Hello members, I'm here to get schooled on 996tt basics!

I'm in the Army at Fort Hood and an avid car lover. I currently find myself in a predicament. I am mostly active on BMW forums. I currently have a pretty modded 135i and have loved owning it for almost 3 years now. Here's the catch. I'm sure you've heard news of the BMW 1M coupe coming out in a few months. From the moment they announced official production I've been planning to trade in my 135 for that car. All the while I kept looking at other cars which would cost about the same in the $50-60k range and spotted some pretty nice 996 turbos. The only problem is I know I want to replace my 135 this summer as my warranty is out and it has over 50k miles on it. Basically, I'm curious as to what you all think about buying a 996tt over a new 1M coupe which comes with a warranty and free maintenance. Obviously I expect your responses to be biased since I'm on a P-car forum but I’m here to learn. Since I know how forums usually go I'll go ahead and cover this stuff now:

-the car does not need to be daily driven but should be reliable enough to travel around the country
-the car will get modified (no matter what car I get)
-the car will be occasionally taken to some track days
-my price range is under $60k

some questions:
-how reliable are they tuned vs. stock?
-what are the common performance mods?

TIA! (here are my current toys)

135i (weekend/roadtrip car)


e30 (daily driver)


grand cherokee (offroader/boat hauler)


boat

 

Reliability- out of 6 years of ownership of the 986/996/996tt platform, I have only had one small repair. I have never used a warranty.

Mods- There is a current thread on the front page about performance mods, but this car can get huge power for relatively cheap. An exhaust and tune will buy you 50+hp.

At 50-60k you can buy a very very nicely modified car with as much HP as you want.

 

The turbo is so nice... Power power power.... I Have a bunch of cars .... The turbo is grate... If you haven't driven One try and get out in one.

 

If you cannot tolerate a $10k to $25k hit for a catastrophic issue, I would not buy (what amounts to) such an expensive toy...

odds are very low, but that is little solace when faced with a tranny issue or blown motor. It may be 0.1%, but you pay 100% of the bill.

You can get in 20k under your limit, mod it nicely for track duty for 10k, and bank 10k as your own 'extended warranty'....

My 2 cents

A

PS You really think BMW 'covers all the maintenance'? I've got two BMWs and think their 'free maintenance' program results in 'under maintained used cars'...but that's going OT.....

 

lol, been there, dealt with that. other than refusing to fix my rattling wastegates (a known issue with the N54) I didn't have any problems. I did do oil changes in between their 15K intervals though, just to play it safe!

 

I haven't had any regrets with mine- of course, I don't think I've driven it enough for it to break yet- just got it in OCT and have only put 1K miles on it, half of which were the drive home after picking it up.

As another army guy though, I am going to tell you to get the M1- I like having the only 996TT on base

 

not to worry, it likely won't be on post much, I drive my e30 as a daily

 

which thread are you talking about?

 

Welcome to the 6! I would take a 996TT over a 1M anyday. Enjoy your stay this is a great site.

 

Welcome! Love that E30...

The 996tt is one of our favorite platforms to work with. They are inexpensive, fun to drive and relatively bulletproof. Some small upgrades can make these cars seriously fast... some bolt on turbos and tuning and you're knocking on 600whp...

 

thanks for the info everyone!

I'm looking for 600+ whp on 93 octane and the ability to upgrade more down the road should I get bored. Can you pm your recommended route to that goal with pricing? TIA!

 

update: my car is sold and I have a 996tt from a fellow forum member lined up!