I'm the new owner of a 2005 996TT cab (turbo S Cab). It's red with all the internal accents painted to match (seats, console, gauges surround, etc.). It's got a lot of options that I would not normally have wanted but it os cool looking. The car had 2200 miles on it when I bought it from my dealer and it was sold new just months before I bought it.

The car looks nice but frankly (and no offense intended) it just doesn't handle or perform much better than the last cars I owned even though it cost twice as much. I've got some issues with the car as well (burning 1 qt of oil every 300 miles, nav CD doesn't read reliably, ash tray doesn't fir right). Most of these are trivial repairs and the dealer is taking care of them. The dealer says the oil buriuning is "normal" which sounds flakey to me.

The bottom line is that I'm not thrilled with the car after owning it for only a few weeks and the exact same dealer will only give me wholesale plus a few $K for the car. My question is how best to get out of the car without taking a complete bath?

The stats: Car new cost 157K...I paid 133K...wholesale offers are 115-118K. I'm told that if you know Porsches then this is a rare (because of all the factory options) and sought after vehicle. Yet on ebay and in the autotrader they don't seem to be moving. Of course, It's Winter and this is a convertable so maybe I'll just have to wait for a couple months...

There is a side of me that thinks that the dealer may have known about the oil burning and that it's not really acceptable and they sold me a car worth 115K for 133K.

I guess I'm just not a Porsche guy although I'm trying...and this forum and the activity on it is definitely very encouraging.

Any advice on the best way to sell this car and it's real-world value?...

 

That sounds like an excessive amount of oil loss. I wonder if that is why the original owner returned it. Can you contact him/her? How long have you owned it?

 

The piston in the motor lay flat and therefore there will be oil that sits in the cylinder and will burn off when you start the car.

Secondly this car with a few mods to the suspension and engine will pretty much rip anything out there.

Keep the car and enjoy it!

 

With only 9 posts on 6 speed, you don't have an opinion yet. haha, jk. Do as buddy said and put some suspension on the car. The stock US suspension is crap. It will make a world of difference.

 

I haven't even tried to contact the original owner but that is a good idea. I was told that the original owner traded it for a C4S becuase the TT power was too much for them and their spouse.

I won't even entertain modifying the car. It's doesn't make sense to state that "with some mods" this car will beat anything out there. With enough mods you make almost any car "beat anything out there."

Does anyone have an opinion on the current value of the car given that it only has 2600 miles on it?...

 

I'll give you 50 bucks!

 

Sorry to be the delivery man of bad news, but money wise you are buried in the car... Oil consumption during break in which Porsche states is untill 2000 miles will be high. A quart every 300 sounds very high though. Maybe it was abused during break in... Measuring the oil level on any 911 is a bit of an art form. Most people think it is easier now with the digital gauge, but I disagree. You have to drive the car hard for atleast 30-40min (even though it will register after about 5) then check it. From bottom to top on the gauge is just over a quart. I still haven't decided if it is better to fill to the middle (like on aircooled 911's) or to fill it to the top bar. There are many pros and cons for each. Anyway you don't have to go crazy with the mods to get more enjoyment from the car. The best mod you can make is the suspension. For most people a Turbo is already fast enough, if not too fast. Doing the suspension not only makes the car handle 10 times better, but in my opinion can also make the car easier to drive for someone who is not used to that kind of power. Just gives it a much more planted feel. Enjoy the car don't look to get rid of it so fast.

 

Sorcerer...thanks for the input and advice. Your reasoning on the suspension mods sounds sloid and makes sense to me...Thanks

 

1qt every 300 milesis high. I think about every 1000 miles is normal. I know you don't want to midify a brand new car but suspension makes a world of difference. If you want to stay with porsche parts, they could do the instal and you could go with the stock euro setup or the x73 whcih is much firmer and will handle much better. A chip for the computer than will add 60 to 80 hp is anywhere from 800-3000 depending on who you go with. If you must sell then just set the price in line with what others are asking and be patient. What attracted you to the car that you now do not like. If it is the floaty ride 1500-2000 of suspension will put you into performace handling arena. You do have popular options, a desirable car, and it is under warranty which adds some security even if there is an oil burning issue. Sit tight and fish a while. Once the snow melts these cars will move better.

 

That's too bad you won't entertain the thought of modifying the car. With just a simple chip you can achieve close to 75 more crank HP that will allow you go back to stock at the press of a button.

Suspension upgrades are also huge.

To me...that's one of the best things about these cars. Their excellent response to very basic modifications.

IRT the oil consumption...one quart per 300 miles is way too much, even for the low amount of miles the car has. It's double the amount even Porsche says is okay. In the owners manual it states up to one quart every 600 miles.

 

Thanks for the excellent info and advice. I met with the dealer this morning (I couldn't find 0W-40 Mobile1 anywhere else) and I had to drive my BMW since the 911 was low on oil. The service manager insisted that a quart every 300 miles is fine but even the sales rep said it seemd high.

So now I added the oil - it took 1.5 quarts to get the first 6 bars registered. I reasoned that this is a good compromise between half regitered and full-up. It took awhile as I added 1/2 quart at a time and checked and re-checked. After the first 1/2 quart I took it for a 20 minute drive and then started checking and adding until I got 6 bars.

I'm going to watch this closely and record the stats every 200 miles or so (oil level, oil added, mileage, etc.).

I like the car but it's just a bit too intense for me. The turbos are smooth with no detectable lag. The brakes don't seem any better than my last sports cars although they're much more exotic. The interior is nice but some details are lacking. For example: no bluetooth, NAV system is weak, stereo is only okay for a 100K plus car.

The handling and performance overall are great, no complaints. If the car cost about $30K less then I'd be more accepting of it. Also, I should mention that all the cars I test drove had a standard shifter. Mine has a short throw shifter and while this is what I thought I wanted, it's much more difficult to drive smoothly than the long throw shifter. In fact, I noticed immediately how easy it was to drive a C4S smoothly. The car I traded (NSX) had a short throw shifter (and less HP/Torque) but it was very easy to shift smoothly. I'm not sure if the balki-ness I'm noticing is the HP/turbos or the short throw shifter but it's definitely a much different driver than the regular C4S (which I think I would like a lot more)...

 

IRT your oil buring issues; when I bought the car it was running Mobile 1 15W-50 and burned about 1 quart per every 600 miles. Right on the line of acceptable. I've since switched to 5W-40 Amsoil and it's literally cut my oil usage in half. I'm now going well over 1k miles per quart.

FYI...some of the guys that rebuild and modify these Porsches for a living recommend not using 0-W anything in your car. 5W to 15W seems to be the minimum recomendation.

 

Is this your first Porsche?

I owned an NSX for 5 years and traded it for a '99 996 cab. I HATED the cab for the first 6 months. I didn't care for the handling on the track or care for the way it rode on the streets.

I'm typically adverse to doing mod's on a high dollar car but I eventually improved the suspension and this saved the car from early retirement in my opinion. I won't cost too much to do and you get the additional benefit, over the handling, of it making the car look a lot better.

My '99 Cab's interior was CRAP! My '01 996TT's interior is far better but certainly not exceptional and it has almost $10K of carbon fiber barfed all over it. (BTW, don't leave the carbon out in the hot sun too much). My car has 13.8K miles on it and has several squeaks and rattles. My NSX had 47K miles on it when I got rid of it with no noises. Difference between a Honda & Porsche.

And on that note you're going to have to let go of the at NSX shift feel. You'll never attain it in a Porsche. That's one of the things I miss the most.

Buttttttt, with all that being said, and with a minimal update to your suspension you can learn to LOVE you're porsche on a track. It has great power, grip. And if something breaks, noooo problem, just bring it back to the dealer to repair without worrying about them denigning coverage.

So, even though the the NSX was probably my favourite car that I owned at any given time, it's dead now and we must all move along and pick from what's available out there today. I've done this twice and both times I've ended up with a Porsche.

 

I think after reading your post that you may be right... you are just not a porsche guy... no big deal.. it seems like you are trying to find reasons to not like car and get out of it.... which is fine.. im not knocking you for it....
The values on the TT S is not holding well at all and the sooner you act the better of you will be if you indeed want to get out of it.
I would definately try to contact the previous owner and see if he had a problem with the high oil consumption. Also ask the dealer for all the service records/info. Call Porsche cars NA and ask for any recall /info they have. They will also give you the orig dealer that sold the car. Call them and ask for any service records etc.....
If you can find that the dealer knew/hid and problem then you can have a decent chance of getting the deal rolled back... If they lied or concealed the facts then you may have a chance.. if that doesnt work...sell it now and take your losses...lesson learned

 

You may want to look into lemoning the car. a quart every 300 miles is unaccepltable. Tell your service manager that you are condsidering lemoning the car and start keeping detailed notes of the issues you have. Knowing that will make them take your issues a ot more seriously.

There are tons of lemon law attorneys out there.