Hi guys, need some advice from the pros here on this forum. I see that a lot of you have upgraded from, have owned, or maybe still own a 996tt.

I mod all my cars, and I know how great the 996tt platform is. Just test drove an '03 996tt x50 with 8k miles at my dealership the other day and almost bought it.. however, hesitating cuz I am in love with the 997tt.

I have the obvs 2 choices. Pay sticker on 997tt or get the 996tt and save a decent amount of $ & allocate some of the savings for mods.

I am leaning towards the 997tt, can you convince me further .

Thx in advance.

 

I think the suspension and handling of the 997 is far superior to that of the 996...

 

Putting extensive work into ay car is fine until you go to get rid of it. Put the money into a 997 and you'll get significantly more back when you are finished...

and have a better car to drive in any situation.

 

7 years of new technology.... go for the 997tt

 

i had an 03 996tt and i have on 07 997tt-no comparison-the 997 is much sharper handling-more interior room-looks better-accelerates better. your point about getting a good deal on a 996tt is correct though. if money is an issue, you could get an 04tt in the 70's-alot of car for the money.

 

I think the 996TT is a great value, I agree with Doc here. There seems to be quite a few nice ones around. You won't go wrong with either, if you don't want to spend the money on the 997TT, a mint 996TT is a fine choice. Just take your time and find a good one if you go the 996TT route. Good luck...

 

I tend to agree. I have a 997TT and a close friend has a 996TT. If you're on the fence, I'd save the money.

 

I was up against the same decision between a new 997tt and almost new 996tt (2,500 miles). I've had non turbo 911 all my life and was moving out of a 993. The 997 goes back to traditional Porsche handling and looks but the price difference was a killer. The 997tt is a superior car but I went with the 996t X-50.

 

Interesting topic...I just went from a 2002 996 TT X-50 to an 997 TT. While the price was a premium, I did find that if you kept a level head with the options, the price doesn't skyrocket so high.

Three things help in my decision. First, performance of the 997 TT was superior. It feels like a much lighter car than the 996 TT. There is less lag, less understeer, and better handling dynamics...purely subjective, but enough for me to upgrade.

Second, the interior is infinately superior on the 997. The 996 shows its age. My 996 was outfitted with nearly every piece of carbon fiber, natural leather, and Bose sound. Despite this, the standard 997 seems significantly more modern and upscale...kind of how the Audi R8 seems to the 996.

Lastly, the headlights...Aaarrrghhh! The HEADLIGHTS I couldn't stand those stupid tear drop headlights...Can I tell you how I really feel!?!

Pretty subjective reasons, but when it comes to cars...it's probably the reason why we chose Porsches over faster machines like the Z06.

 

I think you could have a real good 996 if you took a good one and spent 30-40K on it and you would still be well below 997 money. One thing though is if you are fussy with your cars you can spec out exactly what you want with a new 997 rather than taking whats around with a 996. This would be worth a lot to me to get exactly what I want if you plan to keep if for an extended period of time. If thats is your thought then depreciation does not really matter either. There I have made it harder by giving you a good reason for each option.

 

Id get a 996. Spend the extra 70 grand on something else. 997 is a newer, nicer car, but not 70k nicer.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. It's a tough one. The 996tt X50 I mentioned test driving (my original post) was a monster and my dealer told me he'd start at $80k before we even got to the negotiating table. Know I could get him down into the $70ks no prob as they just wanted to move it fast. That vs. the $60k - $70k+ additional I'd have to pay on a 997tt is heavy, at least for me since I have been diverting disposable $ into real estate endeavors.

bbywu - I'm with you, never loved those tear drop headlights and think 997tt interior is best yest. Subjective - yes, but important to me.

Am gonna hang out for a couple months. Know there will be a few 997tts turned into my dealer (greenwich, ct) with a few k miles so am thinking I can take advantage of that depreciation hit first owner took.

If not, 996tt X50 it is. Amazing car all day long.


In the end..
$60k - $70k additional $ = hard to swallow
Spending the xtra $ to have zero buyer's remorse = priceless .

-J

 

I never owned a 996tt but I have to say that at this point in time you are cross shopping a car that costs twice more than the other and it doesn't make a lot of sense financially. Maybe when the 997tt drops it will make more sense but right now either you are looking at a 130-140k$ car or 70-75k$ car. These are totally different budgets for a car, the savings you will get from going for the 996 is not only enough for mods, you can buy another car as well.
If you can afford the 997TT go for it now, the longer you wait the more you will miss out.

 

As much as I love the interior of my 997S, I think in your case the 996X50 is the way to go. For the 60K different, you can buy a 997 as a second car for daily use.

 

go for a 996tt x50 and save yourself a bundle of $$. you will have to wait a year or 2 before you see significant discounting of used 997tt to match the depressed prices of 996tt.