996 Turbo/997 Carerra
Discussion
Turbo can be expensive if you take a blank cheque book to an OPC or specialist, but if you are proactive, and do lots of work yourself, you can save thousands. I don't have the figures to hand at the moment but I replaced all three rads, both condensers, and the cost was very reasonable. Did all the replacing myself - simple enough even on a garage drive, so apart from an aircon re-gas no labour costs whatsoever.
Many 996 Turbos are over 15 years old by now and if not fully refreshed will need some TLC.
A really positive part of ownership is that anyone who is willing/competent/capable will find they are an absolute doddle to keep in tip top condition.
By this, I mean all normal service items including radiator changes and suspension refreshes can be done with a basic tool kit. They are no more difficult to work on than a Ford, Volkswagen or a Volvo.
If you only intend to have a 996 Turbo dealer serviced and not do any DIY you will need deep pockets and some good luck!
A really positive part of ownership is that anyone who is willing/competent/capable will find they are an absolute doddle to keep in tip top condition.
By this, I mean all normal service items including radiator changes and suspension refreshes can be done with a basic tool kit. They are no more difficult to work on than a Ford, Volkswagen or a Volvo.
If you only intend to have a 996 Turbo dealer serviced and not do any DIY you will need deep pockets and some good luck!
996TT02 said:
Turbo can be expensive if you take a blank cheque book to an OPC or specialist, but if you are proactive, and do lots of work yourself, you can save thousands. I don't have the figures to hand at the moment but I replaced all three rads, both condensers, and the cost was very reasonable. Did all the replacing myself - simple enough even on a garage drive, so apart from an aircon re-gas no labour costs whatsoever.
This is what I've been waiting to hear! As if I take the plunge, I will be doing as much as I can. What other jobs have you tackled on your one ?
I managed to change one's of the turbos on my drive as well as the engine mounts. I took it to a garage for discs, water pump and radiator. Some things though we're driven by time as it was my only car and typically jobs take longer Doug them yourself vs going to a garage (and the RS was annoying me by asking are you nearly done yet every 5 mins when I'm struggling with sized nuts).
I completely agree on the DIY front. Compared to a TVR, which was obviously built with no thought to how you’d take it apart again, the 996 was a doddle. I took the alternator out to replace the voltage regulator, and even though it was tight and lots of plumbing had to come out, it wasn’t difficult. Interior and trim jobs are similarly easy - nothing breaks when you take it off! With a decent set of ramps or stands you can do most things in a normal garage.
pete said:
I completely agree on the DIY front. Compared to a TVR, which was obviously built with no thought to how you’d take it apart again, the 996 was a doddle...
Good point. Headlamp bulb replacement is so simple you wonder why the method is not mandatory on all cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D65x8G1f6AIBelle427 said:
I just wondered where the money goes when people say you need £4K a year to run one.
I can afford to run one but there is no way I’d buy if that were true.
My mileage would be less than 3000 per year and I do all work myself.
A n/a 996/997 would need to have an engine rebuild for me to buy one, which complicates matters.
It’s not the running costs I’m referring to, but the cost to get it up to scratch in the first place. Maybe I’m incredibly fussy, but I’ve never bought a car yet that genuinely needed nothing*.I can afford to run one but there is no way I’d buy if that were true.
My mileage would be less than 3000 per year and I do all work myself.
A n/a 996/997 would need to have an engine rebuild for me to buy one, which complicates matters.
Brakes, rads, suspension, hoses, pipes, seals etc. A 996 (probably a 997) will need attention in some of those areas unless recently done, or you do it yourself. There are lots of stories on 911uk of people who are delighted with the car they’ve bought, but they all need something doing. Just cautioning you about spending your whole budget up front.
- not true: I bought a brand new cinquecento in 1997
2002-04 996T 70K to 123K miles from £35K to £27K or,
2007-08 R8 56K to 85K miles all about £35K?
All from a brief look at Autotrader and only 1 of each was a private sale (and not the cheapest of each either). All supposedly had FSH, whatever that really means on inspection!
Different driving experience maybe but which would you choose? This is the Porsche bit of the forum but still an interesting question, I think.
2007-08 R8 56K to 85K miles all about £35K?
All from a brief look at Autotrader and only 1 of each was a private sale (and not the cheapest of each either). All supposedly had FSH, whatever that really means on inspection!
Different driving experience maybe but which would you choose? This is the Porsche bit of the forum but still an interesting question, I think.
I was going to move from my 996 C2 to a 996 turbo but Im a tall chap and my friend's 997 GT3 came up so I grabbed that instead. If you are tall, the 997 might suit better but it's really about deciding on an N/A or a turbo car - they are quite different in feel and handling.
There's a rather nice looking x50 on a well known North London specialists website that might be worth stretching the budget a little for....
There's a rather nice looking x50 on a well known North London specialists website that might be worth stretching the budget a little for....
Worth watching this and this sort of bill can hit anyone with an older turbo or GT3. Harry spent £50k maintaining his fleet of 16 cars and 14 bikes last year. Guess which car accounted for 42% of his entire maintenance budget?! Perhaps unfair as it was a modded turbo 993 but a 996 turbo can be just as expensive to fix and they do have well known weaknesses in both gearbox and engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCuexUZOKK8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCuexUZOKK8
Had my 996T for over 6 years now, and I usually change my car every year or two.
I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing/consumables (e.g. brakes/tyres etc.):
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing/consumables (e.g. brakes/tyres etc.):
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
Edited by shantybeater on Saturday 19th January 15:13
andy97 said:
2002-04 996T 70K to 123K miles from £35K to £27K or,
2007-08 R8 56K to 85K miles all about £35K?
All from a brief look at Autotrader and only 1 of each was a private sale (and not the cheapest of each either). All supposedly had FSH, whatever that really means on inspection!
Different driving experience maybe but which would you choose? This is the Porsche bit of the forum but still an interesting question, I think.
I had a 997 C4S before so not really that similar to a 996TT apart from AWD. The 996TT will be faster. I would imagine handling is similar-ish. The R8 is in a different league for it's image, interior look and quality, appearance, sound. If you value (a lot more) straight line power, and tunable on top, and something more discreet over these qualities then the 996 ticks the box2007-08 R8 56K to 85K miles all about £35K?
All from a brief look at Autotrader and only 1 of each was a private sale (and not the cheapest of each either). All supposedly had FSH, whatever that really means on inspection!
Different driving experience maybe but which would you choose? This is the Porsche bit of the forum but still an interesting question, I think.
I just bought an R8 V8, in October, my all time dream car! It has been an expensive exercise so far unless you're used to running a Veyron
- Running a little rough when I bought it, new MAFs and filters solved it £700
- Got the engine carbon cleaned to make sure it is tip top from the start of my ownership £500
- Retrofitted cruise control and carbon side blades £1900
- Exhaust rattling. Could have got an original one for cheap but went Quicksilver spent about £3k
- Infotainment utter dogs
t, B&O sounds good so bought a Parrot kit, Brodit wired mount, Bluetooth receiver hardwire & plumbed it all in myself for about £150 - Service, wipers, battery £700
- Broken spring requires new strut £600
- Air con stopped working hope it's the pressure switch £40 not the compressor (engine out, £3.5k might have to leave till summer!)
- Mew Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round £950
Bought it for £35k with 54,000 miles on. Might have been better buying one for £43k with 20,000 miles and a lot newer but you never really know. The car is an 08 and it's a dream to drive around in. Now it has the new boots on it handles fantastically, it's mainly RWD and just gives a bit of power forward for extra cornering grip so optimised for performance rather than winter driving as far as I can make out
However... don't buy the falacy that they are reliable and don't need any money spending on them. Might be true for the first few years but not now and won't be the case for a 15 year old 996TT.
Edited by jakesmith on Friday 18th January 17:19
shantybeater said:
Had my 996T for over 6 years now, and I usually change my car every year or two.
I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing:
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
Interesting stuff ! I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing:
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
Edited by shantybeater on Friday 18th January 16:41
Edited by shantybeater on Friday 18th January 16:42
Re your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
neutral 3 said:
shantybeater said:
Had my 996T for over 6 years now, and I usually change my car every year or two.
I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing:
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
Interesting stuff ! I won't bore you with the usual biased owners view of how it drives, the fact I have kept it so long is proof to me of just how incredible it is.
In terms of cost, I get mine serviced at the OPC for the stamp and report, then do all I can myself. I do not earn a six figure salary, and enjoying such a luxury is completely reliant on me being hands on (plus i enjoy it). That said the car has been remarkably reliable up until now and the usual 'servicing' costs are cheaper than an E46 M3 (not to mention the overall running costs!!).
In my six years~. over and above servicing:
- £4000~ spent at 9E getting a major service, boost leak check, oil weep fixed, rear coffin arms, turbo actuators+calibration, replacement of rusty headstuds, turbo nuts etc... and a few other bits and bobs to get the car in healthy shape (can't remember what)
- £600-700 for replacement of all three front radiators (DIY fitting, parts only)
- £200 to renew all radiator pipes - which was the actual cause of the radiator leak (DIY, parts only)
- £80 Pedal potentiometer (DIY, parts only)
- £100~ Clutch accumulator (DIY, parts only)
- £100 ~ Rust prevention - piece of mind after seeing my 2 years younger M3(DIY)
- £300 - Titanium headstuds / SS turbo/exhaust nuts- to avoid difficult maintenance down the line(DIY)
And thats about it......In SIX years. Granted she is a summer car only but i still do 3-4k miles per year on average.
I will update this with any additional costs when i get home.
Edited by shantybeater on Friday 18th January 16:41
Edited by shantybeater on Friday 18th January 16:42
Re your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
neutral 3 said:
Interesting stuff !
Re your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
I don't think you can really compare a E46 M3 to a 996TT. The TT has got a race derived engine, is easily tunable to 500BHP, AWD, stronger brand, not mistakable for a run of the mill car & handling / chassis of a different dimension. Not saying the E46 isn't a good car or a fun car but it's had its day and has quite a suspect association, whilst the 996TT would still keep up with all but the most exotic cars of todayRe your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
jakesmith said:
neutral 3 said:
Interesting stuff !
Re your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
I don't think you can really compare a E46 M3 to a 996TT. The TT has got a race derived engine, is easily tunable to 500BHP, AWD, stronger brand, not mistakable for a run of the mill car & handling / chassis of a different dimension. Not saying the E46 isn't a good car or a fun car but it's had its day and has quite a suspect association, whilst the 996TT would still keep up with all but the most exotic cars of todayRe your M3, i ran a late 03 E46 M3 manual for nearly 5 years ( superb cars, I Loved it / Miss it badly ) and 30,000 miles and spent v little on it. If I don't go down the 996T route, then it will be another M3, as @ 3 times the £ price, no way is the 996T 3 times the better car.
I used have some regular tear ups with someone in a 996T some years ago and around the lanes was up his chuff. My M3 had a CSL steering rack ( which gave it perfect steering feel and feedback ) and I ran it without rear seats or trim, which saved a lot of weight. The M3 on decent shocks and Contis, handles beautifully. Yes, when we used to get onto a fast straight bit of rd, then of course he then pulled away, but not by as much as I expected him to.
And yes, the 996T is a supercar, but there is Far more to a car than just straight line speed. Insane / High speeds are totally out of the question in the Sth now,
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