gmiz

Hi All;

I am currently looking at 2 996 TT's for sale here in the Toronto area. One has about 135K KMS, the other about 80K KMS ((80,000 miles and 48,000 miles). The higher mileage one is daily driven, most of the year, the lower mileage one is only driven sparingly in the summer only and hardly at all in the last 18 months or so.

I am getting a PPI done potentially on the 80K Kms one, and I have heard differing opinions about a compression and leak down test. Ive been told to get it done with either car, but then also heard its not necessary - no real good reasons either way. For the cost of the spend on a car like this, I think its good to be cautious, but if its not seen as worth while then not sure.

I searched the topic here and not clear from what I have found. Any thoughts?

Thanks

"02996ttx50

neither of those examples, based upon mileage would suggest that's necessary.

the overall condition of the car as described by the shop inspecting it, coupled with the dme readout would be sufficient. for me.
this particular mezger engine is understandably and reasonably described as "bulletproof".

GL

lflouie

This may sound obvious but...if the car is good then any money spent checking it out is a waste of money....contrary if the PPI or inspection finds something, it was a good investment....how will you know unless you do it? Or don't do it and deal with the outcome....it's all about risk and $$$.

If it's a sports car, meaning it was built to enjoy, then any year or mileage can be a problem. The rumours of low miles vs high being the issue is for the most part nonsense....it's all about how it was used and maintained. Yes, long long periods of non use can result in deterioration of rubber parts or oxidation of others, which might be detected in a PPI. An engine run low on oil, or with contaminants is likely to have compression problems.....will the lower or higher mileage have the problem??????

You're buying a premI'm car with a very expensive drive train and costly repairs, isn't it worth doing an engine compression test upfront?

ipman

I would go with the higher mileage one if everything checks out. Lower mileage cars that sit and are not driven regularly can cost quite a bit to get them to a reliable DD.

lflouie

A 13 or 14 yr old car wit 48kmi is still driven 3-4k MI per year...more than enough to keep everything in good shape. The key is whether either car has been used for short drives (to and from work) and in what local enviornmental conditions (cold, coastal, winter use, etc).

To me low mileage is 1000 mi/ yr with extended periods of no use. Fyi, I bought a 2007tt last fall with 12kmi, lived it's life in an air conditioned garage in Miami, gently driven but mostly on occasional weekend trips. Had PPI done and the only issues were the accumulator blatter (rubber) had failed and the rubber motor and transmission mounts needed replacibg. Everything else was in exceptional condition. Yes it had a PPI done but no compression test, based on service records and discussion with the servicing dealer. Couldn't be happier.

Dock

I agree.

pancing

What years?
If the garage queen has no corrosion then get that one. You dont need to do a compression test really unless the range 2 is completely maxxed out. I thought the same thing when i first got mine and the tech said it had like 26 ignitions inrange 2 and it happend 1300hr prior to that time.
I woukd really only get a leakdown if oil gets over 1 quart per 400miles of normal driving( my own arbitrary number) on my own car.

#1 thing you need to do is fix boost leaks, change, oil and brake flush when you get the car unless there is paperwork that brake flush was done leaa than 2yrs ago. Check the car for pitting in the front bumper
Pitting in the windows, and rubber stuck near and inside wheel wells and see if the windshield has been replaced you can work the price on that. Push down on the front end after a test drive, if it squeaks and bounces suspension needs work. Get the spoiler to raise and lower as many times as you can.
Check the air filter, if its stupid dirty like the color of a smoked ciggy butt then its been there for a long time. Check cabin air filter if its black as tar then its been there for a while. Play with the seats make sure they work and easily. Check the steering wheel for wear. Make sure you get the radio code. Check the dates on the tires. Look under the car and make sure the turbo actuators arent rusted. If the small things are done, then you know it was cared for, if it they just replaced it just because then you have new maintenance items.
Plan to spend 5k in maintenance on this car when you get it, if you dont spend it on maintenance youll prolly spend it on aesthetics or go faster goodies.

Imo the most important thing for me in buying a sports car is if its been driven on salted roads or lived near a sea coast. Youll replace everything else plenty of times before youll replace engine.
Lots of examples with 150k plus miles hell even one with more than 600k now iirc.

Im sure someone will chime in to help but theres toooooooons of threads on this.

Also learn how to work on the car, saves you ****loads as im just now learning a year and a half in.

lflouie

In northern climates it isn't unusual for cars to be stored (tucked away in garage) over the winter months. Not uncommon to find very good condition sports car in Chicago, Detroit, etc that are pulled off the street in October and back again in April. These cars see only 6-7 mos of use so mileage can be relatively low vs a year round driver.

gmiz

Thanks for the response.

Both cars are 2003. The higher mileage one is winter driven, the other is stored in a heated garage from November to April. Driven 3000kms in the last 2-3 years. Before that about 30,000 in 7 years, before that (first 6 years or so) if did the balance of its km's - 40-45,000 kms over 6 years.

I am in Canada so no doubt it has seen some salt, but not for the last 10 years. The car is only serviced at the porsche dealer, twice a year even when not being used much.

The higher mileage one is definitely been driven more regularly and a look under the car shows some bolts and things like that with some rust, but nothing on the body.

Spoke to a place that can do the PPI on the lower mileage one - they say they do the inspection first, then only if they see something in the test drive or other tests that leads them to recommend a Leak Down, then they will do it. Challenge is the lower mileage one is not local.

Based on the owners info, inclined to do a deal conditional on a PPI and a test drive - go see the car, buy it if it checks out and drive it home 4-5 hours away

pancing

What are the prices?
X50 or normal
Mods?
Should ppi both cars.

Btw 80k miles isnt a lot.
And A lot can happen in 10k miles from a car that hasnt been driven.
Try and see if you can have the car for at least a few hours or a day even, put some miles on the lower one see if they cleared codes in the past 50mi.

Usually takes a while for codes to reappear.

gmiz

Thanks

Both cars are mostly stock - the lower km's one is lowered slightly. Neither is x 50. The lower mileage one has the chrome package, sports exhaust, the white gauges etc. The higher mileage is bone stock except for sport seats with the hard backs. The current owner switched out the originals.

Prices - asking $49 for the higher mileage and $55 for the other. Note these are Canadian cars so as noted in my first post they are in kilometers. 80,000 on the seal grey one, 48,000 on the silver one. I think both can be had for $5-7K less than the asking prices.

Getting a PPI done on the lower mileage one, would love to do a longer test drive if it passes. The PPI may have to get done at the Porsche dealer as I don't know about the independant guys in that area and Im not getting a lot of referrals yet. The dealer has a good reputation though and appears to be thorough. Concerned a little as the dealer has also been servicing the car for the last 10 years. Not sure if this is a red flag or not. A local PCA member told me he wouldnt be concerned about this but...

Dock

Chrome package?

Dock

What brand is the exhaust?

gmiz

Chrome accents on the steering wheel, speaker covers and a few other spots. The frunk sticker is pretty faded and cant see the codes so going by what the owner says. Maybe he is calling it the wrong thing. Maybe its aluminum accents not chrome?

The exhaust is the standard porsche sports exhaust, apparently done by Porsche dealer. Original owner has changed it to something aftermarket and very loud. This owner put in the new exhaust

Dock

As a purchase consideration, the lower miles wouldn't bother me in the least. It would be a plus.