alpine003

I believe only the '01 Turbo's had them and maybe some early '02's. They scrapped that afterwards.

Yes it was definitely on US cars as one local had it on his.

ivangene

ahahahaha - normal !

very funny - stop trying to please these guys and please yourself!

BTW turbo's and GT3's have a water pipe issue - the pipes are glued in (11 or 12 places) and can fail causing complete loss of coolant in a very short time - AND the motor has to come oout for repair - AND it isnt cheap -


so there is no easy -in- or cheap way out ... buy the car you like, get a warranty and smile like hell!!

ivangene

oh - this is the main reason I will not drive behine GT3's and Turbo's on track....if they drop coolant I could loose my car - not worth it for me

that's not to say that if they have their heads on straight and know I am behind them and point me by I wont take the point!!

kromdom

I vote above be made a STICKY for all future buyers.

Hurdigurdiman

AAAh don't worry about these modders giving you grief about bumperettes and **** like that. They gave me all kinds of grief about my rear stick on 911 and PORCHE letters. Take it with a 'pinch of salt' mate. Just because THEY dont like things on YOUR car means diddlisquat. Get your father in law to drive it 25 miles and then get back to you. Then get an independant PPI ( not the dealers say so) plus an extended 3 year/30000 miles warrenty. Thats my advice for what it's worth. Money well spent. You can't loose.

Macster

The car is just a used car so you need to give it a *thorough* used car check out.

For instance I can say -- as you have already heard -- "2nd gear pop out" and while that's a possibility the engine could have a sick turbo charger, misfiring its plugs out, rotten radiators, have part of a telephone poll buried under new paint, etc.

So assume the car is bent, twisted, has a sick engine, been under water, stolen, repossessed, possessed, leaks like the Titanic, smokes like a Wyoming coal burning power plant, and was thrashed by a wanna be Schumie around a race for 100K miles and the odometer rolled back to 50K.

But then work to assure yourself none of the above apply to this car, that the car is in good condition, has not stories, or scary ones at any rate, and while it might have "issues", worn tires, brakes, other things, that they are minor and not due to some deeper issues.

Have the seller take you on a test ride -- 15 miles or so and the route chosen -- insist on it -- to cover a variety of roads so you can experience the car in a variety of scenarios. A quick accel run to the end of the block and back ain't going to cut it with these cars (with any car really).

Back at the starting point take the car out again as a test driver.

You want to give the engine, the car, enough running time to manifest any issues: Sick/scary noises, misfires, overheating, CEL, exhaust smoking under accel or closed throttle deaccel, rough idle, poor acceleration, and about a jillion other things.

After the test ride/drive then verify everything works.

Then have a PPI done.

Last, if you are tempted to buy the car when you feel you shouldn't, remember there is always another car.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Dennis C

KrazyK,

People are just trying to be honest. Nobody is being overly critical. You are correct that the turbo doesn't have the IMSB/RMS issues that the other 996 variants have. That being said, you're still talking about an 11 to 12 year-old high-performance car. Things wear out. Things break. The 996TT is a wonderful car and I'd love to have one. However, it's still going to have all the potential issues that any 11 - 12 year-old car would have. Even with a PPI, you aren't guaranteed of a car that performs flawlessly forever. You should be prepared to spend money to keep it on the road and properly maintained. Cars like this EAT tires and brakes. They're expensive to replace. I had to replace the front suspension bushings as well as the strut mounts in my C4S last year. That was ~$3K. I had the front differential rebuilt this year. That was ~$4K. These types of things probably won't show up in a PPI. I just bought a set of Michelin PS2s. That was ~$1.6K. I need new pads and rotors all the way around. That's ~$2K. These things weren't related to the engine. Stuff just wears out...

I'm not trying to discourage you (nobody here is), you just need to understand what you're getting yourself into. From your previous posts, you seem very, very concerned about reliability and maintenance. I understand that - those are reasonable concerns. However, those concerns will not be calmed by buying an 11+ year-old 911 turbo. I hope that makes sense to you too. We're just trying to help...

soverystout

Well put.

DB's997

+1
I purchased a 2000 C2 in March of 2011 with only 20K miles. It was in very good shape, but it has cost quite a bit of money to keep it in good shape. Quite a bit more than I had figured on. But I am in a Porsche!

silotwo

I doubt anyone is "trying" to scare you. Perhaps you are missing the posts from those of us who find our cars very reliable, who have not had an IMSB problem, who have cars with higher mileage and no catastrophic failures.

I stumbled across a BMW message board the other night and that would scare me away if I was interested in a late model BMW.

This said, you first came across as being interested because of low prices. As many say, the price is just the cost of admission. Dennis is pointing out the reality, IMSB aside, these cars do cost money to properly maintain and service. You scare me in that I think in the future you'll be looking for cheaper tires, or end up with a repair cost that will have you bad mouthing the marquee.

And I have seen more than a few TT's on the lift at my dealer for engine work, most common per the tech is a press fit sprocket that shifts position on the shaft. Not a cheap repair, in fact the service writer cautioned me about buying a used TT because of repair costs- he stands by the 996 C4S as the best of the 996 series.

I do sincerely hope you come to terms with what you want and that the right car finds you so you can enjoy the experience. Porsche - there is no substitute - Except maybe a Ford Truck because they are Built Ford Tough and don't have an IMSB.

Dennis C

Back to KrazyK's original question about "watch outs" for the 996 turbo... I think your best bet is to post the question on the 996 turbo forum. To my limited knowledge, the major problems with the engine and/or drivetrain for the turbo are: the coolant line rupture problem and the 2nd gear pop-out problem. The coolant line problem can be repaired by welding or pinning. I believe it's ~$2.5K to fix. I've heard that some PCA chapters will not allow 996 turbos to participate in DEs unless the lines have been welded. The 2nd gear pop-out problem can also be fixed quite easily. I believe G-Box sells a product that addresses this issue that's relatively inexpensive. All the other potential problems (outside of engine and driveline) are identical to other 996 cars. Window regulators fail. Wheel bearings need to be replaced. Suspension bushings wear out. Horns honk unintentionally when braking due to deteriorating bushings in the airbag assembly. Center console latches/springs break. Headlight switches fail. Ignition switches fail. You get the idea...

kromdom

Heck, I vote this be made another sticky

rmc1148

Trans 2nd gear pop out can happen in any year use search.Bumper warts were on 2001 I have never seen them on a 2002 but could happen Im sure,a lot of people deleted these on order.Most anything that can go wrong in a regular 996 can go wrong in a 996tt they share the same basic body mechanicals example window regulators,console hing,you get the idea but as far as the motor the turbo is less worries as most problems can be repaired without the cost of a new motor.The 996tt is the best car out there for the money= performance/style. If you cant afford or do not want to put out the cash for the up keep I would pass.

aviography

OP,

A Porsche will initially feel and drive quite different than other main-stream cars, so unless your father-in-law has experience driving a Porsche in the past and know what's normal and what's not, a PPI would be mandatory after his initial opinion that the car is worth going through a PPI.

I know my first impression when I drove some of the 996's last summer, there's no way I would trust my own "mechanically inclined" aptitude to judge these cars I am thinking of buying.

babylonboots

Sweet looking car Aviography! Can you post more photos?