plaborde

Hi
I am in the market for my first P car. I have posted on the 993 forum, now I want some 996TT feedback. The budget is $25 to 30K for a 993, but I will push it to $35 for a 966TT, don't ask. The 996TT is the bigger bank for the bang for the buck car, the 993 seems to be turning into an classic as I write this. Any thoughts from you?

Durango Kid

I considered everything from a 964 to 997, before I purchased a 996 tt.

IMHO, I don't think you can compare a NA to a Turbo.

You are unlikely to find a decent 993 under $30k or a worthy 996tt for $35k.

You could find a 993 or a 996 C4S for $35k and if you got lucky maybe even a 997.

It took me 9 months of joy, frustration, hope and dreams to find my "perfect car." Whatever you decide, don't go cheap. Buy the best car your budget will allow.


Good luck with your search.

Macster

In one UK car mag I read of a quality Porsche reseller discussing the 993 and he said his business offers good examples for sale, but his observation is the 993s sell more of the newer models. A buyer will come in looking for a 993 and decide the cabin's a bit out of date and realize the youngest 993 is going on 13 years old and thus turn around and buy a newer car.

I looked around at some, just noted where they were and general condition and price and watched a few for a while, but never even looked at one, drove one. Decided I just didn't want an older 993 even though I found a couple of very nice looking examples.

However, you should check out the 993 and make up your own mind. Many people own a 993 and love the car. The car is very pleasing to the eye. As pleasing a car as I've seen.

I'm not current on 993 or 996 Turbo prices. But be careful. Don't spend every dime on the car, any car. General rule of thumb is to set aside 10% of a used car's purchase price to cover "things". Not uncommon for something to go wrong shortly after buying a used car. Nothing serious if one did his due diligence but things happen.

If you spend every dime on the car and say for the sake of discussion the fuel pump quits or the water pump develops a leak, you may have to let the car sit until you can gather the money together to pay to have it fixed.

Now if you're really good at selecting a car and with a little bit of luck you leave that 10% in the bank.

Or if you find a car with a warranty (original factory or CPO) then this gives you some protection against a repair bill.

Sincerely,

Macster.

JG 996T

I agree with the statement that you're not going to find a good 996T for $35K, and you'll probably be looking at a high miler 993 for the stated budget.

I would say mid- forties for a decent 996T.

Most of all, enjoy the pursuit of your "first P car." Don't break the bank, but you should try and purchase the best example you can find.

It took me 6 months to find my mine. I spent a lot of time on here, Pelican Parts, Autotrader, eBay. . . talked to a lot of dealers and pp sellers... got to really "know" the current market of the car I wanted, and then pulled the trigger when I found the perfect onet back in Jan of this year. Although I blew my "budget", I have no regrets, and a big grin every time I take it out.

Land Jet

A 993 and a 996TT are in completely different leagues. I had a 993 with a supercharger on it and it still couldn't compete with the factory turbo. IMO, the 993 is way overhyped. I'm glad I got rid of mine. The 996TT has a modern engine management system and it shows. Only you can decide what you want, but I say spend more and get a modern era car. Plus, if you mod the turbo, you can take it to a whole new level.

plaborde

currently I am looking at a 996TT with 65K miles for $34K. Owner is supposed to have full maintenance records. It's a one owner car and been maintained by the delivering dealership the entire time. What should I be asking? Is that high mileage for a 2002TT?

ltc

But they look and sound beautiful...

pewter82

I have both 993 and 996 TT.

Both are very different cars, I lean towards the 993 for the enjoyment factor at any speed...but I am still just learning to drive the 996 TT.

Prices you are suggesting are possible, but more of an exception then the rule. Those prices may cost you more in the long run.
Very Good 993's are high 30's - high 40's
Very Good 996 TT mid to high 40's-50's

not to say a high mile 993 or 996 TT is bad , just get a PPI and records !!

Macster

Generally ( and I think this is a number Porsche arrived at ) is modern (water cooled) Porsches on average get driven 6000 to 9000 miles a year. So a 2002 being 8 years old could have anywhere from 48000 to 72000 miles and still be considered to have average miles. IOWs it is not a low miles garage queen or a high miles road warrior.

Some models -- more so than others -- see duty as daily drivers and could have collected even more miles and their average miles per year could be even higher.

So the 65K miles on the 2002 Turbo is not high miles. Of course, all other things being equal the car is worth less than an otherwise identical car with say 45K miles.

Check the service records. How frequently was the engine oil/filter changed? Engine air filter? Cabin filter? Have the brakes been treated to fluid flush/bleed every 2 years? Any transmission/diff fluid changes? Coolant change? How old is the battery?

For pricing I'm not current on the Turbo market.

For a feel for pricing info -- at least a start -- I use www.kbb.com and enter the details and get an estimate of the car's trade in, private and retail sale values.

Generally a car's basic worth is its trade in value, though many times a dealer offers less than the publicized trade in value. (The dealer generally to avoid being stuck with a car it paid too much money for offers about what it knows -- based on current auction data -- what knows it can sell the car for at auction if it has to if the car proves to be a slow mover.)

Anything you pay over and above this is between you and the seller.

Use www.autotrader.com (to name one site) to search for similar cars for sale. Use a span of years, say 2000 to 2004 (IIRC the span of years the 996 Turbo was available) to see how many cars are being offered for sale, their mileage, price, etc., to get a feel for the market.

See where the car you are considering fits and act accordingly.

If the car can't be rejected and a PPI finds nothing wrong, then it is a matter of it you think you can arrive at a mutually agreeable price.

Best of luck. I love shopping for Porsches.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Land Jet

And that's it. A 996TT blows by a 993 like it's standing still. The 993 is seriously lacking in performance.

adam_

This one?

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...t-on-ebay.html

Some good comments there.

PPI, (if you search you will see what is recommended for a PPI inspection)... come out, drive it, buy it, drive home.

Enjoy the hunt

A

plaborde

That's it adam_. Your good! the $34 was too low though. He is asking more.

Rinty

Plaborde:

The Rennlister that sold me my 993 now owns a 996 TT. He is a fairly big guy and wanted a bit more room, but mainly, he was tired of Corvettes blowing by him at Miller Motorsports Park.

Conversely, after researching which 911 to buy, I decided I would most enjoy a smaller, noisier, more elemental car than the newer versions.

That's the nice thing about 911s; you can pick from a variety of flavours. I suggest you think carefully about what you're going to be doing with it, and then work back from there, i.e:

-occasionally carrying kids in the back seat
-track use
-regular use in heavy traffic
-regular use in very hot weather, requiring extra air conditioning capacity.

BMiller33

Comparing a 993 to a 996TT doesn't seem fair on a power basis alone. I have been searching for a 996TT but always loved the 993 Turbo, to me that is a more fair comparison. Based on some research, it appears one will pay more (about 10K) for a 993TT ('96-98MYs) than a 996TT (which is why I am in the 996TT market). I am assuming this price difference is due to the quantity of cars produced and that it is the last of the air cooled models (and because it looks so damn beautiful).

997xpress

I'm not sure what's up with this local one...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1863254502.html

No affiliation to seller