LONG WINDED PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I owned a lightweight early hot rod for 15 years. '70E with IROC bodywork and real '73S motor with MFI built to 2.7RS specs. It was the ultimate in early performance, power, handling and raw feedback.

I sold that car Christmas 2013, and at that time had been on a 3 year quest to move into a 996TT. I had only ridden in one 996TT at that time, which had a EVOMS 550 kit on it. Needless to say one on ramp experience in that car made you forget about any styling concerns you might have, including the headlights.

Fast forward to May of 2014. I was Porscheless and found a black 2001 996TT for sale in Alabama. It was completely stock except for some beautiful 19" Champion mesh wheels and some lowering springs. It had 39K miles, and we agreed to $41.5K. My 12 year old son and I bought a one way ticket and flew in to check it out.

The car was stunning. It had some very minor paint flaws (normal chips and scuffs that come with 13 year old original black paint, but it looked excellent. The interior was also excellent, and as I pulled out for the test drive, it felt as solid as a new car.

Then after getting warmed up, I began to push it a bit. The power was immediate. There is no turbo lag, and the substantial torque can be felt from 2,000 RPM! I was in love. But then, I felt a stumble and some bucking. WTF? It was mis-firing. The guy who owned it said the car was his dad's who recently passed away. He assured me there was no history of mis-firing, and that a detail shop has pressure washed the motor that morning, and it probably got the coils wet. I believed it, as it was a very minor stumble and I was sure it could be fixed with minor tune up work. He offered me $2,500 off, which was more than fair in my mind.

But, in end, I decided I didn't want to start my TT ownership with that kind of risk. What if it was something else? Lean condition? Compression issue? So, we passed on the car and drove the walk of shame home 900 miles in a rental car.

Two months later, I bought a non-tracked, bone stock black 2004 996GT3 with 25k miles. It was $20K more, but it is the best of both worlds. TT (stock) performance, with the agility and feedback (mostly) of my old car. I love it, and plan to keep it for 10 years.

Conclusion: I LOVE the 996TT and would still love to have one, even with the GT3!! The wide body looks great to my eye, and performance potential is almost unlimited. And as others have said, they are bulletproof. Far and away the best value in super cars for Toyota Camry money! Buy with confidence!

JA

I seem to recall reading on the forums about a 300k+ daily driven 996TT in Europe. There are quite a few over 100k, and I've seen a few over 200k.

If you want a 996TT, now is a good time to buy. They really seem to have bottomed out around $40k, I doubt they get much cheaper.

I am still on the look out for a Lapis blue, saddle interior tip ...

Ya'll just pipe down there mister! I'm still a few years off from buying my 996 and I need all these haters to keep the prices down until I can buy in. ;)

I never said I woudnt own one. I certainly would. They are a blast to drive.

Not my words. Quoted from the link.

Sorry bout that.

Tips on Buying a Turbo Car... Rennlist thread

Ever wanted to own a turbocharged car, but never knew the right questions to ask? Turbo Technics have put together a buyers guide. You don't have to be a mechanic, but if you can take someone along with you it does help.

Here's what you do...........

First check under the bonnet (hood). Check the following...............

1. Engine oil condition. Black oil suggests poor maintenance.
2. Service history. Very important, especially for a turbo engine.
3. Receipts from previous turbo repairs. Proof of a reputable service history.
4. Aftermarket turbo remanufacturer’s name plate. Has the turbo been replaced before and by whom ? Be suspicious if the repair was not carried out by a reputable company.
5. Oil leaks around the turbo. Signs of a poor turbo rebuild or a worn turbo.
6. Heat shields loose around the turbo. Sign of a recent replacement turbo.
7. Painted exhaust turbine housing. Could be trying to hide a poor quality turbo repair.
8. Water staining around the turbo bearing housing. Leaking water connections.
9. Alignment of hoses and connections. Poor alignment indicates a badly repaired turbo.
10. Non-genuine hose clips. May indicate poor workmanship.
11. Bleed valve on actuator hose. Turbo has been operating at a higher boost pressure that it was originally designed for. This may have damaged the turbo.
12. Dump valve. Indicates that other engine modifications may have been performed.
13. Replacement actuator. Uprated actuators are fitted to operate at a higher boost pressure. This may result in turbo damage.
14. Grip marks on actuator rod. Signs of a recently increased or reduced boost pressure adjustment or problems with the turbo.
15. Air filter condition. Signs of oil staining on the air filter may indicate engine wear.
16. Split compressor intake hose. Unfiltered air entering a turbo will cause damage to the compressor wheel.
17. Exhaust leaks. An incorrectly serviced engine can run weak, causing excessive heat build-up in the exhaust. This leads to warping and cracking of the exhaust manifold and turbine housing.
18. Non genuine oil filter. A sign of cost cutting when servicing a car.
19. Retro-fitted boost gauges. Cars fitted with a boost gauge tend to have had the boost pressure increased.
20. Compressor wheel lift. Movement of the turbocharger’s rotating shaft, up and down, is an indication of turbo bearing wear.
21. Rubbing compressor wheel marks. If you can get the owners permission to remove the air filter hose, check signs of the rotating compressor wheel making contact with or rubbing the housing. This indicates excessive wear in the turbo bearings and means a turbo rebuild is imminent.
22. Actuator hose cracked or split. This will cause over-boost.
23. Intercooler damaged or split. This will cause low boost and a loss of power.
24. Rubbing or split Intercooler hoses. This will cause low boost and a loss of power.
25. Oil feed hose leaking. May lead to turbo oil starvation and eventual failure.
26. Oil drain hoses squashed or bent. Restrictions in the turbo oil return will lead to leaking turbo seals and blue oil smoke from the exhaust.
27. Breather hoses squashed or bent. Restrictions in the breather pipes or hoses may cause blue oil smoke from the exhaust.
28. Breather system "one-way" valve sticking. Can cause blue exhaust oil smoke.
29. Uprated or non genuine exhaust system. Reducing the exhaust back pressure with a free flow exhaust system can cause oil leakage from the turbo oil seals, leading to blue exhaust oil smoke.

Next comes the road test. Check the following...............

1. Whistling noise on acceleration. Turbo imbalance or air leak.
2. Rubbing noise on acceleration. Turbo bearings badly worn.
3. Poor performance. Low boost caused by defective turbo, wastegate mechanism or air leak.
4. Too much performance. Over boost may be due to an incorrectly adjusted or defective wastegate.
5. Hesitation - violent. This condition can be experienced when accelerating hard. The boost pressure exceeds a nominal value, leading to over boost (a safety cut out switch). The problem may be caused by a defective wastegate.
6. Hesitation - holding back. Engine mixture weak, or air restriction.
7. Pinking or detonation under load. Incorrect ignition setting, poor quality fuel, excessive boost pressure or a poorly maintained engine.
8. Blue smoke under hard acceleration. Engine wear or defective breather system.
9. Blue smoke under deceleration. Engine wear.

Now whilst the engine is at normal operating temperature, leave the engine idling for 10 minutes. Check the following..................

1. Blue oil smoke at idle. Defective turbo seals, excessive bearing wear, defective breather system or restricted turbo oil drain system.
2. Black smoke at idle. Worn diesel injection pump or injectors or excessive over-fuelling.
3. White smoke at idle. Engine damage, cracked cylinder head or head gasket failure. Very rarely caused by a damaged turbocharger.

Congratulation. If all the tests above checked out OK, then your probably reaching for your cheque book now, but before you do, read the Turbo Technics Guide to Owning a Turbocharged Car.. . .

also.... radiator leaks?

I agree on the 996tt pricing, which is partially why I'm interested. (Trying to avoid any more big-ticket depreciating assets.)

But what about the 997tt? Will those drop as low? Hold out and wait? Decisions, decisions...

I haven't been a big fan of the bland styling, but this car looks pretty good. Maybe the 996 just needs the right set of wheels to make it -- well maybe not hot, but at least not as blah. This silver car looks good. And hey, from the driver's seat, while driven in anger they all look great.

I doubt as low. They seem to be more loved and the gt cars are already appreciating with the lack of a stick in the 991s. I'd expect the turbo will follow suit soon.

I generally agree. They made more turbos than GT2/GT3, so I doubt they'll appreciate as quickly. Even at wholesale, it's hard to find a 997TT at under $60k, so there's a big gap between the 996 and 997. I doubt they ever get as low as the 996.

It probably just needed coils.

996 turbos are one helluva performance bargain. Get a PPI and if all is good, get it.

I want one with dings and scrapes on it and higher than average miles for really cheap. I missed out on the perfect candidate last year, it actually had low miles but bad cosmetics. OG owner, dead stock and never even driven hard. He traded it in on a new car and probably got $20k for it.

Miles would not scare me a bit if the car had a maintenance history.

If that was in California, I'd seriously go take a look.

No picture of the drivers seat. There is a 1/2 picture of the base but not of the seat back or side from the drivers door.

I'd drive it to you for the actual costs.... ;)