Discussion
Haha, I head offshore on Friday for four weeks (Africa). Head down to SP Autobahn in Sprinkerse industrial estate, he does all my work and knows his Porsches.
I have thought about selling mine and have been looking around but there is nothing that comes close without spending an extra 20k.
I have thought about selling mine and have been looking around but there is nothing that comes close without spending an extra 20k.
chrisrs233 said:
Hi guys
I'm new to the forum and looking to buy my first porsche (996 Turbo). I'm looking for advice on what to look out for as i have saved long and hard for this day.
As i have never owned one advice on servicing would also be appreciated. I live in central Scotland
Cheers Chris
What to look out for? Everything. The Turbo is just a used car so a thorough used car check out will go a long way to helping you decide you have found a car worth pursuing.I'm new to the forum and looking to buy my first porsche (996 Turbo). I'm looking for advice on what to look out for as i have saved long and hard for this day.
As i have never owned one advice on servicing would also be appreciated. I live in central Scotland
Cheers Chris
My preference would be to find a one owner car with a good service history and no mods and no tracking. You want to see what services were done and learn what services are due. Say plugs are due. In some areas coils should be replaced at the same time - due to weather/road conditions the accelerate coil degradation -- and this plug (and coil) service can run upwards of $1K. Tires can run nearly $2K for a set of 4. Brakes can cost $1K per axle to do.
These cars cost upwards of $120K or more when new and are not cheap to work on, repair. Parts are expensive and labor is not discounted just because the car is old.
My advise is to start out visiting the car cold. Be sure the A/C is off, then start the engine and as you do verify all the warning lights come on -- especially the CEL -- and then all warning lights go off when the engine starts and begins to run.
Then let the engine idle as you walk around the car looking body panel gaps, paint surfaces, etc. But always listen to the engine for any untoward noises.
The engine idle speed initially high should drop and the idle smooth out.
Then have the seller take you on a test ride. Pay attention to the car. How it feels, sounds, rides, etc. Note how the seller drives the car. Does he skip shift, say skip second and go from 1st to 3rd?
The route should cover 15 miles and give the driver a chance to demo the car in a variety of scenarios, much like you will use the car.
But among other things you want the seller to hard accelerate the car from around idle to redline and then upshift and keep his foot on the gas. The engine should pull good and smooth all way up and after the upshift. Afterwards the engine should settle into a nice idle with no drama.
Watch the boost display. Boost should reach 0.7 bar though depending upon conditions it might reach 0.8 bar even possibly 0.9 bar. These are not spikes or anomalous readings but arise from the DME attempting to meet the torque demanded by the driver by allowing more boost than the nominal 0.7 bar. (I've seen 0.8 bar, even 0.9 bar in my 03 Turbo but only under hard acceleration at high altitude (0.8 bar at ~4K and 0.9 bar at >7K to >8K feet above sea level).
Note the oil pressure gage reading. At hot idle the reading should be 1.5 bar to 2.0 bar though 1.0 bar is ok as long as the warning light never comes on and at 3K rpm the reading will be 4 bar or higher. A way high reading at idle could be a bad gage but the engine could be filled with a heavier oil to mask a noisy engine or possibly just some owner's misguided choice in oils. It helps alleviate concern if you can see servicing invoices and the oil amount and type used in these services.
Back at the starting point then you drive the car and follow the same route. Drive the car the same way. Do not skip from 1st to 3rd though or adhere to any other odd things the seller did.
After your test drive back at the starting point if you still like the car then do a thorough used car check out. Assume nothing works until you verify it does work. Do not take this step lightly. Fail to detect the spoiler doesn't work right or the warning light comes on could mean you are facing a $2K spoiler replacement bill after you buy the car.
If after all of the above you still like the car and believe you can buy it arrange to have the car PPI'd. Among other things the car will put on a lift and the car inspected for damage or leak sign. Really any place a hose or pipe connects or there is a gasket or a seal is a potential leak source.
(My Turbo (110K miles) is in the shop for a RMS leak.)
The PPI should know about the clutch accumulator and slave cylinder, the power steering valve squeal, cardan shaft rumble, leaking radiators, leaking spoiler cylinders, 2nd gear pop out, etc. He should also apprise you of the tire condition and alignment, brake pad/rotor condition and remaining life, and so on.
Overrev counters should be read and what they mean explained to you.
For servicing you want a shop that knows these cars and their servicing idiosyncrasies. The local gas station that does a find job on your lawnmower is not the place to take your Turbo for servicing.
Or, in simpler terms, save yourself a lot of heartache & uncertainty & give Easy/Ryanair a few bucks to take you South of the Border where all of the specialists (known /reputable / mentioned in glowing terms on these forums ) have probably several suitable vehicles.
Off the top of my head thinking 911 Virgin /RSJ / JZM but there are plenty, just take the time whilst you are stuck out to sea to do some reading.
Coming at it totally cold there is a lot to take in , and if you get fecked it wont be for just a grand bonny lad, it is likely to be a lot more than that.
Off the top of my head thinking 911 Virgin /RSJ / JZM but there are plenty, just take the time whilst you are stuck out to sea to do some reading.
Coming at it totally cold there is a lot to take in , and if you get fecked it wont be for just a grand bonny lad, it is likely to be a lot more than that.
Rockster said:
chrisrs233 said:
Hi guys
I'm new to the forum and looking to buy my first porsche (996 Turbo). I'm looking for advice on what to look out for as i have saved long and hard for this day.
As i have never owned one advice on servicing would also be appreciated. I live in central Scotland
Cheers Chris
What to look out for? Everything. The Turbo is just a used car so a thorough used car check out will go a long way to helping you decide you have found a car worth pursuing.I'm new to the forum and looking to buy my first porsche (996 Turbo). I'm looking for advice on what to look out for as i have saved long and hard for this day.
As i have never owned one advice on servicing would also be appreciated. I live in central Scotland
Cheers Chris
My preference would be to find a one owner car with a good service history and no mods and no tracking. You want to see what services were done and learn what services are due. Say plugs are due. In some areas coils should be replaced at the same time - due to weather/road conditions the accelerate coil degradation -- and this plug (and coil) service can run upwards of $1K. Tires can run nearly $2K for a set of 4. Brakes can cost $1K per axle to do.
These cars cost upwards of $120K or more when new and are not cheap to work on, repair. Parts are expensive and labor is not discounted just because the car is old.
My advise is to start out visiting the car cold. Be sure the A/C is off, then start the engine and as you do verify all the warning lights come on -- especially the CEL -- and then all warning lights go off when the engine starts and begins to run.
Then let the engine idle as you walk around the car looking body panel gaps, paint surfaces, etc. But always listen to the engine for any untoward noises.
The engine idle speed initially high should drop and the idle smooth out.
Then have the seller take you on a test ride. Pay attention to the car. How it feels, sounds, rides, etc. Note how the seller drives the car. Does he skip shift, say skip second and go from 1st to 3rd?
The route should cover 15 miles and give the driver a chance to demo the car in a variety of scenarios, much like you will use the car.
But among other things you want the seller to hard accelerate the car from around idle to redline and then upshift and keep his foot on the gas. The engine should pull good and smooth all way up and after the upshift. Afterwards the engine should settle into a nice idle with no drama.
Watch the boost display. Boost should reach 0.7 bar though depending upon conditions it might reach 0.8 bar even possibly 0.9 bar. These are not spikes or anomalous readings but arise from the DME attempting to meet the torque demanded by the driver by allowing more boost than the nominal 0.7 bar. (I've seen 0.8 bar, even 0.9 bar in my 03 Turbo but only under hard acceleration at high altitude (0.8 bar at ~4K and 0.9 bar at >7K to >8K feet above sea level).
Note the oil pressure gage reading. At hot idle the reading should be 1.5 bar to 2.0 bar though 1.0 bar is ok as long as the warning light never comes on and at 3K rpm the reading will be 4 bar or higher. A way high reading at idle could be a bad gage but the engine could be filled with a heavier oil to mask a noisy engine or possibly just some owner's misguided choice in oils. It helps alleviate concern if you can see servicing invoices and the oil amount and type used in these services.
Back at the starting point then you drive the car and follow the same route. Drive the car the same way. Do not skip from 1st to 3rd though or adhere to any other odd things the seller did.
After your test drive back at the starting point if you still like the car then do a thorough used car check out. Assume nothing works until you verify it does work. Do not take this step lightly. Fail to detect the spoiler doesn't work right or the warning light comes on could mean you are facing a $2K spoiler replacement bill after you buy the car.
If after all of the above you still like the car and believe you can buy it arrange to have the car PPI'd. Among other things the car will put on a lift and the car inspected for damage or leak sign. Really any place a hose or pipe connects or there is a gasket or a seal is a potential leak source.
(My Turbo (110K miles) is in the shop for a RMS leak.)
The PPI should know about the clutch accumulator and slave cylinder, the power steering valve squeal, cardan shaft rumble, leaking radiators, leaking spoiler cylinders, 2nd gear pop out, etc. He should also apprise you of the tire condition and alignment, brake pad/rotor condition and remaining life, and so on.
Overrev counters should be read and what they mean explained to you.
For servicing you want a shop that knows these cars and their servicing idiosyncrasies. The local gas station that does a find job on your lawnmower is not the place to take your Turbo for servicing.
Thanks for taking the time out to respond. Buying this car isn't something i shall be rushing into. Travelling south is where i expected to pick one up as there is more choice than up here. I'll check out the garages you mentioned, i do like to do my homework prior to buying and won't part with a penny if the car isn't 100% as i have found out the hard way in the past!!
I've got a 2002 x50 manual, but I still trawl the ads, just to see what is what. I have seen a veritable shedload of "interesting" cars on PH classifieds this last year or so. Some fall into the "perfect buy" category ( FPSH, sold by a reputable specialist etc ) . . .whilst others seem on the face of it "a bit risky", with shedloads of extra lepton mods that you may indeed find need doing over a year or two (as the inevitable horns start growing 
)
Given that we always want more power, I wouldn't discount the modded ones, but I would be sure to have it checked out by a specialist that knows their onions. If memory serves me well, 9E (Nine Excellence) had one adverised recently that had been fairly modded, but they were willing to put their name to it, so , shouldn't be a problem.
If you are gonna do startrek, make it Warp Factor 4 (not 3.5 ! )
) Given that we always want more power, I wouldn't discount the modded ones, but I would be sure to have it checked out by a specialist that knows their onions. If memory serves me well, 9E (Nine Excellence) had one adverised recently that had been fairly modded, but they were willing to put their name to it, so , shouldn't be a problem.
If you are gonna do startrek, make it Warp Factor 4 (not 3.5 ! )
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