Considering my 1st 996 Turbo

Hi all, Think this may be my 2nd or even 3rd post on this forum, which I've been a member of for a while, researching what to buy and do's and dont's. Never had a Porsche, but some fast cars and now is the time to take the plunge. I'm looking at an Arctic silver 996 Tip Turbo; presently listed on A/T for £29,995 with approx. 74k miles. It seems a nice car from the pictures, if a little low on the original suspension which makes me think it may be past its best. It is being serviced this week and I'm going to view it at Cheltenham Porsche Specialist (a little known and talked about specialist?!?). I know the general things to look out for, consumables wise, brake lines, leaks, smoke, bodywork and shut lines. Does it seem a reasonable deal, bearing in mind a 17,000 model failed to achieve reserve last night on a well known auction site (not Ebay) at £32000? What is the premium of a manual version and whilst i personally like the silver and thinks it looks great on the Turbo in the right light, is it the least favourite colour and hard to sell on? Lots of questions / conundrums but any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Silver looks good on a turbo but only with a black interior.

Another option maybe :?: https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/lis...508762&cId=10285338&cId=10682067&cId=10598107 From experience they are great cars and you'll love it. Personally I'd be investing in a manual as they seem to sell better. Depends on how long you're keep it and personal preference etc. I think Silver is a safe colour but seems plenty were ordered in that colour hence good supply may keep prices competitive. Keep us posted on how you get on

Talk to a few specialists. Get a feel for the market and premium for a turbo and a giew on silver (common colour) as opposed to non-silver cars. PPI is an absolute must - a decent specialist PPI is around 3 hrs and costs £300 with a full written report. L9t of tired high mileage poorly maintained money-pit turbo cars. Make sure your purchase is not one not of them.

Thanks, and I did enquire about the one you highlighted. Guy offered it for £27000 as it needed brake lines and tyres. I thought better of driving home with that to sort out :nooo:

Yes - mine came from a non-specialist dealer. He ran his business from a very fancy house. He wouldn't let me PPI. That should've of rung alarm bells. Cost me £3500 within 2 days of taking receipt of the car. Though I did get it for a good price and I got a £750 refund for the bits that failed the MOT. Since then I've had to replace the steering rack, ps steering pipes, brake pipes, new upgraded clutch (leaky RMS). New brakes all round, new engine and gearbox mounts in the first 2 years. The worst bit was the PS steering pipes, £600 ish. The turbo actuators are rusty lumps which need to be replaced soon. This is a car that had a load of accompanying paperwork for a new clutch, 2nd gear pop out work, Bilstein PSS10, coffin arms, condensers, new rads and various suspension parts - all within 12 months 5k miles prior to my ownership. The other aspect that I've come across is that even the independent specialists are expensive and their service and consistency can be suspect. So, yes these cars are old and need constant maintenance, so be prepared. If you can wield a spanner yourself, then more power to you and you'd be so much happier.

If the car wants for nothing it seems to be the right asking price from a dealer. Manual cars always cost more to buy than Tips but hold that difference in value come sale time. Silver is a safe colour but be very careful to check that any paint it's had. Try to view it in every type of light and from every angle as it's notoriously difficult to match successfully.

Also check the rads and condensors, expensive to sort, the clutch and if it's a turbo check that it boosts smoothly and hard. Michelins are best for 911s. Check headlamp washers as the pipes tend to clog, break and then leak.

Do you think your car has "settled down" or will require further work over the coming years? Is corrosion of bodywork or subframes an issue?

Had mine over 5 years, and it's been superb. Sunk about £3k into it a few years ago, got a lot of preventative jobs done whilst the engine was out for a new clutch, other than that it's been serviced annually and hasn't thrown up any horror stories, never missed a beat infact including 2 runs to Spa. I'd only replace it with a 997 GT3 but unfortnately at more than twice the price that's just not realistic. Great cars, and still seriously fast. Buy wisely, plenty for sale.

Buy the very best example that you can afford. get a thorough PPI done with report and estimate of works required (a) immediately and (b) inside 12 months of ownership. As someone else posted, there is a considerable premium in a manual box car which you will get back at resale time. Plenty of silver cars - pretty run-of-the-mill colour. Can be considered a safe bet or a boring choice depending on your and a future buyers preference. The 996 Turbo is knocking on age-wise and so expect age-related wear and tear items. There is usually a reason why the car is being off-loaded and one of them could be it has stacked up big repair bills by a previous owner deferring spending on remedial work. The X50 adds a rarity factor and reflects in the price. It runs bigger turbos and larger intercoolers and a different engine map that boosts to 1.1 bar vs the stock car at 0.7-0.8 bar. Add manual box and X50 to your specification and the budget creeps up considerably. Only you know what the budget is that you are comfortable with. You can buy a non-Turbo (non-Mezger) car for a much cheaper price if budget is an issue. But do your homework on that NA car's known weaknesses just as you are doing with the Turbo car. The performance of the Turbo is still blisteringly fast - even against some of todays "hot" cars. The 996 Turbo is very analogue to drive without the extensive use of computer engine maps and driving modes seen in todays hot cars. It is a good choice for you. But buy wisely - lots of high mileage (and lower mileage) dogs out there hiding big bills.

Hi Cheshire, Can you confirm the boost levels on the X50? I thought it was 0.7/0.8 for the standard Turbo and 0.8/0.9 for the X50. Thanks

It appears to have settled down (I hope Looking at the last 5 years maintenance, most of it's age related and half of that was replaced not because it was broken, but because it was sub-optimal, so the previous owners and myself replaced with better items, such as the suspension and bushes. I upgraded to larger 997 turbo discs when I wasn't happy with the existing brakes. The power steering rack and pipes, hard brakes lines and clutch (RMS) were the items that failed or were failing. If I did more research I could've had an electric PS pump fitted instead of the engine powered pump that requires the super-expensive high pressure lines and the coolant dropped to fit. I'm sure the newer 997 turbo or any similar type of car would suffer from similar maladies. I know someone that kept a Nissan GTR or was it the GTR that owned him ?? His annual maintenance bills were £2000-3500 and that is a much newer car.

I have already confirmed the figure. Read the post. Based on OPC Chester Gold level technician and workshop supervisor and real read-out on my own car.

Perhaps also try a Tiptronic as then you don't need to worry about synchros, clutch replacement and the slave cylinder. They are robust and while anaemic on a NA car, really suit the torque characteristics of the Turbo.