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I am very interested in purchasing my first Porsche, and am very interested in a 996 Turbo coupe MT. I've been monitoring ads for quite a while, and I keep coming back to a 2004 Turbo **S** that is located on the opposite coast from me. (I am in Maryland, this is in Washington State). I was wondering if folks might be willing to take a look at this car listing and give me any impressions you might have on it?
From the Carfax I can see an accident reported in 2012. It also seems to have 997 Turbo wheels on it. On the good side the miles are low, and it's the rarer "S" model (so a steel brake conversion might be in its future)..
Does anyone have any impressions of this listing you could please share that might help me out? Thoughts on price.. etc? I'm thinking about flying out to see it.
Have them take it to the nearest Porsche dealer and ask for a pre purchase inspection. As you've mentioned it doesn't have stock wheels which is a bummer (to me at least) Its possible they're factory 997 wheels but also very possible they may be low quality knock offs). The car already has steel brakes. The 996 turbo S did not automatically come with PCCB so thats not a worry (actually a positive if you ask me). Other things I notice from the pictures are the lcd display for the air conditioning controls is going out (not a huge deal, it will still function properly, you may just not know the exact temperature its set too), non factory approved tires, clear corner side markers (looks much better than the stock amber, especially on arctic silver) and there seems to be some kind of after market button the dash to the right of the steering wheel (pictures 10 possibly for radar or something). In my opinion the car is a beaut. Low mileage! Manual! Interior looks clean and is mostly leather not the crappy wood or carbon that some cars had. Possible things that could be wrong that I would look out for...Leaks from the rear spoiler hydraulics, issues/leaks with the clutch assist system, clutch pedal feel, leaks from the front CV boots or axle flanges, window regulators, ignition switches and get the service history.
PTEC, thanks for this super helpful reply (and also for catching on that I was mistaken about the brakes). I'll post back if I take any action on the car.
The 997 wheels are really bumming me out-- that's something I'd want to change.
Climate control screen is defective.
Claims to have GT3 brakes, which would be 6-pot front calipers. I can't tell from the pictures. That's several thousand to install.
Silver/black is the most common color combo. Nothing wrong with that.
Wheels certainly seem to be 997. That would make them 19", which is not so great on a 996 imo. The original Turbo Twists show up frequently for about a grand a set.
Pricing seems to be on the slightly high side of average.
Not stated in the ad, lots of Turbo S had the X50 package (was standard on 2005's) which gives 30-odd more HP at the expense of longer spool times. If it is an X50 car then it's priced very well, as X50 seems to add 3-4k.
Keep in mind this is a Nissan dealer selling this car. The have no clue about anything when it comes to this car. The listing says it’s GT sliver. It’s not GT silver it’s arctic silver. Im also relatively certain there is nothing upgraded about the brakes, they look stock to me but it’s hard to tell in pictures. I’m 99.9% sure every turbo s came a standard X50 power kit but you won’t find X50 on the build sheets. The more I look the more certain I am that those are not factory wheels and are knock offs. Also another I just noticed is the car appears to have sport seats. Awesome car I think
rael, thanks for the options list. Is it possible the X50 option wasn't listed on a Turbo S because it was "standard", or do you think it's a misbadged non-X50 turbo?
rael, thanks for the options list. Is it possible the X50 option wasn't listed on a Turbo S because it was "standard", or do you think it's a misbadged non-X50 turbo?
Not sure. Here is the build sheet from the 2005 Turbo s that just sold on Bring a trailer last week. It does not list the x50 option either but the title says "s". Build sheets are all over the place depending on year and a few other factors.
In '05 the Turbo S had X50 and ceramic brakes included. I though a Turbo S was available in '04, too, and did not automatically include X50 and PCCB though I could be wrong.
Either way the price on that build sheet is far too low for a factory Turbo S. X50 was a $25k option so it's unlikely to have X50 either.
Owners swap rims to 19's all the time so it's probably not crash damage that caused the wheel swap. Shame, too, because the GT3 wheels it came with are really nice.
Porsche of Bellevue is literally across the street from that dealership, so it would be very easy to have the PPI done there. That Nissan dealer always has high end cars like that since it's in a high-income part of town.
I don't think it's an X-50 car after all. The dealer was nice enough to send me a picture of the options sticker and there's no X-50 anywhere on it. I am very bummed about that. :/
07-12-2018, 10:38 PM
Need advice, looking at 996 Turbo S in WA
