Advice on purchasing a 2005 Turbo S?

I am looking at a 2005 Turbo S Cab Tiptronic with low miles in great condition. I would be moving from a Boxster S (my first Porsche) that I really enjoy. I've always wanted a Turbo S and this may be the one. I just don't know that much about them. Any words of wisdom? Watch outs? I've been lurking in this forum for a week now. I'm hoping if all goes well with this sale, I can hang out here for a long time! Thanks in advance for the help!!

The best advice that I can give you is to find an independent mechanic that will give the car a good looking over for a PPI. This should be a shop that deals nearly exclusively with Porsches. Talk to them about what they look at when they PPI the car, and make sure that you understand what they are looking at. This will end up being a nice education for you. A decent PPI would cost between $200 and 350 depending on how thorough they are and what the hourly rate is in your neck of the woods. Make sure that they take a careful look underneath the car, looking for leaks of any kind. Have them push it hard during a test drive to see that the turbos spool up smoothly. See if it has ceramic brakes, since these are expensive, if they need to be replaced. I have heard upwards of $10,000. Also see that they pull the engine codes to see about over-revs, though this is less likely in a Tip. Get a CarFax, which will tell you about how many former owners, and if there is anything bad in its history, accidents, salvage title, etc. See if there are any service records. Look the car over cosmetically, since this may tell you something about how the former owners cared for it. I'm pretty persnickety about cosmetic stuff. Does it have a clear bra? That's about $1,000. What shape are the tires in? That's another $800 - $1,600 depending on the tires that you pick. Make sure that you have a couple thou in your pocket to take care of any problems that crop up after you buy the car. Remember, yes it's a Porsche, but it is also a used car. Guarantee that you will have to drop a bit of money into it after you buy it. A friend of mine just bought a Turbo S Coupe. It's a very nice car. Give us some more details if you want opinions on price/features, etc. Best of luck. These are wonderful cars. It's a whole different story from your Boxster. Enjoy!! and post some pictures after you buy it. larry

Head on over to the Turbo forum. You'll get some great advice about buying a Turbo.

Good advice from Larry, above. BIG difference coming from a 986/987S. Make sure you do a novice DE with your PCA region to speed your learning curve in a very safe & fun enviroment.

+1 to Larry and Dell above. I've been planning the move to a Turbo S cab. (no tip for me though)for awhile now. Just waiting for the prices to fall a bit more. The PCCB's were standard equipment on this model. As Larry mentioned, they are expensive to replace but the good news is that they should last significantly longer than iron if cared for properly. Make sure the rotors are in good shape. If wheels were changed without using a couple of wheel hangars there is a good chance the rotors may have been chipped. This is big bucks! Good luck and post some pictures when you close the deal.

Wow! Thanks much for the quick replies - very much appreciated. It is at a dealer now. The owner had several high end cars and traded this one in on a Lambo. He has been a customer of this dealer for years. The car is in incredible condition. Really spotless. No dings or chips. Driven on weekends. No tracking. The previous owner left all service records. The Carfax is clean. The dealer performed their service and assure me the car is in excellent condition. 17K miles. At this point I have only seen pictures and I am impressed with the car and the way I have been treated by the dealer. It's close to 1000 miles away and I will drive up with my Boxster next Thursday. If all goes well, I'll make the trade. I'm considering an extended warranty. I'll try to get an independent agent to look at the car. Thanks again. Let me know if there's anything else I may be missing.

You might consider having the independent agent's SO sit in the car and to do an olfactory PPI. This is hard to do remotely .

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Ahhh yesss... the sniff test! Hadn't thought of that (although I did ensure it was a non-smoking car!)

I looked at one last year in Sacramento. I liked the car, but I didn't like the seller. The nice thing about the 996 Turbo S is that it is a legitimately hot car that has great street cred, even to 997 owners. It's fast. However, the PCCB brakes are a pain to repair and keep up, and you need to recall that this is a high-performance car that will have stressed components. The fact that it hasn't been driven that much isn't really a good thing - the hoses and gaskets are still 7 years old (assuming this was sold in 2004). At least you don't need to worry about IMS issues! Owning a Porsche (I am learning) is about spending money on maintenance, it's kind of like owning a boat (for those of you out there who know what "B.O.A.T." stands for). That's the only thing I miss about my Lexus - it was zero maintenance.

If I where you I'd wait until next summer, the new 991/998 is coming out this fall and prices of the 996's will start dropping. But hey if ya gotta have it, you gotta have it... I TOTALLY understand! Good luck