Your 997 recommendation

[AndrewEllinas]

I have a 996 C4 which I bought new in 2002. It's the facelift model with the 3.6 engine. At the end of last year it suffered an Intermediary Shaft failure and I've just had an engine rebuild.

Now I have to decide whether to keep it or to sell and get something else. If I sell it then I fancy buying either a 996 turbo (1995 models are around £35k) or a 997. I understand that the engine in the 996 turbo is pretty bullet proof and rarely causes any problems, which after my recent experience I find very appealing.

If it's to be a 997, then I have a couple of questions that you may be able to provide/suggest answers to:

1. Are there any inherent faults in Gen 1 997s? I believe there is no IMS thankfully, but technicians have told me there are other problems which are resulting in engine rebuilds, cylinder lining issues for example.

2. With a £40k budget "" what would you buy? My first instinct is to look for a 4S.

 

[tscaptain]

Andrew - some thoughts here
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=576968

 

[Terry]

The Gen 1 997 engine is in fact very similar to the 996 engine and does still have an intermediate shaft, albeit the bearing size was increased on the later models (I believe from 2006 onwards but I am sure someone will be able to confirm) which reduced the chance of problems. 997 engines have been known to have cylinder bore issues but it is important to keep things in perspective. Although you hear a lot about the ones that fail you do not hear much about all those that do not have any problems.

The Gen 2 engine has a revised layout and no intermediate shaft.