1200 miles have literally flown by. No, really, literally flown by. I may have passed some low-flying planes...
In recent months my funds to purchase an "exotic" car were reaching a critical point. Much soul-searching and common-sense research pushed me towards the 996T. Of all the older Super Cars, this felt like the one that would stay on the tarmac and away from hedges, trees, oncoming traffic and other obstacles unless i *really* pushed the car. Besides being most suited to UK roads with its 4 wheel drive system, the 996T is also a smaller car than the Modena, Aston V8 etc. Infact it's noticeably narrower than my old 350z! This meant it would fit in my garage without a costly garage-door-replacement lol
Servicing was also a worry. Anything i bought would need a local Indy specialist to look after the cars maintenance and servicing. With Zentrum being on my doorstep in Calverton, that box was ticked too.
So I began my search for a 996T. In truth, it didn't take me to long to decide that i wanted a slightly newer car (2004 onwards, I have no real justification for this decision other than the facelifted bits!) and that i also wasn't going to go the Specialist Independent seller route. I could, realistically, have stuck my neck-out and plumped for a 'mint' £32k + 996T, but doing so would have left me with no slush-fund (albeit a warranty). Given that a lot of bits that fail/need replacing aren't necessarily covered by a warranty, i felt safer having 6k + in my bank account as a slush fund if i bought privately.
I'd looked at a few cars, and spent months pouring over this forum and a few others. In the end i found a car that was up for sale privately, on an 04 plate, and a lot cheaper than an Indy Garage forecourt.
The car was going in for a service at my local Indy, so I asked them to carry out the PPI. Armed with that info, the seller was convinced to spend £2k on tyres, geo, AC regas, service, air-bag checks, new front discs+pads. The car also still needed 500 quids worth of oil weeps and bits fixing, so i haggled on the sale price.
At this point, i really do need to thank folks on here who have championed the use of a good PPI. It saved me cash off the sale price to fix little issues, and ensured £2k worth or work was done before that by the seller.
Given the work done, the recent history, PPI and HPI checks, and the six stamps in the book all being OPC/specialist (and the mileage correlating with what OPC had on their systems) I went ahead and bought the car.
I'll list all the recent work in a moment. But left for me to sort out is:
- Front wing respray (front of the car was resprayed by first owner prior to sale due to stone chipping). Whoever did the work did a pi$$ poor job of blending into the wings. They look perfect, but the laquer used on the front of the wings isn't as smooth as i would like. I'm probably being *****, but to my mind this needs sorting.
- The PCM2 system has the "CD player trying to load a CD that isnt loaded" fault when i open the car door. 5-10 seconds of light machine gun chatter from the CD tray. I suspect the only fix for this will be a new PCM unit, or a replacent (cue a Pioneer system?) lol
- Front lower-black splitter has a crack in it where the previous owner kept clipping his raised driveway. Not really noticeable TBH but i'll look about for a replacement splitter.
I think that's it now for issues (touch wood). Time will obviously tell if i have done the right thing buying privately, but i feel having a slush fund of around 6k thanks to a private purchase over a dealer purchase gives me some confidence.
Probably not much point in me 'reviewing' the car. Suffice to say, even with the tip gearbox, it's Dr Jekll and Mr Hyde. Beautiful to pootle around town /motorways etc. Returns 30mph+ easily on a nice cruise. But drop the car into M mode at a junction, engage first gear, depress the warp-pedal and the ferocity of the power delivery just doesn't end. This is a standard 414bhp car.....quite how brutal some of the 500+ BHP cars are i can only imagine :O)
I've posted a few pics up previously. I'll try and get some more taken this week if the weather holds (and if i get the time to clean her properly).
List of work done in last 3 years: (not including 2x major services + sparks and belts, and 4x minor services from the previous years)
Rear bumper removed and intercoolers cleaned.
Eroded exhaust fasterners removed and replaced from exhaust side of both turbos.
New set of N rated tyres all round (Pirelli)
New wastegate control fitted to L/H turbo
New alternator
New battery
Replaced rear discs and pads + wear sensors.
Radiator pods cleaned out (PU removed)
New L/H rad fitted.
R.H rad drained to replace bottom hose connection.
Strip, free-off and refit turbo wastegates.
New turbo heatshields and silencer bands.
2x wheel alignments plus most recent geo-alignment.
Brake fluid change (separate to service interval)
Battery drain from PCM system (Bose amp replaced to rectify)
Fuel level sender issue checked - acknowledged 'fault' charateristic of Turbo/C4S fuel sender (fix...put a full tank of fuel in each time).
A/C regas x2.
Remove and refit PU (clean and check rads).
New NS AC condensor.
Replaced oil feed seals (banjo bolt weep).
Removed and replaced oil camsgaft feed pipe (weep).
Remove and refit NS roof transport (clips broken)
Weld NS turbo wastegate actuator rod.
Several wiper blade sets.
Lots of replaced nuts and brackets.
Second set of N rated tyres all round (Pirelli P Zero)
New front discs and pads
I'm digging thru service history prior to this, but it seems like more of the same (rusted/broken bits being replaced etc). Nothing to suggest any new turbo's or intercoolers etc. However, I'm chasing the original OPC who serviced the car to see if they have any additional maintenance sheets (probably no hope of getting that info due to data-protection, but worth a punt)
Long post. But it made sense (in my head) to actually use the car and get the 'issues' sorted before actually posting much up about her. As i mentioned earlier, I really do need to thank folks on here for the myriad tips/suggestions/recommendations etc. With luck the folks on here have helped me to locate a decent Turbo which I'm hopefully never going to need to replace with a slower, more sensible car. Epic doesn't sum the 996T up. But if Carlsberg did SuperCars.....
In recent months my funds to purchase an "exotic" car were reaching a critical point. Much soul-searching and common-sense research pushed me towards the 996T. Of all the older Super Cars, this felt like the one that would stay on the tarmac and away from hedges, trees, oncoming traffic and other obstacles unless i *really* pushed the car. Besides being most suited to UK roads with its 4 wheel drive system, the 996T is also a smaller car than the Modena, Aston V8 etc. Infact it's noticeably narrower than my old 350z! This meant it would fit in my garage without a costly garage-door-replacement lol
Servicing was also a worry. Anything i bought would need a local Indy specialist to look after the cars maintenance and servicing. With Zentrum being on my doorstep in Calverton, that box was ticked too.
So I began my search for a 996T. In truth, it didn't take me to long to decide that i wanted a slightly newer car (2004 onwards, I have no real justification for this decision other than the facelifted bits!) and that i also wasn't going to go the Specialist Independent seller route. I could, realistically, have stuck my neck-out and plumped for a 'mint' £32k + 996T, but doing so would have left me with no slush-fund (albeit a warranty). Given that a lot of bits that fail/need replacing aren't necessarily covered by a warranty, i felt safer having 6k + in my bank account as a slush fund if i bought privately.
I'd looked at a few cars, and spent months pouring over this forum and a few others. In the end i found a car that was up for sale privately, on an 04 plate, and a lot cheaper than an Indy Garage forecourt.
The car was going in for a service at my local Indy, so I asked them to carry out the PPI. Armed with that info, the seller was convinced to spend £2k on tyres, geo, AC regas, service, air-bag checks, new front discs+pads. The car also still needed 500 quids worth of oil weeps and bits fixing, so i haggled on the sale price.
At this point, i really do need to thank folks on here who have championed the use of a good PPI. It saved me cash off the sale price to fix little issues, and ensured £2k worth or work was done before that by the seller.
Given the work done, the recent history, PPI and HPI checks, and the six stamps in the book all being OPC/specialist (and the mileage correlating with what OPC had on their systems) I went ahead and bought the car.
I'll list all the recent work in a moment. But left for me to sort out is:
- Front wing respray (front of the car was resprayed by first owner prior to sale due to stone chipping). Whoever did the work did a pi$$ poor job of blending into the wings. They look perfect, but the laquer used on the front of the wings isn't as smooth as i would like. I'm probably being *****, but to my mind this needs sorting.
- The PCM2 system has the "CD player trying to load a CD that isnt loaded" fault when i open the car door. 5-10 seconds of light machine gun chatter from the CD tray. I suspect the only fix for this will be a new PCM unit, or a replacent (cue a Pioneer system?) lol
- Front lower-black splitter has a crack in it where the previous owner kept clipping his raised driveway. Not really noticeable TBH but i'll look about for a replacement splitter.
I think that's it now for issues (touch wood). Time will obviously tell if i have done the right thing buying privately, but i feel having a slush fund of around 6k thanks to a private purchase over a dealer purchase gives me some confidence.
Probably not much point in me 'reviewing' the car. Suffice to say, even with the tip gearbox, it's Dr Jekll and Mr Hyde. Beautiful to pootle around town /motorways etc. Returns 30mph+ easily on a nice cruise. But drop the car into M mode at a junction, engage first gear, depress the warp-pedal and the ferocity of the power delivery just doesn't end. This is a standard 414bhp car.....quite how brutal some of the 500+ BHP cars are i can only imagine :O)
I've posted a few pics up previously. I'll try and get some more taken this week if the weather holds (and if i get the time to clean her properly).
List of work done in last 3 years: (not including 2x major services + sparks and belts, and 4x minor services from the previous years)
Rear bumper removed and intercoolers cleaned.
Eroded exhaust fasterners removed and replaced from exhaust side of both turbos.
New set of N rated tyres all round (Pirelli)
New wastegate control fitted to L/H turbo
New alternator
New battery
Replaced rear discs and pads + wear sensors.
Radiator pods cleaned out (PU removed)
New L/H rad fitted.
R.H rad drained to replace bottom hose connection.
Strip, free-off and refit turbo wastegates.
New turbo heatshields and silencer bands.
2x wheel alignments plus most recent geo-alignment.
Brake fluid change (separate to service interval)
Battery drain from PCM system (Bose amp replaced to rectify)
Fuel level sender issue checked - acknowledged 'fault' charateristic of Turbo/C4S fuel sender (fix...put a full tank of fuel in each time).
A/C regas x2.
Remove and refit PU (clean and check rads).
New NS AC condensor.
Replaced oil feed seals (banjo bolt weep).
Removed and replaced oil camsgaft feed pipe (weep).
Remove and refit NS roof transport (clips broken)
Weld NS turbo wastegate actuator rod.
Several wiper blade sets.
Lots of replaced nuts and brackets.
Second set of N rated tyres all round (Pirelli P Zero)
New front discs and pads
I'm digging thru service history prior to this, but it seems like more of the same (rusted/broken bits being replaced etc). Nothing to suggest any new turbo's or intercoolers etc. However, I'm chasing the original OPC who serviced the car to see if they have any additional maintenance sheets (probably no hope of getting that info due to data-protection, but worth a punt)
Long post. But it made sense (in my head) to actually use the car and get the 'issues' sorted before actually posting much up about her. As i mentioned earlier, I really do need to thank folks on here for the myriad tips/suggestions/recommendations etc. With luck the folks on here have helped me to locate a decent Turbo which I'm hopefully never going to need to replace with a slower, more sensible car. Epic doesn't sum the 996T up. But if Carlsberg did SuperCars.....
