RE: PH buying guide: Porsche 911 Turbo (996)

[Porkie]

Depends how you drive them... And the geo set up. Just on the road ( as iI had another set of track wheels and tyres) mine killed a set of 19' 305 section Michelin ps2 rears in 3000miles... Outside was fine but inner edges were right through to the canvas and metal! Was lucky to spot it to be honest!

And as for running costs of 1k a year... Maybe... If you are lucky and buy one that needs nothing doing and drive it like a girl I didnt and mine needed LOTS of money and bits and bobs. More like 1k a month when I was using it hard!

Edited by Porkie on Saturday 29th December 18:03

[vinnie83]

j_s14a said:

dme123 said:

Somehow I doubt most people considering £17.5k for a 911 Turbo is cross shopping for a 90s Japanese coupe with a terrible image and very Japanese styling you know.

A cheap Porsche Turbo has an equally poor image as a '90s Japanese coupe.

For the car enthusiasts among us (not the badge enthusiasts), if you were to actually try a Supra you'd discover they're an incredibly underrated car. The build quality puts the Porsche to shame, the engine sounds much nicer than the Porsche (IMO), and it's RWD. They're much cheaper to run and tune, and they're still a great looking car if they've not had an awful body kit and tacky wheels attached.

Erm maybe to you, but to everybody else it's not!

A cheap 996 turbo is still a Porsche, and one that was their flagship model at one point not too far in the past!

How is that anything like a supra?

The supra has a terrible plastic interior and looks very outdated now, whereas the 996 turbo still can hold it's own (ok the interior isn't great, but still miles better than the jap stuff!)

The Supra may well be underrated, but it's still nowhere near a 911 turbo - even if you take the badge away!

[vinnie83]

J4CKO said:

They are set up such that they scrub their rear tyres, even so, 3000 miles seems very low, I would have thought in normal usage that could be bettered substantially.

I got ~13k miles on my 997 turbo

[hallwelder]

Edited by hallwelder on Saturday 29th December 18:57

[Porkie]

vinnie83 said:

J4CKO said:

They are set up such that they scrub their rear tyres, even so, 3000 miles seems very low, I would have thought in normal usage that could be bettered substantially.

I got ~13k miles on my 997 turbo

I did say depends on Geo setup.... I was still surprised how quickly it killed these rears though. Mine was on the manthey spec KW coilovers and set up for track use. Was horrible as the

These 19' Techarts were horrible wheels by the way. SOOO heavy. Drove much much better on the standard wheels. I kinda thought you got what you paid for... and as the Techarts were horrifically expensive I assumed they would be light... I thought WRONG. Made by BBS as well... but made from pig iron! avoid!

[hallwelder]

Anyone could shred a set in a week,after looking at high & low mileage cars i was still amazed how little they need compared cars with similar power.

[vinnie83]

Porkie said:

vinnie83 said:

J4CKO said:

They are set up such that they scrub their rear tyres, even so, 3000 miles seems very low, I would have thought in normal usage that could be bettered substantially.

I got ~13k miles on my 997 turbo

I did say depends on Geo setup.... I was still surprised how quickly it killed these rears though. Mine was on the manthey spec KW coilovers and set up for track use. [/IMG]

Oh of course... although mine was on the standard set up for those miles, so probably a good indication for those looking at standard 996's.

I now have a set up from center gravity which should improve the longevity, although a track based setup like yours would eat through them a lot quicker.

Nice looking car by the way - and yep I've heard the techart wheels aren't the lightest!

[Rich_W]

Porkie said:

deltashad said:

The 996 has never been a desirable car. Still, it's a lot of bang for your bucks, if your into that kind of thing.

What total rubbish! Look how many 996s were sold for big money brand new. Look how many turbos they sold and at almost 100k...

How did they do that if they were not desirable?

Did they blackmail people into buying them?

You think a 996 GT2 or 996 GT3RS aren't desirable?

He probably means compared to the last air cooled 993s. (Held their value pretty well) Or even the 997 shape cars. (to many a better looking car) Plus there was that whole thing about 996 being less rigid and the Rear main oil thing. Couldn't say whether either are 100% true, but perception counts.

[VidalBaboon]

I thought the 997s were already knocking on the £20k mark. They seem to have come down quicker in price than the 996 did.

[Helicopter123]

VidalBaboon said:

I thought the 997s were already knocking on the £20k mark. They seem to have come down quicker in price than the 996 did.

You tease!

Cheapest one on the OPC website is £49850.

Might get one outside of the network for a bit less.

[EvoSlayer]

someone said:

Budget on changing the spark plugs every 24,000 miles or two years, and reckon on spending £4,500 per year on servicing and replacement parts for a 996 Turbo in good condition with average miles.

Only if you've bought a pile of st or you're really unlucky.

Oh, and spark plugs are around 3 quid each and not that difficult to replace

Or, if you want OPC to do job its included in major service due every 4 years or 40K for £750
http://www.porschefixedpriceservice.co.uk/911-serv...

Edited by EvoSlayer on Sunday 30th December 15:51

[JW911]

Apologies for not getting involved with the guide, despite being emailed. Life got in the way as usual. Not a great deal to add as there are undoubtedly plenty of folks who know a great deal more than I do about the 996 Turbo.

Specialist servicing is the key to these cars and keeps the costs (relatively) sensible. I cover around 4000 miles per year in mine (weekender) and have it serviced annually. Inspection (£150), 12k (£200), inspection, 24k (£500), etc. so routine costs work out pretty reasonably. A set of rears lasts a couple of years as a result (I don't track) and there is an occasional larger bill to keep things in order (coffin arms replaced a couple of months ago, for example). Coupled with insurance of £500 per year (no commuting), it probably costs me on average just under £1k per year plus fuel. Not looking forward to replacing the Alcons (hopefully not for a while) but I'm reliably informed that they last and last.

Edited by JW911 on Monday 31st December 00:36

[Spaceman2001]

I love my 996 Turbo.

Always laugh when the interior gets slagged for cheapness. Mines a 2001 model with 62k. Mine is all black with leather dash and dark grey suede headlining. It's an early car so there is no glove box (god forbid). Discreet aftermarket sat nav as any car of the age will need. And to my liking no Carbonfibre (keep that for race cars please).

It has worn much better than my dads 997 which is 4 years younger.only one or two scratches on the interior door handles. Ergonomics of a few buttons maybe questionable but cheap feeling it isn't. Definitely hard wearing in my eyes.

All black leather on older cars is the only way to go and you won't be disappointed!

[cjb1]

After_Shock said:

grand cherokee said:

the problem is that they are still say £80K+ cars when it comes to maintenance/running costs unless you are good 'on the spanners' and are prepared to forsake full service history?

my last Porsche was about 20yrs ago - now drive a Range Rover Vogue and on virtually every related forum i see people trying to run them on a 'Fiesta' budget! -sometimes frightening me at the cheap tyres being used/advocated!

People running them on a 'budget' is the big worry if trying to buy one of these types of cars. Always try and find one thats had an owner for a good few years and has traceable history.

Avoid the ones with several owners in the last 2 or 3 years, the owners may well have repaired something that needed doing correctly and at the shock of the bill sold the car on but the next one probably didnt. Always stuff missed on cars with that type of history.

I don't advocate skimping on supercar ownership but we do need to quantify it what it means. Some owners will be suitably skilled enough to do some of the basics themselves, oil and filter change, brake pad replacement, the basics. All the routine maintenance required can be found on the internet. Then there's the excellent independants around. So long as the original parts or high quality replacements are used I see no reason to use OPC's for all repairs and servicing.

[k-ink]

Awesome cars with running costs to match! More than I could ever justify sadly.

[Denyo]

Thought I'd add my two pence as I've had mine for nearly 6 months, having upgraded from a C4S.

I took the route of spending as much as I could for a mint one - £32k from dealer who, prior to pickup serviced it, put new tyres on, replaced rads, front brakes and provided a complete warranty. Having bought my previous Porsche from the same dealer, I can't recommend Kier at Chappell Sports cars enough.

True I paid at the top end, but it had only done 32k miles, manual in arctic silver, and had all the options. Am sure I could have got cheaper private/lesser dealer but the peace of mind is worth it (I've had enough howlers). In the 6 months I've had it nothing has gone wrong save for a lose turbo pipe which was made good by the wonderful guys at Paragon - didn't cost me anything, they just asked to service the car when the time came - which I will. Having good support is such a bonus.

The car is amazing. I understand how/why people can call it sterile however to me it is the ultimate chamealon...easy to drive around town, has decent practicality, is relaiable, comfortable on long journeys...and then it turns into animal when you start pressing on. Its our only car, it makes me smile and is so much more of a sense of occasion than the C4S. Just wish the noise was more involving.

I am sure a lot of the above can be said of a 997 C2S. However for me there is something about the Turbo, I love the way it looks and to me there are too many 997s running around.

If you want one, buy one, you won't be disappointed. Just buy the best one you can afford.

[Shortshifter]

I own many porsches and drove a lot of cars of other makes. Still the 996 Turbo S is my favorite allrounder. Poised and elegant around town, absolutely mad when you push it. Is there anything sexier than the back end of a Porsche turbo S? I doubt it.
To all those who dislike the Porsche 996 turbo S and try to squeeze it in the same category of Frankensteinish cars, built of bits of here and there, you are wrong!
With all due respect, very few cars can claim the performance, the looks and the retained value of Porsches.
When it comes to cost, besides the pccb it doesn't really cost more to run than any supercar of its age.

[5678]

This is going to cause my Wife and I to have an argument tonight....

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[GTRene]

almost unbelievable, so much car at such prices.

[After_Shock]

5678 said:

This is going to cause my Wife and I to have an argument tonight....

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Says auto on the spec list, deffo looks like a manual from the interior pics though!?