Been offered a 996 Turbo manual - what to look out for

[StevenWhitaker]

Dear collective,

Been offered a 45k mile turbo late 2002, from a long term collector. Has a lovely spec as well, seems to be in excellent condition but not used much over past few years.

What am i getting myself into?

[Jones the cat]

depends on the price but consider this one listed today (no affiliation) ... as you know this one will be pukka.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20366489

[Unreal]

StevenWhitaker said:

Dear collective,

Been offered a 45k mile turbo late 2002, from a long term collector. Has a lovely spec as well, seems to be in excellent condition but not used much over past few years.

What am i getting myself into?

What's the price?

[StevenWhitaker]

£40k

[finmac]

Jones the cat said:

depends on the price but consider this one listed today (no affiliation) ... as you know this one will be pukka.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20366489

And “£20K of recent spend”…. You potentially need deep pockets for 996TT. To answer the OP - in addition to the usual all the usual stuff like consumables and service history Turbos/pipes/exhaust studs, radiators, gearbox all need careful checking.

[wax lyrical]

StevenWhitaker said:

£40k

That's too much. You could easily spend £20k on recommissioning.

[Darranu]

Morning,

I sold my X50 manual in December 2024 to a lovely chap for the same sum, 40k. I'd owned it for 15 years and it had 63k on the clock.

It's true that they can have some big bills, but as long as they're maintained and have good history you should be fine. Just get it inspected by a Specialist, go into it with your eyes open and enjoy.

They're great cars, pre purchase inspection is the key to the process.

[Slippydiff]

Darranu said:

Morning,

I sold my X50 manual in December 2024 to a lovely chap for the same sum, 40k. I'd owned it for 15 years and it had 63k on the clock.

It's true that they can have some big bills, but as long as they're maintained and have good history you should be fine. Just get it inspected by a Specialist, go into it with your eyes open and enjoy.

They're great cars, pre purchase inspection is the key to the process

All these ^ points are spot on.
Just be aware that a car that's been in long term storage may well need some expensive recommissioning.

Tyres, auxiliary drive belts, suspension bushes, seals and a plethora of other components can all slowly deteriorate despite the car not being used.

Turbo heat shields, turbo oil feeds/drains and turbo cooling pipes along with exhaust manifold to turbo fasteners are all liable to corrode and be seized come their removal. Their replacement can therefore be a time consuming and expensive operation.

Dampers and springs are consumables on a 996, and if either are below par, the car will not drive nicely.

Brake discs frequently corrode on their inner faces (despite looking in good, serviceable condition on their outer faces) and will in turn mean the brakes are lacking in efficiency.

Check too for the well known 2nd gear pop-out issue when the transmission isn't under load and coasting.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[gareth h]

I bought a 20k mile 996 a year ago, which had spent a lot of time in storage, the inspection gave it a clean bill of health, but it became apparent that it did need £4-5k of remedial work, clutch master / accumulator, and power steering hoses, which unfortunately couldn’t be separated from the rack so that needed replacing too.
Lovely now though 😀

[Unreal]

gareth h said:

I bought a 20k mile 996 a year ago, which had spent a lot of time in storage, the inspection gave it a clean bill of health, but it became apparent that it did need £4-5k of remedial work, clutch master / accumulator, and power steering hoses, which unfortunately couldn t be separated from the rack so that needed replacing too.
Lovely now though ?

That must have been annoying. The power steering hoses and seizure in the rack are well documented issues.

[gareth h]

Unreal said:

gareth h said:

I bought a 20k mile 996 a year ago, which had spent a lot of time in storage, the inspection gave it a clean bill of health, but it became apparent that it did need £4-5k of remedial work, clutch master / accumulator, and power steering hoses, which unfortunately couldn t be separated from the rack so that needed replacing too.
Lovely now though ?

That must have been annoying. The power steering hoses and seizure in the rack are well documented issues.

A little, the dealer’s warranty wasn’t as comprehensive as suggested by the salesman!
In the end (after stiff words) they covered 50% so could have been worse.

[StevenWhitaker]

Thanks for all the replies, should be viewing the car soon will report back but owner is paying for a full recommission service prior to sale. The JZM car sold this weekend I did enquire

[jetbox]

A higher mileage car with a load of receipts for the common stuff already replaced would be less of a gamble

[Devil.Z]

I owned a 996 Turbo for 8 years. The car is generally a solid car, but the usual 911 stuff applies. A lot of the expensive stuff can last a long time if the car has been used sparingly and kept in heated storage... Turbo's usually last 80-100k miles so they should be okay, but the actuators may be sticky and you could find yourself chasing snapped hardware depending on the state of the underside. Exhaust studs are upsettingly difficult to remove. Brakes are more expensive than the normal 911's. Coolant Lines may need pinning as the glue weakens over time (and heat cycles)

I loved my 996 Turbo

[Hoofy]

Suspension.

Turbo and actuator.

Rear spoiler mechanism.

Brake lines.

Factor an average of £2k a year and you should be fine. On top of regular service costs.