Buying guide · 1997–2005 · M96 flat six · 300–320 PS
Porsche 911 Carrera 996
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
24-page guide, A4 and phone · 4-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the Porsche 911 Carrera 996 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02The IMS bearing and bore scoring: which bearing your model year has and what that does to the odds — and the two model years where only a look at the bearing tells you — how to read an over-rev report, and the one sentence that makes a borescope inspection worth paying for
- 03Why this car does not really rust, and the two places where water and leaves collect instead — one of which nobody looks at
- 04What is simply twenty-five years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the thirteen looks likeLast Real Engines
1 · The battery, and where it lives
An hour or two · expensive part for what it is, easy access
The battery sits in the front boot. That matters for two reasons: a weak one produces odd electrical behaviour across the car, and a leaking or badly vented one corrodes the compartment it sits in. How you notice it: slow cranking after the car has stood, and staining or corrosion on the tray under the battery.
Do it if the battery is old or of unknown age, and look at the tray while you are there.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 1 · The over-rev report · ideally before you travel
- 2 · The cold start · stand beside the rear wing
- 3 · The engine, such as you can see it
- 4 · Under the back, with a torch
- 5 · The nose · the step people skip
- 6 · Round the outside
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
The bearing is a small part and the consequence is the engine. The two bearings Porsche fitted have very different reported failure rates — and on most model years you can tell which one a car has, for free, before you leave the house. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- Which IMS bearing does it have?
- What does the over-rev report say?
- Has the oil filter been cut open?
- Has it been borescoped properly — and what does properly mean?
- Is there oil at the bell housing?
- What has already been paid for?
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 24 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 4 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
Going to look at a Porsche 911 Carrera 996?
Take the guide and the card with you.
24-page guide, A4 and phone · 4-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included