996 targa V's coupe

[m444ttb]

I've somehow talked myself up from a 986 Boxster 3.2S to 911 money and found a car I like the look of. However it's a targa. Looks wise I like them, but how do they drive with a big hole in the roof? Is it something I'm going to notice back to back with a coupe (something that will never happen) and perhaps more importantly does the the roof have a tendency to leak and/or make annoying noises?

I think if I put my sensible hat on Id either not spend this much and go back to 986s (surely they must be less rigid than a 996 targa?) or buy a Cayman S. But the 996 just has some added allure I can't put my finger on.

Edited by m444ttb on Friday 31st October 23:08

[m444ttb]

Thanks both. That's really very helpful. It will replace an aeroscreen Westfield as my weekend car (only one I actually take out for a drive!) so no 911 is going to feel that sharp in comparison.

The dealer is going to send me the full list of options next week. I don't think it has the sports exhaust but we shall see. Any other must have options? I quite fancy cruise control, which I don't think it has either!

[m444ttb]

ArcticGT3 said:

Cruise is easy to add to non cable cars

What's involved? A friend performed a retrofit on his Audi TT job and that was quite literally a case of plugging in a new stalk and switching the function on in the ecu.

The exhaust modification sounds good. From the limited reading I've done it sounds like the car doesn't change much on a part throttle cruise, which is exactly what you want. Has anyone had a DB reading at a track day?

The car I'm looking at seems to have plenty of audio-type options but a fairly recent figment of a new M030 suspension kit. Is that worth having?

[m444ttb]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Just a thought - and reading about all of the Audio works - it doesn't sound very 'stock' ?
How is the service history ? And by whom ?

Have the 'fatal' Seals and / or bearings been done ?
(You've read up on the doomsayers and the explodiveness of the water cooled engines ??)

It has had a rebuild 20k miles / 3 years ago with new modified IMS bearing with uprated spindle apparently. Included in that we're a new alternator and clutch.

The suspension work seems very thorough with the M030 kit fitted along with drop links, mounts, coffin arms & geometry done. Also had brake discs and pads, check over + lubrication of the roof, new mats from Porsche (£65 to fit lol), a coilpack heat shield and sorting some issue with the PCM (not 100% sure what that is). This was all done at RPM.

[m444ttb]

Well it's advertised at c£16k while at car in the same colour with 15k less on the clock is up at c£14.5k. That car has had a new clutch in the last 12 miles but that's all I know. If that is the difference the higher mileage car is possibly worth the extra given all the work carried out. Worth using to help my position though.

[m444ttb]

Going to see a car Sunday having spent the last week debating whether I care that it'll be a bit heavier, a little less rigid and have another expensive component to go wrong vs a coupe. Tons of work undertaken on it that all says enthusiast owner so expecting good things. I'll probably have www.porscheinspections.com go over it too if I like it.

[m444ttb]

I went to view the car today and it seemed very nice. Mileage is just over 102k and lots of work done in the last 70k all supported by receipts and service stamps from RPM plus the Hartech rebuild with the previous owner. The only reason I've not put a deposit down is I wanted to check opinions here as having not seen any other cars I'm not sure if 'they all do that' or it need some attention.

1. Clutch seems pretty heavy to me but I was driving my wife's Focus ST before it and that clutch is very light. There is a receipt for a (non-genuine I think) clutch in the last few years.

2. The targa roof seemed quite slow to me. Partixularly as it came back up and got level with my head. RPM had lubricated it recently though. The roof was quite noisy on Bedford's crappy roads, but I was expecting this from posts on here.

3. Gear stick: this seemed quite loose (not sure if that's the right word), as in there wasn't much resistance, when in neutral. Gear change was nice though.

4. The exhaust (inc. clamps) had been flagged as rusty by RPM. Doesn't mean it will let me down come MoT time but I'm guessing a replacement will be expensive when it's due.

Otherwise the only things worth mentioning are knackered engine cover has struts, a slightly creaky clutch pedal (pedal bushes I presume) and the interior reflects the mileage so a little wear on the drivers seat.

One final thing - should any of the switches for the roof or windows be one touch? None of them were in either direction.

Edited by m444ttb on Sunday 9th November 15:20

[m444ttb]

This is the local Carrera4 I'm going to enquire about, despite not liking the aerokit:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

I'm also going to look at this although it's toppy budget wise:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

[m444ttb]

This was definitely a heavy clutch Id say. This aside the clutch it felt nice to drive. The engine felt very healthy to me, although I've not experienced a 911 from the drivers seat before.

The roof noise, which sounded like it was from the rear, was a creaking. It was at it's worst when the road was potholed and awful (which was quite a lot!).

This is the car btw:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Edited by m444ttb on Sunday 9th November 19:07

[m444ttb]

While I wasn't looking for a targa I do like them. I could live with a bit of noise for the added benefit of the rear hatch. The one concern is a major issue with the roof. Although if it's just the motor I see they are 'only' c£350 so it may not be too bad if it's a DIYable job. Preference is still a coupe though.

[m444ttb]

Im Swindon so Newbury and Reading aren't far. Here's the receipts the dealer sent over for the targa (he left off RPM's advisories):












MattB

EDIT: Sorry these haven't come out overly readable due to the resizing etc. the original was an emailed PDF on my phone.

Edited by m444ttb on Sunday 9th November 21:18

[m444ttb]

I've been to see a 52-plate Carrera4 with aerokit today. The car was taken in part-ex on a 997 having been previously sold by this garage to the same customer. Originally supplied by Dick Lovett Porsche Swindon and exclusively services there it seems pretty decent. The clutch was heavy but nowhere near the targa from yesterday. The car hadn't yet been prepped for sale and needed a few bits sorting:
- Stereo (awful tape head unit) was away being fixed
- N/S wing mirror wasn't fully mobile. Not sure they had spotted this
- Bodywork had clearly been regularly washed by a car wash as it ws very very swirl marked. Front end had also taken a proper stone peppering with one chip having a tiny spot of rust in on the wing.
- Tyres are all being replaced

Compared to the targa, which has clearly seen a machine mop and probably paint, it didn't look so hot from the outside but inside it was much nicer. Perhaps the difference of 12k miles or perhaps the previous lady owner of the targa simply didn't treat it that well! The dark blue did look great (despite the swirls) when the sun came out briefly. Almost purple. I even liked the aerokit rear spoiler more in the metal.

Options wise it lacked the heated seats Id like but did have the switchable sports exhaust. No cruise like most in my price range but sounds an easy retrofit. I'd like rear parking sensors also, which it also doesn't have. Oddly the original owner had specced some of the carbon interior options instead of the better cd head unit.

The only other thing missing for was all the paperwork, which was being kept at the business owners house. If I want to give a little more notice he'll bring it. Then we can see what work has been done. I'm not going to pay £15k for something missing options I want, needing a bodywork tidy up, and not showing any IMS beating work or suspension components replaced.

[m444ttb]

You'd think so but I'm struggling at the moment. Need to view the local car again to see what I missed, how the paperwork stacks up and what sort of deal could be done.

[m444ttb]

One of a number of reasons I don't want an earlier 3.4 pre-facelift cars.

[m444ttb]

Yes it does. Thanks. Having watched some YouTube videos I think I was expecting the roof to be quicker than it should be so probably nothing to worry about.