Lots of good advice here. I agree, I would not buy from a dealer unless you need a warranty.. My clean 2002tt came with $25,000+ of tasteful mods w/ receipts (wheels, exhaust, tune, DV valves, 3M clear bra, very nice stereo, suspension, etc). I will daily drive my car in Colorado. I paid $38.5 for it a month ago. I test drove a few and I can tell you these cars are much faster with a tune / basic mods.

 

Also, something to think about... My car came with warranties even though I bought it private party. The extended coverages he bought from the Porsche dealer were transferrable so I have 4 years of paint, interior and wheel protection w / free towing and roadside assistance.

 

I would never buy a 996tt as an investment I have land pumping natural gas for that. The 944 was a great car and have owned a couple. The best car for me is a low mileage stock car and would start with just such if I intended to mod. If I gave the car away tomorrow my life would still be the same but for now it brings me happiness when I find time to enjoy it. The 996tt is a great car that will be collected in the future= opinions vary.

 

^^^Much truth, and you got a great mod bundle with yours. I bought a 40k mile original 2002 996T 4 years ago, from a private seller, after a PPI. Best decision ever, and came after I test drove a 996 Carrera that was so sick (weaker than my old '79 928) we dropped into the local official Porsche center to get it scanned during the test drive. That episode had me look up the scale to the Turbo instead.

Now at about 70k miles, just regular maintenance but all Wealth Managers points came up too. Spoiler failed after about 3 years so I drove with it down for a while, then without it for 6 months before pulling it apart and reconditioning it. I track my car several times a year (mix of DE/Circuit Sprints/Tarmac Rally Sprint/Autocross) and it is now having the coolant fittings pinned and liquid metalled after a third one released on me. Threw a (highly recommended) UMW tune at it (+Exhaust, DVs, ICs) a year ago to freshen her up and stay ahead of the latest crop of uber-sedans. The only other pointer I'd add would be to double the oil change frequency and also replace the ATF fluid at 50,000 miles if Tiptronic. And give her a few minutes at idle for the Turbos to cool after running her hard.

The above may sound like a bit to pay attention to but they are otherwise pretty bulletproof and I reckon any other car with similar performance would have cost more over time if pushed similarly. 996Ts provide incredible bang for buck and depreciation looks to be starting to level out too. I bought well so it has lived up to all its promises in my case: performance, engagement, practicality, reliability (unlike the 928), safety, residuals, and x-factor (I still love glancing back at her). That said, I always budget up to a third the value of a used car purchase for unanticipated remedials so a few thousand to have all the coolant fittings sorted out properly is no drama (though what were Porsche thinking when they grabbed a tube of glue for those?).

 

While it's not impossible, it's VERY unlikely you'd suffer a major 996T engine failure so your USD 5k/year budget should be OK for a PPId daily driver, particularly if you buy most of your own parts online rather than paying the full OPC 'Porsche Tax' every time. I've daily driven mine on and off for about half its life for less than that per year and we pay a fair bit more than US prices by the time parts are landed.

Good aftermarket consumables like Sebro rotors, Pagid pads, and Sumitomo HTRZIII tires can help maximise that contingency fund too.

 

Shouldn't be any lag while downshifting. Keep the rpms at the right level, no lag up or down. You can daily drive the turbo. Buy a well maintained example and you will be happy.