New To Forum - Returned To The Club after 15yrs !!!

[bigfella70]

Been to view two further cars over last few days.

1) 2000 C2 manual, just over 80k miles and priced circa 11.5k - Private sale. Appeared very nice but on closer inspection needed two new rear tyres, exhausts and the engine to me didnt sound quite as sweet as it ought to (accepting initial start up rattles for a few seconds) - a lot of thinks like new discs etc had been done but all some time ago and in all I walked away not happy to make an offer. Had previously had remedial work re oil / water mixing at OPC.

2) 1998 C2 manual, just under 80k miles and priced just over 12k. With dealer on behalf of a friend and advertised as pampered and showroom condition - really bulled up in fact as being a mint car. Overall appeared "ok" but on closer inspection both rear silencer boxes rotted at lower edge, front PU needs repaint, screen delaminating on bottom edges, inside front discs pitted, n/s cam cover leaking oil quite badly and the death knell, stain of oil leak from either the RMS / IMS. So lots of money to spend a the big question mark as to whether the IMS bearing is on the way out - Also on startup she seemd quite sweet but then at idle a fair bit of rattle / tappet type noise was noticable. I actually placed an offer relative to the amount that needs spending on the car as I do think it would be worth putting right however I think the owner might be burying head in sand and hoping someone comes along with a load of cash that doesnt notice the snags !!

So - the search continues !!!

 

[thirteeneast]

n/s cam cover leaking oil quite badly and the death knell, stain of oil leak from either the RMS / IMS. So lots of money to spend a the big question mark as to whether the IMS bearing is on the way out

Please don't think that oil in that region instantly means bearing failure + that's the reason the sports car your looking at has that price tag it has in the first place, Because it comes with the million dollar question "when and if the bearing fails".
Proceed with caution as with any second hand car, But if the washer bottle was empty on a Porsche some folk would put double or treble figures on it.


I really don't get the whole IMS thing, If it bothers people that much then do something about it.

There are cars that when they were new was worth a quarter of what these were, and need cam belts every few years that don't weigh in much less than having a after market IMSB fitted that have had no failures apart from that caused by poor installation.

I think the 996 is a great buy.

Good luck in the search and enjoy.

I am.

 

[steveoz32]

Good luck in your search.

My 996 'rattles' for about a second on start up, then it's quiet. I think it's pretty common and there is a vid somewhere *found it*

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/996-forum/649607-996-hot-start-noise.html

This guy ripped his whole engine apart and replaced nearly everything and still had it :S It's never worried me and I've heard a load of other 996's with the same noise on startup so it's never bothered me.

T



Cheers,

 

[bigfella70]

Thanks guys, your advice is all appreciated - i'm probably being a bit over cautious but trying not to rush head on into buying too soon and regretting it. I'm learning more about what to expect and what to check out. Certainly the content of the adverts has been on some occassions actually misleading in terms of condition so that must be taken with a pinch of salt whether trade or private vendors.

Meanwhile im enjoying the search !!!

 

[steveoz32]

So true regarding adds.

My MG was advertised as one of the most mint examples in the country.

It needed x2 door handles replacing, a new intake plenum, new brakes front and back, had a leaking thermostat and a leaky boot.

This was with a trader, although it had these issues, the rest of it was pretty decent (it was also the right spec and one of the last ever made before the factory shut so I wanted it ), and, subsequently we cut a deal on him replacing parts with new and me knocking down price and doing the rest he didn't want to do.

The most bizarre thing? I sent a text to the previous owner through the MG club who had traded it in a couple of weeks earlier, he had nothing to gain by telling me lies, he said it too was one of the best cars of it's kind and needed nothing doing :S

I've come to the conclusion that either some people are either clearly deluded or their idea of 'mint' means it has a shiny coat of wax on it.

I spend a lot of time on my motors, but my 996 still has two pin dents, one stone chip on the bonnet and two 1" scratches I've put on it in the garage (grrrr). Judging by the way most people seem to describe their cars I could call mine concourse!!!!

 

[bigfella70]

Yeah ideas do seem to vary in terms of what's "mint" or "immaculate". The car I looked at yesterday bore no resemblance to the advert description !!

The "rear wheelarch test" is always a telltale in terms of how a cars looked after (sad I know) scrape your hand round the rear wheelarch lip and see if you dislodge enough mud to fill a window box - I always blast this area with the hose and clean out any mud / debris on my own cars - none of the cars ive viewed have been properly cleaned out under the arches despite being "bulled up" to be mint !!

Trouble is on your own car, you know every little mark or ding which most don't notice.

 

[steveoz32]

I had to lol at your arch comment as I just cleaned out my arches on the daily driver today. The shooting range I go to has a very, very muddy track, from the last time I went it looks like I have been rallying! It was insane how much had got up in there, and around the inside edges of the side sills.

I used a whole bucket of water and an old sponge and got a ton of rubbish from around the arch from just one trip there last week.

On the Porsche I go one step further though I not only clean out the arch liners and take the wheels off to clean behind them etc when dirty, but I regularly clean the arch lip and wax oil. Last year I also gave the arch liners a fresh coat of plastic 'bumper trim' paint which works well.

I recall posting up a thread some time ago about using a coating of plastic bumper trim paint, some thought it would come off, but it makes the arch liner nice and dark instead of having that horrible grey-ish dry plastic look when wheels are on full lock, and it has yet to need re-doing.