996tt - path to despair, or solid choice?

Sorry for the wall of text...

I've wanted a 911 forever. My first in-person experience with one was as a boy of 15-ish in Europe while there as an exchange student. A friend of the family I was staying with was some sort of muckety-muck at a Porsche dealership and I got to spend some time as a passenger in a couple of different 911s (this was early 80s). Air-cooled awesomeness on German B-roads and the Autobahn. I'm now in a position where I can afford one as a daily driver, though I would never buy new simply because I can't stomach a rapid 20-40% depreciation hit over a few years of ownership. So I've been looking at used. Here's where the question comes in...I've spent some time scouring the interwebs for info on the 996tt and so far it doesn't look like it would be unreasonable to own one. Prices are kind of at the bottom of the depreciation curve (seems like?), and the bang/buck ratio seems high. I would daily drive it, probably 150-200 miles per week on average.

Am I crazy? I'm not afraid of DIY maintenance and even more advanced stuff on my own, but I'm mostly worried about the unknowns. Any good sources of info to point me to? The wife seems on board, so I have that going for me. A PPI would be mandatory of course.

Open to your thoughts and encouragement (not that I need enabling :-P )...

Not crazy at all....a 996TT would make a great DD. Maybe Aussie will chime in....he has one.

These are awesome cars, really the best of the bunch 996 wise for a DD. Prices are actually on the upswing, a nice one with mileage around 30-40k is mid to high $40k's now.

They're pretty bullet proof, things to check for are if the coolant fittings have been pinned or welded, does the wing hydraulics work, 2nd gear pop out and things like the slave cylinder

I want one of these really badly....

If you find one with records and a good owner one of the best cars made. Especially in the stick, the tiptronic is not my cup of tea but it is a amazing automatic for the era.

Avoid modified cars at all cost and do not drive the 997.1TT as it will ruin the 996TT for you.

If you find a nice one, it's a great choice.

Repairs can be pricey if things go wrong. Just prepare for it.

I'd go for a higher mileage example that's well maintained. Cheaper to buy and likely less problems. They are still in the diy field. A lot of 996/2 stuff fits so parts aren't super expensive.

These cars tend to be far more modified than other 911's. It's not atypical to find one with suspension work, turbo swaps, etc, etc.

I wouldn't necessarily shy away from a modified one but I'd want to see all the receipts, see that the car has run for thousands of trouble free miles afterwards etc. The resale value of these heavily modded cars is definitely impacted, so they can be a great buy, just realize you won't get top dollar when you turn it.

The all stock cars go for the most, lightly modded cars take a bit of a hit but not that bad.

I've been looking for a well maintained, all records high mileage (80-100k) mile example for awhile. I think they're the best buy...

Solid choice.

These are awesome cars but they bear almost no resemblance in character to the car you remember from your childhood.

You can still u by that car for the same money or less with zero depreciation.

You can't go wrong either way but one is a refined gentleman's GT and one is a raw, rear engined, oil smelling, strange ergonomics having 911.

If you are looking for one and get the other ... Nevermind. You probably wouldn't be disappointed anyway :-)

Huckleberry wrote: These are awesome cars but they bear almost no resemblance in character to the car you remember from your childhood. You can still u by that car for the same money or less with zero depreciation. You can't go wrong either way but one is a refined gentleman's GT and one is a raw, rear engined, oil smelling, strange ergonomics having 911. If you are looking for one and get the other ... Nevermind. You probably wouldn't be disappointed anyway :-)

Indeed, the 996tt is a vastly different car from the ones that first lit the fuse. But they're all 911s :-)

Glad to hear that I may not be fully off my rocker (yet).

The 996 tt is much easier to drive. Early 911 turbos were good at 2 things. Swaping ends and holing pistons.

markwemple wrote: The 996 tt is much easier to drive. Early 911 turbos were good at 2 things. Swaping ends and holing pistons.

You shut your dirty whore mouf! The 930 is one of the most fun cars I've ever thrown around a race track. I had a student (and friend) ask me to hoon it around the Jefferson circuit and we were laughing our asses off making opposite lock hilarity for the photographer so he could have pictures for his garage wall. We were having a real blast when it blew the spark plug out and everyone thought it holed a piston

I love my 930. 70k miles and all pistons are still whole. I'd also love to have a 996tt to park beside it though.

I have a friend who has owned his 996tt x50 since new and now has over 550k miles. Not a typo. Turbos last about 250k, they opened up the motor at 350k and though it all looked fine, it was rebuilt because it was open. It has been amazingly reliable and driven in all types of New England weather. I think he is going to shoot for 1 million miles.

In reply to Sonic:

That is incredible!!

Also, It would take me a hundred years to put a million miles on a car.

There was an article in the PCA magazine last year about a couple who have put over 500k on their 996TT as well.

Judging by my 996 Carrera experience, a Turbo should be intensely good. I just realized that I want to drive one now.

Here is aussiesmg's thread on his.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/03-996-carrera-turbo-awd/99461/page1/

I bought on '02 about a year ago. Highish miles, light mods. Needed a few deferred maintenance issues corrected (CV joint boots, motor and trans mounts). Decent number of typical issues already corrected. Nice wheels and a conservative tune. Cars is a beast and very fun to drive. Picked it up for less than 30. I've put about 7k miles on it and other than an oil pressure sending unit its just been gas, oil and tires. Should hit 100K miles soon. Very practical as a DD.

Toaster, that's exactly the type of 996tt I'm looking for! Where'd you find yours?

All of this is great feedback, and makes for an interesting conundrum (i.e. first-world problem).

I'm on the waiting list for a BMW M2 build allocation, and it's a fantastic car, but it's not a 911 :-/

There is an '04 996tt 6spd available locally with ~58k miles that looks pretty nice (not an X50), and that I think could be snagged at a good price. I'm going to look at it this weekend if it doesn't sell before then. Looks to be all stock and very well cared for. If I fall in love I may just end up with it in my garage...

Huckleberry wrote:

markwemple wrote: The 996 tt is much easier to drive. Early 911 turbos were good at 2 things. Swaping ends and holing pistons.

You shut your dirty whore mouf! The 930 is one of the most fun cars I've ever thrown around a race track. I had a student (and friend) ask me to hoon it around the Jefferson circuit and we were laughing our asses off making opposite lock hilarity for the photographer so he could have pictures for his garage wall. We were having a real blast when it blew the spark plug out and everyone thought it holed a piston

I didn't say they weren't fun or cool. They're both. But they are money whores and will quickly remind you if you arent driving it just right.

Not sure I've seen such almost universal approval for a single car on here as this one is getting!

I'm starting to watch these more closely now. I'm about to list my M coupe and MGA (and Citroen SM) all for sale and am down to a 996 or 997.1 turbo cab or an NSX to replace them. From all accounts they are great cars at the bottom of the depreciation curve.

Huckleberry wrote: These are awesome cars but they bear almost no resemblance in character to the car you remember from your childhood.

/Thread.

But and this is my opinion if you want a old school 911 feel in a modern car a 997.1 S in a manual is just about the worlds most perfect modern enthusiast car. The Turbo is just comically overpowered for street driving even in the 996 model and the 997.2 and 991 S Turbo cars are even more unbelievable.