What to look out for when buying a 996 Turbo 2001/02??

Hi All, I am very new to this and after considering lots and lots of fast cars I decided to go for a 2002/03 911 C4S....but looking at the current prices I think I might be able to squeeze my budget to get a 996 turbo But I really havent got a clue what I need to look out for, do things like the RMS apply to the turbo as I have read this up on the C4S's...? I would be really grateful if you can help me join the 911 Club and enjoy it without shedding too much repair bills c: after my purchase :thumbs: Cheers Yohan

I've had Porsche's now for over 5 years, with my latest aquistion being a 2001 996 Turbo back in November last year. From my experiance a good PPI is important, and if possible a warrentee. However on this latest Turbo getting a warrenty proved to be pointless by the time one looked at the cost of the warrentee, excess, and limits placed. So here's my attitude in regards to owning a Porsche... they are a fantastic car and very special. But here's the catch... they are an expensive car... they are expensive to buy... they are expensive to own... and in the unfortunate event of something going wrong (and no warrentee) they are generally expensive to fix. What one needs to remember is that if your looking at a 02/03 Turbo, the car is still 7 to 8 years old, there are lots of moving parts that go round and round, up and down, etc, etc, aswell as loads of electronics... all have the potential to fail. I've generally found the reliabilty of our Porsches to be outstanding, and able to withstand an amazing amount of punishment (just ask anyone on here who tracks their car). But sure as eggs are eggs if you own the car for any length of time you'll have things that will need attention... So what I'm trying to say is this, you need the right attitude when buying a Porsche... and just be philosophical about the fact that the potentional for large bills is always there... get your head around this and you'll be just fine and you'll understand like the rest of us what makes owning and driving a Porsche so special... Perhaps other people have a different take on this... but these are my own thoughts... Kiwi

Good answer from Kiwi which i endorse. I can only give you my experience from a similarly aged model. YES - make sure you get a pre purchase inspection. Porsche dealers are used to this and it should cost less than £200. You can also use any nasty stuff thrown up as a negotiating tool to knock the price down. Bear in mind also that the suspension bushings/springs etc all need replacing after 10 years or so, so this may be an issue in the near future. Whilst some bushings are cheap and easy to replace (£150 - £200) one or two other items are 4 figures plus. Reckon on spending £5000 plus over the next 3 years and you won't be far out (and this doesn't include any after market upgrades or parts). Finally, enjoy the car!!

As above - don't forget this was a £100,000 car when it was new and running costs generally don't reduce with age! :hand: However, as far as fuel costs - my Turbo Tip is proving more economical than my 3.4 Carrera 4 manual was! And it does get a proper test (18,000 miles per annum) When testing, set the Info system to Turbo Boost and make sure it hits 0.7-0.8 when flooring it at low speed in 3rd or 4th gear. Sticking actuators are a common problem - especially on occasional use Turbos. Otherwise I think most 996 issues are fairly well documented elsewhere... e.g. leaking rads, air-con not cooling properly, trim squeaks and rattles, suspension knocks (often just a bush or a drop-link, so not major work, but a good bargaining tool!) Good luck and enjoy the search... :thumbs:

Wattie / DVD / Kiwi, I cant thank you enough for the info specially about the boost pressure to look out for etc...I think a safe bet would be to keep a spare £5k hidden away just incase something goes pop. Good call on the Porsche inspection, there is a chap who does it for around £120 at his garage but know doubt charge to go see the car. Have any of you guys noticed turbo's giving up the ghost around 60k as majority of cars I'm looking at (in my budget) have got between 60-80k on the clock. Also looking into servicing how often and how much would you expet to pay? My current car has a conditonal service indicator so depending on how hard I drive it will depend how quickly the mileage goes down any other things you can think of would be great Cheers Yohan

Turbo uses the GT1 block and should outlive most regular Carreras by some margin! As for servicing, I use a very good local Independent Porsche specialist and a 48k service was less than £500! Definitely worth having a few thousand stashed away, just in case, but you would be very unlucky to have an engine go pop at less than about 150,000 miles - unless you went mad with mods and abused it horribly. If you go for a manual, factor in a new clutch every 30-40k (about £1200 fitted) and get the ECU checked for type 2 over-revs. No need to worry about either of those if you get a Tiptronic, of course (that's part of the reason I decided to go down that route - and glad I did now, as I'm enjoying changing gear with the thumbswitches )

In the 3 months I've had my car... I've replaced the Gearbox Mount... was worn and causing vibration (about NZD $700 approx 280 pounds), front drop links (about NZD $280 fitted), and as you'll see from my recent post it's just blown a coolant hose (price yet to be determined). However with the first 2 repairs done the car was driving beautifully, albeit for 1 day with not a rattle or squeek anywhere... Kiwi

Wattie, Sound advise mate, I was thinking of getting a manual as I thought more fun and slightly quicker off the mark etc.. but looks like a Tiptronic seems cheap with regard to clutches wearing out.

I used to laugh at anyone who bought a Tiptronic, but I am a convert (as is Richard H on here) - it really is like a manual, but with 5 gears, if you use it that way... Also, for the traffic light GP, manually select 1st, hold it on the brakes at high enough revs to get the turbos spooling and then just go for it - it changes up exactly on the red line (bet nobody gets it that precisely in a manual) and just keeps going!!! In the Turbo it's only about 0.2 seconds slower to 100kph anyway (almost a second in n/a cars) and for real world overtaking I reckon it's actually quicker (who changes from 6th to 2nd in a manual, just to overtake one truck?) having said all that, I would probably have a manual if I was buying brand new, but in a used Turbo I'll stick with a Tip - it would be so, so easy to over-rev a manual as the speeds are just unbelievable... I was reading about some new British built supercar the other day - £198,000, built of carbon-fibre and God knows what else, but at the end of the day, it's slower than my £28,000 Turbo, will almost certainly break down (if not break altogether) and be so impractical you could never use it as a daily-driver... Mine's 9 years old, done 6,000 in less than 4 months and I haven't even needed a drop of oil yet!

ohhh only 0.2 seconds...Guess I can live with a Tiptronic and the lazy boy auto during traffic sounds appealing. Cheers mate

ohhh only 0.2 seconds...Guess I can live with a Tiptronic and the lazy boy auto during traffic sounds appealing. Cheers mate

For me I had no choice but to get a Tipo as I can't drive a manual anymore. Being in a chair and all... but I don't in anyway feel like I've bought the lesser of the 2 transmission options. The Tipo is a huge amount of fun when you want, with the ease of an Auto the rest of the time... Kiwi

Hi and welcome. Look for oil leaks...it should be leak free...My first oil leak £4500. Engine out and left hand side removed and refitted. 2nd oil leak £1000, just a strip down and seal replaced that tme. Check tyres, they will tell you alot about the chassis. look at inner walls. wear should be even. A set of tyres and a geo £1000. Check rads for damage and leaks... (still waiting for that) Make sure it's has it's next due service (£250-£1250) You can only look for what is obvious at the time. Generally it should be pretty hardy, but if something like a coolant pipe bursts just beneath the alternator, budget £800 to fix it. Agree with all the previous comments,, It's a £100000 car new and the running costs are high...If you're looking at a 2001 model then it's almost 10 years old and things will start to wear out.... i.e. not covered by any warranty. This is the reality.....but you only live once and you cant take it with you so.... BUY and ENJOY....you will love it :bye:

Q. What to look out for when buying a 996 turbo 2001/02? A. The police.

worn bushes, suspension parts and brakes etc are all worthy of inspection. ...but the key areas are: The engine and gearbox.....look for evidence of a clutch change on manuals. Make sure it shifts easily up and down the gears. Long clutch travel before biting or a stiff clutch is a tell-tale that the clutch is past it's best. Tips are bombproof but look for evidence of a tiptronic service around 40k miles. Oil and water leaks can(but not always) cost big bucks to fix. The front rads and pipework/seals should be carefully checked as some let go at <5 years old The top end can be prone to munching timing chains and can suffer oil leaks via the heads around cyl 5 and 1 These engines can sometimes sound like a bag of spanners when cold and spew some blue smoke on start-up but it's nothing to worry about.(but a rattely timing chain is). RMS failure is less than std 996's but they do happen so check underneath. Oil/water mixing can be a serious matter sometimes it's new engine needed. Look for creamy scum/froth on the oil filler cap and brownish mixture in the expansion tank. Bodywork/chassis - accident damaged repaired cars are plentiful so make sure to give it a detailed going over to ensure it's accident free. A few panels that have been repainted are ok as many get a front-end blend-in to cover stone chips It's rare for Turbo units to let go below 80k miles but wastegate actuators can seize at lower miles and kill the boost. Activate the boost pressure reading during any test drive and it should be 0.7 under full load (0.8/9)on an X50. If its higher then the car may have been re-mapped(check the exhaust - is it std? Cars that are up for sale within a few months of the current owner buying it should be VERY carefully checked-out as they tend to have more issue than ones that have been in ownership for >12 months. You may need to view/drive 4 or 5 cars before finding the right one. That's ok, take time as a wrong one can cost you a small fortune. Budget 3k/year to keep it on the road/maintained.