Vendetta NY

WM, we're on Long Island so I can understand not wanting to DD our 996TTs. Hell, ANY car for that matter with the crap that is our roads right now. But a couple things...

The OP lives in CT, where the roads are generally in MUCH better condition. Also, there are lots of people who DD their TTs with no issue. Additionally, OP is clearly looking for a top performing car, so the CS2 is probably not the way to go. And lastly, you definitely went full beast mode on your car! Definitely not DD material - not 'round these parts anyway.

OP, if you're waiting 5+ months, you'll be in the dead of winter. Might be some good buying opportunities then. I purchased mine in Feb, out of state, and pretty much stole it.

-V

Last930

Another factor is the longevity of the engines - do a search on Intermediate Shaft Bearing failures in the 996 and 997 normally aspirated engines, then read about the TT engine and you may think twice about buying a 997.

Driving technique takes care of the small bit of turbo lag these twin-turbo cars have; the huge power these engines make more than makes up for the slight bit of lag in my opinion.

Collin Chapin

That's part of the reason i'm waiting... but mostly because my lease isn't up until February and I don't really feel like making double payments since I wouldn't even look at my current car once I got the 911.

I've been working with Mike from Danbury Porsche and he's even told me "wait until winter because I won't be selling much and i'll be forced to give you a better deal".

That was pretty much when I decided that I wanted to buy my car from him... Honesty is big with me.

Wealth Manager

Didn't even think of that, good call.

Wealth Manager

Buy a car from an enthusiast, not a dealer. I think you will be much better off, unless they are offering some sort of warranty on the car.

jbossolo

You drove a sick 996TT. No other explanation to it. I have an 02' X50 with Kevin's (UMW) flash and turbos, that can easily keep up with a 997.1 GT3 RS, and a 997.2 GT2 RS at the track. Several of my friends have driven it and they always remark how they can't feel any turbo lag at all. I do feel a tiny amount, but I'm always looking to improve something...

Good luck on your search. After you get it, give Kevin a call. You'll be very happy.

Collin Chapin

That must be the case... one thing I haven't mentioned is that it also had the X50 or X51 package (i'm not sure which one comes on the 996TT).

Collin Chapin

Yes, that's a big part of my consideration for the Turbo actually.

This will be my first Porsche and I am not exactly loaded... I'll be saving up so I can pay about 50% of the car as a down payment and finance the rest which will keep my monthly payments similar to what i'm paying now.

I can afford regular repairs etc (i've budgeted myself $5000/year whether I spend it or not so it can collect in case I have something major) but I would be completely screwed if I had a major engine failure.

I had decided that if i buy a 996/997 it will have to have the IMS issues resolved which apparently can cost around $3,000 and I haven't actually read anything saying it's 100%.

At the end of the day i'm actually going to save money by getting a Turbo in most cases so that's why i've kind of gone back to the drawing board as they say...

Wealth Manager

The enthusiast will put its heart and soul into a car, a properly maintained one, the dealer will not, which also entails to higher costs for a dealer car but also higher repair costs with a dealer car. Another major issue to watch for are the coolant lines, you need to drop the motor and have them welded in, that's several thousand off the bat, when I bought my car the original owner enthusiast had it done. Also the clutch slave to a gt2 so it never leaks. A GT2 wing so you don't have the leaking and broken pumps for the wing. There are several very common issues that come into play and these are the things the dealer never does. Plus how long has the car sat at the dealerships or wherever they are getting it from. The wastegates could be rusted inside, these cars don't like to sit. If you buy from the dealer you wont truly know what, where and why, I don't care if they say they did their 100 point inspection, its a load of crap to charge more money.

If you have a true Porsche freak with an immaculate car with all records then you know, especially if you can find a 1 owner car which I did.

Vendetta NY

Yeah bro, you definitely drove a hurtin' unit. Don't let it ruin your expectations.

Same thing happened to me, actually. This is after I got my 996TT... I went to a dealer just to see the difference between my non x-50 and an x50 they had. I drove the x50 and was like WTF??? This thing was a dog. At the end of the test drive, the sales dude was like just pull it into service because there's no way this is right. Once on the lift, you could see there were all kinds of things out of place; intake hoses not connected, an exhaust bracket missing causing an awful rattle... I was embarrassed for them.

I hear you regarding honesty going a long way, but have yet to find any of it at a dealership. They're tuned in to exploit YOUR situation to make it seem like they've got your back. You're currently leasing, huh? Here, let me do you the favor and brilliantly suggest you not make double payments. Oh, 5 months? That's winter time anyway, I'll be forced to give you a better deal. Then whatever deal he gives you, what, you're supposed to assume it's good? It's a fact that people who buy from "friends" who are car salesmen often get worse deals than total strangers who drive hard bargains, simply because the friends assume that their friends won't "screw" them. Not that they're getting screwed hard, but still - there's room left in a lot of those "friends and family" deals.

Like WM suggests, stick around here and consider buying from an enthusiast.

-V

Wealth Manager

Btw if you get it from an enthusiast it will usually have a ton of upgrades.

When I bought my car for the same price guys bought their stock ones, I had all the goodies in the car everyone wants.

OEM GT3 Seats, OEM SSK, GT2 OEM Body parts (front, rear bumpers, front lip and wing, very expensive for OEM stuff) OEM GT2 interior pieces like shift **** and what not, Classic Roll Bar, Full JRZ suspension with every bell and whistle you can imagine, the suspension system and sway bars...etc, alone was worth over $15,000 for everything he had done to it.

Deals can be found, you can get a lot of car for the money now a days with a 996TT, but not from a dealer.

mdkelly1

You are getting some good advice from the forum.

Find a way to drive another 996TT for more than a few miles on an open road. Shift from first into second at (or above) 3000 RPM, then nail the throttle to the floor and go to red line. That will give a good indication of one difference between the Turbo and the NA 996/997.

You might try the same thing in third gear (the track is a good place to practice that). If you add a tune to the TT, you'll see an even bigger difference.

TT's are reliable and make good daily drivers as well. If you buy one, get a good PPI and a full service history if possible. There are many threads on here about what to look for.

rmc1148

Most people look for stock as they are usually not driven and stressed as hard= note opinions vary. You will pay more for a low mileage clean example but its usually worth it. Modded cars are usually harder to resale. You do save money with buying a car modded but take a chance on quality of work etc that's not done by a reputable tuner/shop. If you buy cheap it can bite you with major repairs soon after purchase= opinions vary. The best thing you can do is search past posts and see the repairs problems some people have had with their recently purchased bargains.

Wealth Manager

I think you are the only person I've heard on either forum that specifically looked for a completely stock 996tt. You are thinking of holding this car for resale value, I think you are sadly mistaken. The 996 is not a collectors edition, it's labeled as one of the worst designs by Porsche. Have you seen the resale values of a similar situation, it's called the 944. Also, how do u question a cars work with bolt on parts, it's like questioning if the oil was drained properly via maintenance by a Indy Porsche shop. If this was a 993, 964....etc, total different story. Sad to say that's the way it is with the 996. Also a little fyi, if you are buying a completely stock 10-14 year old car and the car wasn't completely clear bra'd who's paint will be in better shape, from the sun and weather. I know I prefer the 4k clear bra job done to my car every 2 years over a stock vehicle, that's why I chose the enthusiast who dumped 80k+ into this car over the years. There are does and donts with vehicles but when I can turn around at the end of 20years and return my car to stock and remove the clear bra for the final time and have pristine paint with no respray, it's worth it. Modded or not modded it's how the car was treated, I wouldn't be surprised if u drive that stock car in the rain and or doesn't stay locked up for 5 months so it doesn't see the cold weather and the winter and or early spring sandy roads.......

Vendetta NY

Nah, lots of people look for stock-ish cars for reasons other than resale - not sure if he said that specifically or if that was just your assumption. While you can sometimes find a car that was responsibly modded by a reputable tuner and owned by an enthusiast (as you did), that's probably the exception and not the rule. So people often look for an unmolested car so that they can do the molesting themselves. You know, to make sure it's done they way THEY want.

In my case, I went with a car whose only mod was an exhaust and new wheels. Not even a tune. Weird, huh? 3" exhaust and the POs didn't tune it? My option, for an easy $10K more could have been an 800HP, RWD, *****-out dead ringer for the car I got - same color, options, etc. I went with the unmodded one so that I could personally have a hand in its "becoming," and learn a thing or two at the same time.

But even in your case, you must have dumped a small fortune into your mods - on top of the $80K your PO put into the car anyway... so what the heck do I know. Guess everyone's got their own starting points.

-V