Looking at 968 Club Sport
- Thread starter ianreeves
- Start date
Mr968
New member
Hi Ian,
the key points when considering buying a 968 are to check that the Variocam chain or Cam chain has been checked regularly.
The service schedule states that the cambelt must be changed at 48000 miles or at 4 year intervals but there is no mention of the cam chain. But if the camchain broke it would be just as disastrous as if the cambelt broke. At anything above say 75000 miles the camchain will probably need replacement due to stretching.
Also the camshafts will need to be checked for wear on the sprockets, if the sprockets and the chain are getting a bit worn it has been known for the chain to jump the teeth on the sprockets, again this could be disastrous. It has also been known for the teeth to break off the sprockets altogether and end up in the sump. The inlet camshaft is usually the first one to show significant wear or damage.
When viewing a car the history must be checked for the maintenance on these items.
The other weak spot on 968s is the brake calipers. The calipers are made from aluminium, however in order to aid the movement of the pad forwards and backwards a stainless steel plate is located at either end of the pad 'aperture'. Over the years the aluminium will corrode behind the stainless steel plate. As aluminium expands when it corrodes it causes the plate to move further into the aperture and so binds the ends of the brake pads. This is known as 'plate lift'.
Again when viewing a car it should be checked whether this has been attended to recently. As the cars are all over 10 years old now it is rare to find a 968 that hasn't been affected by this problem.
Those are the 2 key points.
Other points,
check the tailgate for good fit, this can affect the weather seal, also check the tailgate side trims, over the years these can become loose.
Check for clutch replacement after 75000 miles. They usually last around or over 100,000 miles (mine went at 118,000) but if it's had a hard life it may need one sooner.
Other areas are minor steering fluid leaks, usually an easy fix, wheel bearing wear again not difficult to remedy.
Cosmetically the rubber strips along the front bumper, side sill covers and rear bumper tend to shrink over the years but are easily replaced.
These cars are often used as reliable daily runners that can be used for commuting and racking up lots of high speed motorway miles so expect to see stone chips on the front bumper door mirrors and the sill covers in front of the rear wheel arch if it hasn't had some remedial work.
A full service history is obviously a key element of buying any car but because of the age and the special nature of these cars a full service history at Official Porsche Centres isn't always a good thing as the right independent can be more knowledgeable.
Also have a look at this website for more info www.968uk.com. If you do buy one send me an email and let me know.
Cheers,
Stuart.
the key points when considering buying a 968 are to check that the Variocam chain or Cam chain has been checked regularly.
The service schedule states that the cambelt must be changed at 48000 miles or at 4 year intervals but there is no mention of the cam chain. But if the camchain broke it would be just as disastrous as if the cambelt broke. At anything above say 75000 miles the camchain will probably need replacement due to stretching.
Also the camshafts will need to be checked for wear on the sprockets, if the sprockets and the chain are getting a bit worn it has been known for the chain to jump the teeth on the sprockets, again this could be disastrous. It has also been known for the teeth to break off the sprockets altogether and end up in the sump. The inlet camshaft is usually the first one to show significant wear or damage.
When viewing a car the history must be checked for the maintenance on these items.
The other weak spot on 968s is the brake calipers. The calipers are made from aluminium, however in order to aid the movement of the pad forwards and backwards a stainless steel plate is located at either end of the pad 'aperture'. Over the years the aluminium will corrode behind the stainless steel plate. As aluminium expands when it corrodes it causes the plate to move further into the aperture and so binds the ends of the brake pads. This is known as 'plate lift'.
Again when viewing a car it should be checked whether this has been attended to recently. As the cars are all over 10 years old now it is rare to find a 968 that hasn't been affected by this problem.
Those are the 2 key points.
Other points,
check the tailgate for good fit, this can affect the weather seal, also check the tailgate side trims, over the years these can become loose.
Check for clutch replacement after 75000 miles. They usually last around or over 100,000 miles (mine went at 118,000) but if it's had a hard life it may need one sooner.
Other areas are minor steering fluid leaks, usually an easy fix, wheel bearing wear again not difficult to remedy.
Cosmetically the rubber strips along the front bumper, side sill covers and rear bumper tend to shrink over the years but are easily replaced.
These cars are often used as reliable daily runners that can be used for commuting and racking up lots of high speed motorway miles so expect to see stone chips on the front bumper door mirrors and the sill covers in front of the rear wheel arch if it hasn't had some remedial work.
A full service history is obviously a key element of buying any car but because of the age and the special nature of these cars a full service history at Official Porsche Centres isn't always a good thing as the right independent can be more knowledgeable.
Also have a look at this website for more info www.968uk.com. If you do buy one send me an email and let me know.
Cheers,
Stuart.
968CSReading
New member
Where about is the car located? There might be someone local who could go with you.
Guest
New member
Ian, if it is the car I think it is (white/white wheels?), it has been for sale for a fair while - you may want to bear that in mind if you make an offer
]
£15k is fine for a good example - but it does need to be good. You will be paying top money so there shouldn't be any question marks over it at all. All the issues in Stu's mail need to be satisfactory at that price. Bodywork should be excellent - no dents or major scratches. Ascertaining the state of the cams/chain etc is a bit of a problem - unless that dealer has had the cam cover off, they can't be certain that all is well. Service history is only as good as the mechanic who services it...
Things like the caliper plate lift shouldn't make you walk away from the car if all else is good - it is cheap to rectify (less than £500) but should be used as a bargaining point.
The only thing that I don't think has been mentioned is the pinion bearing in the transaxle. These can fail at any mileage due to a manufacturing error - there is no way of telling if the bearing will fail in future, but if it has been sorted in the past it will be fine. You can tell if it has failed already by the sound the transaxle makes. On a test drive, make sure that you take it on a dual carriageway and get up to cruising speed (i.e. 70mph +) and dip the clutch, coasting along, if the gearbox is whining at that point, there may be a problem - it apparently sounds like a jet slowing down on a runway.... I am tempted to say that the earlier cars are more likely to suffer this failure, but that may not be true - just my feeling.
Good luck with it
]£15k is fine for a good example - but it does need to be good. You will be paying top money so there shouldn't be any question marks over it at all. All the issues in Stu's mail need to be satisfactory at that price. Bodywork should be excellent - no dents or major scratches. Ascertaining the state of the cams/chain etc is a bit of a problem - unless that dealer has had the cam cover off, they can't be certain that all is well. Service history is only as good as the mechanic who services it...
Things like the caliper plate lift shouldn't make you walk away from the car if all else is good - it is cheap to rectify (less than £500) but should be used as a bargaining point.
The only thing that I don't think has been mentioned is the pinion bearing in the transaxle. These can fail at any mileage due to a manufacturing error - there is no way of telling if the bearing will fail in future, but if it has been sorted in the past it will be fine. You can tell if it has failed already by the sound the transaxle makes. On a test drive, make sure that you take it on a dual carriageway and get up to cruising speed (i.e. 70mph +) and dip the clutch, coasting along, if the gearbox is whining at that point, there may be a problem - it apparently sounds like a jet slowing down on a runway.... I am tempted to say that the earlier cars are more likely to suffer this failure, but that may not be true - just my feeling.
Good luck with it
ianreeves
New member
There is a great looking yellow car at Gmund for GBP14k here http://www.gmundcars.com/cars/509/968clubsport.html
Described as having a full and detailed history so may be worth a look. Much nicer than white IMO.
Described as having a full and detailed history so may be worth a look. Much nicer than white IMO.
Big Dave
New member
Ian
This car has just come on the market...I sounds like a good un...
http://www.porsche968uk.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2860
Dave W.
This car has just come on the market...I sounds like a good un...
http://www.porsche968uk.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2860
Dave W.
jason
New member
Save yourself £5k and sit one foot to the left......
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=172684
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=172684
Guest
New member
That's the one I guessed it was. Like I said, it really needs to be excellent all round at that money. If you haven't seen many, get around and see some 968's (of any type) just to get a feel of what a good car or bad car is like.
Also, as much as the one at Gmund isn't your colour (mine neither), you will seriously limit your options if you aren't prepared to travel (Gmund is only about an hour away from the place you are going!). There aren't many CS's on the market, and of those, 25% will be good ones. With any Porsche it is worth looking nationally.
I see you are now over on the "other" forum, where the action is at! Have you seen Lewis Tootill's CS for sale? That would beon my shortlist right now.... also advertised on PH http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/59902.htm
The car Jason mentions doesn't appear from the pics to have bucket seats - if I was looking for a CS, I would want those, otherwise a Sport is identical!
ianreeves
New member
Well after much deliberation and some good service from the 911 sport guys, I have decided to part with my cash.
And here she is, a new addition to our family [
]There is a bit of work I want doing so will collect the car on the 25th Feb. The main issue is to lower the seat at it hurts my bold head on the roof !!!! [
]Thanks for all your help !!! I look forward to meeting you on a track day !!!
Ian
968CSReading
New member
Congrats on the purchase.
If you havent already have a look at www.porsche968uk.co.uk where there are loads of tips about the cars and you can also purchase spares (run of the mill stuff and lots for modding).
Has the car had any modifications made to it? You may want to think about installing a promax chip (available from the site), makes it much more driveable, especially if you are going to put it on a track.
I would also suggest buying a spare DME relay to keep in the glove box because the have a habit of failing.
If you havent already have a look at www.porsche968uk.co.uk where there are loads of tips about the cars and you can also purchase spares (run of the mill stuff and lots for modding).
Has the car had any modifications made to it? You may want to think about installing a promax chip (available from the site), makes it much more driveable, especially if you are going to put it on a track.
I would also suggest buying a spare DME relay to keep in the glove box because the have a habit of failing.
sheep911uk
New member
Ian what made you change from a 944 to a 968??
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