[pcs5978]

If you're going to buy a used M96 to replace your blown one, make sure to get the VIN from the car it came out of and the engine case # BEFORE YOU BUY IT. With the VIN you then call your local Porsche Dealership and confirm that the car it came from was indeed delivered with the engine case you are buying. Having the VIN and working forward to get the engine case # is easy. Having the engine case # and working backward to get the VIN is hard.

With the VIN you can then get various reports, on-line, that will provide information about the history of car and the motor came from. It'll tell you if the car it came out of was stolen, track registration history, track milage history, on-line sales efforts, service facilities used , and establish any salvage titles. Call the places that serviced the car, and with the VIN, confirm milage and what was done to the engine.

If the engine seller doesn't have the VIN and the engine case number or won't provide the numbers, walk away. If you are buying on line, make them send you pictures of the engine case numbers and the stampings on the head and cam covers. And by all means if the motor show's up at your doorstep and the engine numbers are different from the one you bought, demand your money back. The price of shipping is cheap.

I didn't just pick these recommendations out of the air. This comes from leaning a very hard and expensive lesson!