Time to Show Off My New Turbo - the Red Devil

I regaled you all with my story of woe, when I wrecked my 996 Targa. I asked for your help in trying to find a well-priced Turbo to replace it, and I had a lot of fun looking at all the cars you showed me. We had the PPI on Friday, and today I ran down to Addison (35 minutes) to pay for the car, and pick up the second set of keys. The only thing that I noticed at the time that needed replacement was the missing toolkit and compressor. I gave them the part numbers. They said that they would order them for me. I have since noticed good and bad things about the car. None of these would have stopped me from purchasing it. The sport seats are mechanical, not 9 way power seats, and yes, there is no heat. The car has a short shift kit installed on it. There is a chip flash from Softtronic, along with the cable and software. Also in the frunk was an oil filter wrench. There is a connector above the mirror for a Valentine V-1, but no radar detector. The driver's sun visor is broken. The cover is broken off, and the light doesn't work. The windows are tinted. The creak in the steering is a noisy strut bearing on the driver's side. The car just drives wonderfully. I drove it home today from my wrench's place, and put it in the garage. OK, and I did something that I probably shouldn't have. I took out my detailing spray, and sprayed down the car, giving it a nice wipedown to put it to bed for the next month or two. I am sure that I probably scratched the hell out of the finish, but I couldn't resist. And, as is the case with all new car owners, I am required to post pictures for you to view. Please note that this car still needs to have the clear bra installed, and before that, it needs a good buffing. That is all going to be done before I take it out for regular traffic. I will say that this car drives so differently from my 996NA. The suspension is tighter, the seats are wonderfully comfortable, the tranny shifts solidly (clink, clink) and the engine is more responsive. It's a wonderful machine. Now for the pictures. Enjoy. Larry

she's a beauty Larry! stay clear from those semi's this time....

Sunday, after being soundly flamed by my cadre for considering putting my car on the driveway, in storm, sleet and rain, till I start driving it in spring, I went into the garage and started cleaning. To my credit, I only removed two things. There was a wooden antique bed that I moved down to the basement, and there was the box from a new printer I had bought - dutifully recycled. Everything else was stacked, piled, moved, hung on the wall, etc. There is now room in the garage for the Red Devil, and still space on the other side to move around. The car was certified before the last owner bought it. Unfortunately, I lose that warranty because it was sold through an "unauthorized dealer." I wonder if there is any way of getting it re-instated. Sure would be nice to have the remainder of that warranty. But, there is likely no way of doing that. Any recommendations or suggestions on that would be gratefully received. Here are the rest of the pictures. Of course, as usual, comments and questions are welcome. larry

Congrats!

congrats on the new acquisition...love guards red

now you can sneak in the garage and visit her once in awhile..... that wasnt so bad, now was it.

Nice. Congrats! FM

it is VERY pretty!

Nice, Congratulations

even with all that crap in the garage, you still have more room than me. Congrats on a sweet ride and fast turnaround from the accident.

I'm happy for you Larry!

Very nice, good luck with it. Now you need to find chrome wheels - you seems to like them

Love the combination if the seatbacks and rear console in red with all of the carbon fiber. It really improves the black interior. I ran across this thought in a UK Porsche magazine recently: A Porsche is not parked in the garage... It is waiting.

Looks fantastic and the carbon interior is really nice to have. So what about some impression compared to the old 'regular' 996 ? should we all upgrade ? or what

But those front bumperettes have got to go!

Great looking car. I am not sure I would have the will power to garage it till spring.

Alls well that ends well, Larry. A great saga. And a very nice red turbo...

Great job! As far as washing/detailing in the winter time, 3 words: Optiminum No Rinse. Michael.

ewwww aaaahhhh. Enjoy the heck out of it.

Larry, I watched your "Find aTurbo" thread with great interest. I think you and your search had more to with my continued hunt for a turbo, rather than a 40th Anniversary 996. Congratulations, it is magnificent!

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Yea, whats the story on those???

Larry, as always thanks for sharing your end result and pics

woow, love the sports seats, and the carbon fiber trims. thanks for the pictures

Nice find. Good luck with her...

Great to hear it all worked out, enjoy.

Excellent, Enjoy Larry! I know the next couple of months will be difficult, but I'm sure you'll be sitting in the garage with a huge smile on you face for at least 30 days....so the wait won't feel so bad!

Wow, a red porsche (turbo none-the-less) for valentine's day! You must have a very understanding and loving wife!

whew, now thats an ugly color WTG - this one is much nicer than the "one that got away"

Larry, if the car was CPO'd when you bought it then it is transferable to you if you bought it from an private individual. If from a non-Porsche dealer then the CPO becomes void and the dealer CANNOT re-certify the CPO unless they buy it from you, but it through the CPO process, add those expenses, and then sell it back to you. Now get your butt over to the Turbo forum

great looking car, congrats!!! ditch the front bumper pads any plans on the car or keeping it stock?

Congrats, gorgeous car!!!

Nice to have a happy ending for a change. You cleaned out your garage enough to fit your new ride,now life if good. Spring should be around the corner, can't wait to hear how your new turbo drives and handles after a few hours in your Porsche. CONGRATS Larry.

Hey! Nice car! If you want chromes....I'll trade you your stock for my chromes. Make sure to loctite the screw for the rear wiper. Have fun and be safe.

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I still don't know why everyone is so negative on the chromes. But I will defer to nearly everyone - since I am the ONLY one that liked them on the other red Turbo. Yes, I will stick to the standard finish Turbo Twists. Van, you missed it - Not only is wifey not happy, she hasn't spoken to me since I told her that I found a replacement for my wrecked 996. I am actually trading in wifey for the Red Devil. We are getting divorced - me and wifey, not me and the Red Devil. She wasn't happy when I bought my 73 Targa years ago, and it has just grown from there. Ivan, if I couldn't get speed yellow, then guards red was THE choice. This is a wonderful car. A couple of things need to be fixed, but all in all, it's a much better equipped car, in much better condition, for only $500 more. SCORE!! YESSSSSIR. If someone can tell me how to remove them, I would be happy to - don't have a clue as to what purpose they serve, and when I get the bumper clear bra-ed, they won't be needed to protect the bumper. This car has so many options on it that I wanted - little and big things - carbon fiber, sport seats, colored backs, flashed ECU, aluminum pedals, instrument cluster aluminum trim rings, etc. I need to get a clear bra put on the car, replace the driver's sun visor (which is broken), need new tires for at least the rear (or replace all 4 of them) maybe get a Valentine V1, get white faced instruments, maybe replace the exhaust system with something noisier. Not an awful lot to add - this car has nearly everything. To all the other friends and comrades, thanks so much for the good wishes. I have literally driven the car only 2 or 3 miles before I neatly parked it in the garage. I have walked into the garage an average of once every hour just to make sure that it's not a dream. Yes, this did work out exceptionally well. I am very lucky, and happy. This car drives totally differently than my 996NA, but it will take a few hours, days, etc before I am comfortable drawing comparisons. To those of you that are asking if you should upgrade? It depends on what you want. This is a lean, mean, taught sports machine. The 996NA is much more of a comfortable cruiser by comparison. But, in my mind, why did I buy a Porsche? It was for the driving experience. If the Turbo is more of that ideal to me - then I have succeeded in making the right choice. More on that later. larry larry

never thought I would own a Red one... but I kind of like it - when its clean, sure POPS.... (though this time of year, mine is pretty dirty)

Ivan - Obviously I had no interest in being subtle. I rejected any turbo that was grey, silver or black. If I'm going to be ostentatious, then I might as well scream it!!!! Speed Yellow or Guards Red. Guards Red (arrest me red) was the choice - and it's a beaut. larry

Cleaning the garage out for her - now THAT is true love She is quite the looker Sorry to hear about the divorce - always a hard decision to make - hope it all works out for you. But most importantly, be sure you KEEP MISS RED !!

Nice car.... First mod....snow tires. Second mod......fix the 4x4 ride height

LOL - Larry, litterally the FIRST tour in my "new red car" I was #7 iin a line of about 25 P-cars out for some "spirited driving" - I was however the first RED CAR and although 6 cars passe4d the cop.... I got the ticket!! needless to say my wife waas none to pleased and when my kids asked how much and I held up 7 fingers - she blew a gasket - $70 !!! no hunny..... $700 boy was there a LOT of opportunity to listen to that beutiful flat 6 after that... pretty quiet passenger

Very, very nice! Congrats!

Nice looking TT.

Grats on the new ride!

Now you can really pass those snow plows! not that you'd really want to do that

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Maurice. Two things about that. First, when snow hits the ground, this car is going to get packed away for the winter. Second, I have bought a Subaru for winter driving. Even at that, I think that my snow plow passing days are over. It's funny how I have become more conservative as I got older. OK, it's not the age that did it, it's the consequences. I have noticed that I have become a bit less observant in my surroundings. I am now making a conscious effort to be AWARE. Even though this dance with the semi happened to work out well, I have no interest in pressing my luck. I would just as soon press the accelerator during the 8 months of the year I'll be driving the Red Devil. larry

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I'm surprised by this statement because everything I've read gives me the impression that the Turbo is a GT that is comfortable, quiet, and makes the NA feel more sporty. I've not driven one and have only had a try in mine and a GT3, but I guess you're finding that's not the case?

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Well, Larry had the Targa.... heavier, less stiffer chassis and likes semi's. Im with you, but most of the carrera's are modded on this forum.

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And since the accident, my Targa will only make right hand turns!!! Look, I have driven my new Turbo for less than 20 minutes. That certainly doesn't make me an authority in describing how the turbo runs compared to the 996NA. My short impression was that it was a lot tighter. The suspension movements were more abrupt. The cornering was more "like it was on rails." The engine noise didn't seem to be loud, the seats (sport seats) are wonderfully comfortable. The trans shifts very decisively. It clicks from gear to neutral to gear. My car has a short shifter on it - whose? I don't know. I will learn slowly to drive this car properly. It has a flashed ECU. As a result, it has soooo much power that from a rolling start, it will spin both rear tires in second gear (with PSM off). I'll need to learn how to control that. In conclusion, I'll just say this. That turbo is one wicked fast car!!!!! larry

might I suggest you drive the car a bit, maybe a few days... 20 mins wont flush out any issues the car might have, and being that you just bought it, if there are issues you have a better chance to have them corrected by the seller... if you wait a few months, they are very un likely to work with you on found issues. beautiful car BTW :-)

Jon: I appreciate what you're saying. The reality is that this car was bought as is, where is. I have identified a number of minor things that are wrong with the car: 1. Seepage from the front differential. 2. Seepage from some connection on the left side of the engine. I don't remember what my wrench said it was. I brought up both of these things, and they gave me an additional $500 off on the car. 3. The driver's sun visor is broken - I will have to replace it. 4. The carbon fiber around the right hand dash vent is peeling up - needs to be glued down. The left hand one was loose as well, and someone did a lousy job of gluing it. It needs to be cleaned up a bit. 5. The toolkit is missing - they are ordering a replacement for me. 6. The trunk compressor is missing - they are ordering a replacement for me. 7. The lower strut bearing on the driver's side is noisy. It groans when you turn the steering wheel. None of these things are items that need to be fixed immediately. Beyond that, there may be other things, but I doubt that I would figure out what they were. I will need some time to get familiar with the car, and I don't think that I have any further recourse against the seller. They have been very cooperative, and I don't think that they are going to do anything more for me. Oh, and thanks for the compliment. larry

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LOL, I was being sarcastic, but I didn't know you were getting divorced. We're all supporting whatever it takes to have such a cool turbo.

VERY NICE BUD !!!

Larry - If you want to add heat to the seats it is not that hard. The center foam cushions can be replaced with ones that have heat, actually the upper/back one is the same as the standard seat. Then some wiring, relays and switches and you have OEM seat heat. I know because I did it on my car. You can also go after market for less than half the cost.