per corner or £170 per corner to completely refurb)
corroded rear bumper supports (not sure.. not very much, do it yourself)
worn suspension (£500-£2000 depending on what you buy then labour to fit (4-6 hrs?) then geometry)
worn engine mounts (£200-£300 + 1 hrs labour)
worn inner tie rods (around £140 + 1 hours labour + front toe)
dirty ISV valve (do it yourself, very easy)
worn front bonnet dampers (15 quid plus do it yourself)
leaking lower valve covers (£160 plus 1-2 hours labour)
corroded rear silencer heatshields (i think aroudn £100 plus 1 hrs labour)
corroded window lifters (£80 plus 1 hrs labour but easy to diy)
corroded headlight guides (£10 or so and easy to DIY)
worn front lower A arm bushes (£100 for new bushes and then 4 hrs labour to then geo)
door check straps (around 1k i think)
torn spoiler curtain
Dead ballast resistors either on the oil cooler or the A/C condensor
Rusted brake lines
Stolen from the original thread here: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=52816
Common problems
poor geometry (£150-£300)
rusting windscreen and rear screen (£500-£1500)
corroded caliper plates (£50 per corner or £170 per corner to completely refurb)
corroded rear bumper supports (not sure.. not very much, do it yourself)
worn suspension (£500-£2000 depending on what you buy then labour to fit (4-6 hrs?) then geometry)
worn engine mounts (£200-£300 + 1 hrs labour)
worn inner tie rods (around £140 + 1 hours labour + front toe)
dirty ISV valve (do it yourself, very easy)
worn front bonnet dampers (15 quid plus do it yourself)
leaking lower valve covers (£160 plus 1-2 hours labour)
corroded rear silencer heatshields (i think aroudn £100 plus 1 hrs labour)
corroded window lifters (£80 plus 1 hrs labour but easy to diy)
corroded headlight guides (£10 or so and easy to DIY)
worn front lower A arm bushes (£100 for new bushes and then 4 hrs labour to then geo)
door check straps (around 1k i think)
torn spoiler curtain
Dead ballast resistors either on the oil cooler or the A/C condensor
Rusted brake lines
Stolen from the original thread here: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=52816
Porker993
New member
Agree with the above, especially suspension. That can ruin the feeling of a car if it is not right, it is very complex, and can cost thousands to put right. I am talking mainly about bushes, dampers, and wear to joints.
I am lucky in that I have kept my car in top condition over the 8 years I have owned it, so I have a good car that I can enjoy driving every day. I have also found a good independent specialist who I can work with on keeping the car how Porsche intended. They are great cars, but don't let anyone tell you they are cheap to run.
Unless you are a 993 expert, you need a full pre purchase inspection.
I am lucky in that I have kept my car in top condition over the 8 years I have owned it, so I have a good car that I can enjoy driving every day. I have also found a good independent specialist who I can work with on keeping the car how Porsche intended. They are great cars, but don't let anyone tell you they are cheap to run.
Unless you are a 993 expert, you need a full pre purchase inspection.
Frenchy
New member
Cheers People,
Apparently bills for new clutch, brakes all round,new suspension all round, Matching P Zeros, sorry about the variocam thing, understand it is varioram, alters intake length ?
Preety handy with the spanners plus a good friend has a garage with lift etc
Going to take a look see tomorrow, if i like the look of it,amount of money changing hands will be the haggling point.
What ever happens sun is out tomorrow and my old 220 Turbo will get to stretch it,s legs.
Apparently bills for new clutch, brakes all round,new suspension all round, Matching P Zeros, sorry about the variocam thing, understand it is varioram, alters intake length ?
Preety handy with the spanners plus a good friend has a garage with lift etc
Going to take a look see tomorrow, if i like the look of it,amount of money changing hands will be the haggling point.
What ever happens sun is out tomorrow and my old 220 Turbo will get to stretch it,s legs.
Frenchy
New member
Update.......................................it was in a sorry state and would swallow 2k immediately to make it something like i would accept, i am uber fussy and could not live with it the way it was.
Get this one rear wheel had been painted with silver hammerite, what is going on in some peoples heads ?
One back box hanging off and filler in the front wing tops, damaged NS rear wheel arch which my 7 year old must have repaired when i wasn't looking.
It has not put me off, i will have a watercooled 911.
BTW My Turbo S would blow it away performance wise it has been played with mind you [
]
The soundtrack was very impressive though, chuck your radios out the window think of the weight saving !
Get this one rear wheel had been painted with silver hammerite, what is going on in some peoples heads ?
One back box hanging off and filler in the front wing tops, damaged NS rear wheel arch which my 7 year old must have repaired when i wasn't looking.
It has not put me off, i will have a watercooled 911.
BTW My Turbo S would blow it away performance wise it has been played with mind you [
]The soundtrack was very impressive though, chuck your radios out the window think of the weight saving !
Frenchy
New member
Doh,
Sorry Paul, i will blame that one on a nice bottle of Chilean..........................still looking at Aircooled 993's, i keep looking at the 964, prefer the look of the 993 from the rear and the 964 front end.
The easier self maintenance appeals to me with the 993, enquired about another advertised on PH but that has sold.
Is there that much noticeable difference with the varioram engine, is it worth waiting around for one, spotted a nice Arena Red one but tiptronic , is the manual the way to go ?
Sorry Paul, i will blame that one on a nice bottle of Chilean..........................still looking at Aircooled 993's, i keep looking at the 964, prefer the look of the 993 from the rear and the 964 front end.
The easier self maintenance appeals to me with the 993, enquired about another advertised on PH but that has sold.
Is there that much noticeable difference with the varioram engine, is it worth waiting around for one, spotted a nice Arena Red one but tiptronic , is the manual the way to go ?
Personally, it's got to be manual for me... If you're not in any hurry, try and find a varioram if you can... condition, obvious care of ownership and history is always the most important. In my opinion, someone who's got a 993 just because it's a "˜sportscar' or a "˜Porsche' (to show to everyone else) doesn't always have the same real passion for the car itself[]. They're just great cars, as are all Porsches[].
]. They're just great cars, as are all Porsches[].
Porker993
New member
No, the taller ratio US gearbox evens out any power gain. 0-60 times between vario and non-vario cars are identidal.
Yes. Unless you have some disability or infirmity that rules out use of a clutch, or do a lot of town driving.
Good luck in your search. 993 is the way to go.
This one looks interesting - manual 993 S with some work recently done...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1628637.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1628637.htm
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