Should I buy? '03 911 or '01 TT

I appreciate your views and insights on which car to buy or even if I should wait for something better. The '03 911 is clean but 100K miles! asking $24K, then '01 TT $32K, I haven't looked at yet and suspect its in fair condition. '03 911: 3rd owner just purchased in 9/09 had PPI compression test ranging from 200 to 210. Owner stated water pump went about 5 mos ago and car got hot, but drove to dealer to replc water pump. Current temp gauge is normal but should I be concerned? '01 Turbo: Looks a little rough but it is a Turbo. with 64.4K miles asking $32K. This car is being sold by a indie Porsche shop. What do you guys think? Also at what selling price? thank you!! I have attached the ad for the 03 and the '01 TT is in Rennlist classified.

dude you are all over the board a high mile C2 or a beat TT what do you want to do with the car, have you driven either, how much are you keeping in resever for maintenance on the TT, there are a lot of cars between $23 and $32K

If the TT is in reasonable condition I would go for it. Faster car, stronger engine, lots of ability to upgrade. Get a PPI done and look it over carefully.

I'd say the TT is a no brainer if your willing to put some $$$ into it over a few years. It's a classic that you can keep for the rest of your days and never get tired of modding and driving.

Ask yourself what you really want, what you're willing to pay, then look for it. There are lots to choose from and there's no need to be in a hurry. Some people consider 100K miles a lot for a starting point, others would be more concerned about how the car has been treated re: the Turbo. Getting a thorough PPI is critical and necessary, but certainly no guarantee against having problems. If you can spend a little more than $32K you can get a good Turbo that will put a smile on your face every time you drive it. Your choice really.

Thank you. Tomorrow I see the TT. PPI with leak down is a must. Anything else I should have checked beyond a typical PPI. Any recommendations for an Indy to do the PPI in the San Fernando Valley, CA area (the car is in Van Nuys). Patience is a virtue, maybe I'm being enticed by the low asking price ($32K). I got the Porsche shakes bad....

Slow down. There are a lot of cars in this price range. Take your time and find the right car.

By the way, you may want to check the difference in insurance... For me, Allstate did not like Turbos, even with a clean record. FM

I guess I need to take a breathe. Indy shop Monaco Motors in Canoga Park, CA said a PPI with leak down is $700 or 200 pt PPI w/o leak down for $160. Daniel said his 200 pt PPI includes diagnostic testing which would uncover problems with the engine so no real need to do a leak down too. Does this make sense? Is the TT in Rennslist (classified) a dog with fleas? Or even worth checking out? Appreciate you unemotional take on this. thank you.

Don't do the premature shoot.....like others have said there are ALOT of cars out there for sale. Think about it, if you find one on the East Coast or Midwest you can have a kumba ya ride all the way home. Good Luck!

A $32k Turbo is going to be a dog. I promise there are issues, without even looking at the car. It is $10k under the market for a reason.

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Buy the Audi TT.

We're talkin Twin Turbo Porsche.

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Engine controller constantly monitors cylinder output by measuring acceleration imparted to crank by each cylinder's power stroke. If this too low (or high) a misfire error code is logged and the check engine light turned on. What you need to do is give the engine enough time running while you look at the car to give the engine controller time to detect any misfires and turn the check engine light on. If you look at the car arange to see the car with the engine cold. Verify the check engine light, all warning lights, come on when key turned ot on and the check engine light and all warning lights go off when key turned to engine start and engine starts. If one ore more warning lights don't come on when key turned to the on position or don't go off when engine starts, find reason to cut the viewing the car short. You don't want this car. Walk away. Start engine from cold. Do not touch throttle. Just let engine and engine controller/e-gas manage the fuel. Get out of car and listen as the engine idles and warms up while you walk around the car looking things over. Engine should be quiet, idle smooth though fast but the idle speed should drop and smooth out as engine gains some heat. Have salesman take you on a test ride of 15 miles or so. Mixed driving. Have salesman demo car by once engine warmed up accelerating up through the gears, at least 2. Engine rpms should approach redline. You want to hear/feel engine pull strongly and smoothly from just off idle to near redline. When you get back continue to let engine idle and listen. Walk around car looking under neath for leaks. Use your nose to see if you can detect any smell of anti-freeze. Then take car on test drive following the same route. Drive the car the same way. When you return continue to listen to engine. Note oil pressure at hot idle. Note oil pressure at say 3K with engine hot. Note how much boost engine develops. If you like car, if engine smooth and strong at all rpms have DME overrev counts read and post here for comment. Sincerely, Macster.

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HA! Kenny....I think VGM is playing with the words.

Pete, what do you mean "playing with the words". thanks

TT - Audi TT, Tourist Trophy(bike race event). Porsche Turbo(yes, this one has 2 turbos).

Guys, I saw the TT today. No bad on the outside (body straight, paint in good condition, no obvious damage). I got the car up on a hoist (no sweating, oil leaks except RT Turbo housing was sweating and no structual damage). But the interior was not kept up. Just worn and dirty. I couldn't understand how someone could show a car in that condition. This bothered me as I wondered what else is wrong with the car. Problems noted: Airbag and seatbelt light on; Rt door window regulator issue as window would not close tight; slight 'clunking' when manual shifting hard (possible Tip Trans mount); also Rt/Ft tire worn but Lt/Ft in with ok wear (possible alignment issue). But the engine purred and pulled strong! The price is enticing but I don't want a 30K project car. So I passed. Thanks everyone for your help. Kenny

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Good job. Now you know. And now you have more knowledge for the next car you encounter. That the seller didn't bother cleaning the car up might suggest the seller neglected the car. Or it might be a sign the seller is just ready to sell and could be weak on the price. I sold my VW Golf TDi without cleaning it out very well. The interior was not trashed or worn out -- and the rest of the car in good condition cause I had the car serviced regularly -- but I just didn't get around to finding the time to have the car detailed before people started calling about the car and I ended up selling the car to a woman and apologizing for the condition of the car's interior when she handed me the check. Sincerely, Macster.

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As the previous owner of 3 Audi TTs, the term "TT" is imbedded in my brain as a reference to a specific Audi model. I've always called the Porsche turbo by the name under which it's marketed: "Turbo." The back end says "Turbo" and that's why I've grown comfortable calling it a Porsche Turbo. All of that said, however, the Turbo is an awesome car. Absolutely a stunning achievement for Porsche in all its iterations over the years. Good luck in your search, Kenny.

An audiTT was pulling onto the hwy with me already there and it looked like a scrunched boxer. I guess its a porsche wanna be. Anyway the turbo porsche is a healthy beast. I'd go turbo but your time waiting to get one would be longer unless lucky enough to catch one popping up.......errr sorry you live mainland and not a little island in the pacific. You should be able to find something pretty quick.

What you saw in the 996 turbo tells you that the current owner has decided not to throw more money into it. Remember that any turbo will run you roughly twice as much to maintain as a normal N/A Carrera. There are more things that can and will break, and more things to move when you have to go in to do routine maintenance. What I am seeing with the 996 turbo generation of cars are many buyers of these cars because their purchase prices are reasonable--but you have to really factor in the operating costs. If you are in North America you can't really exploit the speed potential of the turbo anyway--but you appear willing to invest in the maintenance of one without the opportunity to really push it to its limits legally. The price range you cite is broad and there are many opportunities out there for a better car and without having to then sink more and more money into it once you get it.

Guys good discussion re: Turbo vs normally aspirated 911. I was considering the Turbo because of the "bulletproof" block (GT1) and the kaboom factor of the non-Turbo (IMS). Given I'm looking for a Tip (I'm in my 50's now), the plain Carrera is plenty car for me. I'd like to hear if the concensus is that the Carrera is more economical to maintain than the Turbo (remember the Kaboom factor).

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All other things being equal the Turbo's going to cost more to maintain. There's more to a Turbo. AWD. More complex engine, mainly Turbos. Oil change a bit more involved. Turbo has dry sump and requires draining oil from engine crankcase, oil tank, and each of the turbo oil sumps. Engine compartment a bit more packed so it takes more time to do anything that requires going in the engine compartment. For instance, I had the plugs changed in my 03 Turbo a few weeks back and the rear bumper cover had to come off and the intercoolers had to be removed to gain access to the plugs. This probably added an hour's labor to the job over and above what the plug job would have cost had I a NA Carrera. Hard to quantify the risk of an IMS failure. Course the Turbo has well two turbos and one of these could fail. They appear to be quite reliable though given regular oil changes and proper treatment -- mainly allowing the engine to idle a bit before shutting it off. Regular oil/filter servicing real important for both cars and in fact all vital fluids. Those Tips are nice but are not drive and forget. Treat a Tip to a regular fluid/filter change every once in a while. Take the owners manual interva and cut it by 2/3rds to 1/2 to be safe. Oh, Turbo can really go through the gas. Just filled up tonight. 227 miles mixed driving, though 70% or so highway driving. Mileage: 19.4mpg. V-Power. $3.339/gallon. Nearly $40 to fill up the tank. Tire life likely shorter with the Turbo. And tires might be more expensive to start with cause they're bigger, IIRC. If running costs a big consideration, an important factor then the non-turbo-charged car the better choice. Just don't test drive a Turbo before you buy the Carrera. Sincerely, Macster.

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Excellent advice.

Mac, I did test drive a Turbo, and it literally took my breath away. Its got punch from about 3000 rpms to red line. Really a different class of car, but the price differential puts them in play (at least to purchase), maintenance maybe another story. Oh yeah the Qtr Panel Turbo scoops are eye catching. O

my brother has a 01 996 Turbo. I have an 02 996 C4. In normal driving, he and I both prefer my car. It has plenty of power and speed, handling is great and very practical daily driver, and is a bit softer with the rutted out roads in Boston. On the highway we both prefer the Turbo. There, just made it harder?

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Address the IMS issue on a C2 or C4S Tip, do a little upgrade to exhaust / intake / ECU Flash and I think you'll be plenty happy with driveability and performance. IMO, the added maintenance on a Turbo will cost more$ per mile.