siddhartha

Hi all.

I am new to the community.

I am interested in a turbo 996.

My criterial are as follows.

Want to spend no more than 40K

Want it as a daily driver in minnesota. yes i'm crazy.

Anything WITHOUT a grey interior. Exterior I am less picky becasue that's more for pedestrians to enjoy.

Want an automatic so my wife can also enjoy the car.

Don't care where the car is sourced from, happy to travel and pick it up. I did something similar with a 2004 audi s4 avvant wagon. Still Love it.

Don't mind it depreciating but if it stays steady (even better) and I budget $1000 a year for repairs

So after reading a lot I am looking at the following places for a car to buy.

rennlist
cars.com
autotrader.com
ebay
bringatrailer.com

are there other places i should be looking?

So far nothing that has stuck me as fitting the criteria. But I am a patient man.

then I see this - http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-Porsche...p=mtr#viTabs_0

and I say - nah can't just be the aero not working,
but i get $20 k in my pocket for all the repairs it might need?

thoughts?

"02996ttx50

whatever you do? don't buy this car and expect that your annual budget will/should be 1k a year. one year could cost you ten k, the next year nothing. that's if you do the proper mantainance yourself. even then.. the thing to remember about once $100+k cars. someone still makes money on the parts and labor. e.g. a couple of the *better* tires is 1100. cheaper maybe 750 a set? and its easy to go thru four of those a year. just bear these costs in mind while you enjoy your search and ultimate ownership of a porsche twin turbo.

remember, it's not an audi wagon, great cars! but parts, is parts. gl with your search!

Carlo_Carrera

If you only spend $40k on the car the annual maintenance will be way more than $1k.

BioBanker

Welcome to the forum!

if you are going to DD the car than annual cost of ownership (depreciation plus maintenance) won't really be different than a regular car that's still depreciating quickly.

my04996tt

Another site to ck would be cargurus.. at 40k pickings maybe slim for a mid mileage car, upper 40's for a decent tip are out there, GL

Macster

A good car is where you find it so look everywhere used cars are advertised. The places/sites you listed above are good. I'd advise you check out the ads in Excellence and Panorama too but my impression from casually looking over the Pan. ads is the cars are priced pretty dear. I haven't picked up an Excellence magazine in a couple of years now.

The 2001 Turbo you asked about has some mods that just don't fit in with someone seeking to perk up the grocery store run. I suspect the car has been tracked.

You might get by with budgeting $1000/year in "repairs" but then again you might not.

If a repair of $1K+ in a year would be a hardship the 996 Turbo is not the car for you. (My 2003 Turbo has provided me with a couple of $3K repairs over the years, and one $4K repair. Heck, even my 2002 Boxster has had one $3K+ repair: VarioCam solenoid/actuator.)

Flewis763

Hey man. I'm a Minnesota guy too where do you live? Lots of 996 turbos guys here. Going to have a hard time finding a nice car for less than 40k but it's possible. If you help with a car, give me a shout. I have a shop up in Zimmerman myself.

Thomas42

True. This year I had to replace a tail light that was cracked badly on both mounts (just wear and tear). The part is north of $500, I believe. I suppose it could have been repaired cheaply, and used for a few more years, but I replaced mine. Most of my expenses in the past year have been this sort of thing, the light being the most expensive. Last year was nearly nothing, except an oil/filter change for about $100 DIY. But, yes, some years maybe you will get away with $1000, until you need something like a clutch or a major service. DIY can mitigate lots of costs. I adjusted my parking brake, which I expect would have cost about an hour of labor at a shop, while DIY was nothing but time. YMMV depending on your skills, time and money, of course. And let's not forget, luck!

fpb111

These are available now.

Freddie Two Bs

It's good that you're looking for a Tip as they trade lower than manuals, but 40k is still a pretty tight budget, and I echo other people's comments on maintenance. $1k is nothing.

Your best bet is a high mileage car with a thorough maintenance history. Summer's pretty much over which is also good. Also, nothing crazy with daily driving a 996tt in the MN winter. In Germany people drive them year round all the time. With good tires in the right size you'll be 100% fine.

But there you see - even just getting a spare set of rims and Blizzaks or similar, you're way beyond $1k already.

pfbz

Seems like everybody and their brother are looking for 996 Turbo's right now... No longer the sleeper value Porsche, and with so many people looking for decent, well priced Turbo's, prices are going up and nice ones get snagged quickly.

That said, you have a couple of things going for you...

1) Most buyers are looking for manuals... Nothing wrong with Tiptronics, very robust transmission, just not as much of a drivers car in many buyers mind. You'll be looking for the cars most others are passing on.

2) Most buyers are looking for great condition exteriors... If your willing to take some dings, dents, scrapes, road rash, etc, those are the cars many other buyers, again, would pass on.

I think $40K is a realistic budget for a cosmetically-less-than-perfect, tiptronic turbo. If you want a cab, your requirement combo might just be the lowest demand 996 turbo trifecta...

On the other hand, if you don't plan on doing all the work yourself, $1K/yr for repairs is not really realistic. ANY unexpected trip to the shop will blow through that budget in a single visit, not to mention yearly services, 30k/60k/90k major services, tires, brakes, etc.

Carlo_Carrera

^ All good advice.

champignon

Just emphasizing what others are alluding to. This is not a car for someone with a set price annual repair and maintenance budget. My (albeit 6MT) 2003, now with around 77,000 miles on it, had about $25,000 expended on it's upkeep over 2.5 years by the two previous owners, including 2 engine drops. Neither of them, and I have spoken also to the guy who preceded the owner I bought from, had any intention of dropping $10,000 plus into the car when they bought it. At this point I feel pretty comfortable with the car, since most of the things that can go wrong at this stage have recently been replaced or rebuilt, but next week I could be shocked and who knows what might happen?

No one can give you an absolutely reliable formula for picking one of these cars that will cost you some set, reasonable amount every year in upkeep. This is just not the car for that, especially as old as these cars are getting. The fact that you plan to rack up the miles on it makes this even worse. Either go in expecting to endure the unexpected (and be pleased if it does not happen to you) or find another car to DD.

digit3

I'm in MN also. I see a 996TT once in a while around MSP.
Have you lived here long? I cannot imagine taking mine out in the winter on our salt and chemical filled pot hole strewn roads.

siddhartha

Thanks. Will PM when I own one!