When shopping for a 993 TT with 30-60K on the clock.
at what mileage does one need to do a leakdown/ compression test. I spoke to a dealer that said that for a car with 45K miles, it's not necessary.

-P

P.S I think I'd sleep better if I had one before a purchase no matter what mileage.

 

ummmm it's vital. it's a 15 yr old car. i know of one very highly acclaimed 993tt that was owned by 3 great guys that would have thrown money at their car if they knew it had a problem. a few weeks back a ppi done by a friend showed a leakdown of 20 percent. that car had 45k miles on the clock. it's worth the 250 extra bucks.

 

Yes I agree. I think the consensus is that a leak down/ compression test shouldn't exceed 5%. If it does, what would be the cost per cylinder to rectify?

-P

 

As it is a old car its better you replace with a new one.so that it will have long life

 

I am going through it right now. I will let you know exactly later, Its one of those jobs where the PM's that are done while you are already there are almost a must. These cars are expensive and time consuming to take apart. To replace my intermediate shaft seal it was $3,600. 33.2 hrs of labor. As far as the compression leakdown test. It requires an entire top end valve job. At which point you should decide to upgrade to race parts or keep it like it came from stuttgart. My opinion is to upgrade it with race parts that came from stuttgart So it cost in the neighborhood of 5k to do a performance top end rebuild. One should take the time ti have the cylinder heads media blasted and the cylinders cleaned as well. IMO that is. This would also be the time to replace turbos that may be on their way out soon. Fuel pressure regulator etc. Garrett GT series are looking very nice for my project as of now. But for Porsche purist you stick with the KKK. PM me for list of things I have had done to my 993TT.

 

Chris,

It sounds like it would be very costly and time consuming to fix leaks. would you recommend that I walk from a car that shows more than 5%?

TIA

 

If the rest of the car is great why wouldn't you want to be the one to nurse or correct the issue. Get a good shop to quote the job. Then use as a bargaining tool. It needs to be done. My car is going through it as we speak. Great time to save on labor and make a bolt on beast. The real bolt ons.

 

But to answer the question... I believe my top end rebuild was about 4k. Hard to say exactly because what went into it at the same time is another 13k. If its about to go, fix it while the motor is out. If the technician even thinks in the near future it may be a problem... Replace it. These cars deserve to be over maintained. All cars do IMO. Who likes doing the same job 2 or three time? Especially when it is a job in itself just to get to the job that needs to be done. It pays off though.

 

No argument there. I'd do the same thing if I got this car. I'm still undecided whether to make an offer or not. If it turns out there's a higher than 5% value on the leakdown/ compression, what would be a reasonable offer?

TIA

 

3-4K less than asking. Just use the estimated Top end rebuild cost as the basis for bargain. you might get a counter for a medium price but at least you would be getting the top end rebuild for half price right off the bat.

 

which car have you picked? Was it the one on the other thread with 77k mi?

 

One thing I can tell you for sure. You will absolutely love these cars when you get one. We have a 996 as well. Nice cars but no comparison in driving experience I tell you.

 

At this point. I'm only considering getting a 993TT. In 04-05, I had a 996 TT and a carrera but I never really liked the way they looked so I didn't keep them very long. The 993 styling however is something I've always admired. Yes the high miler is the one I've been eyeing. I'd prefer a 10-30K miler but there seems to be very few polar on black i.es for sales (which is the only combo I want). Also if they do appear on the market, they are usually quite a bit more expensive than this one. High 40s-50's is a really attractive price for the 993TT. The high miles and any potential issues otoh is a big deterrent. Since I was considering the 993TT before I got the 996s, I figure I should could wait a little longer. Maybe the perfect car with the perfect price will come along. All good things....

 

The one thing about these cars as they age is the maintained ones reflect upkeep in price. Ten years from now the ones that have ultra low mileage will have been pulled out of the caves and driven. While the ones like I have are getting near going into hiding. So I guess what I am getting at is that even cars that have mileage in the higher area that HAVE all the work done will command the same value as the lower mileage cars. A 993 in Dallas recently sold for over 70k and it had 82,000 miles. But since the motor had been gone through and the car had no accidents in its past. It commanded the money. If I were to sell my car now I would have no problem asking 65k with 65k mi. These are probably the only cars along side some ferrari cars that can be justified in this manner. KBB trade in value is high. Even when the mileage is entered at 75,000 you should check out the website. I noticed that currently the KBB value is about 5k more than it was thus time last year. Every time a new 911 model generation comes out it rises. Even just the announcement of a new gen brings it up.