New 996 turbo owner..

Good evening. Or maybe morning looking at the time, just thought I'd do a quick intro.... OK so here goes, rewind about 8 months or so, I'd sold my 997 carerra on a bit of a whim, it at the time was my 3rd 911 over the past 20 years, starting with an old G reg 3.2, then to a 996 c4, and then the 997, which was a minter, and as soon as I sold it, and heard it drive off... Seller remorse was pretty much instant,, I tried telling myself it wasn't.. But truth is, it was,... I then wanted to scratch an itch for a M car, with the intent of doing the odd track day in... So bought a E92 m3, dct, edc etc... Put new front and rear pads, brake flush, new ps4s all round Then swiftly did my first track day in it (not my first track day overall) car was faultless, to say I was impressed with it on track, was an understatement. Though granted the stability control didn't come fully off... I almost did, but kept stopping myself thinking it was giving me a false sense of being a driving god After that track day I was using the car on occasion, between working out of the UK and being a third car in the household, I couldn't help myself thinking of the porsche I sold... It wasn't faster than the m3, or as practical.... But it just felt more special... So I finally admitted to myself the m3 had to go, and I would be returning to porsche ownership, I had decided on the model, which was the 996 turbo, I just had to find the right one, I had always kept my eye on the pricing of these cars as I almost bought one about 6 years ago, but financially it would have just been too much of a stretch at the time. After viewing 2 turbos fairly local, I seen an advert for a seal grey one, which had full main dealer history from new, serviced virtually every year without fail, 80k miles, and a Lot of money spent on her. Including 2 new turbos and various suspension refreshing. Brake caliper overhaul, factory standard apart from an upgraded dansk exhaust... Unfortunately however it was 315 miles away... Undeterred I arranged a viewing to coincide with me flying back into the UK from work, and as soon as I seen it. I decided I had to have it.... The drive home,, although in the dark was amazing, the acceleration although on paper very similar to the e92, just felt more raw, and full on.... Will it be as easy to live with as the m3 or 997 , probably not, will it likely cost less to maintain, probably not, but to me, it feels more special... A Bit more old school, and probably most importantly a car I've wanted for a long time. Hopefully I've picked a good one,, the only slight negatives are a tiny rust bubble near the sunroof Seal 1and its number of owners, as I'm currently owner 11, I guess with these cars, they can tend to swap owners fairly frequently... I'm hoping it's a long termer for me.... If you've read this far then thanks, photos to follow...

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Looks great. Seal Grey was always my favourite on a 996. Enjoy. :thumbs:

Congratulations, like many i found the front of a 997 more attractive relatively, but for some reason prefer the drive of the 996 so came back to this car. There is always some stuff to sort out with a used car. A full history at OPC and new turbos is excellent as you say. Lovely colour too. Hope you enjoy it. Be careful on the cold roads, the AWD is heavily rear biased still.

Thanks I was gonna go for a run out today but after seeing the weather I think il leave her tucked up in my garage... Agreed its a 18 year old car now so there always gonna be little niggles but knowing its had new turbos less than 3k ago, and full history definately helps give peace of mind that the big ticket items shouldn't bite me in the arse..... (touches wood as I type)

Very nice, enjoy!!

Welcome to the club Jono. Have owned my 996 Turbo for 8 years now and have enjoyed every single mile I have driven it. A special car, for sure. There is a thread on PH about an owner thinking of swapping out for a GT4, but he keeps thinking he will miss the torque of the turbo. The amazing thing this thread highlights is just how many long term owners there are of 996Ts, all of them having had the odd thought of changing cars every now and then, but all but one staying put with the turbo. The overwhelming theme being that there is nothing close to the performance without spending huge amounts of money :judge: Really hope you enjoy yours as much as the rest of us :thumb: Mike

I'm the one, but the car did stay in the family, and without that option I may have never let it go! Congrats on the new car looks lovely! Will be interested to hear how you get on with the car on track, especially in comparison to the E92!

Welcome to 996tt ownership. You won't regret it. Fantastic cars. They just keep giving and so much more, IMO, of a drivers car than the 997. I prefer the looks of the 996 but I know others don't. Where do you reside?

Great looking car this. I remember a colleague being sent a brand new 997 C2S in 2005 by OPC East London. He'd swapped his 996 turbo X50. A few days later C2S was gone and 996 turbo X50 was back

Great choice. Owned mine 6 years now, and it still never fails to impress. Keep thinking of moving it on as i've got a GT3 itch i'd love to scrtach, but at twice the price? I think i'll be keeping the turbo. Had mine over to Spa a couple of times, strongly recommend it. :thumbs:

Welcome! Lovely example; for me the 996.2 is the best looking water cooled 911 and possibly the best of the lot. Seal Grey is cracking too! Wish you many happy miles

I agree the 996.2 is a very good looking car. Smooth lines simply expressed. Lovely car BTW!