Porsche 997 911 Carrera

[Filibuster]

After years of lusting after my first Porsche, yesterday I took delivery of my very first Porsche 911.



I have been looking at many 996 Porsches over the course of the last three years. I really liked the look of the exterior, but I never got around the interior. And 997 have always been out of price range. But since last year 996 prices have started rising while 997 prices where still descending. I missed the rock bottom of 996 prices and I didn't want the same to happen with a 997. Sure they will still fall a little bit, I predict rock bottom will be in a year or thereabout.
But browsing the internet (like we all do way to often, don't we?) I stumbled across about this early 997.



It is the cheapest 997 I have come across in all the internet in all the worlds. Of course there is a reason for that.



Did you spot it? Have a look again at the odometer.


Yep it reads 303'623 !!!! Tough those are kilometers and not miles. That is only 190'000 miles
And it's not on its first engine. In 2012 it got a new engine from under the Approved Porsche scheme am 160k km / 100k miles.
And that is by far not the only thing that have been rectified since the car left Zuffenhausen in 2004. I have an inch thick stack with all the receipts from the former owner (First owner 04-10, 100k km/60k miles; second owner 10-17, 300k km/190k miles). Since it was a business man (no not a powerfully built company director, but a true german gentleman) who relied on the car, it was maintained accordingly.
But I will tell who some more, funny and entertaining details later!

So more about the car. In my eyes it is the perfect spec. You all know that infamous Porsche options list, right? Well it got very little of those, but exactly the right ones:

- manual
- solid black
- full/extended black leather
- seat heating
- cruise control
- telephone module
- sport suspension (-20mm) incl. LSD
- 19" sport design wheels
- 18" Carrera wheels with winter tyres

It has no rear wiper (that is actually very good!), no sunroof, no sat nav module, no electric seats, no PASM (also good), no nothing. It is a sports car and no Mercedes S-class. Want massage seats that blow cold air at you? Get a Bentley..

Can't get that smug grin out of my face since I picked it up
I'm off for a short lunch blast

Will update with more infos later...

Have a good one everybody!!

[Tomy90]

Congrats on your purchase looks lovely, I won't lie I've been tempted to buy my first Porsche 911 (997).

Will definetly keep an eye on your thread to see how things go with it

[Shnozz]

Looks superb. The basic shape 911's have a grace about them IMO.

Brave purchase with those miles but sounds like a triggers broom so should stand you in good stead. Congrats.

[GrantD5]

Love these, hope you enjoy it!

[lukeharding]

looks stunning, great buy!

[Yipper]

Looks in lovely condition for a 200k miler.

[eltax91]

Lovely!

[Filibuster]

Well, thank you all for your comments!!

I have been busy driving the Porsche all weekend, although it was rather rainy...
This brings me to the first point of what I have done to it so far

- Replaced the old wiper blades for some Bosch AeroTwin AR550S. These are recommended by numerous german Porsche Forums. There is no exact AeroTwin made for the 997. The AR550S fits very good tough. Only on the passenger side the last 3cm are in the air up to about half the windscreen. Bit if one doesn't no it, it's hardly a big deal. A vast improvement over the ones!
Apparently the neatest way would be fitting the wiper arms from a 2005 VW Passat, since that one was an AeroTwin to start with. I will look into this for the next set of wipers.

- Replaced one of the parking lights, as they where different ones (colour temperature) installed. I was amazed by how easy that went!! You need a special release card to take out the entire lamp assembly and then you just change it! Done in less than two minutes..

- I got rid of the iPhone stand attached next to the PCM. It was professionally installed but fortunately not screwed on!

What I want to do next ist installing the dual exhaust tips from the S model. It purely an aesthetic thing, as IMO it suits the car better than the oval non-S ones. I'm very happy with the sound of it BTW. It has a nice growl to it, especially off the line and when above 4'000 rpm. I really like the subtleness of it! This fantastic engine doesn't need to be loud to sound good! Wouldn't want an sport exhaust.

I have been to the german Autobahn already, although it was my OH driving rather than me! At first she didn't like the car (good looking and a nice place to be in, but too flashy in her opinion) but then she really enjoyed driving it. And after some country lanes she wanted to go onto the Autobahn and pressed on to around 140mph! I myself have only driven it up to 85 mph on the restricted swiss Autobahns.

Yes I know, I have to take some pictures to show you guys... I always forget to take pictures while working on the car.

So an other "beauty" shot


And one with it's stable mate (couldn't be more chuffed with my current gare, tbh )

[ooid]

Congrats on your purchase, looking great!. I assume you are an architect?

[Filibuster]

ooid said:

Congrats on your purchase, looking great!. I assume you are an architect?

Thank you! And yes, you are quite right, I'm an architect.

I completely forgot to tell you about a neat little hack I did!
On 6speed there was a hack explained about how to turn your fog lights into DLRs.
All you need is a little diode that cost me next to nothing and 10 minutes of time.








Everything works as before, except when you have the light switch one "Home", your front fog lights are on.
Handy to have, since here in Switzerland it is compulsory to have your lights on at all the time. (yes I know that it is strictly not legal, but here even the Police have a similar hack done to their VW T5s)
I might change the H8 bulbs for some MTec superwhites to have a more modern/LED look to them.

[Filibuster]

I seem to have let my readers cars thread slip no update in the last 19 months!

Well, I still have the car and it gets driven regularly in summer and winter.
Here is a brief list of what I've done to it since I have it, with the last service from Saturday copied over from a threan in the Porsche section:

DIY Service in June 2017 @ 305'000 km
bought and fitted a used set of 18" Carrera III with very good Conti TS810 winter tires in December 2018
changed the rear drop links and arb bushed and fitted the 19" wheels with brand new Michelin PS4S tires in April 2018
did a Porsche dealer spring check (basically an expensive car wash from Porsche)

Did a Service last Saturday. Last one was 18 months and 15'000km/9'000miles ago, also done by myself with the same oil.
Oil consumption has been virtually non-existent in this period. Twice I topped up with 0.5l, which works out as 0.06l/1'000km.
Engine has 163'000km/100'000miles.


10l of Motul 5W40, filters and a replacement belt to hand.


Nothing beats good tools! (Proxxon is not Gedore or Hazet, but at the price point very good!)

Being a city boy, I don't have my own garage or a driveway I could work on. I performed the work in the underground garage where the car is parked.
This means logistically, you have to think about every tool and bit and bring it with you, as you don't want to realize you left the new washer at home once you drained the oil.


So I set about to work, the car being on the floor.


Oil and filter are out.


I couldn't change the belt, since the tensioner wouldn't move. Instead the 24mm HEX screw turned loose.


I will order a new tensioner and probably the other two pulleys too and change them next weekend.
Design911 has the OEM Porsche ones, or Vaico (tensioner) and Meyle (pulleys) for (almost) half the price. Any views from you?


Out with the old air filter, in with the new one.

Clean the airbox and fill up with 8l of Frances finest engine oil (0.25l put directly in the oil filter housing).
Change cabin filter (probably the biggest pia of the whole job). Sorry, no photos.


Oil level before first start. Let run for two minutes (along with the obligatory low pressure warning for 0.5 seconds on startup (BTW do any of you pull the fuel pump fuse prior to doing an oil change?)).


OBD check and service light reset (hasn't triggered) using my iCarsoft PORII.





Checking oil filter and magnetic sump plug for debris.


Going for a wash and enjoying what a beauty the car is

Next Saturday it is booked for a break fluid flush and will receive a belt and pulley change.
Also backordered is a set of 200cel cats from Top Gear, since I had some CEL messages in the past. (all four O2 sensors the cats have been reconditioned 30'000km/18'000miles ago). Also when I have time, I intend to remove the front bumper and have it resprayed and clean the radiators in the meantime.

[Nunga]

Where about in Switzerland are you? And where was the car from in Germany? I don’t think its too crazy taking a punt on it with the mileage, but it makes for exciting ownership as well I’m sure. It looks great for 320,000km.

[anonymous-user]

I’m guessing Basel. How much does a Porsche with 320k km on the clock cost, even if it has had an engine replacement?

[Frogmella]

It looks in fantastic condition for the mileage. Do you have any photos of the interior? How are the seats, shifter and general trim holding up?

I have an '08 C2S on 121,000 miles and a friend has one at 170,000, both are (touch wood) driving well despite their high miles.

Looking forward to more updates!

[Filibuster]

Nunga said:

Where about in Switzerland are you? And where was the car from in Germany? I don’t think its too crazy taking a punt on it with the mileage, but it makes for exciting ownership as well I’m sure. It looks great for 320,000km.

bulldong is right, I'm Basel based. The original owner was from Hamburg, and according to a quick google search a well known business/media man. The second owner was from Munich and brought the car with him, when he moved to Zürich. And I'm the third owner now.

bulldong said:

I’m guessing Basel. How much does a Porsche with 320k km on the clock cost, even if it has had an engine replacement?

Basel indeed! Where about are you based?
In May 2017 the next cheapest manual 997 was CHF 35k and really dodgy. I paid considerably less than that
Most ones where starting at CHF 40k. Like I predicted, prices went further down and it is winter atm. Just had a quick look on AutoScout and the cheapest manual 997 today is just under CHF 32k.

What really sold the car to me was how it was looked after by the second owner (and that it was in the exact spec I wanted ).
I much rather have a reliable high mileage car that has money spent on all areas than paying more money on a low mileage one that only ever had some oil changes and will need even more money spent on it in the near future.

Just had a look around, but the only interior pics I have to hand are the ones from the advert 18 months ago.






The condition now is the same as in the photographs. I only took off the iPhone stand. There are a few scruffs on the back of the seats, as the former owner played the bass and had his instrument regularly on the back seats. Other than that, it's only temperature switch that has the typical wear. The former owner did a weekly 800km round trip and the wear is completely different if you open the door sit down and do 400km on the autobahn in one stint than the same miles in numerous short trips. I will do some more

Edited by Filibuster on Thursday 13th December 13:22

[Frogmella]

It looks very clean.

During my purchase research I viewed a number of examples sitting around 40-60k that were very tired inside and out. Mine was sat at circa 93,000 when I bought it and looked great. A well looked after high mileage example should not be overlooked.

Do you have a large 'to do' list for maintenance and refresh?

[orientdude]

Hi Filibuster, I would like to know further as an update, any other issues with the 997? As I am comtemplating one as a daily driver 15-20k per annum. Thanks.

I am located near Basel too!

[Filibuster]

I have been busy lately, so completely forgot to update this thread.
Well, this is what has happened the last 9 months, since I last updated the thread:

December 2018:

Following the service @ 320'000km at the beginning of the month, I took the car for a ski weekend in the Austrian alps.



But before that, a short trip to ATU for a brake fluid change for € 35. No, they didn't cycle the ABS pumps, but you get what you pay for.


So I mounted the skis with my SeaSucker Ski Rack. I always wanted something similar to Roger Moores Lotus Esprit in FYEO


Unfortunately, the Silvretta Hochalpenstrasse was closed


I can confirm the skis stay in place and there is no buffeting, even above the manufacturers recommended top speed


It seems I was not the only one with a black 911 and a ski rack on Christmas Eve in Zürich, although this time the OEM version.


Just after the holidays, and before I took the car to the SOF - St. Tropez to be exact - for the new year, I got a new Varta battery and a new Bosch MAF.



On the way down, I cracked 322'322 km disclaimer: this photo was taken on a private stretch of road by the passenger


Filling up with a younger brother...


28.25 mpg @ avg. 78.3 mph over a distance of 744 miles, including the N85 between Grenoble and Gap and also the route départemental into St. Tropez. Not a bad GT, I would have said.

[Filibuster]

So lets start the year 2019 with a beauty shot (taken in October 2018)




The beginning of 2019 saw some maintenance work:

New belt (original OEM Porsche) and pulley (Meyle HD (old ones where already Meyle HD ones))





I had some problems fitting the tensioning pulley, I did a separate thread on it here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...


Then I fitted I had new spark plugs (Bosch) and coils (Beru) fitted. Oh, and a Top Gear 200 cell sports cat








In April, I fitted the 19" Sports Design summer wheels with one season old Michelin PS4S tyres.
But this time with H&R 10/30mm spacers




Then I cleaned the throttle body (and tightened all the hoses I could reach).










After this, I had a new windscreen fitted due to a stone chip.
A brand spanking new Porsche OEM one without the sun strip (car originally came without one) as opposed to a Saint-Gobin one with dark tint in the upper quarter. A huge improvement, as the old one was pretty beaten down and the antenas where much thicker than the OEM ones. Also the looks have improved IMHO as I prefer a windscreen without tint on a (dare I say it...) 'classic' Porsche 911

At the same time, I got the bonnet, wings and part of the bumper repainted and polished my light clusters.
Looks like a new car now. Will get more pictures shortly and inform you of the one fault I can't get rid of for the last 10 months....

[d_a_n1979]

That's stunning a great project too

I'm not really a Porker fan, but that looks to be a lovely example and very well maintained