Thanks for the feedback. I too loved my NSX but after 5 years it had only 8K miles. I simply didn't drive it and it sat int he garage most of the time. I deemed it too delicate to risk driving in the rain or parking almost anywhere. The 911 seems much more durable from that perspective. The panels seem tougher and the car is smaller (the NSX is actually fairly large) so it seems less likely to suffer from extraneous road damage.

It's also a true convertable. The NSX-T is simply not the same as a convertable and I missed having a convertable (I traded my m-roadster for the NSX).

The 911 definitely has some serious strengths - the all wheel drive is great and the power can be fun (and useable unlike some cars). The shifter feel is very good but shifting the NSX was like operating a swiss watch.

I'm tracking the oil consumption and I've made the dealer aware that I'm very concerned about it. I won't switch oils just yet but it makes a lot of sense to me that 0W-40- is a strange viscosity - especially here in the South where it's warm. 5W-40 or 15W-50 makes a lot more sense ot me.

This is my first Porsche...

 

I just calculated the exact oil usage to be exactly 1.5 Quarts in 380 miles...now I'm getting very concerned. I know that the original owner purchased the car from the same dealer that I did. They told me that he traded it for a C4S and apparently took about a $30K hit in depreciation (based on sticker Vs what I paid).

Does anyone know how to contact Porche NA to check on TSBs for this car?

 

1.5 Quarts in 380 miles is bad! Aweful actually. I would start raising some hell.

 

How?...I called the service manager at my dealer and he insists that it's not a problem. Right now he just wants me to keep an eye on it. I may not be a Porsche guy (yet) but this seems like very high oil consumption to me.

Worse yet...I asked the service manager if the non-turbos used this much oil and he said "no...they only use one quart every 1000-2000 miles" which still seems ridiculously high to me...

 

during break in they can use a quart every 1k miles or so... there isnt a rule you can apply that will cover all scenarios... 1qt per 300 miles is very high... ask him to document on a service ticket that you have brought it to his attention and he can put his reponse in the notes field that we wants to watch it... this should not be a problem... Unless you have a good relation ship with the service guy you ought to document every conversation ....IMO.

 

Very good advice...I'll ask him to make a note of it and I'm also keeping detailed notes on everything that happens. I don't have a relationship with anyone at my dealer and in fact, after spending over $130K there, they haven't impressed me as a responsive, service oriented dealer.

I plan to log this concern with the GM of the dealership so that he is aware of it. I'd also like to elevate it to Porsche NA but their web site is completely devoid of any contact info...

 

Don't drive yourself crazy over this (yet...) It is still too soon to condem the motor, not enough miles. These motors do burn alot of oil when breaking in. Keep in mind lemon law (at least in NY) is untill 18,000. If it continues then your service manager will get PCNA regional rep involved. I am a certified Porsche tech and in my professional opinion you should not worry at this point. Just try to put some miles on the car, preferably highway. Avoid starting the car and only keeping it running for short times. Also let motor idle for about a minute before shutting off when hot (better for oil circulation through turbochargers) My fathers Turbo"S" has 580 miles and I have added 1 quart of oil so far. Another piece of advice is DO NOT do any engine or ecu upgrades for a while if you are concerned that something is really wrong. Enigne Mods will make your dealings with PCNA impossible when it comes to warrantying a motor. Good Luck... Now go drive your car and enjoy it. It just needs some more break in time.

 

I have a hard time believeing someone would turn in a Turbo S loose 30k to get a slower car that doesn't even look as good because it's too fast? Common, would you loose 30k plus a hit on the C4S instead of not pressing the pedal as hard? Sounds like something else went wrong, maybe the original owner had the dealership buy the car back due to oil or an engine problem.

 

It is very common in the high-end car business that wealthy individiuals will take baths on new vehicles that they put sometimes less than 1,000 miles on. Maybe they need a tax deduction, show some losses, or maybe they are laundering drug money. Then there is the old classis: "My wife is making me sell it..." That line could definatley justify the step down to a C4S. Keep in mind a Turbo (especially an X50 car) is not for everyone... By the way a dealership could not and would not hide the fact that a car has been bought back for engine problems. Plus the car doesnt have enough mileage on it for them to have taken that route yet.

 

The full story was that the original owener was in his 60s (and so was his wife) and that she would drive it sometimes. They said that the car scared her and she made her husband trade it in. I could see this (the car really scares my wife) and a C4S would offer nearly everything without the extra turbo power.

I also agree that cars in this class are bought and sold often with little mileage. It's easy to find cars costing well over $100K even in my area (Atlanta) with less than 10K miles on them, even after years of driving. I think this is also true of os sprts cars in general. So a loss of $30K doesn't sound unreasonable to me at all.

I'm considering a loss of $10K-$15K in only a month or so just to get out of the car and into something different...and I would do it tomorrow if I could find something I liked a lot more...I think I would like a C4S more but I'm not sure I want any more Posches...

I have a hard time believing that the dealer would try to hide known problems or that they lie about why the car was dumped after only 2K miles...but then they are salesmen and they really wanted to move this car pretty bad...

 

Sorcerer...I meant to ask what you mean by "especially an X50 car?" X50 is the model designation of the engine in a 996TT?

 

You need to go out and actually drive this car rather than ***** about it. Man. This car stock is way beyond your ability and all you can do is look for a reason to dump it. Not here bud. A turbo S is a world class car and you need to own up. Admit you can't drive the car, fess up and sell it or grow some nads and drive it like you own it

If the oil consumption gets too bad, they have to fix it. Right now, I'd guess it just needs someone to drive the car hard enough to tighten it up. Jeez.

 

lol, finally. the NSX is a great car, but it sounds to me like you should've switched to an SL500 or something like that. it's small, a bit cheaper, decent low-end torque, floaty suspension, won't upset the old lady, it's like a la-z-boy on wheels..

 

Believe me I understand the car is scary, I had a really bad day the other day in it and a snow drift saved me big time. I had my dad drive both the TT and S4 yesterday so I could see them on the road from the outside and because I got a new exhaust on the S4 and I wanted to hear. Well anyways I had my dad fly by me in the Turbo so I could hear its exhaust and he did one pass at WOT and pulled over because the car scared him. Turbos can be dangerous if you drive them hard, I just would never waste 30k of my own money to get a slower car, i would just shift at say 4000 RPM. I would also say that most of the low mileage exotics are traded in for other reasons then too much speed.

 

ttgangsta...I agree that the low mileage exotics are traded for other reasons than power and I also agree about the turbos. The 996TT does seem to be very tractable, in fact, after only a few hundred miles it seems fairly tame. The last car I had with twin turbos had serious turbo lag and had to be pointed in a straight line if you were going to get on it at all.