996 turbo advice

OK gang, I need a little advice.
A little background first, I have owned a couple of Porsches years back, but nothing current.
I am pretty much expert status wrenching and restoring 50's, 60's and 70's Ferraris, but in all honesty I don't wrench much on modern rides. I am considering something like a 2000ish turbo as a daily driver and just want to make sure I'm not smoking crack.
Expert opinions welcome.

Thanks!

Dave

 

We just got an '01 for my mom to use as a DD.

We love it. Especially her. I just like riding in it

So far, as we have worked out, it's a really nice car. there are some flaws. It's got a pretty small tank (16.4 gallons????) My mom drives pretty conservatively and gets 16.5 mpg. So, instead of going a week and a half like her old car, ('05 CTS-V) she can go 4 or 5 days on average. From what I've read, on the 996's, the build quality wasn't really the best so, there are some rattles in the interior.

It's a pretty comfortable car. We got the car Friday night, got home at about 11, then, went to Orlando the next day. And, it was pretty comfortable. I had to sit in the backseat, and, I'm 6'. It got pretty bad at times but, not unbearably uncomfortable. It's nice that you can be stuck behind someone not paying any attention at all and, you can be doing 65 in 5th gear, just barely flex your big toe and your around them in an instant. Not to mention, the sound is pretty nice too!

Service wise, no idea as we just got it about three weeks ago.

My advice: DO IT!

Good luck!

 

I haven't driven the 996 Turbo, just the cab and coupe.

I will defer to Kds and the other modern Porsche gurus on the rear main seal issue and other trouble spots, but I'm pretty confident in saying the early 996s are among the worst built "911s" of the entire run, from 1963-2010. The fit and finish on the 2002 996 cab I drove (and considered buying) was mediocre, and that was the first upgrade to the 996.

If you want a car with some character, and one that you could still work on yourself for some needs, I would go with the 1984-89 911 Turbo or normally aspirated. I'm not a fan of the accordion bumpers, but these cars feel like something special and are still quick by modern standards (probably <5.5 sec 0-60, IIRC)

Or if you need more modern but still want it to feel like a 911, the 993 is fantastic. Only problem is 993 Turbos are going to be more expensive to buy than the 996 Turbos.

I think the 996s are tempting because they are so cheap, but IMHO you get what you pay for. If you like them, I would go for a later one, as they seem to have been debugged as the series progressed.

 

I bought my 2001 996 Turbo new almost ten years ago. I have over 30,000 miles on it. It's an excellent daily driver; far better than any of my previous four 911s. Air conditioning in the air-cooled cars is useless in the South. A/C in the 996 Turbo is awesome; especially for track driving. RMS issue mentioned above does not apply to the 996 Turbo. The car is easy to wrench on; I did all the recommended service for 15/30/60K in my garage, by myself, without a lift, and without the factory workshop manuals. It was no more expensive to service than a 911.

 

i have a 996tt as my daily driver. i bought it for 35k 9 months ago with 76k miles on it and it's been in every regard a pleasure to own and drive. the engine uses the same metzger gt1 block as the earlier 993 and is not prone to the rms issues of the NA 996. as the above post notes the a/c is fantastic and much improved over earlier models. the 996tt is the single best bang for your buck in the porsche world today. read this thread that i answered to on 6speed.


http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/993/217983-993-vs-996-my-first-porsche-any-thoughts.html
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I think the 996 turbos are great value for the money. It's true that the interior isn't as good as a 997, and purists will claim it's not as pure as the 993, but I would still take one. As mentioned RMS leaks were only an issue on the NA 996's. I think the turbo only has liquid cooled heads?

 

What kind of wheels are those?

We need to replace ours as one of the rims is bent beyond repair.

those a very nice!

 

A 996TT is a great DD car year round..........especially considering what they cost today as used cars.

RMS leak is no big deal.....it is a $900 fix where I live, and now considered a routine maintenance item every couple of years, as necessary. Maybe 1 out of 4 cars needs it.

 

HRE c93's. contact guy at hre and he'll give you the offsets i used.

 

So far, my experience with my 99 996 (as a daily driver) has been great. I just had the 120K mile service done. This is the second time I've owned this very car and it still has the original engine. Bottomline, experiences vary.

WRT 996 Turbo, I was tempted to get one in Tiptronic version, since I needed a clutchless car temporarily while recovering from knee surgery. I test drove one and didn't like the tip. The PDK on the new cars OTOH...those are engineering achievements.

Having said this, I still admire quality of the older Porsches I've owned in the past - 930, 80's/90's 911s, early 911T/S, 944, etc. Although much more practical for daily driving, the new ones are not quite the same.

 

Not my car but read this thread.....
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/996-turbo-gt2/203679-turbo-reliability.html#post2752829

This is a list of things replaced...

· All three front radiators
· water pump
· coolant expansion tank (as a precaution with water pump)
· power steering pump/reservoir (for the annoying squeal)
· right front bearing, left rear bearing
· front diff (due to front bearing issue)
· clutch accumulator and slave cylinder (4 times now for the slave - one time lasted only 4 days and it failed - PCNA pulled all the parts on the shelves in the US as a result of this and a few others in the country with a similar issue)
· wiring harness repair (passenger side front most cylinder – harness to the coil pack chaffing issue)
· rear main seal (while engine was down for a wiring harness repair we pulled the tranny to inspect the bearings, clutch, pressure plate and flywheel)
· two bearings in the clutch assembly – one was bad, one was fine
· Decarbon the secondary air ports from the intakes to the exhaust
· Gas cap – the gasket finally went at 186,000+ miles
· Check valve and carbon canister on the vapor recovery system for the fuel tank
· normal services done on time
· brake pads (only on the 4th rear set and 5th front set - car has PCCB's and is tracked 6-10 days/year)
· oil changes every 5000 miles religiously
· tranny and diff fluids every 60,000 miles
· Baileys DV's
· GT-3 Cup front brake ducts

I'd consider this not bad at all!!!

 

All three front rads ? What for ? It did not say.
Could have been road rash. Seems weird.
There is a somewhat famous 996TT on renlist with over 200k miles and minimal maint.
The 996TT cars have a "Bullet-Proof" reputation.

 

I owned 2 both coupes, both highly moded, both turned to RWD. The only thing that ever bothered me was that Vario cam thing, it is not so bad when you leave the car stock (though it always annoyed me, I felt it even stock), but other than that it would be a great daily driver, though in RWD.

 

They're very easy to drive, and very sturdy mechanically. Interiors aren't that great, but they're not horrible. I had a '99 C4 come through the shop recently with 161k on it, and the turbos are known to be built even better.