BEFORE YOU BUY

With many of our ‘Porsche Index’ pages focusing on older 911s it’s no surprise that this particular section can throw up all manner of issues to concern potential buyers, and from corrosion to expensive-to-fix mechanical woes there can be quite a list. That’s generally not the case here.

It goes without saying that any car you’re looking at should have a cast-iron service history, boasting OPC or, perhaps more latterly, specialist stamps. We’ve come across occasional cooling system issues, usually due to faulty valves or sensors within the car’s complex system, which can trigger a dashboard warning light, but there’s really little else of concern engine-wise. Likewise, get the Sports exhaust checked as the valves can corrode and get stuck open – you should note this falls outside of Porsche warranty.

Very early examples can be suffering from worn front suspension bushes or air-conditioning condensers that are ready for replacement – the parts cost £517 for the pair – but both are relatively rare occurrences. There are also reports that the heating system’s blower motor can get noisy, so it’s worth checking all the settings on a potential purchase – a new one will set you back around £450 before fitting.

While it’s true that some 991.1s have suffered from niggling reliability issues – a number of their owners have written in to tell us about them – the problems are mostly of the annoying rather than major variety, although still disappointing with a car that cost more than £80,000 new. Things should have been sorted under warranty, though, and broadly speaking you can buy a Carrera S safe in the knowledge that it will serve up a fantastic Porsche ownership experience for years to come.