996 C4 Millenium
Discussion
Strictly speaking this is my other half's car but I know who'll be doing all of the up keep and I must take a lot of credit for twisting her arm into getting it in the first place...
Standard man maths and logic made this happen. We had a Mk5 Golf GTi that neither of us really gelled with. The intention was always to replace it with something 4x4 with 4 seats before winter as we live quite remotely and get a reasonable dump of snow. I proposed the idea of a 996 C4 to my other half and then slowly wore her down over the course of an hour or two with the usual arguments using the word 'investment' a lot.
This car is a C4 Millenium edition, number 422 out of 911. To that end it comes quite well equipped, with heated memory seats, sunroof, cruise, computer, phone, nav etc. I appreciate the interior will be marmite. For what it's worth I love the leather. The wood I could happily leave but it doesn't offend me. The paint looks black in most light but is actually a violet colour. These cars came with chromed wheels originally. I'm happy to say they have been replaced on this one!
The car had originally been for sale with Bonhams and then Trade Classics. I think the reserves were set very ambitiously in both cases but I agreed a price with Trade Classics after a fair bit of due diligence and back and forward with the owner.
The car has down approx. 85k. 20k ago it had a full replacement engine fitted at an OPC. The paperwork for this car is fantastic. I have everything going back to new.
The car hadn't been driven much in the last few years so I was expecting a few niggles but actually the only things I've needed to do so far are to replace coils, plugs and their heat shields after I started getting a misfire after driving in the wet. It didn't need them all doing I'm sure but they were surprisingly cheap so I went all in. I fixed a leaking exhaust joint and replaced a headlight washer jet that had gone missing. I did also have to replace a front tyre after I managed to pick up a screw 2 days after buying it. I also had to fix a dodgy brake pad sensor connection that I had somehow caused when washing the car. Took ages to trace the issue but it's done now.
I've given it a really thorough clean inside and out though actually it was pretty good to start with.
I also fitted PCCM+. Horribly expensive but a great piece of kit and doesn't look at all out of place. Very happy with it.
Not too much planned with the car in terms of changes but some bits and bobs will be done over the next few months. The front brake lines have come up on last two MOT's so they need attention. RMS is leaking and I'm tempted to get IMS and clutch done although lots of conflicting advice on that stuff so I'll take my time on that decision.
The wood trim is cracked in places and I'm not quite sure what the options are for sorting it other than handing over vast quantities of cash to a Porsche parts desk.
I want to remove the phone but I need a bit of trim to go in place. Surprisingly reasonable from Porsche but I haven't got around to ordering it yet.
Oh and I need to sort some winter wheels and tyres out in the not too distant future.
Standard man maths and logic made this happen. We had a Mk5 Golf GTi that neither of us really gelled with. The intention was always to replace it with something 4x4 with 4 seats before winter as we live quite remotely and get a reasonable dump of snow. I proposed the idea of a 996 C4 to my other half and then slowly wore her down over the course of an hour or two with the usual arguments using the word 'investment' a lot.
This car is a C4 Millenium edition, number 422 out of 911. To that end it comes quite well equipped, with heated memory seats, sunroof, cruise, computer, phone, nav etc. I appreciate the interior will be marmite. For what it's worth I love the leather. The wood I could happily leave but it doesn't offend me. The paint looks black in most light but is actually a violet colour. These cars came with chromed wheels originally. I'm happy to say they have been replaced on this one!
The car had originally been for sale with Bonhams and then Trade Classics. I think the reserves were set very ambitiously in both cases but I agreed a price with Trade Classics after a fair bit of due diligence and back and forward with the owner.
The car has down approx. 85k. 20k ago it had a full replacement engine fitted at an OPC. The paperwork for this car is fantastic. I have everything going back to new.
The car hadn't been driven much in the last few years so I was expecting a few niggles but actually the only things I've needed to do so far are to replace coils, plugs and their heat shields after I started getting a misfire after driving in the wet. It didn't need them all doing I'm sure but they were surprisingly cheap so I went all in. I fixed a leaking exhaust joint and replaced a headlight washer jet that had gone missing. I did also have to replace a front tyre after I managed to pick up a screw 2 days after buying it. I also had to fix a dodgy brake pad sensor connection that I had somehow caused when washing the car. Took ages to trace the issue but it's done now.
I've given it a really thorough clean inside and out though actually it was pretty good to start with.
I also fitted PCCM+. Horribly expensive but a great piece of kit and doesn't look at all out of place. Very happy with it.
Not too much planned with the car in terms of changes but some bits and bobs will be done over the next few months. The front brake lines have come up on last two MOT's so they need attention. RMS is leaking and I'm tempted to get IMS and clutch done although lots of conflicting advice on that stuff so I'll take my time on that decision.
The wood trim is cracked in places and I'm not quite sure what the options are for sorting it other than handing over vast quantities of cash to a Porsche parts desk.
I want to remove the phone but I need a bit of trim to go in place. Surprisingly reasonable from Porsche but I haven't got around to ordering it yet.
Oh and I need to sort some winter wheels and tyres out in the not too distant future.
Edited by Gad-Westy on Thursday 12th August 11:00
That looks bloody lovely! Looks like you've got a good buy there.
With the replacement engine your in a good place to now have the wisdom of 20+ years of running these so that they are at least risk of breaking (low temp thermostat, let it warm up properly etc etc..) which is a great place to be in.
Interior actually looks pretty decent even with the extensive brown think the black highlights on steering wheel etc help there.
With the replacement engine your in a good place to now have the wisdom of 20+ years of running these so that they are at least risk of breaking (low temp thermostat, let it warm up properly etc etc..) which is a great place to be in.
Interior actually looks pretty decent even with the extensive brown think the black highlights on steering wheel etc help there.
W00DY said:
Fabulous. I love the colours and the wood.
The PCCM upgrade looks spot on and must be a great upgrade.
Cheers. The PCCM upgrade looks spot on and must be a great upgrade.
The PCCM+ is great but I must admit hard to justify rationally vs. a generic double din system from Halfords which is probably a fifth of the price. But I have an aversion to aftermarket stuff that is not keeping with a car so to me, the PCCM system is worth it but I suspect many would think I'm mad! Great to have DAB and all the nav and music functionality that it comes with. I have to say that I feel slightly sour about the fact that Porsche don't include a map card with the kit. I don't really need one but it seems a piss take to charge £100 extra when the unit costs so much in the first place. But yeah, overall a thumbs up from me on that one.
lewisf182 said:
That looks bloody lovely! Looks like you've got a good buy there.
With the replacement engine your in a good place to now have the wisdom of 20+ years of running these so that they are at least risk of breaking (low temp thermostat, let it warm up properly etc etc..) which is a great place to be in.
Interior actually looks pretty decent even with the extensive brown think the black highlights on steering wheel etc help there.
Cheers. I do need to get my head around best preventative maintenance practice but in the meantime, just being very careful about warm up etc and let oil pump do it's countdown thing before starting etc. With the replacement engine your in a good place to now have the wisdom of 20+ years of running these so that they are at least risk of breaking (low temp thermostat, let it warm up properly etc etc..) which is a great place to be in.
Interior actually looks pretty decent even with the extensive brown think the black highlights on steering wheel etc help there.
Those black highlights on the steering wheel are dark wood. I don't mind it but they're a bit cracked on the top piece of the wheel and the door bin lids. I do need to work out my options there but I like the idea of keeping the car reasonably original so likely to fix with the same wood either refurbed or new parts. Can't bring myself to price that up yet as I think some mechanical and corrosion future proofing is a better priority.
I do suspect that the interior scheme is one reason why the car didn't sell easily at auction. 911 owners seem to generally be a conservative bunch and I've read a fair bit of forum chatter from people who cannot stand the brown or the wood but hey ho, it's our car and we love it. Funnily enough my pal has a 996.2 with the same colour interior so I'd already seen that colour in the flesh and was in love with it already. The typical greys and blacks would have been fine too but a bit less appealing.
I really like that, I’ve never seen one of these with wood in.
I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
Well done on converting the wife, I tried something similar with mine and she still bought an Evoque.
I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
Well done on converting the wife, I tried something similar with mine and she still bought an Evoque.
LanceRS said:
I really like that, I’ve never seen one of these with wood in.
I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
Well done on converting the wife, I tried something similar with mine and she still bought an Evoque.
Cheers. Finding anything in the right colour is actually pretty tricky. I think Porsche called something very deadpan along the lines of 'brown leather'. There is the much lighter savannah leather and an orangey leather, both of which seem more abundant for sourcing parts. I don't think the colour is unique to the millenium though some parts might be and there are supposedly fewer than 10 of them in the UK so I might have an uphill battle! But I have my ebay alerts etc set up so maybe something will pop up. I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
Well done on converting the wife, I tried something similar with mine and she still bought an Evoque.
Other option is to find someone who does veneer work on classic jags etc and see if they can do anything.
Strangely enough, I had the exact same move (mk5 gti - to 996 C4).
Nothing WRONG with the GTI, it did what it did quite well. Rubbish in the snow lol!
But just a bit boring.
The 996? Well even after a painful engine rebuild (yes, one of those, despite all the checks), I've still got it some 7 years later.
The call of an RS5 or C63 is strong at the moment, so the 996's days might be numbered, but it's been a great car
Hope you (both) enjoy it
Dan
Nothing WRONG with the GTI, it did what it did quite well. Rubbish in the snow lol!
But just a bit boring.
The 996? Well even after a painful engine rebuild (yes, one of those, despite all the checks), I've still got it some 7 years later.
The call of an RS5 or C63 is strong at the moment, so the 996's days might be numbered, but it's been a great car
Hope you (both) enjoy it
Dan
Some more enforced maintenance this week. In fairness I think I'm just ironing out typical gremlins that mount up when a car just isn't used enough.
Since I got the car the voltmeter has read quite low, rarely getting above 13v. And accompanied by occasional sluggish starting. Well last week, I got stranded. Car had been running fine. Stopped in a layby for my youngest to water the daffodils and the car wouldn't restart. Reading 11.5v.
Autoaid had someone there in under an hour and had the car fired up about 30 seconds later where it was reading 13v ish and from there I got home, no drama.
So this week, I did what I should have done ages ago and replaced the y-cable between alternator, starter and battery. And I fitted a new regulator to the alternator while it was all in bits.
Man, the alternator was a pig to remove but once out the cable itself was a doddle.
It has indeed fixed the issue and I'm now getting a nice ~14v when running but what's interesting is that the old y-cable looks in great condition. No sign of oxidising on any of the copper near the terminals. Regulator looked fine too. But hey-ho, it's fixed one way or the other so I'll settle for that.
Otherwise car is an absolute delight. I'm trying not to use it too much as we have an old BMW that is better to do the daily chores but is sometimes hard to resist grabbing the keys to this.
Next job on the list is to investigate the front brake lines that have been flagged on recent MOT. Will see what needs doing before deciding how to tackle that. The handbrake needs adjusting as well.
And the trailing edge of the front wheel arches have little bits of rust showing where presumably they get hammered by stones. I'd like to get that looked at before it gets worse. Some under body waxing wouldn't go amiss either.
Oh and I still need to find some wheels for winter tyres. And buy a trim piece to replace the old phone. That one is fine but the dealer is 45 minutes away so just waiting on a time when I'm in that area anyway.
Since I got the car the voltmeter has read quite low, rarely getting above 13v. And accompanied by occasional sluggish starting. Well last week, I got stranded. Car had been running fine. Stopped in a layby for my youngest to water the daffodils and the car wouldn't restart. Reading 11.5v.
Autoaid had someone there in under an hour and had the car fired up about 30 seconds later where it was reading 13v ish and from there I got home, no drama.
So this week, I did what I should have done ages ago and replaced the y-cable between alternator, starter and battery. And I fitted a new regulator to the alternator while it was all in bits.
Man, the alternator was a pig to remove but once out the cable itself was a doddle.
It has indeed fixed the issue and I'm now getting a nice ~14v when running but what's interesting is that the old y-cable looks in great condition. No sign of oxidising on any of the copper near the terminals. Regulator looked fine too. But hey-ho, it's fixed one way or the other so I'll settle for that.
Otherwise car is an absolute delight. I'm trying not to use it too much as we have an old BMW that is better to do the daily chores but is sometimes hard to resist grabbing the keys to this.
Next job on the list is to investigate the front brake lines that have been flagged on recent MOT. Will see what needs doing before deciding how to tackle that. The handbrake needs adjusting as well.
And the trailing edge of the front wheel arches have little bits of rust showing where presumably they get hammered by stones. I'd like to get that looked at before it gets worse. Some under body waxing wouldn't go amiss either.
Oh and I still need to find some wheels for winter tyres. And buy a trim piece to replace the old phone. That one is fine but the dealer is 45 minutes away so just waiting on a time when I'm in that area anyway.
Lovely this, I think I may have seen the advert when its for sale.
996, Boxsters, 987etc are known for their terrible battery drain. Theres the well documented cable issue you have resolved but over and abvoe that, they absolutely chew through batteries.
I'd reccomend considering a new battery if you have any inkling of futher issues, and also check the size - the 'standard' batter is pretty big but a Porsche option was always a larger battery. Once you remove the scuttle panel you'll see that mounting brackets/holes are already there to accept the bigger size, and its an absolute whopper. I fitted a huge Bosch Silver into my Boxster and it made a big difference, quick start in winter, when hot etc, and it was less than £100. Worth a look if it plays up going into winter.
Also if your instagram, theres an account from someone collating photos/details of all the Millenium editons made, have a search.
996, Boxsters, 987etc are known for their terrible battery drain. Theres the well documented cable issue you have resolved but over and abvoe that, they absolutely chew through batteries.
I'd reccomend considering a new battery if you have any inkling of futher issues, and also check the size - the 'standard' batter is pretty big but a Porsche option was always a larger battery. Once you remove the scuttle panel you'll see that mounting brackets/holes are already there to accept the bigger size, and its an absolute whopper. I fitted a huge Bosch Silver into my Boxster and it made a big difference, quick start in winter, when hot etc, and it was less than £100. Worth a look if it plays up going into winter.
Also if your instagram, theres an account from someone collating photos/details of all the Millenium editons made, have a search.
snotrag said:
Lovely this, I think I may have seen the advert when its for sale.
996, Boxsters, 987etc are known for their terrible battery drain. Theres the well documented cable issue you have resolved but over and abvoe that, they absolutely chew through batteries.
I'd reccomend considering a new battery if you have any inkling of futher issues, and also check the size - the 'standard' batter is pretty big but a Porsche option was always a larger battery. Once you remove the scuttle panel you'll see that mounting brackets/holes are already there to accept the bigger size, and its an absolute whopper. I fitted a huge Bosch Silver into my Boxster and it made a big difference, quick start in winter, when hot etc, and it was less than £100. Worth a look if it plays up going into winter.
Also if your instagram, theres an account from someone collating photos/details of all the Millenium editons made, have a search.
Cheers. Was chatting to a pal about battery etc as he has done the same and crammed the largest available in there. I might ultimately do that but I'm going to see how I get on with new cable first. Car maintenance spending has been off the charts in last couple with all three of our cars needing various bits and bobs. I have the spanner rash to show for it! Trying to reign it in a bit. 996, Boxsters, 987etc are known for their terrible battery drain. Theres the well documented cable issue you have resolved but over and abvoe that, they absolutely chew through batteries.
I'd reccomend considering a new battery if you have any inkling of futher issues, and also check the size - the 'standard' batter is pretty big but a Porsche option was always a larger battery. Once you remove the scuttle panel you'll see that mounting brackets/holes are already there to accept the bigger size, and its an absolute whopper. I fitted a huge Bosch Silver into my Boxster and it made a big difference, quick start in winter, when hot etc, and it was less than £100. Worth a look if it plays up going into winter.
Also if your instagram, theres an account from someone collating photos/details of all the Millenium editons made, have a search.
I'll take a look for the instragram account you mentioned. Appreciate that.
LanceRS said:
I really like that, I’ve never seen one of these with wood in.
I think all the Milleniums had that interior?LanceRS said:
I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
I'd be doing the same. Get it into a nice presentation case or something.monthefish said:
LanceRS said:
I really like that, I’ve never seen one of these with wood in.
I think all the Milleniums had that interior?LanceRS said:
I think that I would be tempted to source a standard, leather steering wheel to use and keep the original safe somewhere.
I'd be doing the same. Get it into a nice presentation case or something.Yeah, all milleniums are pretty much identical. I think only option was manual or tip.
The trouble with the wood etc is that it's all rare and horribly expensive for new bits. The main issues are the top of the steering wheel and the door bin lids. Both have significant cracking to the laquer. I can get them sorted at a specialist for about £1500 (ouch) or I can replace all for about £2k (more ouch). I could get another steering wheel and door bins but this colour leather on a 996 seems rare. I'm constantly on the look out but haven't seen anything at all for sale yet.
But actually the short term plan is probably to leave them. I have spent a fortune on this car already! MOT is tomorrow having not noticed that it expired a week ago, oops. I need to get a service done and it needs front brake lines doing and I'm having it undersealed in a couple of weeks. I then have some winter wheels arriving which I need to get tyres for. This alongside a full suspension refresh on my Lotus and a huge service on or our BMW, and frankly it leaves me needing a dark room and a stiff drink! Much of this stuff is preventative and won't be the norm but so many car costs have come at once, it can be hard to stomach!
Anyway, more positively, I do really love this car. It's a really glorious engine and I love the way it drives though I admit I haven't pushed it terribly hard yet. Looks great too. Rear 3/4 view of just about any 911 looks fantastic!
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