potential 996 owner needs help...
 

Hi everyone,
I was going thru the forum for the last couple of days and have seen that there are a lot of useful info for a guy like me who is just in the verge of deciding to go for a 996 or not. I am an ex 1984 3.2 carrera owner and loved the car at that time... So now I want to go back to Porsche again...
I have a couple of questions and would appreciate your feedback.
1. Apparently everyone here is aware of the fact that 996s have a serious engine problem. Not necessarily all the cars of course, but proportionally a large number of 996s are coming with trouble. My budget is pretty limited so it is not enough for a later model but only a car manufactured between 1998-2001. Is there any difference at all between a 1999 and 2001?
2. Is it feasible to assume a car that has 120,000 kms on it, is a safer bet (at least thinking that it didn't have any problems till now and at least the only problems I would have might be standard 10 year old 120,000 kms car problems but not an engine, RMS, etc problems)?
3. I am not a mechanic at all. I have only an average knowledge on engine, etc. What would you recommend me to look for while checking the car itself? Also if I have a test drive, what should I be expecting (an/or not expecting)...
4. Except for above, what else would you recommend?
I really do appreciate all you feedbacks in advance.
Demir