Blswan

I agree with Dock as we don't know your financial acumen or appetite. If you can pay cash for it and afford the possible repairs its a great buy. I considered a new c7 vette but two years later it would take a 15k depreciation hit. These 996tt cars have bottomed out. However you have no warranty and parts are pricey. I chose the 996tt because it has similar performance of today's sports cars, good looks, and holds its value.

acarr6

That's fair. I'm not entirely concerned with fixing things. I don't anticipate the car will fall apart, but repairs are inevitable for a used car. I completely agree with the holding value point which is why I'm interested in one. Honestly, my next car will definitely be a Porsche it's just dependent on which one it will be. I'd really like to be in a 996. Now, everyone's talking repairs, from your own experience and ownership have you guys had to replace a lot of things? Or just general stuff and the odd thing here and there.

up4speed

The Golf is a great car. It's quick, comfortable, roomy, quality, fun, interior is great, stereo is great, has warranty, plenty of gadgets and tech etc. There really is not much wrong with it. On the other hand, the 996 Turbo has a better looking exterior (I don't like the interior too much), AWD, and ridiculous speed! The 996TT is easy to get a lot of HP out of and will be faster than most cars on the road. It should comfortably leave your Golf R in the dust (and the R is pretty darn quick).
Each car has it's strengths, pick what's important to you.

Ck986

A lot of small things go wrong with these cars. If it was not enthusiast owned you may easily be looking at spending an additional 3-5k after purchase. At this age many of the accessories start getting tired and are likely to fail, Plastic coolant tanks crack, radiators leak, alternators fail, clutch slaves and accumulators fail, wing hydraulics leak and cease functioning, the tires are expensive. Then if you tune it up past 500hp you may have other problems that are less typical of a stock car. Most cars not enthusiast owned will likely also need suspensions, and mounts all around. This car can be used as a daily driver, but for me it's more of an expensive hobby that I like to work on.

"02996ttx50

i spend 1k a month on stuff on my modded ( bolt on's lol ) tt with 127.500 miles. not because it needs it, but because it likes it. thats an average. but all is new or replaced before or just as it "needs" ( or wants LOL ) it. my gf is jealous. other than cosmetically, i defy anyone to find a better maintained 03 tt. but it IS expensive, and if not for the fact my weekly visitor to the ranch is a pcar tech ( my dear and necessary friend lol ) i'd be *****d, and the car would suffer.

they require upkeep esp if pushed daily, and i mean "pushed". i also have a gti and LOVE it too, but it needs nothing but maintenance though i did just replace all suspension and wearable items for a cpl k & labor, but beyond that it's one little turbo monster as noted above great combo a tt and a golf r for daily swapping and staying "small" lol

neanicu

Pay a little extra for a well maintained example with service records that passes a PPI with flying colors and you will love it!

Atrox

You spend a 1k a month, I've got some great time share opportunities and some nice waterfront property in Nigeria you may be interested in.


A golf....really

You financing the car?
You have disposable income?
Is car going to be your DD?

rmc1148

As far as every day I would pick my old A4 over anything I own or have owned but that's an opinion. Only the op can make the decision of what fits his wants/budget.

SLC Tortfeasor

I've had my 996 TT since October and I can honestly say buying it is one of the best things I've ever done. Like, a life changing experience. A bucket list item for me. It's thrilling to drive, thrilling to look at, and just fun to sit around and contemplate what if anything I should do to it next.

Only you can decide whether it is affordable given your circumstances. But for me it is well worth the cost. I'm still shocked you can get such an amazing car for only $35K-$50K. They'll probably keep depreciating a little bit, but I'm guessing not much. It's a 911 Turbo, for goodness sake! There will always be lots of people who want them, even with the supposedly ugly headlights.

dacbap

I have both CTT and 996tt, I felt comfortable buying once I found a trust worthy, honest tech guy to work on them, CTT one guy and 996tt with another, both specialist, honest in at what they do, I'm not patient enough to work on myself, would rather be driving them. I'm 8 years owning both and still enjoy every moment. If it doesn't strap you for cash and you find the right one try it, if you don't like it sell it, you'll never know unless you try it...

ANJ-911

Coming from a well built Stg. 3 B5 Audi S4 which had more wtq and pretty close to the same HP as my X50 996T, here's why I like the car more:

This car was built for the power and speed. Where the S4 had gut wrenching torque down low, this car more than makes up for it in the higher RPM's, it just sings and wants to keep going. It's just so well built and solid you feel comfortable driving it hard, and its really happy at higher speeds.

It has a far superior presence on the road and in the parking lot. I didn't buy it to show off, but every time I park somewhere and see the car 99.9% of the time it is the car that I want to drive more than any car near it, and to me it is a work of art. It also seems to make other people happy when they see it (thumbs ups, smiles, etc.) which is nice because I know it makes me happy when I see a cool car drive by.

The maintenance has been far less than my B5 so for. If you buy a well sorted one, you'll be able to drive a while without doing anything besides oil changes. The motors are very solid and a lot of the work can be done yourself, it's intimidating at first being a high end car but you get used to it.

As others have said, I really can't think of a better overall sports car for the money with the same reliability, quality, relative practicality, and performance. If you're comfortable with dropping the money on it and maybe a couple K stashed for maintenance/mods, I'd say go for it, I don't think you'll regret it.

Edit: One more thing, I don't drive the car daily and personally wouldn't want to. It really keeps it special, my A4 is far superior for daily duty and I don't need to worry about it constantly. $1k a month on maintanance is crazy, no way would I own the car if I was spending that much on it. As a second car that I'll put about 5k miles on a year, I'll be at about $1-2k per year unless something crazy happens.

Carlo_Carrera

This is it.

Dock

+1.

Dock

+1 again.

Lucid Moment

Any part can fail even with good maintenance records. Less likely, sure. If the car you are looking at has been neglected inside or and outside, then chances are car as overall has not really been taken care of, at that point I would steer clear.

If someone does a lot of maintenance themselves, then you not get a binder with many service records. Just my opinion though. Good luck.