996 turbo - what to pay
Discussion
Hi all,
The wife and I were looking to buy a well priced C4S however an inspection revealed it needed too much work.
We have had a serious case of budget creep and found ourselves looking at Turbo's (reasoning being less likely to depreciate)
There seems to be a massive variance in prices for seemingly similar cars, that goes for the C4S's too.
It feels like the hot air has gone from the market so do people think we should be looking at closer to £30k than £40k? Not after a super low mileage car, just one that has been looked after.
The wife and I were looking to buy a well priced C4S however an inspection revealed it needed too much work.
We have had a serious case of budget creep and found ourselves looking at Turbo's (reasoning being less likely to depreciate)
There seems to be a massive variance in prices for seemingly similar cars, that goes for the C4S's too.
It feels like the hot air has gone from the market so do people think we should be looking at closer to £30k than £40k? Not after a super low mileage car, just one that has been looked after.
I think you will find a good one somewhere between those two price points. Seems the 996 Turbo is still a little unloved but represents a good value for money buy and potentially may start creeping upwards. One major benefit is that it does not suffer from IMS Bearing issues that some of the later ones do and if well looked after, should be a solid proposition.
I would definitely take a turbo though over a 996 C4S etc.
I would definitely take a turbo though over a 996 C4S etc.
Have a good drive in a Turbo first, for some, they are a bit one dimensional 'point and squirt' kind of car. Very fast, very capable, but somehow some enjoyment is missing if you like a more delicate, feelsome drive.
If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
MrVert said:
Have a good drive in a Turbo first, for some, they are a bit one dimensional 'point and squirt' kind of car. Very fast, very capable, but somehow some enjoyment is missing if you like a more delicate, feelsome drive.
If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
Totally agree with this. The 996 is epic, and remapped biblically quick. But it's also....... actually not much fun apart from that.If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
Take a test and and make your own views.
MrVert said:
Have a good drive in a Turbo first, for some, they are a bit one dimensional 'point and squirt' kind of car. Very fast, very capable, but somehow some enjoyment is missing if you like a more delicate, feelsome drive.
If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
Couple of years ago I drove a manual 996 Turbo back to back with my manual 997.2 GTS....maybe I am biased but I would definitely consider a 997.2. I think the 996 Turbo felt like it lacked a bit of fitness to me...controls felt heavier and I think if you aren’t the kind of driver that lives for out and out performance the 997.2 would make a very interesting alternative. If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
MrVert said:
Have a good drive in a Turbo first, for some, they are a bit one dimensional 'point and squirt' kind of car. Very fast, very capable, but somehow some enjoyment is missing if you like a more delicate, feelsome drive.
If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
This is actually a concern, the turbos sound pretty muted and the c4s can sound great. I am I’m not in any need of a rocket ship but was considering the turbo due to the stronger engine and potentially less depreciation. If you drove them back to back, despite being faster, I'd wager you may just well pick a C4S, or even a C2..
Take a look at 997.2 Carrera & Carrera S for that money, you'll get a decent one with low miles and they are brilliant cars. Modern enough but with a hint of a classic.
I do really need to get a go in one but not easy to find one that isn’t 100 plus miles and not a silly price. Really don’t want to waste a sellers time test driving a car I have no real intention of buying
roca1976 said:
Hold out for a c4s with a hartech or similar engine rebuild if you are worried about the m96/7 issues. They generally aren't that much more expensive compared to cars without a rebuild.
This one has a hartech rebuild but I feel its overpricedhttps://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
markh1 said:
This one has a hartech rebuild but I feel its overpriced
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
I don't think this car is overpriced. £13.5k dropped on a 3.9 rebuild which not only gives peace of mind but is also a significant performance upgrade, recent new tyres (£1k) and discs/pads (easy £1.5k), refreshed suspension (probably £2-3k inc labour), huge Porsche history prior rebuild... Compare this to most other similar mileage cars on sale for circa £20k but still carrying the risk of engine failure and riding on knackered old suspension...https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
breakfan said:
I don't think this car is overpriced. £13.5k dropped on a 3.9 rebuild which not only gives peace of mind but is also a significant performance upgrade, recent new tyres (£1k) and discs/pads (easy £1.5k), refreshed suspension (probably £2-3k inc labour), huge Porsche history prior rebuild... Compare this to most other similar mileage cars on sale for circa £20k but still carrying the risk of engine failure and riding on knackered old suspension...
On balance it does seem a good car and only an hour or so away from me so have dropped the seller a message.I don't think that's over priced. Remember it's a capacity increase rebuild rather than just a rebuild.
While my lowly 996.1 was having some issues sorted pre-sale I was given a 996 turbo as a loaner for a month. I can't deny that the acceleration was a hoot but as I'm not that keen to lose my license (or more likely go to prison given the speed of it) it didn't offer anything over my Carrera and in fact, I find the sound of the NA engine through a Dansk SS system adds far more to the enjoyment than the extra (often unusable) 150bhp.
If I had £30-£40k for a 911 right now then I would be going for a NA 997.2 (or I'd creep the budget another £10k to a 996 GT3).
I think the other consideration here is that everything non GT from the 991.2 on is turbo. I can see a future of people talking about the purity of a water-cooled NA car in the same way current beards bang on about the air cooled stuff*
While my lowly 996.1 was having some issues sorted pre-sale I was given a 996 turbo as a loaner for a month. I can't deny that the acceleration was a hoot but as I'm not that keen to lose my license (or more likely go to prison given the speed of it) it didn't offer anything over my Carrera and in fact, I find the sound of the NA engine through a Dansk SS system adds far more to the enjoyment than the extra (often unusable) 150bhp.
If I had £30-£40k for a 911 right now then I would be going for a NA 997.2 (or I'd creep the budget another £10k to a 996 GT3).
I think the other consideration here is that everything non GT from the 991.2 on is turbo. I can see a future of people talking about the purity of a water-cooled NA car in the same way current beards bang on about the air cooled stuff*
- If we're still allowed to own ICE cars at all.
nunpuncher said:
I don't think that's over priced. Remember it's a capacity increase rebuild rather than just a rebuild.
While my lowly 996.1 was having some issues sorted pre-sale I was given a 996 turbo as a loaner for a month. I can't deny that the acceleration was a hoot but as I'm not that keen to lose my license (or more likely go to prison given the speed of it) it didn't offer anything over my Carrera and in fact, I find the sound of the NA engine through a Dansk SS system adds far more to the enjoyment than the extra (often unusable) 150bhp.
If I had £30-£40k for a 911 right now then I would be going for a NA 997.2 (or I'd creep the budget another £10k to a 996 GT3).
I think the other consideration here is that everything non GT from the 991.2 on is turbo. I can see a future of people talking about the purity of a water-cooled NA car in the same way current beards bang on about the air cooled stuff*
I appreciate it is a capacity increase however it is fairly niche and I don't think the market at the moment supports that sort of premium.While my lowly 996.1 was having some issues sorted pre-sale I was given a 996 turbo as a loaner for a month. I can't deny that the acceleration was a hoot but as I'm not that keen to lose my license (or more likely go to prison given the speed of it) it didn't offer anything over my Carrera and in fact, I find the sound of the NA engine through a Dansk SS system adds far more to the enjoyment than the extra (often unusable) 150bhp.
If I had £30-£40k for a 911 right now then I would be going for a NA 997.2 (or I'd creep the budget another £10k to a 996 GT3).
I think the other consideration here is that everything non GT from the 991.2 on is turbo. I can see a future of people talking about the purity of a water-cooled NA car in the same way current beards bang on about the air cooled stuff*
- If we're still allowed to own ICE cars at all.
I'm sure the 997 cars are great but there is loads of them around and to my strange eyes they dont have the visual appeal the 996 does and just don't seem as special. I also wanted the older car as wanted a more hands on driving experience. I don't however like the feel of all the weight in the back end the 996 c2 gives hence going for the 4wd cars. A GT3 would be great but I need usable back seats (one of the main reasons of getting a 911)
If you can stretch to 32-35 I'd say you can get a really nice 996 turbo. No opinion on X50 as I don't have it. I don't want to sound arrogant and compare it to the other 996 models, it's a personal choice and the turbo engine feels very different from N/A - I miss N/A response but enjoying the wallop
breakfan said:
markh1 said:
This one has a hartech rebuild but I feel its overpriced
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
I don't think this car is overpriced. £13.5k dropped on a 3.9 rebuild which not only gives peace of mind but is also a significant performance upgrade, recent new tyres (£1k) and discs/pads (easy £1.5k), refreshed suspension (probably £2-3k inc labour), huge Porsche history prior rebuild... Compare this to most other similar mileage cars on sale for circa £20k but still carrying the risk of engine failure and riding on knackered old suspension...https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
Never understood the 'numb' sensation people put on these cars, in a world where you are further and further apart from mechanicals the 996T nicely in place where you feel very connected and still have an absurd amount of power on offer. You need to spend some time with the car to bond with it imo.Get a go in one, everyone has their preferences, and from someone who switches cars every year my 8 years (to me) 996T is still here. Spec is important, manual & x50 make a big difference.
A 996 C4S is exactly the same chassis but with a chocolate engine. So how can one with 150bhp more on offer (and a dry sump race derived engine i may add) suddenly feel numb and boring, yet the same car with the same weight and significantly less power be more engaging? Laughable.
I'd probably look up some reviews from journalists at the time rather than listen to internet folk who have barely stepped foot in one.
Here is a thread I just came across with some experience from actual owners, one of which has compared it to his now GT3
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Best of luck with the search.
A 996 C4S is exactly the same chassis but with a chocolate engine. So how can one with 150bhp more on offer (and a dry sump race derived engine i may add) suddenly feel numb and boring, yet the same car with the same weight and significantly less power be more engaging? Laughable.
I'd probably look up some reviews from journalists at the time rather than listen to internet folk who have barely stepped foot in one.
Here is a thread I just came across with some experience from actual owners, one of which has compared it to his now GT3
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Best of luck with the search.
Edited by shantybeater on Friday 6th March 15:57
Mattjevans said:
breakfan said:
markh1 said:
This one has a hartech rebuild but I feel its overpriced
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
I don't think this car is overpriced. £13.5k dropped on a 3.9 rebuild which not only gives peace of mind but is also a significant performance upgrade, recent new tyres (£1k) and discs/pads (easy £1.5k), refreshed suspension (probably £2-3k inc labour), huge Porsche history prior rebuild... Compare this to most other similar mileage cars on sale for circa £20k but still carrying the risk of engine failure and riding on knackered old suspension...https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
If it was half that mileage and immaculate it may be worth it, also doesnt have litronic lights which I want as will be doing a fair bit of night driving
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