993 Twin Turbo Advice

[glennsamuels993]

I am seeking some advice on purchasing a 993 Turbo - it will be my first Porsche, and so, have little knowledge about the mechanics of these vehicles. For me, they are a beautiful machine, but do know they come with a hefty price tag.
Apart from the normal wear and tear items, are there any things should I be aware of :- eg., areas prone to rust , mechanical problems/failures, what items are expected to be renewed at certain intervals. etc,.
My other dilema is :- Do I buy a low mileage (what would be classed as low mileage), 50K plus price tag, or do I opt for a high mileage, less expensive model with a view to restoring it. - As far as retaining value, would there be a preferred option.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Thank you.

 

[FLAT-SIXY]

Hi I might as well start, my 993 turbo was also my first porsche and still is, ive had it for six years now and I love it, it was the only one I wanted anyway so why not jump in at the deep end. I found it a bit nerve racking at first, it was so different to anything i'd had before. Not being used to a dry sump engine and not knowing about checking the oil with the engine running and up to temperature, I was paranoid about oil levels, + the car had some minor leaks when I purchased it, which did not inspire confidence,but they carry a lot of oil though and needent have woried so much, so its important not to over fill them with oil, which Im pretty sure i nearly did at first. There are a few things that will come up regarding bodywork, door check straps will have to be sorted out at some point as mine are needing attension. Rust can apear under the wind screen, needing glass out and scuttle sorting.

Mechanics wise, the pressure hose's rubber end's can perish at the intercooler end and can come loose , ive had to replace a couple now, not a big job. Leaky rocker cover gasket's will occur at some point in the cars life Ive had this done once. My front differetial had to be replaced with a reconditioned unit a couple of years ago, not sure if this is a rare occurance with front diff's, but a reconditioned unit was cheaper than a new one. Service intervals are pretty good, 12,000 miles or every 12 months, personally ive never reached 12,000 miles in a year, ive allways done less than 5,000 miles a year inbetween services.
The minor service at an Official Porsche Centre will be around £390, With a major service ie, 24,000 mile service including spark plugs will be around £730. Of course a specialist will always be a bit cheaper respectively. Ive used many specialists and will always do so regarding big jobs, I only use OPC's to keep my stamps OPC in my service book, for resale value. But I would not be put off in your case buying a car with specialist history as they are often much more experienced than OPC's. Getting a independent pre purchase inspection is paramount, please please do this, dont take on someone else's lazy maintanence. The seller should not have a problem with you doing this, if he does, walk. High millage with good history, ie tons of invoices and stamps, is in my eyes better than a low millage car with none, so dont worry about millage. 50K should get you a car with 40,000 plus miles, I got mine with 55,000 on the clock and ive just hit 81,000 in six years. Just run in.

What you have to realise is that these are tough cars, and just because there is a leaky seal and some other jobs that the OPC has told you about ("There will be many") does not mean you have to do them all at once. They are very durable cars.
Good luck and i hope you find what your looking for.

 

[Porker993]

Yes, I would re-iterate the bit about the pre-purchase inspection. You are paying a lot of money for a 16 year old car, so it is worth knowing in advance what money will need to be spent on it, rather than finding out later.

 

[T911UK]

Suspension is the weak point on these cars

Monroes are good for about 50K, and theyre not that good anyway! Bistein HD or PPS10 is a great upgrade

Check all the usall 993 things, air con, rust around screen, caliper plates

 

[Gordon Attar]

Ditto Dongaway's comments, you need to say where you live so we recommend an independant to inspect.

Turbo's tend to be one of the most reliable models of the Porsche range (especially now a days) as long as the car hasnt been abused, number of clutches is a good check, they should last c40k. Most of the day to day stuff consumable, brakes, services dont cost much more than std, they only thing they go through faster is tyres as there is 408 bhp being put down. In 3 years of ownership I had a MAF unit go on mine and a A/C condensor both c£400, They suffer the usual 993 body issues i.e. rust around front window particular along bottom end look under the rubbers, check straps etc

Expect all cars to have at least had the front bumper resprayed if not the bonnet due to stone chips

See below, I have a fuller version I can send you that covers turbo's, oil leaks, ECU's, upgrades etc its from a rennlist member in USA. I have just been reading as I'mback in the market.


A 1996-1997 993 Twin Turbo is one of the most exhilarating cars to own. In its stock form, the engine produces 400HP with 400 foot pounds of torque. Combine this power with a great suspension, and you have one of the most awesome cars that's ever been produced. The 993 Twin Turbo was the last of the air-cooled Turbos Porsche manufactured.
When looking at a 993 Twin Turbo for purchase, first and foremost be sure to have it checked out by a good Porsche mechanic that understands Turbos. If you don't know of a good mechanic, a good source to find one in your area is to post on the Rennlist Porsche Boards. You can ask there if anyone knows of a good Turbo mechanic in your area. There is a 993 Board and a 993 Turbo Board. Here's the URL... http://forums.rennlist.com/forums/ultimatebb.php Scroll down until you see the 993 or the 993 Turbo Board.
For the most part, the 993 Twin Turbos have had a very good mechanical record if the previous owner took good care of the car, and hasn't drag raced it. Above and beyond the normal things a pre-purchase inspection should look for, there are a few items the mechanic should specifically check for on a used 993 Twin Turbo.
Warped 1st Gear shaft - If the car was drag-raced, the 1st gear shaft could be warped. Have the mechanic down shift into 1st gear at 25 MPH and verify that it goes into 1st easily. Also have him listen to any strange transmission noises when down-shifting. Note: The 1st gear shaft was improved in the 1997 model.
Worn Turbo Bearings - If the car has been driven very hard and the previous owner didn't let the turbos cool off before shutting off the engine, damage to the Turbo bearings could occur and start to leak. Have the mechanic check the Turbos for oil leakage. If the bearings are leaking, the Turbos must be replaced. They aren't cheap.
Clutch - If the previous owner was drag-racing, the clutch can fail on a low-mileage Twin Turbo. The Twin Turbo is an all-wheel drive car and standing starts are hard on the clutch. Since it's hard to spin all four wheels, the clutch usually gets warn very quickly. Have the mechanic check it carefully.
Clutch Slave Cylinder - A problem with a some of the 993's is a defective Clutch Slave Cylinder. When depressing and releasing the clutch pedal, if a "Click" is noticed or if the pedal seems to 'hang-up', the slave cylinder is probably defective. It doesn't cost that much to have it repaired, but I would have the seller get it fixed before I purchased the car.
Proper Boost Levels - Have the mechanic take the car out and floor it in 3rd gear above 3,000 RPM. The boost should build quickly and the digital boost gauge should read .8 BAR. If the digital boost gauge reads a maximum of .5 BAR, the Motronic ECU is going into the "Limp" mode protecting the engine by limiting the boost. This is an indication of a possible severe problem. If .5 BAR is the maximum boost produced, the car needs to be taken to a dealership and the fault codes should be read to find what's wrong with the car.
Check Engine Light - If the mechanic sees the check engine light on, this means that something in the engine's pollution control system is defective. This could be something as simple as a defective oxygen sensor, or more serious as a defective catalytic converter. It could also be as simple as a defective gas cap.
Carbon Build-up Problem AMERICAN ISSUE- Additionally, the engine light may come on because of a problem with some small holes in the air pump lines getting blocked because of a carbon buildup problem. If a dealership discovers this anomaly, they will try to sell you a remedy that will usually include a valve job, cleaning these clogged holes, and probably additional expensive fixes. The dealerships make a lot of money on these repairs. Are they necessary? Maybe so, maybe not....



1996 -vs- 1997 Models - The 1997 model has a few improvements. These include:

An ECU that can be modified and re-programmed for much higher HP
Stronger 1st Gear Input Shaft
Upgraded Turbo Hoses

 

[Gordon Attar]

,.
My other dilema is :- Do I buy a low mileage (what would be classed as low mileage), 50K plus price tag, or do I opt for a high mileage, less expensive model with a view to restoring it. - As far as retaining value, would there be a preferred option.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Thank you.

Mileage should not be the main selection criteria, go for condition, fsh, maintenance history and the inspection, theres cars that have done 80,90,100k miles that are in better condition that 40/50k mileage ones and very low mileage ones can be the biggest nightmares due to lack of use i.e. rubber perishes, items need lubricating in the engine etc. Ideally get the best one you can afford and look at as many as you can and beware of some dealers who may not even own the car i.e. Hendon

Regarding retaining value if you do less than 5k per annum at the moment you wont suffer any depreciation and may in fact suffer appreciation!!

 

[dparslow]

From my own experience, I went for a low mileage car when I bought mine 5 years ago for the following reasons. If I got a nice one initially, there was a much better chance of keeping it that way with lots of my own TLC and regular maintenance. It would be a car that I was not intending to sell until I won`t be able to or allowed to drive it anymore! I bought private, because, the private sale cars were generally in better condition with lower mileage than the dealer cars I looked at. I wanted to be able to run the car for a 5 - 10 year period or 50k without the expense of an engine/gearbox/turbo rebuild. There were cars around at that time that had done 60k+ that were having this work done or it had already been carried out. Admittedly, a great deal will depend on how they are driven and maintained through the lives with the various past owners.

I bought my car with a mileage of 23k and OPC service history for the going rate at that time for a car with that mileage. It doesn`t get used everyday, I don`t do short journeys in it and it occaionally gets spirited drives, but, only when hot. Most of the mileage done has been long journeys so always running at operating temperature with fewer cold starts than a daily driver. As most turbo owners know, you don`t need to thrash these cars, they are ballistic without getting anywhere near redline. With that sort of TLC I would expect no major repairs for the next 5 years. Until now, all i`ve had to do is service it every year, fit a set of tyres, replace the intercooler pipes and change the turbo oil feed pipes.

There are the merits of buying a good low mileage car if you are going to use it as I intended use mine. If it`s a going to be a daily driver adding lots of miles on to a higher mileage example would be less of an issue. Either way, they are great cars and the more you do on them yourself the more you can really appreciate how well and how over engineered they are. After all, they are the iconic, last of the air cooled turbo`s!

Most aspects of purchase/ownership have been covered by other posts, so good luck with your search.

 

[stephen belcher]

Glenn
Welcome to the 993 register
Glad you made it on to the forum. and ditto previous comments.Good luck with your search. Hope to see you on next club meet.
Regards
Steve
RO Region 17
Southern

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