My first Porsche

[catcha]

I am looking at buying a 997. Sub £25k. Ideally I would prefer an S but have been put off by the scare stories of the bore scoring of the engines and a big bill. The 3.6 doesn't appear to have this issue and appears more resilient and there are several around the 20k mark. Driven a few but not found the right one, although they look better on larger 19" S alloys.

Am I missing something with the S and the problems are not as bad?

[IanG1]

Bore score still effects the 3.6 997, there are just less of them about compared to the 3.8 S so can skew the figures and hence peoples perception.

[MDL111]

is there a warranty you could get (Porsche/third-party) to mitigate that risk?

[catcha]

Thanks, tbh I was quite surprised when looking at these as I thought that Porsche were considered reliable after all they have had 50 years practice on the engine so bit taken aback by these issues and the over rev problems so just need to find a clean one

Prefer the look of the 19" alloys

[SRBA]

I’d recommend getting an inspection carried out before any purchase, cost is relatively cheap, especially if an issue is found!! I’m assuming the cheaper cars are private sales & in turn leave you more exposed in the case of any problems.

I bout my first 911 (997.1 4S) from 911 virgin, this allowed a peace of mind purchase and great buying experience.

[Marley71]

catcha said:

Thanks, tbh I was quite surprised when looking at these as I thought that Porsche were considered reliable after all they have had 50 years practice on the engine so bit taken aback by these issues and the over rev problems so just need to find a clean one

Prefer the look of the 19" alloys

Don't be put off with over revs in band 3 and below. Been there. If not buying with an engine warranty, get an inspection and pressure test.

[SRBA]

I’d recommend getting an inspection carried out before any purchase, cost is relatively cheap, especially if an issue is found!! I’m assuming the cheaper cars are private sales & in turn leave you more exposed in the case of any problems.

I bout my first 911 (997.1 4S) from 911 virgin, this allowed a peace of mind purchase and great buying experience.

[mikey P 500]

Personally came to the conclusion that unless you can afford a 997.2 (£30k plus) then the safest 911 engine wise was the early 3.4 996. See long running thread. This was what I dd, however for every car that fails I am sure plenty don't (or at least not for every owner), so may think the risk is worth it.

[kingroon]

I would recommend that if you do get a 997.2, that you keep the Porsche Warranty going..

My '09 3.8S blew up [bore scoring in 2 cylinders] 10 days before the Warranty was due to expire back in 2016.. Saved me the £12K Bill..

[LordHaveMurci]

catcha said:

Thanks, tbh I was quite surprised when looking at these as I thought that Porsche were considered reliable after all they have had 50 years practice on the engine so bit taken aback by these issues and the over rev problems so just need to find a clean one

Water cooled M96/7 engines didn't appear until 97ish so no, they didn't have 50yrs experience with them!

Try to find a 3.6 or 3.8 that's had a full Hartech rebuild though they don't seem to be as common as some people make out.

[av185]

Not many 997.2 engines gave trouble though.

Quite a few have galactic mileages too.