anyone here know of this car?

[deafasapost]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1882687.htm

seen this advertised tonight and mailed the person selling to ask a few questions, but in the meantime, is this car known here by anyone?
it looks great, (stunning colour!) sounds great, so depending on the replies i get, i'll try and arrange a view.

many thanks guys,

Al.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Don't know it, but the colour is great. And, judging by the slope in the pictures there's no handbrake issues! [&:]

As always, check the bodywork as there's no mention of condition.

 

[Suffolk944]

Gorgeous colour - don't think I have ever seen one in that shade before. Usual advice, check bodywork, belts and chains changed recently or not, recent service history. Good luck !

 

[DivineE]

Nope. Looks smart though.

 

[Christopher I Ralph]

Paul wrote
"Don't know it, but the colour is great. And, judging by the slope in the pictures there's no handbrake issues! [&:] "

It has been left in gear though!

 

[deafasapost]

i've had a very favourable reply from the seller, and i will be going to south yorkshire on sun next.
had all belts done brakes, dampers, and new sill a month back. sounds a lovely example.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

ORIGINAL: deafasapost

i've had a very favourable reply from the seller, and i will be going to south yorkshire on sun next.
had all belts done brakes, dampers, and new sill a month back. sounds a lovely example.

With my "let's say worst case" hat on:

New sill, that could be anything from a patch on one side of a seriously bad car, to a well carried out restoration. Check the repair, a keen owner will often have taken pictures, and the other side is obviously worth a look. The front wing bottoms behind the wheels are also a problem, but not a complicated repair, The rear of the sill includes the structural elements of the rear suspension and seat belts.

On an S2, also check for the cam chain being changed or at least inspected. When I bought mine I paid for a check on the cams, not that it's a huge problem but it is an expensive job if the chain has stretched and worn the sprockets. It says it's had a water pump, so I'd tend to assume that the cam chain would have been checked at the same time and the plastic slippers replaced, but always worth asking. At the very least you get a feel for the seller's knowledge of the car.

I'm not trying to put you off, on the face of it it looks like a very good car. Just reinforcing the major points to look at for other potential buyers. Good luck! []

 

[deafasapost]

this is the mail i recieved from the seller, seems a nice guy! :-

Al,>> Thanks for your e mail.> We bought the car in May 2007 from Strasse in Leeds.> May 2008- rear brake discs and pads replaced> Feb 2009- new battery> Feb 2009- full service including-belts,rotor arm, anti roll bar bushes,> distibutor cap,braided brake hoses, water pump.> March 2009- rear dampers replaced (Bilstein)> April 2009- front dampers replaced> Sept 2009- NSR wheel bearing replaced> March 2010- New front discs and pads> June 2010- new sills both sides>> The service history is Porsche up to June 2001 and independent after that> (Strasse in Leeds)> The upholstery is cloth (linen logo) and is in good condition and not worn> on the bolsters> As you can see from the above list we have had the sills replaced recently> as they were corroded but apart from that there are no issues I am aware > of.> The oil pressure at idle is about 4 bar and running about 5 (top of the> scale).> Oil usage depends on type of driving but on average I would say about> 1500miles per litre (I think that Porsche say that it is only a problem if> it drops to 750 miles per litre). There is no smoke on start up or whilst> running.> The car drives very well, particularly with the new dampers fitted.> I have attached some photos.> If you would like any more information please call us Look forward to hearing from you,>> Regards>> Nick

 

[Big Dave]

It certainly looks like a nice car.
BUT,,,
There is NO mention of the cams , chain or slippers being checked or replaced in the last 10,000 miles...
Ide be budgeting for a new pair of cams , at least, as its about this milage 90K that they will wear....
Its aprox a £1k job to do....[Thats replacing both cams , the chain + both slippers].

Oh and have the brake callipers been checked for plate lift.

Paul, you shouldnt asume anything when looking at cars...[8|][8|]
Apart from asuming if it aint listed it aint been done...[8|][8|]

 

[deafasapost]

i spoke with the seller on sat, the slippers have not been done, so i assume the chain hasnt been changed either?
so on the face of it, 4750 is too steep if it needs the chain and slippers?

 

[Big Dave]

Cant realy comment on the price, as its a personal thing.
IE if you REALY want it, then its up to you.
But just think on , the cam/chain/slipper job will cost you in excess of £1K...Cams were about £300-£500 each. Then theres the cost of fitting. The chain is about £30 ish + the slippers about £5-£10 each. ALL prices are aproximate, so check before buying.
If they need doing,that is,,
Sometimes you get lucky, but in my experience, they will need sorting at this sort of milage if they have never been checked. You might get lucky + find its only one cam you need...
PS the cam job was never a Porsche recomended service item. So was never on the list of jobs to check at service time.

Have the brake calipers been checked/fixed for plate lift, as this is another tedious job that will cost about £150 per caliper...

Its says the sills have been replaced.? Is that just the outer sill , as they generally rust on the inside around the rear torsion beam mounts aswell.????

Oh and what condition are the fuel lines in, they corrode around the rear axle + front inner wing areas,,, too....[8|][8|]

PS.
Dont want to put you off, its just these cars , even though they look REALY nice on the surface can be hiding a multitude of challenges under the skin,,,costing £££££££££ to fix....

 

[Alexw]

Heh, reading what Big Dave just wrote is pretty much a list of jobs I've done on my car.... Havn't replaced the cams on mine as they were ok but had the chain and slipper replaced this year.
I sorted plate lift on mine last year, it wasn't expensive as I did it myself, replaced a few dust caps and pistons that was all. Only one caliper I couldn't get the bolts off and had to give to a local place to weld a nut on to free them.
Fuel lines shouldn't cost much, I had mine done at a local place for less than £100 I think - that was replaced with flexi lines though - some people don't like that.
You can have a look inside the sills a little by popping off the vent in the B pillar (just below door shut?) and look down, see what it looks like. I've got a little camera on a long "snake" for looking into things like that.

I'd be concerned about the oil consumption - what oil is in there? The P/O of mine said it was well within specs but within the year it was much worse. If its 10w40 you could throw in some 15w50 and hopefully reduce it. Then again it is within Porsche limits - it seems that some leak oil and some don't.

 

[deafasapost]

cheers guys!!

is there a good engineer around the sheffield area who can check this over for me before i go and take a look?

it'll be my first porsche, and as its a 40th birthday pressie from the wife i want a good one!!

 

[Suffolk944]

The guy mentions Strasse in Leeds as the Indy who has been servicing the car and indeed supplied it. Would be worth giving them a call and get their opinion on it. Did that with mine and while it guarantees nothing of course you should get an honest opinion from them and it may either help put your mind at rest or put you off.

 

[Alpine]

I would certainly get the car inspected by an independant Porsche specialist before you agree to buy. If the seller is so confident that it is a good car then he should be happy to let you get it inspected.

These guys are close in Barnsley: http://www.pecarspecialists.co.uk/

or get the seller to take it to Strasse (where he gets it serviced), and ask them to do a pre-purchase report for you. If it has been serviced by Strasse over the last few years then you might hope it is a good one. He bought it from Strasse so will probably have paid over the odds for it, and might be trying to recoup some of that now. I'd be looking to pay around £4k if I were you.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

It's not overly common in my experience to need new cams, usually the chain and slippers are all that's needed. I got mine inspected before I bought it to be certain and they were deemed perfectly good at 115K miles.

I take your point, Dave, and it's worth being cautious, but I'd be VERY surprised if a specialist like Strasse didn't inspect the chain and other bits when they both sold it in 2007 and then serviced the belts? You're also right that, if the car is otherwise the right one for the buyer then it's not worth losing the car over. We always suggest budgeting at least £1K in the first year, maybe this is where that money will need to go.

 

[Big Dave]

ORIGINAL: sc0tty


Is it the chain sprockets that wear or the actual cam lobes where they touch the valves? or both?!!

Scotty.
Its usually the cam sprokets that wear, although i have seen lobes worn aswell, but nothing like as common as the sprokets.
Porsche NEVER expected the sprokets to wear out, so made them as is..
Its the same for the 968 aswell.[8|][8|]

I might seem a tad zealous about this subject, its because ive been "caught" out TWICE. And the second time i asked IF the cams had been done + was told they had,,[with a reciept to proove] the seller lied....[][][]
Needles to say, unless i now see photographic evidence or proof of inspection/ replacement from a VERY good indie,,,, i dont beleive them...
I also know a LOT of S2 / 968 owners that have fallen foul on this subject...Even after being advised to check them out...[8|][8|][8|]

 

[deafasapost]

cheers for the help so far guy's, very much appreciated!!

also, thanks for advising to phone Strasse. i've done just that, and the guy i spoke to says he knows the car well, and the seller is a fastidious owner, and says is a great example, and well worth the trip to sheffield!! so, its looking good so far!!!

 

[zcacogp]

I take Big Dave's experience as it is (sorry to hear that BD) but would echo McNulters comment that replacing the cams on an S2 is unusual. Usually it is only necessary if the cam chain has been allowed to get too old and this has caused the cams to wear on the sprockets. Checking and changing the chain regularly is required to prevent this.

However, this is all based on what I have heard - I have no first-hand experience of it. I do know that my S2 has justover 160k on the clock with (as fast as I am aware) the original cams in it.

Check the chain regularly and change it often. Ditto for the slippers.


Oli.

 

[MRGT]

I would echo Oli's comments, my 16V S had 96K on it and the cams were fine although I had all the belts , slipper pad and chain changed within the first month of ownership. (for peace of mind). Since then it has covered nearly 30k and I have the cams looked at each time it goes in for a service, they are still fine with no signs of 'hooking' . However I do have a spare pair ( ebay - £75- too good to miss !) with slight signs of wear , just in case mine do decide to snap a tooth.

Howard

edited for atrocious spelling []