Jeff000

Been on the quite hunt for a 08-09 Cayman for a while, then realized I could have a 01-02 996TT for about the same price.
So now I am on the lookout for a nice 996TT, my dream car since probably 98 when I first saw concepts of them.

I'm thinking somewhere around 45k miles. Car will be my primary commuter, outside of work as I have a work truck.
My main question is what can I expect to replace? and what do I need to look at when I am looking?
I'll be running studded winter tires for the winter months, although if there is any real snow on the ground I'll just take the work truck.

Also where is a good place to look for one? I'll be buying US and importing into Canada.

LVDell

Looking for an 01-02, what to look for? Simple, the 02

Seriously though, the 02 and newer have the 02+ interiors while the 01's have the 99-01 interior. There are several threads here about what to look out for. I don't recall the thread but there is one that is pretty complete about various items, etc.

Good luck in your search. They are amazing cars.

Jeff000

I didn't even know the interiors were different, lol.

I tried searching, but can't find the right term to search for to get my results.

And thanks. I hope I don't need to much luck, I figure there is 6 months before decent weather again, so hoping that helps me get a deal.

darth g-f

I've spent the last 4-6 weeks looking to buy a 996tt and here are a few things I noticed in the process.

-US cars are not really less expensive in US than in Canada. However, canadian cars always have some kind of premium compared to imported US cars.

-If you didn't do it before, don't forget the exchange rate, import duties and taxes (and shipping). So a 55k$ car in the US ends up costing more than a 60k$ car in Canada. So you might want to keep an eye on the canadian market as well.

-Now is the best time of the year to buy. In march the market picks up again and the sellers will be less likely to negociate. So I'm not sure about your 6months window. More like a 4 month window at best.

-If you're looking for a coupe, be ready to be frustrated by all the cabs on the market.

-When you'll find that perfect coupe, it'll be a tip...

-Look around, prices are all over the place, from low 40ks to high 60ks with sometimes no reason. I found rebuilt '02 996tt with higher asking price than a clean 03. Some people it seems, don't look in the classifieds before setting their asking price....

Good luck, finding one is half the fun!

ltc

Read the first post ( specifically the 2 links ) in this thread ... The one hiding in plain sight, stuck at the top of this forum

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...questions.html

01's had shiny buttons and no glove box, very early 01's had solid spoke rather than hollow spoke wheels, and also had front bumperettes ( aka 'warts' ). There was also a simple TSB to add a check valve to the turbo oil return line (easy to identify).

As for daily driver capability, no issues at all.
RL member T2 has ~350,000 miles in his 03 X50 996 Turbo.

Kevinmacd

02's have a 20% stiffer body.

Macster

What can you expect to replace? Varies. Expect the worst but you'll probably have to replace little.

I mean even if you do a good job in your search and find a car with no current issues, there's no guarantee one or more issues won't crop up as you put miles on the car.

What to look for? Well,...the Turbo is just a used car so a good used car check out on your part should uncover any issues. A thorough used car check out can have 100+ checks on its list so find you a good check list and follow the list.

I always advise a longish test ride/drive -- approx. 15 miles with the buyer as a passenger and then another 15 miles (the same 15 mile route) with the buyer as the driver.

It is important to begin this test ride/drive operation with the car cold, the engine cold and with the A/C off. Be sure when you turn on the key all the warning lights come on then go off. Pay particular attention to the CEL.

Start the engine and let it idle. You should be familiar enough with cars in general and these cars in particular to know what's normal cold engine sounds and what's not.

Continue to let the engine idle and warm up to almost near full temp. If you want a 'timer', when the engine is warm enough to check the oil level that's warm.

Then have the seller take you for a test ride. Insist the driver cover a route that allows him to subject the car to a variety of driving scenarios. Once up to temp this includes hard acceleration from a low gear just off idle to redline with an upshift and continued hard acceleration. The engine should pull smoothly, strong, and once done settle back into a nice even idle.

Back at the starting point you take over as driver and follow the same route and drive the car the same way.

You want to drive the car enough to get everything up to temp and give the DME a chance to detect any problems and if it detects any to turn on the CEL.

You also want to experience the car's handling, ride, steering, braking, shifting, and well, just how the car feels/sounds, and how the seller drives the car.

While you're riding/driving watch the oil pressure gage for any signs of low pressure at hot idle or at higher rpms. It is hard to know what's too low but based on what I've seen/read if the oil pressure is 1 bar or less... that's probably too low (unless it is a gage problem, which is always a possibiity) and at 3K rpms the oil pressure should be 4+ bar. If the oil pressure is high at all rpms suspect the owner's running a heavy/thicker oil which may just be a clueless owner but it may also be an owner seeking to mask a real oil pressure problem or a noisier than normal engine.

Watch the boost gage. Under hard acceleration you should see 0.7 bar of boost, but the boost should climb smoothly, with no dips, jumps.

Back at the starting point then you can go into a general used car checkout. A/C. Lights. Windows. Door locks. Etc. You should have a checklist. In short, assume *nothing* works until you have tested/confirmed it works.

If you still like the car after all of the above, and believe you can make a deal for the car, then arrange to have the car PPI'd after the test drive. If there are any fluid leaks chances are better they'll be more visible after a test ride/drive.

The PPI guy should know these cars and what to look for.

Happy shopping!

Sincerely,

Macster.

joelesmith

The 01 is the first water cooled Porsche Turbo, ever. The 02 is just the 2nd.

ltc

Did we ever settle this debate?
I've seen posts suggesting yes and some saying no.

Sort of like the urban legends surrounding the 964 RS Americas ... hand built blue printed engines, wrinkled paint, seam welded tubs, etc...

IanM

Just to be difficult...

The first water cooled Porsche Turbo was the 1978 Porsche 924 Turbo. Okay, that used an Audi-sourced 2.0L engine block. The first water cooled all-Porsche Turbo was the 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo.

jcb-memphis

I have an 02 and am happy..one thing most people forget is the 01 and O2 lacks the fiber optic radio "solution" called MOST. Well, my nav unit went out and by having copper wires to my BOSE speakers and sub, I was able to affordably put a Pioneer double DIN system in now 5 years ago...bluetooth, video, nav, nav traffic, usb, ipod, xm, yada yada....there are newer ones now, but for me, it is really reliable and much to my surprise, pretty much staying up to date. OEM unit: 3+k then, probably more now if you can get it. OEM was unable to do DVD nav my year...CD nav...

Natural brown leather is really nice.

Two tone interiors make these cars look much more alive....I was told black on black was the best resale, but I found one and inside of it was just too dark...but track seats in black are easy to find....if you track, black is easy to work with...natural brown is much more of a challenge...

In terms of the engine/other:


1. 2nd gear pop-out (search here and 6speedonline...) if a manual

2. pentosin leaks suggestive of slave/accumulator issues....


I had mine PPI'd at a race shop: engine and suspension was clearly checked well...they missed the 2nd gear issue and the radio just died on its own....so a PPI is not a perfect thing. These guys were the best in the big east coast city from which I found my car....fyi. PCA listed as a tech inspection shop for the local region....so you never know.



Jeff

Van1

There was also the 1986 959.

turbroe

I believe Porsche produced more 01's than any other year, each year declining in production numbers to 2005, when the Turbo S arrived (in very limited numbers).

JG 996T

996 Turbo Build Numbers

2000:16
2001: 5324 +(247 GT2)
2002: 5908 +(716 GT2)
2003: 4322 +(233 GT-2 and 308 cabriolet)
2004: 1273 +(73 GT2 and 3099 cabriolet, turbo S coupe 2 and turbo s cabriolet 3)
2005: 122 +(18 Gt2 and 127 cabriolet, turbo S coupe 598, turbo S cabriolet 960)

voiceprint1

Please double check the car at a mechanic, I bought into 7k of "hidden" problems that I could not tell were there, even a trained driver/mechanic could not tell.

I had an aftermarket warranty that they did not honor stating that the cars issues were "pre-existing" so I got hosed twice. please learn from my very expensive mistakes. I had to sell it, and it broke my heart/wallet