Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

997.1 turbo - to PPI or not to PPI?

jboy

Well-known member
Joined
30 May 2017
Messages
140
Hi people - this may sound like a stupid question so forgive me.

I own a 996 and have very happily owned one for 2 years. An opportunity has come up to potentially move on (and up?) to a 997.1 turbo. I am obviously well aware of the issues that might be suffered by a 996 engine and the general advice to always have a PPI but does this apply without fail to a 997.1 turbo as well or if you were buying from a reputable (albeit small) dealer would you be relatively comfortable.....?
 
Points you should consider.....what sort of warranty will you be getting?
Remember, warranty companies will cover labour but on a car that age will only pay a percentage of the cost of parts.

The car will be over 10 years old...so irrespective of mileage, it will have something that will need attention now or possibly in the near future.

Has the dealer got lots of bills of previous work done to the car?


IMHO spending a few hundred quid on PPI makes sense as if you get it wrong, your wallet will be soon emptied.

Good luck :thumb:
 
The Gen 1 turbo has the Metzger engine and a manual or tip box. As this is a completely different engine from the std, non Turbo car they are free from things such as IMS problems.
The gearboxes as well are pretty reliable, the mnuals generally only suffer from cables snapping. The Tip's are more or less bullet proof and the only problems they have is if oil is not changed and filters get blocked which can start to show with slow clunky gear changes.
I had a Gen 1 and due to it's age they can suffer from items failing due to age and corrosion. Check for the plugs and coils being serviced/changed, the coil packs do start to deteriorate and split and this can only be checked by removing them.
Radiators are another expensive repair, if the rads are original then they will more than likely need changing, better this than have them go pop on a long trip. A front rad is about £300 and there are 3 of them. Same with AC condensers, due to where they are they get a lot of debris into them, leaves sweety papers etc, they are located on the left and right side at the front. I usually take a torch and shine it in to the openings to see if they're chocked up.
Check tyres, brakes pads and discs and history of car in case of accident damage. Also on mine the water pump was leaking, didn't think this would be a big issue but it is, as it's a PIA to change and a main dealer will probably charge you best part of a grand to fix it, look for a coolant drip on the rear passenger side just below where the number plate starts.
With regular servicing the engines are pretty much bomb proof, it's normally the bits that attached that fail.
Good luck, remember any doubts walk away.
 
Personally I would get the car inspected as it may throw up things that need doing and that can be negotiated in to the purchase price.

If it doesn't the money spent will be worth it for the peace of mind.

In the unlikely event that something major shows up you will have the choice of getting the seller to sort it prior to purchase or to just walk away.
 
I didn't because I'm too cool for all that and I like to live on the edge...

Should have done, the turbo exhaust sections were corroded, only half covered by warranty. Two years later it's been a very good car, but a ppi could have caught that I guess. It's becoming common ish on these at this age, so that alone should be checked.

Not 996 engine money and not catastrophic. But VVTs aren't a cheap bit of kit or easy to access (see recent thread on DIYing them)

PS - buy one, you won't regret it
 
T8 said:
Personally I would get the car inspected as it may throw up things that need doing and that can be negotiated in to the purchase price.

If it doesn't the money spent will be worth it for the peace of mind.

In the unlikely event that something major shows up you will have the choice of getting the seller to sort it prior to purchase or to just walk away.

:yeah: Get the PPI, money well spent.
 
Get a PPI! The turbo can eat your bank account for breakfast! The engine is bullet proof but there are lots of expensive repairs lurking on msny cars due to age, mileage and short-cut maintenance. Service advisories may also have been neglected over a couple of services and its looking for a new gullible friendly owner to reach into his bank account to fix them.

Best £300 you'll spend to find a good one from the beginning.
 
Thanks for all of the advice guys.

Will see how this one pans out!
 
Definitely get a PPI. The last time I was at my indie a chap had bought a 997.1 turbo rom a mate, no PPI. He was looking at an 8/10K bills for all sorts of bits that needed attention.

The garage did warn him he should get it checked too, but didn't.
 
100% PPI. A simple thing like a leaking steering rack is circa £2.5k, not to mention all the other turbo related gubbins that tend to fail. Anything found can be used to negotiate the price to cover the costs
 
I've had mine a year, it's had both AC condensers, a 10 year service, plus a new belt. Engine is out, so new coil packs, plugs, fuel filter, water pump, oil to water coolers, and the water lines are being welded, also having a new clutch as the car is at 45k. Engine is out due to a very small leak, which has taken time to find from one of the o-rings on the oil cooler. Mine had new brakes all round when I bought it. Budget for an exhaust, as they sound dire, esp if coming from a NA PSE car, approx 2k. I am also replacing the turbo vent lines, and the intake pipe, as they are prone to rusting on the joins, and will also need a new tandem pump cover. After this, just modify it, and drive it :thumb:
They are getting on, and need care and attention and a decent indy working on it, all in all and expensive year. That said, a PPI may be worth it, but I just jumped in feet first :)
 
keendean said:
I've had mine a year, it's had both AC condensers, a 10 year service, plus a new belt. Engine is out, so new coil packs, plugs, fuel filter, water pump, oil to water coolers, and the water lines are being welded, also having a new clutch as the car is at 45k. Engine is out due to a very small leak, which has taken time to find from one of the o-rings on the oil cooler. Mine had new brakes all round when I bought it. Budget for an exhaust, as they sound dire, esp if coming from a NA PSE car, approx 2k. I am also replacing the turbo vent lines, and the intake pipe, as they are prone to rusting on the joins, and will also need a new tandem pump cover. After this, just modify it, and drive it :thumb:
They are getting on, and need care and attention and a decent indy working on it, all in all and expensive year. That said, a PPI may be worth it, but I just jumped in feet first :)

Wow..... at least you own a 997 turbo though! My friend pays £1k a month for a Range Rover he will never own and he doesnt even need the rear seats .....
 
You 100% should carry out a PPI on a 997.1 turbo. If they're used as dd or worse just sat around in my experience they cost a fair chunk more to run than their cooking siblings and there's lots of owners who buy and run them and when/if anything goes wrong the cars are beyond their means to fix properly.

Common with all old Porsche's but a turbo has the ability to empty ones wallet particularly quickly.

An engine rebuild is min £15k. Gearbox £10k. A pair of new turbos circa £5k. Rads, condensers, oil and water leaks. Not quite the same but there's a 997 GT2 sat at an Indy at the moment with no engine. Poor owner doesn't know what to do with it as it needs a new engine having recently bought the car. LHD car so a difficult decision for him. Thought he's nicked the car off the seller for £75k and now doesn't know what to do with it post blowing engine
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,358
Messages
1,439,471
Members
48,716
Latest member
993gtnut
Back
Top