Lee Sibley

Poole, UK @lee_sibs

A matter of weeks into 996.1 ownership and I’ve encountered several setbacks already. Some problems on the car I knew about prior to purchase: the oil leak, knackered rear silencers plus brakes and tyres all-round being at the end of their life.

Some things I found out pretty quickly after collecting the car, namely the front windscreen trim has been butchered and is separated from the

glass (it’s a windscreen-out job to fix) plus the car has pretty savage water ingress. Then the main key fell to pieces on me. Suffice to say it was not the start I wanted, and instead of enjoying driving my 911, my first weeks of ownership have largely been spent trying to get these problems adequately diagnosed and rectified.

Calling into specialists Wrightune on my way through Oxfordshire proved to be a useful move. Chris diagnosed the water ingress immediately and showed me exactly where it was

coming in, as apparently it’s a common problem on 996s. The upshot is the door membranes on both sides needed replacing, which I’ve since had done. However, new door membranes didn’t distract from the fact the 996’s carpet was holding A LOT of water, so there was only one thing for it… the carpet had to come out! I did this myself over the course of a leisurely afternoon (it’s a fiddly job, I can tell you!). The carpet is hanging out to dry as I type. Putting the interior back together afterwards with the dry carpet in situ will be the fun part!

I’m also hugely indebted to Kees at Paragon Porsche who’s saved me some £200 on replacement keys – I turned up with a broken key which wasn’t talking to my car and, a new microswitch later, the main key was remote unlocking the 996 once more. I also replaced the battery for good measure.

To stop the key crumbling in my hands again, I bought a new case off ebay. At £14 for two they’re obviously non-genuine parts, but swapping everything over took less than two minutes and the fit is perfect, so I’ll chalk that one up as a win!