MZeraldo

I am considering purchasing a 996 Turbo this year and was hoping some of you could shed some light on things to look out for when I go to see the cars. This would be the first Porsche in the collection so my knowledge is limited.
I am currently looking at a 2001 996 TT (speed yellow on black), car has 80000km, clean title, almost all service records / history documentation from new, 19" HHR wheels (comes with originals as well), H&R lowering kit, full Remus Exhaust, Diverted valves, & GT3 style front bumper. Any ideas on what this car is worth? After negotiating the owner is at 39K CDN.
How are these cars for reliability? This would just be a weekend summer car, used occasionally for driving to work, dates etc....

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

rmc1148

Has been covered many times use the search. You will get a million opinions on values the best thing is to do your home work and spend what you think its worth.

Macster

For value I can't help much. I've not kept abreast of Turbo market values.

For what to look out for? Everything.

The Turbo is just a used car so you want to give the car a thorough used car check out.

This starts with you visiting the car cold and starting the engine -- but before actually starting the engine check that the CEL warning light comes on then goes off when the engine starts/runs. Be sure you switch off the A/C. You test this later. After starting the cold engine and while it idles you walk around the car. On the surface, you are checking the body for any signs of paint or body work, the condition of the tires, they all match, are N-rated, the brake rotors look ok, the wheels are not several scuffed, curbed, etc., but all the time you are listening to the idling engine for any scary noises.

Let the engine idle for 5 or more minutes then have the seller take you on a test ride so you can experience the car without having the distraction of having to drive the car.

The route should be around 15 miles in length and give the driver a chance to demo the car in a variety of usage scenarios. This ranges from around town, stop and go driving, to driving at a steady speed on a boulevard to driving at highway speeds. A hard acceleration should be thrown in -- once the engine/drive train is fully up to temperature -- with the driver starting out in 1st and hard accelerating up through as many gears as there is room/road for and is safe.

Back at the starting position then letting the engine continue to idle you take the car out as a driver, cover the same route, drive the car the same way.

Be sure you drive the car at a number of different speed and RPMs to ensure the aftermarket exhaust doesn't have an irritating drone (most will drone at some point).

You want to experience the car in its natural element, with the engine running and the car on the road.

You want the engine to run around an hour's time. This gives the DME plenty of time to cycle through its tests and flag a problem with the engine or any of its critical subsystems or sensors.

After the test ride and test drive then if you still like the car give it a thorough used car check out. Assume nothing works until you confirm it does.

If after all of the above if you still like the car and believe you can buy it for an agreeable sum of money arrange for a PPI. This should have the car on a lift and the tech under the car with a bright flash light looking for any leak sign.

This is very important, well, as important as the rest of the check out and its all important.

Anywhere there is a seal, gasket, o-ring, hose, line, hose clamp, hose or line fitting, a check should be made for any leak sign.

Some areas -- based on my experience -- to keep particularly in mind are the tranny seals not only the big ones but the selector shaft seals, the RMS, water pump, engine coolant hose fittings, spoiler hydraulics, front diff axle flange seals, the steering rack, radiators, camshaft covers, the brake fluid reservoir under the front trunk lid and under a plastic cover. Really everywhere there is a gasket, seal, o-ring, fitting, whatever that keeps fluid inside, you must check for any leak sign.

Another check the PPI can make is to remove an intake hose and check for any oil on the turbo compressor wheel. Oil here can be a sign of leaking turbo seals which can mean expensive repairs are in the car's future.

The PPI should obtain the engine over rev counters and engine run time time stamps for the most recent events and if anything scary is present he should go over these with you.

I like the car's color. I am not a big fan of modified cars because 1) determining the quality of the mod's is more difficult; and 2) the presence of exhaust/engine mod's suggest the car may have been subjected to harsher more severe usage than it would have been otherwise.

Some mod's can require more frequent servicing. Plugs for one thing.

If you buy the car be sure if at all possible you get all the factory parts/hardware the current owner removed.

Carlo_Carrera

Here is a good buyer's guide thread.

rennlist.com/forums/996-turbo-forum/812357-is-there-a-996tt-faq-buyer-s-guide.html

SLC Tortfeasor

I bought my own first Porsche, a 2001 996 TT, about months ago. Now that I'm a member of the club, I strongly recommend that you pay whatever the seller's asking price is, if not more!

flohmann

+1 to everything already said. Put in extra effort to find someone who will do a thorough PPI for you. After all, you're not the expert on 996tt things to check for. That's what the PPI is for.

BTW, 2001 = no cup holder, no glove box. But still has the simpler stereo that is easier to upgrade with bluetooth/aux out/new head unit. That's why I held out for a 2002, which gets you all three. :-)

MZeraldo

Thanks for the comments... really do like the idea of removing the intake hose and checking for oil on the turbo compressor wheel, that is something I was not aware of. I am mechanically inclined and come from a family that collects cars (I currently own a TR6, MGB & SLK) , however predominantly British & Italian. As I mentioned this would be the first Porsche and they are still a bit of a mystery to me.
Sounds like the PPI may be worth the money. I definitely have a lot of homework to do!

Kevinmacd

PPI should be mandatory. A good PPI will not only go thru the mechanicals, but also use the Porsche diagnostic tester which will pull any data logs and show errors, type 1 and two over revs etc. This data is only accessible using the Porsche diagnostic data system.

Carsly

2001's can have cup holders, at least mine does

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xb1r2gwkf...2%29.jpeg?dl=0

flohmann

Whoa, cup holders in a 2001! I appear to have been misinformed, though I didn't see any of these in the 2001's I looked at when shopping. Cool.

rmc1148

Mine has them also.