SSST

CPO = Certified Pre-Owned Warranty from Porsche.

"02996ttx50

touche. my problem is i'm an inveterate tire kicker.

but to cap on what others have said, it is wise to look for these cars with the CPO, though that's harder to do now since they will only certify a pcar under eight? years from date first sold. which limits your choices to MY 04 and 05's from a pcar dealer or one from a private seller with remaining cpo warranty that is transferrable. but it will be well worth the premium you pay for it, as it's a factory bumper to bumper extended warranty issued by porsche. having one saved me approx. $14k in the first year i had my "02 TT. again, good luck, and get someone VERY qualified to inspect before you buy.

Simi_911

I've had mine for 13 months and put on 6K miles.

I've had zero problems that popped up since I bought it. However, I had problems that should've been known as part of the PPI (this is why I stress having a good garage do a PPI...mine was not so good).

PPI found nothing but 1 bent rim and a knock sensor code that ended up costing me $1200 to repair. The shop gave me bad advice that the knock sensor was probably due to bad gas or lack of gas since I brought it in near empty. That is very far from fact as the code was a mechanical failure from either cut wires or a non-responding knock sensor. The result was rodent damage from the car sitting too long. So very important that you only buy a car that has no codes. I had no error lights on the dash and was boosting .6-.7 bar consistently.

I also found a 2nd bent rim and learned that one of the rims was not holding air. Rear rims for the 996TT is expensive and easy to bend if low on air and exposed to pot holes.

Also, i found the hard way that my alignment was off when I had to replace my PS2s at 5K miles. If you are serious about the car, I would pay to have an alignment as part of the inspection. This will tell you if there is anything wrong with the frame or chassis. Cars with brand new tires at time of sale usually are hiding something. However, most Porsche don't get driven enough to expose alignment issues, so I overlooked it (previous owner had the car for 3 years and only put on 2K+ miles one year prior).

I also checked for 2nd gear pop out.

Mine had a new coolant tank and spoiler rams...two things that are common failures for the age.

Mine had higher mileage so I knew the clutch had to be replaced, so I negotiated that into the price. I also took my time finding a stock, unmolested 996TT. Most (not all) modified or once modified examples lived a very hard life. While these cars are supposedly bullet proof, I have a hard time deciding if I should mod as it brings undue stress to the car. For example, an upgraded clutch would be ideal...but an upgraded pressure plate will most likely tax the slave/accumulator which will require more changes/repairs to the slave (this is according to my mechanic and now I understand why my previous car's slave went bad right after a clutch upgrade).

So take your time, find a nice example, do your homework, find a good Porsche garage to perform the PPI (do not use one that is affiliated with the seller in any way). Ideally, a CPO'd Porsche is perfect, but you will pay more for it. In my case, I would have to buy a newer model and that would be at least $7-10K more if I didn't want previous body damage. Currently, I am out roughly $3500 for the rims, tires, knock sensor and clutch.

Also, remember, sales people (dealers) lie. Every single example I found at a dealer where they said there was no previous body damage had body damage (I was only looking at the cheaper cars). I am not an expert and those that sell should be able to tell...so I assume they lie. You can trust, but you must verify everything that is mentioned to you. It's hard to know if the previous owner was a middle aged doctor when the carfax tells you the car was sold at auction.

Good luck.

John 996 TT Cab

My wife and I were looking for a 911 Cab 3 1/2 years ago as a Toy. Looked at new 997's but when my wife saw an '04 Turbo Cab that was the car! We went home and she wrote me a cheque for half as my 65th Birthday present!

Only repair item so far was replacing the ignition switch plus of course normal maintenance like oil changes, plugs and coils (at 50k K's) and brake fluid flush. Car it Tiptronic so no 2nd gear issue. Having said that I did get the incurable modification bug with modifications and upgrades to the engine, suspension, brakes and interior. One even finer car now!

John in Vancouver

Ish993

Shelley, I want to have your baby

Receiver

I drive mine every day right through the winter and it has been great. Very reliable and I have not spent much on it other than regular maintenance. however, I change the oil every 10k kms and am pretty compulsive about looking after her. washed every week Especially in the winter. make sure that you get a PPI. Don't think that a CPO substitutes for one regardless of what some Porsche dealer may tell you. A CPO will not cover you for previous body damage which is not disclosed. Most important part of the PPI is the review for body damage. Make sure that your wrench puts a paint meter on the car. You can fix almost anything mechanical but a bent frame will never be properly fixed.

Good luck and be very picky? There are lots of cars for sale especially in the US. you can afford to wait for the right car.

SimonK

The key with these cars is to make sure they aren’t garage queens. Drive them!

I had 928GTS (only 2 years – no issues) and 944 turbo S. The latter became a garage queen. I had all sorts of issues mainly leaking seals and electrics.

With 911tt I decided I won’t let it sit in garage and watch it depreciate. So I drive it like I stole it.
Every car is different. I bought mine with 29K miles (it had a bit of a racing life but guy knew what he was doing) and now I have 90K miles (in 4 ½ years), about 13,500 per year. Car is tuned to 530bhp crank (flash + exhaust).

Issues (Non service related):
Front differential
Clutch accumulator
Passenger door handle (pop down/up window action failed)
Rear wheel bearings 75K (could drive with them some more but were too noisy for me)

(Major items service related)
Clutch at 75K
Spark plugs (coils were inspected and not changed)

Make sure you get car you chose pre-purchase inspected. As Receiver said, make sure the body is sound - check everything. if car was in any serious crash but parking dents, walk away.Then make sure your husband drives it and if you are sitting next to him pad that door handle as you will be grabbing it quite a bit!

GaFFLe

CEL = check engine light
PPI = pre-purchase inspection

The OP (original poster) is a layperson and doesn't really know Porsche web-forum speak... jeez.

To the original poster... if you remember anything, remember the pre-purchase inspection is a MUST and get the guestimates for repairs on what they find. Also, ask the PPI'er to tell you what they normally see as common repair issues on these 996 twin turbos and their honest opinion on the vehicle in question. Good luck!

SiFi1886

Thank you guys, i'm still looking. Really appreciate all the help.

daytrip00

I would agree. The risk of something going catestrophically wrong and you getting a repair bill in the several thousands is pretty low. What I was saying is that there are a bunch of little things on this car (especially an older one) that will go wrong and nag you. If you do your own wrenching (as you do) they're no big deal as you'll just have to pay for a $200 part and fix it up. However for those less technically inclined these can result repeated trips to the mechanic at a several hundred dollars a piece.

A big part of the problem is that I guess I'm also comparing my 996TT to my Toyota Sequoia and S2000. Those cars (especially the former) are maintenance-only cars. If I were instead to set the baseline as any of the Italian exotics, then this car is worry free.

I totally love it BTW and best of luck to the OP and agree that she's basically a dream wife.

PS... Why the hell couldn't they have added an effing oil dipstick.It makes me irate every time i have to warm up the engine to check my oil level.

Tytus

I bought my 2001 2 years and 24,000 miles ago, originally with 42,000 miles. I have driven 30 track days with it and daily drive it all year including the winter, though with Blizzak snow tires and the car has been flawless. Only maintenance items such as brakes and tires (due to tracking the car) and a tune up and that's it. The common thread I see in terms of this car's reliability is to drive it daily if possible and when you do drive it, don't baby it. I change the oil at 2,500 to 3,000 miles due to the track time it gets and I run a higher viscosity in the hot summer. Thant's it, it is a great car with Ferrari performance and a fraction of the maintenance and repair cost.

Good luck, your husband is a lucky, lucky guy.

Tytus

Macster

If you want to check the oil level with the engine cold buy a car fitted with an engine that has a wet sump oil system.

The engine having to be warmed up to check the oil is a small price to pay for having a engine with a superb dry sump oiling system.

Besides many us of believe that having to get out of the car's cabin, open the engine compartment cover, draw out a dipstick and wipe the tip off then reinsert the dipstick and remove it again and try to determine the oil level from the smear of oil on the dipstick tip would detract from the Turbo experience.

Thank God, Porsche uses the system it uses and the dipstick is reserved for lesser cars and lawnmowers.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Danyol

"Thank God, Porsche uses the system it uses and the dipstick is reserved for lesser cars and lawnmowers.
Sincerely,
Macster."

vincefaro

Please please let this be my wife in disguise. Honey , I want a Seal Grey, Black , Yellow or Red . Low miles no grey interior

SimonK

You forgot to ask for a flash and exhaust while she is at it.