Would You Buy a 2005 996TT From NY?
 

I'm looking at a 21,500 miles midnight blue/Savanah beige 996TT cab at a exotics dealer in Scottsdale, AZ. The guy said the car has been in AZ since 2009. I ran the Carfax and it has service records in NYC, NY since origination up to May of 2013.

I'm not so much worried about the dealer lying (with the exception of Matt, they all lie) as I am 10 years of snow or salt. Its low mileage, so it obviously was not a daily driver and may never have seen snow.

Would a NY car dissuade you guys?

Very few Porsches are driven in the winter in the NE (except panameras and cayenne)

With that mileage I doubt they took her out in cold months.

Even the most minimum corrosion from salt is easy to spot. Around pulleys, bolts and nuts in the motor. Even the coated rotors get a little a sign too.

Post some pics and I'm sure we can all help

I'm a damn dirty liar too.:cool:

Honestly it wouldn't concern me. Modern Porsches have some of the best rust proofing that I've ever encountered. I've bought cars from up North, and except for the clamp that holds on the exhaust tip (that is a total SOB) I've never encountered any serious rust issues. Even minor fasteners are typically very dry. It's probably a moot point anyway, with the low miles it was probably somebody's weekend toy anyway.

NYC potholes will kill a suspension.
NYC drivers know only two speeds: floored or brake hard. (I grew up there)
Do you think the lying dealer will tell you if he rode it hard and put it up wet before he decided to sell it? Are you sure it isn't a Katrina car with a sanitized title?

Unless you can get a PPI from someone you KNOW isn't buddies with the dealer I would say "pass".

Ok, that relieves my concern. Now the second concern...I've owned many Porsches, including race cars, but never owned a cabriolet. Will people think I'm gay when driving with the top down (not that there's anything wrong with that)?:cool:

I actually looked at a "lifelong Dallas car" That carfax showed being sold and titled in new Orleans the shipped to Dallas in 2005. I ran!

With any of these cars, you need to really look them over. On a ten year old car, even with low miles, putting it on a rack and looking closely will reveal a lot. There are things that just cannot be hidden or detailed out. Same with interior. I've looked at a lot of Sandy cars, for instance, and they all showed evidence of salt water exposure. Some were brand new cars from dealer lots. :cool:

I wouldn't drive it but YMMV, as they say. :)

A car that's been rode hard and put away wet should be evident. But a good PPI is never a bad idea.

You're pretty enough to get away with it.:cool: Is it cheaper than a similar coupe though? The 996TT cabs seem to sit on the market a LONG time.

I bought my 2011 Lexus RX350 in Edmonton but it came off lease from Toronto. Knowing that Toronto uses lots of salt I was concerned . It had 40k miles on it. Had a PPI done and mechanic said there was no salt damage.

A convertible? I prefer a coupe. Better lines and safer.

JEEEZ Matt, one evening dinner by the fire pit in Nubo Malibu and you're already paying complements. You're easy!

It has sat there a while, but hes not below coupe prices for a similar car...yet. Problem is, some guy PPI'd it already. It needed a slave cylinder, hydraulics for the rear spoiler, and tires. He wen't ahead and made the repairs. Now he's too deep into the car. He wants $54k. I offered $50k. We're at a standstill.

This car replaces my hot rod and race car. If I don't buy a cab, it's only a matter of time before it turn it into a race car. The cab is self preservation...I mean marriage preservation.

There was a stunning turbo S cab at auction several weeks ago that I think went for less than that. Seems high for a cab unless it is simply amazing.

theres a black one on ebay 2004.... little high but u can make an offer 1 owner Arizona

Yes people will think you're gay. You mean you're not gay?

SmileWavy

Craig, if you pm me the info I can run by and check it out for rust for you on Monday.

I would not touch a NY car with a 10 foot pole. Especially if you already live in AZ. A car form all life CA or all life AZ will cost the same, so why compromise? I also think cars that travel the states are potentially trouble because to possible title fraud (washing a salvage title clean). This may not be easy, but it isn't at all possible if it is an all time same state car.

The 993 may not be as rust-proof as a newer 911, but whenever I look at DIY documentation from a wet/salty area, I am amazed how much worse every piece of metal on their car looks, compared to mine. That includes aluminum ... and my car having 140k miles.

I do like convertibles and I would drive a 997TT. I am not a homophobe.

G

scratch this one unless you want a tip...

Leave factual reviews about dealer being Shady and walk........

Figured I'd compile some data for anyone that may be interested. Data is sorted from lowest production number to highest:

997 GT2 total - 205
2008: 185
2009: 20

996 GT2 total - 317
2001 (2002 Model year): 14
2002: 184
2003: 90
2004: 24
2005: 5

Carrera GT ('04 to '06) total - 604

997 GT3 RS total to date - 810
MK1: 413
MK2: 397 (up to Nov '10)

996 GT3 total - 960
2003 (2004 model year): 257
2004: 607
2005: 96

997 GT3 total to date - 1462
MK1: 916
MK2: 546 (up to Nov '10)

997TT total to date - 8,009
2006 (2007 Model Year): 1156
2007: 3509
2008: 2141
2009: 872
2010 (up to Feb '10): 331

996TT total - 9,180
2001 Coupe: 2418
2002 Coupe: 2318
2003 Coupe: 1384
2003 Cab: 482
2004 Coupe: 298
2004 Cab: 1490
2005 Coupe: 186
2005 Cab: 604

I agree, 50k seems high but I thought maybe the low miles help? I'd rather go for a 997 with higher miles and add $10k.

G

Whoa, I am amazed how few GT3 there are. I have seen half of these locally, it seems.

G

YES!!! Thank you so much. PM Sent.

I'm sure my wife wishes I was. Since the invention of Viagra, she's been running from me for about three years now. I catch her more often than she'd like is my guess.

I'm not a NYer, but I went to college there, worked daily in the city for 10 years, plus worked there again on & off for several more decades. In that time I have met quite a few gearheads and P-car owners at many different events and forums. Most if not all, treated their cars with respect. I've also seen any number of AZ cars during family visits to Scottsdale and frankly a lot of them aren't all that pretty by the time the sun & heat get done with them after 10 years.
I kind of take exception to dismissing a car with an average of 2100 miles a year just because it's a NYC car. There are lots of other things I would worry about way before I lost any sleep over the car having rust because it was from NY. With that low mileage I doubt the car ever left the garage from November through April. Knowing how we treat our treasures out here, it probably sat in a heated garage with a cover on it all it's life. Most Porsche guys I know that live in the city and own p-cars are pretty anal about them and I'd buy one in a NY minute if I were in the market. Yes, there are exceptions just like any place, but by and large the NYC owners that I have met love their cars just as much as anyone else regardless of geography, perhaps even more since we only get to enjoy them for maybe 6 months of the year rather than the 12 you guys get. Hum,.. just like our brothers and sisters in WI or SD or MT...or any snow belt state.
I would definitely be more upset about the dealer lying and that would be enough for me to take a hike. It's always risky trying to buy a car long distance. I have to think there is a good TT on the west coast available that would be at the least, significantly less stress to buy. The fact that the dealer lied about things just makes one wonder what else is wrong? I think this sale went south a while ago and if it were me I would take some advice I got years ago, "let it go and move on".
Wishing you better luck on the next one!

Come on? I live in Ventura Ca. How perfect is this? Worth some due diligence? :cool:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428725299.jpg

Great looking car. Get it up on a hoist and have a look around. If it's clean then go for it.

It looks good in the picture, all right. But there are a lot of these cars around. I didn't realize you were in CA. You'd be nuts to buy a NY car from AZ long distance from a sleazeball dealer while living in the Porsche capital. There has to be more for sale locally in LA or worst case, SFBay. Be patient. Don't fall in love with a particular car.

Just my two cents ...

G

I'll go look at the car Monday and get pictures of its undersides and report back. I'm almost afraid to go over there though, afraid I'll fall in love with it myself!

My '84 Targa was a Chicago car. Owned by a dentist. Claimed to be a fair weather car. I bought it sight unseen - a friend looked it over and described it as "like new."

It was a beautiful car, but working on it was a pain. Underside was just a little crusty. Not rusty, but just a bit of surface corrosion on everything. Wasn't terrible, but given the choice, I'll probably avoid buying cars that used to live in snowy areas in the future. When I sold it, the guy who bought it was from Chicago and had it shipped back there. He thought it was in amazing condition! :)

^^^ This.

You guys think it takes a winter's worth of driving to cause the damage. But literally one good soak in salt water and it will be a mess. The Al and Mg both don't like salt either. They won't rust out but they will look a lot more crusty and oxidized than a fair weather car. Fasteners will be a PITA too if they got a salt coating.

G

Salt is nasty. Excessive sun and heat is equally nasty. Poor repairs are nasty. A new car driven in salt suffers less than an old desert car brought to a damp climate after years of scratches. I love the folks who are anal about cars they won't buy as that drops the price when I find something with a few fixable problems. In my opinion, coupes look better and are quitter on the highway, but top down motoring is glorious. When I look back at the fun factor of my previous rides, guess what. The most fun cars were ragtops. Its hard to beat a Turbo ragtop for fun. A smile on your children's or lady's face beats most anything. I always kept a couple of watchman's caps and down jackets in the ragtops. Women who like ragtops are less concerned about their primp than having fun.

I'll take a car that was intermittently driven in salt over one that has baked in the sun, any day. I suspect that Sid will find that this was somebody's baby, not their winter beater.

As much as I'll give Craig crap for his hairdresser car, I totally agree. Hard to beat a convertible, especially somewhere like SoCal where you can use it year round.

In NY, that car is a fashion accessory. In SoCal, it makes a lot more sense.

Sid, you hairdresser you! :p

Wasn't there a major storm/flooding in NY a couple years ago? Remember all the hubbub about Christie hosting Obama to view the carnage?

If dealer will bold faced lie about its location (strike one and two), I'd be skeptical that there's a reason for that significant and easily outed lie, like flooding (strike three).

Be careful.

If it's a low mile, well cared for example, you have nothing to be concerned with. There is an immense car culture in the NY/CT/MA region filled with people who care greatly for their cars and never let them touch salt.

I've lived here my entire life and the only Porsches Ive seen in salt are Panameras, Cayennes, Boxters and now Macans.

For a small fee I will be your 'wingman' and follow you around in my Miata... no one will notice you in your cab. ;)

Failing that.. if anyone gives you a hard time just smack them with your murse!

Huge fan of 996TT. Almost bought one several times, and still want one. That one looks great, and would be fun in SoCal. I have never owned a convertible, but think it would be a blast. I don't love the "peanut butter" interior, and since there are so many of these cars, I personally would wait for a black interior. But that is 100% a personal taste choice.

That one is interesting with the GT3 wheels. I wonder where those came from. They are not OEM GT3, as the wide body offsets are different than the '04/'05 narrow body GT3.

I want a 996TT, and might just go for a convertible too!!!

Good luck, Craig!

JA

I was looking for *that* car last Fall. Couldn't find one in the right color with a 6-speed, so "settled" on a coupe. Mine had a really weird Carfax including time registered in Alaska(!) with most of its time in Florida. But I found it in Minnesota...

I took the gamble (car was 2300 miles away and I bought it sight unseen) and it's in great shape. There is the slightest evidence of surface corrosion on suspension components, but not bad at all for a decade-plus old car. If it had been driven in salt, the suspension and chassis would clearly show it. At least get some pictures of the car up on a lift...

These cars are incredibly robust and the chassis rigidity on the Cab is equivalent to or better than the coupe rigidity of prior generations of 911, thanks to computer aided analysis/design.

Oh, and on the interior color, I bought mine with a hideous beige/wood interior and swapped the whole thing out for black. Not trivial, but not a huge undertaking. I can point you to MKS Performance in Camarillo if that's something you would consider - and the go-to place for 996 Turbo service in any case.

I definitely would. It's the condition of the car, not where it came from that matters. If it wasn't kept in the garage from October to April and never saw snow/salt you will clearly be able tell.