'03 996 TT here. Back in December 2009, at 25.5K miles, the alternator died. I took the car to TuneRS Motorsports (aka Tuners Mall), Coral Springs, FL, following the advice of a friend who steered me away from the local dealer.

Frankly, I was quite dismayed a $130K supercar with only 25K miles would need a new alternator but it was explained to me this was a "not so uncommon" issue with the 996TT. In any event, I met with the manager there (a gentleman from Italy) who sold me on the idea of getting a Bosch refurb. replacement at $750 as opposed to a brand new at well over double that amount. I was reassured these alternators are refurbished to factory specs, with German quality assurance, blah, blah, blah, shiny leaflet attached on the paperwork and all.

Fast forward to the present. The car has 29.8K miles on it and after just 4300 miles, the alternator failed!!! Again!!! 12 Volts output.

After contacting the same Italian gentleman at Tuner's Mall and inquiring about the quality of the parts he used on my car, his answer was that "these things do go bad!" and that "I should be using a Porsche battery tender" to avoid such issues!!! Sure enough, he had one readily available for sale at $250 and of course offered yet another alternator replacement for another $750 (except this time around, he was only doing it "as a favor" because "prices have gone up"!) I am still trying to understand what a battery tender has to do with a $750 alternator replacement only lasting 4300 miles!

Has anyone else had experience with replacement alternators? Am I the only one who thinks it should last for a bit more than 4300 miles? The leaflet was shiny after all!!!

 

I luckily haven't had to replace the alternator in my 996, but I have had many alternators rebuilt in the past (at a cost of about $90-150, think civics, chevy trucks, subarus, etc) and they've all lasted well over 4500 miles.

 

Did you tell him to kiss your ***?? Did you get any sort of warranty? There is no reason to pay someone to do this repair.

Iv got an extra off a GT3 on ebay OEM....$100

 

I got a new alternator on ebay with all new Bosch components for $182.99 in August 2012 and have put around 10,000 miles since then with zero problems.

 

Nah, I thought giving a heads up to fellow enthusiasts about his shop would be more fitting.


I'm told there's a good chance it's just a $40 voltage regulator. You'd think "slick" would've mentioned the possibility before trying to shove a $1000 bill down my throat right? Oh well.


Thanks for the offer man. If it comes to that, I'll let you know.

 

Search for the thread by VAGScum. He purchased his at Advanced auto (I believe ) for $400ish new and it even had the correct Porsche part number on it too.

So, if your mechanic is doing it for $750ish installed, its not necessarily a horrible price as thats about 2 1/2 hours labor.

 

you're getting some questionable advice from that shop guy. you should replace with a new bosch ( not a refurb ) and here's what they cost. i just replaced mine and was told never to get a refurb for the reasons you're dealing with.

$428.00 delivered. http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item0

 

.. also never replace just the vreg even though it's 40 and sitting on the alt. you're just asking for more issues down the road. replace the whole unit.

those that have cured their issues with just a voltage reg replacement, will tell you differently of course lol. for 400 bucks, i figure why bother.

 

Is the VR separate, most alternators have them attached.
Was 750 just for the alternator or total installed?

 

Che cazzo dici?! Who cares that he's Italian?

Sucks about your alternator though. Hope you get it sorted out without too much more expense.
-V

 

Look up rebuild shops in your area and have them look at it, Likely thay can fix it for dirt cheap and with them you can specify how complete a rebuild you want after you know what it needs... I know how many of these rebuild places work that sell rebuilt parts to the auto store world. They only replace some of the parts not all. Thus you could potentially have a quick failure later on.

 

He's trying to make a buck--- before you agree to pay for anything, do some research, I remember when I bought vanos solenoid for my m3 pretty expensive part, BUT the shop wanted like 400 bucks to replace it!! it took me seriously 15min.

replacing alternator on our car its not that hard at all... btw I don't think i would buy refurbish alternator' it may work but why not spending extra buck and buy a new one?

DIY https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...e-replace.html

 

Yea, not a good deal for you.

I had my original alternator fail last year at 131,000 miles. I removed it and brought it in to O'Reilly Auto Parts for testing. It tested bad. They had a rebuilt with "lifetime warranty" for something like $125.00 - I bought it and put it on.

This is one of the easiest repairs you will ever do on a 996TT. Literally took about 15-20 minutes.

 

$750 for another after the first failed and he's doing you a favor.. uhhh. are you f**King kidding me?

Dude you're getting ripped off. Have the alternator rebuilt somewhere, it's cheap and lots of places do it, they are all the same and easy to rebuild look in the yellow pages for a local shop.

Based on your issue however it sounds like the regulator is toast not the alternator which is why you're getting 12V not 14.4V. The reg is in the alternator though so take it off and take it to a shop.

 

Sounds like typical southern Florida bull****. You are in scam central down there.