Unexpected Find - 2003 TT

[A914Guy]

About a year ago while I was searching the web for a '70s muscle car for a good friend, I stumbled across a small, rural Classic and Custom car dealership with some hidden treasures. A blog note on a Classic Chevy web site pointed me to the "Hooked On Classics" dealership in Watertown, Minnesota. A quick Google search of their name surfaced a web site and off I went...

At that time I was in the early stages of research for my next car, which I had hoped would be a 2002 to 2005 996 Turbo. Preferably a low mile, unique color and a well equipped car.

After looking through the Hooked On Classic's site listings of "Classics, Muscle Cars, Street Rods, Hot Rods" etc. and seeing a mix of domestic iron, some very nice, some not so nice and some at project level, I noticed and clicked their link for "Exotics". I'll admit that I really had no idea what I would find.

Along with a '60 Rolls Royce, a late '60s E-Type Jag V12 convertible, this is what I found:


After a quick call and short discussion with the contact at Hooked On Classics, I learned this car was a consignment car and it had an equally interesting sister car from the same owner.

The Porsche was a 2003, 32,000 mile 996 Turbo equipped with X50, PCCB, sport seats and several other desirable options. No accidents, no winter use and completely unmolested. Described as "Newish".

The Vette is Atomic Orange with Lambo doors, an 1000 hp twin turbo engine upgrade and it has only 8000 miles. Crazy....



Not ready to buy anything at that time, I pressed on learning more about 996 Turbos. Many months passed as I continued to look for the right car and I was convinced I could find a southern car, similar this one and much closer to home.

Through the late summer and fall of 2014 I looked at hundreds of candidates on the web and closely at 15 cars. Of these 15, only two were equipped close to the HOC car. Car one was an '02 coupe with X50, tiptronic and the factory Aerokit option. A very nice looking, two owner car (both doctors) and advertised as well maintained and 100%. Unfortunately it was not as described and would have required a significant investment to get it to the level I would feel is correct. Car two was a one owner '05 Turbo S cab. with 13, 200 miles. The car was very nice but it has some "no use" issues and was $10K above Turbo S market value.

This Turbo hunt story ends well and the Carrera White, 2003 996 Turbo from Minnesota is now at it's new home in North Texas.



During the purchase process I had a CPO level PPI done a Carousel Porsche (great guys) and looked the car over very closely. With the exception of needing a new battery and the rear wheels balanced, it was as nice as I would have hoped it to be.

Minnesota is in the heart of the SALT belt and this small dealership was an extremely unlikely place to find a highly optioned, rare color 996 Turbo more so one that was fanatically cared for by it's previous owners.

The moral of my story is to spread your net wide when looking for special cars. You never know what you will find, nor where....

[CountD]

Great story, great writeup and thanks for sharing. When I read these I always think there should be a forum for 'Porsche Stories and Their Owners' so all it would consist of are these types of positive stories from people who take the hobby at a personal level and the experience of finding the perfect car.

[christiandk]

Those 996s are growing on me now. Never thought those unholy words would cross my lips. I prefer the design of the 96 over the 97 now.

[A914Guy]

I've been an air cooled Porsche fan for 30+ years and obviously a 914 enthusiast.

My 1600 mile road trip in the Turbo from MN to TX was a great introduction to the 996 experience. No issues, a great ride and I'm still grinning.

The car is unique in many respects technically and aesthetically. It's AWD system, fantastic brakes and suspension, Mezger water cooled turbo engine and exterior/interior evolution are excellent and some day will be recognized as a milestone for the 911's development.

As a new owner, I'm developing a great appreciation for the car. It's a wonderfully performing, complex, yet has a history of being a very reliable machine. It still has Porsche feel, sound and look, yet it is a much safer version of the 911 and is very comfortable.

It's probably the most affordable and reliable true exotic sports car available right now.

MSRP for the car I bought was $151K and I paid a fraction of that. Good 996 Turbos can be found and bought in the upper $30s. Low mile cars (<50K) have a market value of $40-50 right now and a few "bubble" cars demand more.

In contrast to my 914-6 this is a perfectly complimenting and contrasting addition.

I'm a fan.....

[techweenie]

Funny, I found mine in MN as well.

Congrats. This is the one 'performance bargain' in the entire 911 world right now. And as you know, white is extremely rare and highly desirable. I couldn't find one and settled on yellow.

[christiandk]

Is the interior as awfull quality as "you" say?

Is the turbo wider than the normal 996? Not the same turbo look ass the old cars....

[Nachtfalter]

Dash and lights aside, and honestly who cares, the 996 turbo is just an incredible car. Great find.

[dienstuhr]

Nice car. Salt issues in MN are likely not relevant to these cars anyway as it's rare to see one winter driven. My 911 is laid up before the first snow and only comes out when Spring is firmly entrenched.

Cheers

d.

[CountD]

Holy Moly...MSRP $151K? Man, that was (is) one expensive car.

[A914Guy]

The COA says $151,795.

I've casually watched 911 prices for 20+ years and knew the top end cars were expensive, by my standards anyway, and some of the later cars were pushing $100K+. As I looked into the MSRP of these early water cooled Turbos, it was a surprise to me that they were pushing $150K. A huge investment for the original buyer and far beyond what I could pay for a secondary vehicle.

I'm feeling pretty blessed to be in a position to buy a second Porsche and very happy with the value this car represents.

This Turbo got on the lift last night. I used the modified hockey pucks to isolate the chassis to the lift pads and and the underside of the car is really pretty impressive. No SALT concerns, nothing dented or damaged.

I'm the curious type so I've decided to pull the underside panels to see how things look in the various cavities and tunnels.

[copbait73]

Too bad you have to trash the looks of the front with that fuggly license plate. This is one area you independent Texans need to get government out of your life.
Traveling next month for your Hill Country Rally, are you driving it?
Your Turbo is a great find, enjoy.

[SilberUrS6]

Cool story. And nice purchase. I have been saying for a couple of years now that the 996TT was about the best Porsche bargain out there.

[A914Guy]

I've lived with front plate law for many years. You're right, I'd like it better without it and I'm happy that the vintage cars are exempted. The press that Texas gets about the rebel attitude may be a bit over sold. I will say that I'm very grateful for many of the freedoms afforded Texans that many of our united states do not appreciate.

I'd love to do a hill country tour and was talking to a good fried about an April Bluebonnet run. The traditional March Hill Country Rally for Porsche is air cooled cars only. 100 cars is a bit much for my preference. My vote would be 10 or less

[Farrell]

Obviously it's new, but how reliable do these turn out to be? From what I understand they are bullet proof? Do they have major problems? I've been thinking of one too for in the 30's. I mean why not?

[CountD]

I am sure that this has been posted, but I thought it was a good short article.

"Here's why the 996 Turbo is the best Porsche 911 you can buy."

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-996-turbo-is-the-best-porsche-911-you-ca-1665776219

[copbait73]

Originally Posted by A914Guy

I'd love to do a hill country tour and was talking to a good fried about an April Bluebonnet run. The traditional March Hill Country Rally for Porsche is air cooled cars only. 100 cars is a bit much for my preference. My vote would be 10 or less

Yes, thinking in terms of your 914. My first Hill Country was what , maybe 7-8 years ago and it was roughly 10 longhoods running the roads back then. A great time! now, At 100 cars and opened to all air cooled models it will probably be more of a lifestyle event but still it will be great to see the guys again and run the roads. You have a beautiful state for this.
I think my son's car still sports the buzzard feathers from our high speed road kill incident.

[A914Guy]

Th social aspect of the Rally will be great, no doubt. I suspect there will be very good representation from the regional "S" group and those guys are pretty fun to engage.

The 914 just got a new front end (RS style struts) and I need to get it aligned. That's next on my list but that probably won't be ready for the March run.

I'm thinking two days in the Austin area in April to see spring blooms in the Texas hill country.

[ASD]

nice information here..I think I will wait until my SC is worth a trade on a 996 Turbo. It migth not be too long from the sound of it. That Jalopnik article was great too

[Nachtfalter]

As someone actively looking for the right 996tt, its amazing how different the market is compared to 3.0-3.2 cars. There is a small buyers pool and decent inventory.

Although, I can't seem to find a Blue with manual on the west coast.... any leads?

[A914Guy]

Blue is another tough color to find. I do see a couple out there but none out west.

I did see a 2003 Seal Gray over Gray interior car with X50, PCCB car show up on eBay today. Private seller. It's a low mile coupe with the RUF "R" 550 upgrade and an Aero Kit.

If it hasn't been abused and is as good as the seller states, it would be a great car for the right price.

I'm close to the car and would be happy to lay eyes on it for anyone interested.

Porsche 911 Ruf R Turbo | eBay