Need your opinions on this high mileage 996 turbo
 

Hi,
This is my first post and need your opinions on a possible purchase of a high mileage 996 turbo.
Currently I am driving a E46 M3 but want to experience the mid/rear engine car handling. I am a bit mechanically inclined so I can do most of the basic maintenance. Anything short of lowering the engine on the 996 then I can probably do.

I am currently considering a 2002 tiptronic 996 with 123K miles. It's supposedly a one-owner and the car was used mostly for daily commute.
What type of service that has to be done immediately if I were to purchase the car and approximately how much will the cost be? Eventually I will do my own maintenance but I want to have it done at a good shop initially just to be safe.
What type of service that absolutely requires lowering the engine and how often it is usually done?

Here's the car in question. The asking price is 29500. I might be able to get it down to around 27K.
http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.565x376.jpg
http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.565x376.jpg

This one has much lower mileage @45K miles and the asking price is 37.5K.
http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.565x318.jpg
http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.565x318.jpg

Westrace,

IMO the asking price is about right on the arctic silver one. Do a PPI (of course). The 90k service (or equivalent) is a must have. At a minimum, the fluids from the F&R transaxles and transmission, plus the spark plugs & coil packs must be good. I can recommend indy shops Flintworks in Campbell, CA or Frank's Automotive in Sacramento, CA for competitively priced, high quality service.

I'd consider both, but the beige interior would be the only turn off ( though you can mix-in some black or Orient Red accessories to break it up).

The Silver/black is a very good deal if all checks out. Obv. with that price, if the car needs servicing, you can try to negotiate or factor that is the "as is" price.

both cars would require a thorough PPI / DME / Paint (meter) inspection on both. Carfax may show clean cars, but it won't show if a repair was done "under the radar".

Issues to look for , leaking rear spoiler hydraulics. conditon of the headlights; not expensive to recondition, but if they are really bad, replacing them is $1K and up.

A good test drive to see how the car tracks, handles and brakes.

get them both on a lift to thoroughly check underneath for leaks, worn bushings, missing panels, etc.

items to consider: previous documented maintenance history. when was TIP last serviced, brake fluid flushed, front diff fluid flushed, coils, spark plugs, serpentine belt, fuel filter and poss water pump service.

conditon/ age of battery and tires, recent alilgnment?

Any owners manuals, and spare key ( and valet key), original window sticker, Certifcate of Authenticity ( a plus).

Overall condition of the leather/ dash/ interior plastic and assorted buttons and bits.

If a Tip is what you're looking for due to where you live and work, so be it. If you run across some Turbos with a MT., give them a look also.

Thanks for your recommendation, but I live in Socal, Orange county. Do you happen to know any good and reasonable shops down here?

The only services that need be done immediately are those that are due or overdue.

If the services are way overdue that could put me off the car.

In order priority I'd consider oil/filter, brake fluid flush/bleed, and then the rest of the vital fluids. Plugs would be near the top of list. You can have these done at the same time the oil/filter service is done.

'course if tires are worn to the bars new tires (and alignment) should be at the top of the list.

Ditto if the brakes are worn out.

And of course anything amiss your inspection or that of a PPI find, say -- just by way of an example -- a leaking water pump or a leaking radiator, a torn/cracked CV boot, a leaking RMS or any fluid leak, or something less gruesome but important is trashy radiator ducts, and so on. While these are not services per se they need be done promptly.

You do not have do everything at once. Take care of the oil/filter and brake fluid right away and some other critical things I mentioned above -- then schedule the tranny/diff fluid service, coolant drain/refill, etc. later over the next 6 months.

Your trusted mechanic should be able to advise you.

Not sure what requires an engine drop -- assuming no internal engine problems occur -- other than say having the coolant hose fittings fixed.

Be sure you give the car a thorough used car check out and top of the list is a test ride and then drive. You really want to experience the car in a variety of situations both as a passenger and then later as a driver. The test route should cover 15 miles and you should drive the same route and drive the car the same way as a driver as the seller drove the car. No need to thrash the car to pieces but do give it some hard accel runs up through a gear or two just to see how the Tip (fully warmed up) handles the shifts.

Pay attention to everything but pay particular attention to how the Tip behaves. Any abnormal behavior budget for a Tip R&R.

Generally while these are robust transmissions they can and do wear out. A fluid change at big miles can often not help, and in fact make things a bit worse is what I've been told.

But even without the fluid change once a Tip gets sick it never gets better without some serious intervention.

Arrange to have the car PPI'd *after* your thorough test ride/drive.

Oh the cost of the services? Sorry, I can't help you directly. While I've had my 03 Turbo serviced some I can't recall the cost of the services. Call some dealers or highly recommended indies in your area and get quotes.

Oh and the price of the car. I'm not up on Turbo market prices.

I've had work done at Callas Rennsport in Hawthorne, CA, one of the best in SoCal. Ask for Tom or Tony, long time technical contributors to Excellence Magazine. Check 'em out!

HIgh miles 996tt
 

Mine's a manual, approaching 100k miles, used to commute as well as all else, reliability and costs generally better than anything else I've had.

Wear and tear items can be biggish costs however (dampers, bushes and the like), but it's been great, no signs of trouble at all.

Good luck

Guys, thanks all for all your inputs. Being financially conscious, I sort of having two options. Buy a high mileage like the first one at a affordable price then put in around 5K to give it a nice fix up, or buy a lower mileage like the second one?

Wish I had one of these :-).
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...815643703.html
http://images.craigslist.org/3Ge3K83...4592c91ecd.jpg

So for 10k more you can get a car with nearly 80k less miles. I would buy those miles as the components are going to be less worn and you can do some cheap driving / mile.
When I was looking I bought one with 29k for ~5k more than one with 60k on it. my reasoning was that if I am using it for a DD in 4 years it would have 100k or 70k. I thought resale would bring me my 5k right back at the end of life. my car has been great from 29k-42k to date. (1.5 years)

I did something very similar, I just bought my first Pcar.
Mine is a 2002 996TT w/ 82k.
It was a hard decision to sell my FBO 2008 135i with only 43k for a car with nearly twice as many miles.
Once I brought it home I started ordering new parts. Here is my maintenance list:
Plugs
Coils
Wideband O2
Pads
Rotors
Complete suspension overhaul (inner/outer tie rods, sway links, shocks, springs)
Oil change
Complete fluid flush

That doesnt include my mods list....lol


Whats the reason you are looking at a tiptronic? I wouldnt even consider one.

Good luck with the switch!

I am actually keeping my M3, but trading in my Infiniti. I need the tiptronic because my tennis knees probably can't handle the traffic jam here in Socal. My M3 also has the SMG which is great regardless of what others are saying.

Just curious how much it cost you to have the car overhauled right after the purchase?

Well I do all my own work, but the cost for the parts was about $1300 just for the following..
Plugs
Coils
Wideband O2
Pads F/R
Rotors front only
Inner tie rods
Outer tie rods
Sway bar end links front only

Thanks for the info. Hope you don't mind if I can bother you with a quick question. Of all the diy stuffs that you've done, which required having to lower the engine? I have been doing pretty all the maintenance on my M3 but most of them are fairly straight forward, but if having to do something that required lowering the engine on the 911, it could be a little bit difficult not having a lift.
Thanks in advance.

Nothing so far. I was able to do all of this at my house. I dont have a lift at home (yet) so it makes things a bit challenging and takes a little longer but I get it done.
To do the plugs and coils, the rear bumper does have to come off and thats not to bad.
There are a few DIY threads about it. Check Renntech.org
http://www.renntech.org/forums/forum...-tt-s-996-gt2/


This weekend I'm going to tackle:
Inner/outer tie rods
Endlinks
Rotors
Pads
Brake flush
Suspension install

high meilage turbo's can be great.. but 90k service at a porsche dealership can be north of $2k. it best to have a great indie if you get one... and sourcing parts is always fun too.