Originally posted this at rennlist.com and was told this was a better place to ask my questions. Thanks so much for any help/advice. See below.

First off, my apologies if this topic has been covered or if this is not the appropriate place for my question. Please redirect me if that is the case, and if possible. I did a forum search for "buyers guide" but didnt come up with any direct hits so here I am. Question below.

I have just started my search for a 996 Turbo. I have found quite a few forums with plenty of information, but what I really would like to do is find either a freely available buyers guide with appropriate information. If a free resource is not available, I have no problem purchasing such a guide, just so long as I am getting useful information that I can apply to my search. I have found one such guide already: paid guide.

Does anyone have any insight to any of the above options, or even your own personal suggestions are welcome if relevant. Thank you very much for your time.

Justin

 

Hi Justin, you are in the right spot.

What kind of information are you looking for specifically? No need to buy the guide, just search hear or on renntech (link below).

Also check out this thread for some good info on what to look for when shopping:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...heck-list.html

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?act=idx

If you cant find the info you need, just post a question and someone would be glad to help!

These are awesome cars and have fun shopping! If you find a car in a non-local place, sometimes members here or on 6speed will go by and look it over for you if you want. Saves some gas and airfare to be sure it checks out ok.

 

Awesome thank you for the great info, that first link looks like it is exactly what I was looking for.

I notice you have the color I am looking for. How hard is it to find one in the GR with the options I want? Most important to me are the NAV and manual transmission. Interior color would prefer black, but I don't mind the tan (sorry dont know official names). Are there any other must have options that I am missing? Any idea how hard it is to find good examples in that color?

Thanks again,

Justin

 

Hi Justin! I had to go to Houston for mine. I called about one in Utah and Miami, but both needed repairs or had some type of issues. GR should not be too much trouble to find, but more rare than silver / gray.

I wouldn't worry about the Nav. OEM nav on these cars suck. I plan on replacing mine at some point with a good aftermarket double DIN nav / dvd unit.

Some other things I have noticed is with the carbon fiber interior, look for fading or discoloration. On the wood look like mine, check for cracking or peeling.

The X50 option is very nice (the larger turbos also called the "Turbo S" on some models). In the front attached to the inside of the trunk lid on a white sticker is the option listing. Renntech has an option decoder as well.

Anyone else have any "must-have" options they can think of? I would have liked to have the sport seats, but not a deal breaker...

Happy looking!

 

I would stay away from either CF or wood trim. These trims, esp the CF, don't seem to get along with the sun. Discoloration, peelage, warpage, etc are quite common and could be cumbersome and expensive to remediate. I think these car came very much equipped to the hilt from the factory. Transmission choice is probably the only hard option.

 

Thanks very much for the additional info guys! I will not worry about the NAV option at this point then, but keep an eye out for the X50.

I was planning on avoiding the wood already, but thats good info on the CF, I would normally consider that an additional bonus.

I think those two cars are still up on AutoTrader.com, can you pass some more info to me regarding those two Raineycd? If they are the same cars that you already gathered some info on, it might save me a bit of investigation. Check your PMs: ) Thanks again!

Justin

 

Ok scratch the PM, cant do so until I get a few more posts in: ( Directed to Raineycd:

Can you verify for me if these are the cars that you have already done the leg work on please?

Link 1 Link 2

If they are, mind passing some of that info along to me? Are these just not as pristine as you would have liked them to have been, or is there "major" work that is going to need to be done to either of them?

Much appreciated!

 

Yep, same ones - buyer beware!

Link 1 in Miami, been on the market for a while and guys says it leaks oil and said that all 911's leak oil. Well, maybe the non-turbo with RMS problem, but Turbo should not leak oil... Also says previous owner just had $15k in engine repairs - just because. Sounds fishy to me!

Link 2 in Utah. I talked with the guy a few times and it has some issues with the carbon fiber fading, key fobs do not work (and he said it was not the batteries), Another guy PMed me on Rennlist and he talked with the guy and the rims have some rash and I think he said the MAF was out. So a laundry list of issues there...

Keep looking!

 

Wow, I just looked on autotrader.com and didnt see any decent Guards Red 6 Speeds for under $50. Sell you mine! :-)

 

Good info, thanks. TBH the list on the UT car for me does not seem that bad. I have only been on the hunt for less than a week, but the price seems just a tad high for the miles though.

In your opinion (and the rest of the board please feel free to chime in), if those issues listed above are acceptable to me is there any other reason to not look further into the UT car?

Long days, pleasant nights.

Justin

 

Are you taking offers? : )

 

LOL, not really, but everything is for sell for a price!

 

Oh and the fuel sensor is messed up - just re-read the message from the other guy. Justin, just be patient! You can do much better IMO. The car I got was about the same price with half the miles and has no issues...

 

Yes you are right...I am not good at being patient when it comes to purchases...I'll do my best with this one: )