996 Turbo: First Day of Ownership!
Discussion
I've always wanted one. I drove one first in 2002 when I was 24 on a test drive up the M4 from AFN Chiswick. Tony Reeves was the salesperson, if I remember. Lovely chap.
Fast forward 13 years and I've owned 2 regular '98 996's. Great cars but I was always worried about IMS / bore score etc. I took them to Hartech and was delighted with the service, but 400 mile round trips were a pain. I also didn't like the fact that these cars were sneered at a bit by beards and some looked tatty.
I've never bought from a dealer before and really thought I wouldn't but yesterday picked up a 2004 lapis Turbo from RSJ. It looks simply perfect. I was amazed. Every bit was detailed and refurbed and Joel was impeccably professional and straight. I've been looking for a good Turbo for a while and have had some near misses. Good ones seemed to go within hours. Mine has 64k miles (lowish) and had been sold by RSJ twice before. I bought it before the pictures were on the website as I trusted Joel and he emailed me the pictures and described the provenance. The lapis looks indigo and richly gorgeous. The rub is that it has Savannah seats. Everything else was exactly as I wanted, though. Genuinely, and very pleasingly, the seats go well with the paint and look really smart! My wife loves them.
It drives like a tank and has much heavier controls than the NA 996's. The start up sequence sounds much more impressive, too; mechanical, instant, urgent. On the drive back to Oxford I did not manage full thrust at any point, despite fairly open roads. There is turbo lag if you are on low throttle and and lowish revs, but the boost is massive when it comes. I tended to keep it in higher gears so found myself being thrown forward just as I started to go too fast. This was my memory from 2002, also: relentless surge just when you think it's time to back off. Back then in 4th gear the car was able to pile on another 20mph in seconds when already in licence losing territory. The car seems very balanced and sure footed where the NA 996's felt lighter and more flighty at the helm. The instrument interface and controls look and feel much stouter and more professional than my '98 cars. I thought this would be the case and the facelifted late model turbo's are much better iniside than earlier versions, despite this being played down by sellers of earlier cars.
I will write more if people can bear it, when I have become better acquainted.
Fast forward 13 years and I've owned 2 regular '98 996's. Great cars but I was always worried about IMS / bore score etc. I took them to Hartech and was delighted with the service, but 400 mile round trips were a pain. I also didn't like the fact that these cars were sneered at a bit by beards and some looked tatty.
I've never bought from a dealer before and really thought I wouldn't but yesterday picked up a 2004 lapis Turbo from RSJ. It looks simply perfect. I was amazed. Every bit was detailed and refurbed and Joel was impeccably professional and straight. I've been looking for a good Turbo for a while and have had some near misses. Good ones seemed to go within hours. Mine has 64k miles (lowish) and had been sold by RSJ twice before. I bought it before the pictures were on the website as I trusted Joel and he emailed me the pictures and described the provenance. The lapis looks indigo and richly gorgeous. The rub is that it has Savannah seats. Everything else was exactly as I wanted, though. Genuinely, and very pleasingly, the seats go well with the paint and look really smart! My wife loves them.
It drives like a tank and has much heavier controls than the NA 996's. The start up sequence sounds much more impressive, too; mechanical, instant, urgent. On the drive back to Oxford I did not manage full thrust at any point, despite fairly open roads. There is turbo lag if you are on low throttle and and lowish revs, but the boost is massive when it comes. I tended to keep it in higher gears so found myself being thrown forward just as I started to go too fast. This was my memory from 2002, also: relentless surge just when you think it's time to back off. Back then in 4th gear the car was able to pile on another 20mph in seconds when already in licence losing territory. The car seems very balanced and sure footed where the NA 996's felt lighter and more flighty at the helm. The instrument interface and controls look and feel much stouter and more professional than my '98 cars. I thought this would be the case and the facelifted late model turbo's are much better iniside than earlier versions, despite this being played down by sellers of earlier cars.
I will write more if people can bear it, when I have become better acquainted.
Nice colour!
Be warned, what the Turbo is all about can take quite a long time to fathom. I find that it's in it's element on some rather particular roads, basically twisties with a good surface and not too fast.
Overtaking is a blast too but it's not a car you drive at full throttle to enjoy, unlike lesser vehicles, you can't really do that because you would leave the road in an unscheduled and rapid manner...
Have fun and let it sink in!
Be warned, what the Turbo is all about can take quite a long time to fathom. I find that it's in it's element on some rather particular roads, basically twisties with a good surface and not too fast.
Overtaking is a blast too but it's not a car you drive at full throttle to enjoy, unlike lesser vehicles, you can't really do that because you would leave the road in an unscheduled and rapid manner...
Have fun and let it sink in!
Congratulations.
When you eventually get used to its stupendous capability & performance, there's a whole new world available with some modestly priced upgrades. Simply adore mine in bimble mode or maximum attack mode on a dawn raid over the North York moors. It's also none too shabby on trackdays or euro-jaunts either.
Those graphite wheels really suit the car IMHO.
Welcome to the 996T appreciation society.
When you eventually get used to its stupendous capability & performance, there's a whole new world available with some modestly priced upgrades. Simply adore mine in bimble mode or maximum attack mode on a dawn raid over the North York moors. It's also none too shabby on trackdays or euro-jaunts either.
Those graphite wheels really suit the car IMHO.
Welcome to the 996T appreciation society.
Thanks sor the seriously positive response! A couple more things: the wheels do look good, but they are actually GT silver as fitted to Turbo S's. The light in the photo is rotten and they are more silver than grey, and newly finished!
The brake pedal is heavy and just like my first hard top NA 996. I like it - you've got to push it harder to stop sooner. My second NA 996 was a silver cab and had a very sensitive brake pedal, annoyingly so, perhaps that's how hairdressers like it... It was tricky to balance when I was vainly heel and toeing round country B roads.
Question: the windows have a light tint which appears to be stuck on to the glass. This isn't really me. Can it easily be removed? If so, what does it cost, can they do a proper job (!) and where?
The brake pedal is heavy and just like my first hard top NA 996. I like it - you've got to push it harder to stop sooner. My second NA 996 was a silver cab and had a very sensitive brake pedal, annoyingly so, perhaps that's how hairdressers like it... It was tricky to balance when I was vainly heel and toeing round country B roads.
Question: the windows have a light tint which appears to be stuck on to the glass. This isn't really me. Can it easily be removed? If so, what does it cost, can they do a proper job (!) and where?
Not a patch on the Turbo.
Made a great noise that's for sure but no comparison in getting power down , well in my hands anyway.
Never felt the Porsche would let me down either. Also had nagging doubt with SL that at anytime the electrics could decide to do funny things.
Don't know if that's right or not as it only let me down a couple of times but it was my perception and didn't feel good!!!
Made a great noise that's for sure but no comparison in getting power down , well in my hands anyway.
Never felt the Porsche would let me down either. Also had nagging doubt with SL that at anytime the electrics could decide to do funny things.
Don't know if that's right or not as it only let me down a couple of times but it was my perception and didn't feel good!!!
Congratulations amazing cars, I bought my 996 turbo X50 from Joel at RSJ nearly 3 years ago and I'm still enjoying it! 
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