Advice please on my first Porsche...996 TT

Hello to all, I'm so-close-I-can-touch-it to owning my first Porsche, which is so exciting its too easy to get carried away. So bringing myself back down to earth, can I please ask for the valued advice of forums members the following questions: 1) I've seen a CAT D Insurance repair. It wasn't crashed recovered, just stolen recovered, and needed nothing more than new door locks. I'm the sort of person that doesn't run scared from stuff like this, and instead relishes the money I can save (circa £5K). Should I be more concerned? 2) I would almost certainly want to get it remapped to go from 414bhp to 490 ish. I understand that DMS do this for £1200 but bearing in mind it's 20 mins work on a laptop, anyone know how to do this cheaper? Also, I'm told this engine is virtually bullet proof and easily withstands the extra power? 3) Anyone living in the North West that can recommend a good and reasonably priced Porsche specialist as close as possible to Cheadle Hulme in Cheshire, SK8 7--? 4) Warranty Cover; I have been offered a policy with AutoProtect, which seems reasonable at £1000 for 3 years cover. Anyone have good/bad experience of this company, and can anyone recommend another company instead? 5) The car I've seen has the very standard (and rubbish looking!) v1 Satnav....how easy & expensive is it to replace this unit with a) a newer Porsche one and b) a 3rd party double DIN unit? 6) I've looked at two 996TT now that have issues with the rear spoiler automatically going up at speed, ie it doesn't work. The spoiler goes up fine with the button, its just the auto bit. So you then get a warning light on the dash (annoying). Also how far is the spoiler supposed to go up, the ones I've seen only go up about 4-5cm? 7) The front red brake calipers are discoloured and a mix of gloss and matt paint, presumably this is from excessive heat? Or is it just age and do they all do that? Is re-painting them easy - once you have the right paint? 8) What do the following options codes stand for? C16 XSC X70 X71 X97 X98 X99 375 376 446 539 540 567 635 650 09991 9) The car has just been resprayed, it looks mint now but could this be a whole heap of trouble in a couple of years time??? There's no receipt for this work, but I'm told it was carried out by an expert... Thank you VERY MUCH for any help you are able to give me, however small!!! I look forward to chatting some more!!! cheers, Jason Brown

Hi Jason, and welcome - give Mike a call at www.sportsandclassic.com about 20 mins away from you in mobberley for an inspection. I'd strongly advise getting it inspected before buying any 911.. - Simon

A stolen recoved Cat D that has been completely resprayed. Hmmmm. IMHO - RUN!!! There are plenty of decent cars out there. Spend the extra £5k and get one of them.

I know, I know...but £5k is £5k and if I get it inspected and it passes that then I'm happy with that. Nevertheless this is what my enquiries with an official Porsche garage (Stratstone in Wilmslow) will attempt to uncover tomorrow. Porsche garages do share a cars full history with you, just like BMW ones do???

:floor: Sorry to be cynical. I'm sure they won't give you any info without proof of ownership, and even then you would be lucky. From what you have said, and maybe I'm reading too much between the lines, it sounds like it might have a lot of hidden problems. A nice glossy coat doesn't give any indication of what's beneath the surface. Does it have a good service history in the book, backed up with some paperwork? Whatever you do get an inspection done by someone who knows what they are looking at. Mike Bourne at S&C would be ideal. If the seller won't co-operate, then run even faster! Any decent indy or private seller should be expecting it. As for your questions: 2) I believe the DMS 490bhp upgrade includes an exhaust, so it isn't just £1200 for a remap. It will be a live remap on a dyno, and take more than 10 minutes. They are a very reputable outfit too. You can get it done on the cheap, but 9 times out of 10 it will lead to problems.. 3) As stated - Sports & Classic. 4) A decent warranty will cost you £800+ per year. Read the small print carefully on a £1000/3years warranty. 5) If you buy an early Turbo, prior to the MOST fibre-optic bus, then it's and easy fit for an aftermarket double-DIN system. I fitted a Pioneer AVIC to mine, and am very pleased with it. 6) The hydraulic rear spoilers can be problematic. Quite often they just need refilling and bleeding, but microswitches also go. Check for leaking cylinders, because that can be more costly. They go up about 7-8cm. 7) The laquer can peel off the calipers, which is why the look matt. Not necessarily overheating - usually just age, and water getting underneath. 8 ) You can find a list of options in the FAQ section here. 9) Already commented. HTH

Hi Richard, Thanks for the answers...and the education! I'll let you know what...if anything...I get from the garage. What warranty company do you use/can recommend??? Thanks again!

I don't have a warranty - I "self-insure". Look at the WarrantyWise web site - you can tailor the insurance to suit your requirements. By the way, I went out and measured the spoiler lift (sad, I know) and it's 6.5cm. Perhaps the particular car you are looking at is OK, but if not you could easily spend £5000 getting it up to scratch. Far better to spend £5000 more on a good, straight car, which hasn't got the Cat D ticket stigma. I guess you are looking at cars in the £25k area. Bear in mind that in a couple of years these will have dipped to £20k-ish, and the "saving" you make with a Cat D may cost you dearly, as very few people will want it. Just my 2p's worth.

You could have it inspected by a good indie but that will cost you a £100 or so, maybe the seller will agree and pay with a view to keeping the report if you say no. Given that everything is as it should be I'd think about the next person ho will buy it from you, how much will you have to discount because of its history, 5k off what it is worth in 2 years? Will that be enough to temp the next buyer? Echoing Richard's view, I'd smile and walk away. As my uncle once said, if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck it probably is a duck. There are some tidy cars out there, not cat D or resprayed.

Hi when i bought mine i had it inspected by : http://www.porscheinspections.com/ Peter Morgan, he has people all over the country, and they were at the garage the next day, with a report over the phone the same day. The written report that came later was amazing, photos etc, great if i ever come to sell on ! EXPENSIVE, maybe but not when you consider how much it could save or aid your negotiations...

Tiptronic v Manual Richard - thanks for measuring your spoiler, nice one! Just noticed you've got a Tiptronic TT....I'd automatically discounted this, preferring manual, now I don't want to get into a Manual v Auto debate here, but if you're a hard driver, and will include some track days, Spa/Nurburgring etc - I'm thinking you want a manual?? Did you by any chance used to have manuals - then succumbed to the ease of an auto? I reckon I'm right at the cut off age (38) for ending the denial, and accepting the future is, perhaps, auto!!!!

WarrantyWise WW quote a reasonable-ish £2k for 3 years cover, I like the approach in that "there aren't any uninsured items" ie there's no room for wriggle (I have had bad experience here with www.warrantydirect.co.uk ) but don't quite get the "self-insure" reference???

By 'self-insure' I mean that I take the risk, not the insurance company! So far, I've been lucky. I never take out extended warranty on anything. I once bought a £9.99 charger and batteries from Comet, and they offered me a 3-year warranty at £14.99 extra!! All my cars prior to Porsches were manual. There were several factors I took into account when I got my 993. The RHD 993 has a very small footwell and the pedals are close together, and there isn't much room for my size 11's. Plus, I fancied a change, and my daily drive to work is cross-town. I liked it so much, I didn't go back to a manual. I drive it in manual mode all the time though. If it was a weekend toy, then I would consider going back to a manual though.

CAT D info Hmmmnnnn...here's the exact text from the HPI report: "Insurance Loss - vehicle damaged but repairable, insurer decided not to repair" noted on 8 October 2008. Finance clear, couple of plate transfers, Manufacturered 2002." I'm guessing (call me Einstein!!!) this will affect any FUTURE insurance payouts on the car? Will be asking this when I get quotes....but yes this is now heading down the likely route of me walking away from this car :-(

You said earlier that the car required only locks, how did you come by this information? And how new is the paintwork, are there receipts for the work or was it done as part of the new locks work? Not being my normal cynical self and I'm no expert on HPI reports but it could fit that the car was stolen and left somewhere, insurance paid out, car is later discovered and sold on needing locks.

The "only needs locks" bit came from the seller. He also told me the car was "stolen and stored for transportation abroad" and was off the road for a bit The seller had the respray done "...by a mate, who works at a body shop, and was borrowing the paint room at the weekend..." You know as I type this out, I'm realising I will likely be walking away. Which takes me back to my very first post "need to be sensible and keep the feet on the ground". All I need now is a mint 996 TT 2002 or newer with circa 40k miles for under £30k!!!!