Prices seem low for even a low mileage example. Can anyone tell me what maintenance weaknesses this car has and what to look out for when examining these cars?

Thanks

 

I can only speak from my experience but I looked at something like 9 porsche 996TT's before making a commitment to buy the one I have. The list of problems I've encountered is staggering but I was able to locate a good car. All the cars that I looked at with no maintenance record had issues and it was getting to such a point where I was about to say the hell with these things I'd rather not own one at all because It was bad news after another and spending money to have porsche look at them was growing old on my things to do list.

I live in NJ and I had traveled all over , NJ, NY and PA to find the one I would buy. 9 Cars later I found the perfect one located at a used car dealer in PA. Car checked out perfectly on carfax, and the porsche techs assured me it was in perfect condition. (another $200 check over and the most satisfying one) The car also happend to come with a service history that was ideal and i called up all the locations listed (porsche dealers) to verify the dates of service.

Prior to this car I had seen a lot of things.

The most common;

• Engine oil leak
• Ruff idle would not go away after warm up or drive
• Smoking in some instances and the dealer telling me "oh thats normal for porsche" meanwhile porsche techs are saying it would cost 18k to fix. a story for another day.
• Poor water pump or leaking
• very worn belts (depends on miles but you can be surprised)
• abs sensor failure
• and all sorts of codes that light up on the dash during start up
• electrical glitches when using the radio or cd player...one car i remember particularly had this issue when you would run it for 5min and begin to play with the radio, all the buttons would stop working...and you could not even get boot to open.
• I noticed many dealers don't actually care to know anything about the cars or able to answer simple question regarding the simple operations of the car. this brings me to a problem my wife and i encountered on our car which has NAV and the dealer gave us 1 disk but not the others and had no idea others even exist, so he had to later contact the previous owner to get them.
• Encountered one car that was a nightmare in teterboro nj, it had after market wheels which where for the willing and no original set. The front was a replica gt2 and a terribly fitting rear engine cover...owner told me thats how it came but clearly the fitment was terrible for me to even consider it.

 

Very informative - thanks. Now that's a story in perseverance. I will keep your list handy when I start shopping. My local performance shop advised me to "get a warranty". That caused my spidey sense to start tingling.

 

Any dealer should be able to provide you with a basic power train warranty for 12 months (at least that was my agreement) but to be honest they only cover thing like engine failure, drive shaft problems, etc...clutch is not covered, many things are NOT covered. Just be assured the car has been cared for I spoke with the tech inspecting my car about several thing and he gave me some pointers / recommendations.

They are so damn fun to drive. Best of luck finding one!

 

another list:

power steering reservoir
clutch slave/accumulator
front diff leaks
remote fobs
diverter valves
MAF & O2 sensors
coolant cap
fuel pump and lines
battery
window sensors/motors

 

THanks for adding! I completely forgot diverter valves in every car were not 100%. I switched over to AWE units because if your not seeing .8 BAR the factory units could be faulty since they use rubber diaphragms. AWE use aero seals to hold pressure.

 

In the two years that I have had my car, I have had to fix and/or replace the following:

1. Radio
2. Power Steering Reservoir
3. Radiators - watch out for accumulation of debris in the corner.
4. Passenger side door lock

I bought the car via a Dealer with a 2 year Warranty which was invalid as i took the car to the Philippines. The cost for all this is about US$4000 but worth it in the end as the car continues to give me enjoyment.

 

ignition switch is common ($300 fix). I had major electrical issues with my car, original cause is still up for debate but my tech thinks most likely due to the ignition switch (climate control unit died, then on putting a new one in fried the whole ac harness). Car will start fine with bad ignition but can effect things on switched power and/or the key can stick a little.

clutch accumulator/slave is very common ($1100 fix for both, not fixing accumulator will probably lead to bad slave, both are known for dying).

The bad slave is what causes the ps resevoir to leak. You can tell if its had this before because the black plastic mesh above the ps resevoir (driver's side in trunk by battery) will be warped to some degree from the fluid and and probably tacky to the touch (unless they replaced this piece).

Accumulator will be hard clutch with the car off and harder than normal with car running. After fixing this in my car my clutch is light as a feather on or off.

 

Oh and coils is common with higher mileage (50k+). They are cheap, I think maybe $50 a piece and you should probably change them the first time you change spark plugs at 45-50k+ miles since labor is expensive to get to the plugs. Bad coils will cause misfiring and make you think you blew your engine if you don't know what it is.

 

Dont forget the 2nd gear issue!, when you drive the car make sure it doesnt pop-out of 2nd gear. Drive the car all the way up to redline in 2nd and let the car slow down (in gear), do it a couple of times just to make sure

 

Thanks for all your advise. Just looked at a 2003 with 31K miles. Front fenders, hood and bumper cover had been repainted. I stopped there.

 

Michael-Dallas, you sent me a PM today regarding this vehicle. Yes it is the same car I drove last month. I responded to your inquiry but not sure if my PM response was allowed by this site since I did not have the min of 15 posts. You can call me on my cell if you still want details.

Philip
214-762-3126

 

The moral of this story is......... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I paid pretty top dollar for my Turbo S with 6k miles on it, and it has been perfect so far. I think you get what you pay for. I bought my car off the internet from a reputable dealer, sent it to a Porsche dealer (Different one) for a checkup before I paid. The first time I saw the car was when it was delivered to my door. It was exactly as advertised.

SWR

 

I am sure these things do go wrong but don't shy away from the tt because of it. I bought my car from a fellow six speeder who had spent a ton of money modding just the way I would have if I could have afforded to do with a new car. He got it right (thanks WoolyG) and the car has been perfect with no service other than oil change. So if you find the right car which I was lucky enough to find the very first one I looked at you will love this car. The properly modded cars are unbelievably fast and sooo much fun to drive. And if you think our cars are expensive to maintain try looking at the Ferrari section to learn what EXPENSIVE really is. How about $16,000. for an F1 transmission pump. Not the trans just the pump that handles the shifts. OUCH!!

 

Get a second key before you buy. Make sure the second is programed for memory seat if you have them or you will spend a quick $230 for the second key.