robmypro

You know the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know?” I have that feeling as i embark on my quest to find a 993 Turbo. Any buyers tips?

Kein_Ersatz

Driver or garage queen / museum display?

No known "flaws" over time (like IMS, bore score, etc) have appeared (maybe turbo rebuilds from not letting it cool down before shutdown / back flow), just the general maintenance / cared for diligence. Oil "back flow" to Turbos has some history, lots of opinions on cause / solution. These are now over 25 year old cars, lots of general items will need maintenance at some point if not addressed already. Do not be surprised by / put off by bumper respray on a driver, etc. if done right.

Not a lot of ones on offer at anyone time, so may be year or more to find the one.

robmypro

Definitely a driver. I have put 40k miles on my 2015 GT3. Pretty amazing that no known flaws have appeared. Porsche really killed it with these cars. I like doing regular maintenance, and prefer to modify it a bit to make the car its best self (suspension, exhaust, etc.). Budget is around $200-300k.

What things impact value negatively? Would any whiff of collision be the kiss of death? What about a total repaint? Can a body shop even get the original paint for these cars today?

Thanks for the help.

Rob

Nurburger

Best tip I can offer is to stay away from the off topic section of RL...

Seriously though, the usual rules of engagement apply here also; buy the best you can find / afford - In your $200-300K price range you should be able to buy a VERY nice example. The 993tt is an incredibly robust Porsche that never fell into the truly low price ranges where they could be abused because they were cheap like the 996tt did (of course some did get abused, regardless). When you find a candidate, drive or fly out to see it in person and also find a local Porsche indie that can perform a decent PPI. If you plan on driving and actually enjoying the 993tt then find one that has already had some (or all) of the better modifications performed which would include suspension, exhaust, FDM golden rod/SSK etc.

1997's have ecu's that can also be flashed easily for a little more HP.

Good luck!

speednme

There are a few good cars out there. Repaints are subjective. Done correctly they shouldn’t hurt the value. It really depends on why or where the repaint was done. Let’s be realistic all of today’s reimagined offerings (i.e. Guntherworks, Singer and resto mods) are all repaints and modified Porsche’s..albeit a very high end jobs but nonetheless a modified car. With your budget you should be able to find a really clean low mile example that should be in excellent condition. That’s not to say that some things have been overlooked. I personally saw a beautiful low mile 993 Turbo that ended up needing over $20k of mechanical work(it adds up fast…but that depends on your demographics as well). Plenty of cool mods that can be done and easily reversible. Coming from 2 930’s (1 early and 1 later) and one 964 3.6T I found the 993T very impressive. It has a modern look but still has a classic feel. I thought the AWD would numb the feel but it doesn’t. Overall a great car. Enjoy the hunt, which usually is the best part..lol

robmypro

Thanks for the info, Rey. So true about the high end resto mods. I am willing to put the time and money in to bringing the right car up to a very high level. Going to be my retirement project. I will create a thread to track my journey. Should be fun!

robmypro

Thanks for all the tips (lol). Finding the right shop to do the PPI will be key. Definitely looking for a lightly modded one, too. I didn’t know about the FDM golden rod, so thanks!

ronnie993tt

A friend of mine has his very low mileage 993tt for sale. Very nice car. Desirable upgrades. Note price is in Northern Pesos. 1996 Porsche 911T turbo - Brampton (autotrader.ca)

jp884

I think with your budget you'll be in the right wheel house to get a clean car. I'm sending mine to Kevin this week to have the turbos rebuilt to get a little more juice from this squeeze. The 993tt will feel like a toy compared to the 991 GT3 you have, not better or worse, just different. I wish you luck on your search. Jorge

robmypro

Thanks Jorge. I think the 993TT and a modern GT3 should be pretty good stablemates. I was thinking about a 675LT pretty hard but ultimately I think have a classic to go with the GT3 will provide a lot of contrast without a ton of overlap. We’ll see!

jp884

Yea when I was looking I was going back and forth between the 993tt and a 458 spider. But something as silly as feeling and hearing the door close with such an audible click won me over. No regrets, I will eventually add a 458 but the 993 was the car to get. Those two will definitely be complimentary stable mates for you

robmypro

I was looking at 458s as well.

bbs993tt

As mentioned already, these cars are very stout. I'm on my second and have collectively put probably 40k miles on them without significant problems. Again, these cars are approaching 25 years old so things are going to break but overall, mine have been mostly trouble free.

Regarding negatively impacting value, I'll say something you know already. With your budget, you could get a low mileage garage queen. Just like on a lot of cars, miles added to a low mile car will impact value negatively more than on miles added to a higher mile car. Other than that, I think irreversible, non-OEM mods negatively affect value - think things like those wild looking side skirts (Strosek or Gemballa) or bumpers. Things that are reversible, even if non-OEM, don't seem to affect value as much, especially if you keep the OEM parts. Things like aftermarket exhaust (highly recommend) for me are a non-issue as they are relatively inexpensive and reversible.

Regardless, of all of my cars, the 993 turbo remains my favorite. For me, it just can't be beat. Good luck and have fun with the search!

robmypro

Thanks for the help and info! I appreciate it.

ssaa77

May be selling mine. Spoke with OP - my miles are a bit too high (59k) - but dm if anyone interested.