Rustler

Just purchased a 2001 996 Turbo, ~50k miles, Seal Grey, mostly stock with RUF exhaust and SSK (unkown origin). Similar to cpn who just introduced himself, I flew to Seattle (from Montana) to buy this beast at Porsche Bellevue.

The dealer was pleasant to work with and handled several small repairs/maintenance items that needed attention when they prepped it for sale, including cracked coolant reservoir, new tires, oil, filter, plugs, serpentine belt, water pump and more. Also addressed a couple items that came up in PPI. All in all likely several thousands in repairs at market rate, although I probably bought it at the top of the present market so I'm kinda thinking it nets out when compared with a private party sale where I may had to take on some of those repairs myself.

PPI was done at Chris's German Auto in Redmond, WA. That shop was fantastic to deal with, I think they gave me a really thorough inspection with fantastic communication. If there are Seattle guys on here, give that shop a look. Prior to that car was serviced by both the dealer and Cantrell.

I want to say a quick thanks to former owner Blondebaerde on this forum, who gave me the service file he had, and answered questions about the car. That's exactly what these forums are about, Thanks Blondebaerde. It's pretty unusual to buy a car from a dealer and be able to speak to a prior owner, and that was super helpful.

I'm coming from a '10 BMW 335i sedan. I know that these cars occupy quite different segments, but I've been making comparisons in my own mind for past couple days. People think a 335i is a fast car, but holy f.... the 996tt is so much faster, and just way more manic. But you all already know that. The rawness of the hilarious turbo lag followed by that rush of insane power is so different from the really linear and amazingly smooth acceleration on the twin turbo straight six. While my initial impression is that the E90 BMW is just a much better sorted car all around, the 996tt is so much more fun to drive, look at, be in and own that I am thrilled with my decision!

And let me tell you, Montana is the place to drive one of these. Wide open stretches of highway, and lots of tight twisty mountain roads. Unfortunately, the trade off is only one shop in town that has the chops to work on one of these (that I know of anyway), and poor gas (I've got a question about that I'll post seperately). Fortunately Turbos handle the altitude quite well, better than their n/a counterparts anyway.

I haven't had time to take some really good pics, but here are a few I snapped on my phone:

masti99

Congrats, enjoy in good health!

Jeff_DML

congrats, your car looks familiar

Yes Montana sounds like a great place for the turbo, it seems to like fast open spaces. Too bad the Montabahn got shut down.

split71

HA, I've stayed at a hotel right next to that dealership in Bellevue! Congrats!

More pictures of the car in Montana would be awesome...What area do you live in? Just curious as I've always wanted to get up there and check it out.

Dock

Congrats on the 996 Turbo!

cbracerx

Congrats and enjoy. Wide open spaces are fun with these cars

"02996ttx50

congrats ! is it true that you have places without speed limits still? or is that just rumor?

i had a 335i chipped etc...this thing is soooo much faster it isn't funny. welcome and enjoy getting used to it!

cpn

awesome car and nice color! congrats and enjoy the ride.

SirChonkyFire

Welcome to the club. In what part of Montana do you live? I got a place in Whitefish and have always wanted to have my Turbo out there in the summer time, although I did get a b6 s4 a few years ago which was great after only having a jeep for the last ten years, for enjoying the roads in the summer, and keeping up with all the pickups going 95 mph with Alberta tags.

Rustler

There are now speed limits on the interstate in MT (80 mph), but it wasn't that long ago that daytime speeds were limited only by a reasonable and prudent standard. Believe it or not, the undoing wasn't safety, but a constitutional challenge that the law was too vague. There also happened to be lots of studies showing increased fatalities after the double nickle was repealed nationwide, but that's such a politcized issue that it's hard to know what to believe. Anyway, lots of opportunities to safely stretch the legs of a 996tt out here.

And yes, the local boys find ways to get lifted 3/4 ton pickups with knobby tires singing on the pavement at 100 mph. Pretty scary sight.

911mhawk

Great place to own one of these, my wife got nicked doing 124mph in our T-5 wagon back in 2003, I paid $75 and we went on our way.
I've thought it would be fun to visit the in-laws in Red Lodge and go through the Beartooth Mtns/hwy 212 in mine.
Have fun, hopefully you're a bit of a wrench too.

Olemiss540

First off, AMAZING color combo and car. Looks fantastic from the Phone Pics.

That dealer service would have cost quite a pretty penny. The dealer I bought from had a $5K service invoice for preparing the car, but wasn't near as thorough as yours.

On the 335, isn't that a single "Twin Power" (twinscroll) turbo, not a twin turbo? Definately a smooth power delivery on those, but not near the insanity the 996tt has once you hit peak torque.

Living in the BMW world myself, and after having bought the 996tt, the looks is what closes the deal. The 996tt is such a special car to look at, and so rare to see on the street, I find myself grabbing a beer and pulling a lawn chair up to the garage on multiple occassions (just to stare at the rear quarters). Just a visceral and overwhelmingly beautiful car IMO.

The driving dynamics take some getting used to considering the tire size difference and weight distribution. My bmw feels sooo natural in a slide, it feels like the car is centered perfectly around you, but the Porsche has such unique handling characteristics I have yet to fully figure out.

Montana is amazing country, you are one lucky guy to have that backdrop behind one of the prettiest P-cars produced.

highlander

Congratulations, she looks a beaut!

I have driven highly tuned 335i's and Dinan turbocharged E46 M3's. "More manic" perfectly describes the way the 996TT puts the power down compared to the BMW's

I personally *love* the anticipation when you plant the throttle, then WHOooooooSSSHHHH. Hold on tight!!!!!

Enjoy your new toy and drive it in good health!

Jeff_DML

I prefer the more "laggy" power of the 996TT over the flat torque curve off idle that most modern cars have. More exciting and gives you a reason to rev the car. Also most of the flat torque cars power die after 4-5k.

fyi, initial 335 has a twin turbo I6, n54. The newer ones have a single turbo setup.

Rustler

Yeah, in a past time there was no point system for insurance here, so if you got whacked for a big number you just paid the fine and moved on, as opposed to the actual fine being the tip of the iceberg with 6+ years of jacked premiums being the real cost.

I had an N54 mill in my 335i, and that was a twin turbo. I had a mild tune that was tolerant of the 91 Octane and winter gas we get here, bumping output to like 330 HP/Tq. In 2011 they went to the N55 which was the same 3.0L inline six, but with a single twin scroll turbo. Same output as stock N54 (300), I gather the tuners like the N54 better and there was something about the single twin scroll turbo that made the N55 sound like a broken washing machine at idle.

The inline six was so smooth, the whole purpose of that motor was to provide turbo power without the lag, which I think it was kind of revolutionary in 2005 or so. And on the highway it was a dream. As you say, it was incredibly stable in a bit of a slide too. Lots of fun on snow packed roads because even for a guy with hams for feet like me I could control it. However, I totally agree that 996tt's bonkers performance is so much more fun and the car has way more presence. Especially from behind, wide body 996s have the best *** in all of automotivedom. I thought the 335i was elegant looking, but to most people it just looked like a genero mid-level executive hauler, the kind of car that would be driven by a guy who starts his morning by shaving in traffic and worrying about the TPS reports that are due at the end of the month. I kid. It was and still is an awesome car, and so is the 996. If I had the budget, room in the garage, and time, I would own them both (that's a lot of ifs).

Thanks for the well wishes, looking forward to using the knowledge of the forum to beat the learning curve on 996tt ownership!