370Z to 996 Turbo
 

So I've been toying with the idea of selling the Z at some point this year and moving on to something else. I love my Z and it's almost exactly how I want to set it up, but I wish it felt a bit more special at times as it is incredibly effective at achieving a high level of performance and precision but isn't the most communicative at times.

I've always loved any 911 turbo, especially the 993 Turbo I used to detail for a client. It was midnight blue, tan interior and the 6mt and he would let me drive it once in a while... That was an amazing car. But they are way too expensive for what they are in my opinion, almost rivaling some earlier 997 turbos in price which is kind of crazy.

So I had been wanting a 996 Turbo for a while and you can find a number of them for the mid to low $30k range. I got an offer from my local Nissan dealership to buy my Z ($30k without even negotiating), which just goes to show how strong resale is on the Z!

Things I'm looking for:

-Back seats (even if they are barely usable, want them just in case of a pinch)
-Reliability (996Ts are very reliable if all problem areas are addressed)
-Driving experience (love the way it feels to drive a Porsche)
-Huge power potential
-Looks

What do you all think about my thoughts on the 996 Turbo? If anyone has experience or some good points on what to look for when buying one, please post up. :hattip: TIA!

Christian, you really can't go wrong with the 996 imo. Great solid, stable and well built cars, a little pricey on the maintenance front. My experience with them mostly comes from relatives and friends owning them.
Considered adding to your car collection rather than letting go the Z - You have a really clean one and who knows where the current gen would be in a few years...

little motivation shot

oh my thats a hot looking car...

Go for it, the turbos probably will never go below $20K. You can always buy a new Z

I definitely understand it's a 10ish year old Porsche so if something goes wrong, it'll be more expensive! I can only have one car at a time right now, I'm fresh out of college and did well with jobs and day trading for a while which allowed me to pay for 75% of the Z and a little help from my parents (still paying off the remainder) so I can't afford two cars haha. I don't really want to wait before the next gen Z is released since Z34 prices will drop dramatically.

And thanks for the inspiration! Here are some of mine:

http://porscheweb.kvalitne.cz/Porsch...ock_Turbo).jpg
http://www.vividracing.com/forums/ga.../4/3/tony1.jpg

That's my thinking too, it looks like $30k is about the bottom of their depreciation and I'm sure they won't get much cheaper. We'll see what the 2015 Z35 looks like, but I can't get over the feeling of driving a Porsche. It's just a different experience from any other car.

I know, the 993 prices are crazy! It's insane how 993 turbos are still in the 60-90k range, that's better than most 997 Turbos. But they do feel different than any other watercooled 911 after, not sure if it's better but it's certainly more raw.

My perfect 996 TT would be around 500whp, JIC coilovers, GT2 front end and rear wing, ICs, exhaust, and wheels. But then again those would have to wait a long time since I can't afford it atm haha. Oh, and no tiptronic... Ever.

I've been cruising 6speedonline but are there any other 996 forums I should look at?

Nice Christian!!! In for pics when you get your 996 Turbo :tup:

One of my best friends worked for a Porsche dealer for a few years during the late 996 and early 997 years. I've heard quite a few horror stories with regard to maintenance and just overall build quality. At one point, the average times a 911 would be in the dealership per year was 6. If you have the income to keep up with maintenance and repair, then the 996 is a fun car; if it's going to be stretching your budget, don't expect Nissan reliability...

Just remember that you will still be paying for maintenance and repairs for a $100K car.

It's the same reason that I am hesitant about a 2010 X5 diesel at the moment.

i'm a big fan of the 996 turbo's. like you said, compared to the 993 you get a lot more bang for the buck. i'm not sure why the 993 has held it's value the way it did. perhaps there were less turbo models sold in those years? 964 turbo's (especially the 3.6L's) are a great car too but they don't have the AWD. either way, good luck with it! 911's are pretty awesome cars, no matter what generation you get :tup:

A 30K offer on a used Z? Take it and run, you could always come back to the Z later on like you have said. I sold my other 09 370 in the beginning of 2010 for only 28K, it was PG touring sport 14k miles perfect shape.

Funny how everyone is saying go for it. Just IMO I cant stand them.. Maybe just where I am but I would NEVER buy one, In MA everyone one I see the guy driving just looks like a donkey, The drive the car live an Azz weaving in and out of traffic all the time and like own the road, The are ( Full of themselves) and act like HEY I have a PORSCHE!! I plus I see to many of them, I see more Porches here than I see Z and G's. Just me tho I know.

Sorry man,

Do it!

As a DD, I wouldn't do it. As a second car, sure why not.

:iagree: would hate to have to pay that kind of maintenance cost, but if it was a weekend or project car alone, then it can sit while I save money for any costly repair.

some will say the same about g37 coupe as they seem to have tons of guidos and fobs driving them IMO......

Thanks Bird! Just need to find the right one for the right price. :tiphat:

I plan on doing basic maintenance work myself as I love working on my own cars when it's something within my abilities or at least close enough that I feel comfortable giving it a shot. Parts prices are actually surprisingly reasonable for smaller stuff, but you're right you will pay out the nose for bigger things.

Thansk HK! I agree, they have huge bang for the buck and with an intake, exhaust and tune can net 120 extra hp. I've even found some X50s in the 30k range and those are even more potent. But they can also be built up to be monsters!

I was really surprised, then again it was cleaner than all their new Zs and I bought it there so they know the car. 30k is WAY more than I was expecting, but they also have some customers looking for my exact color/interior combo so that might be helping.

I honestly am seeing less and less 996 Porsches in socal as everyone and their mother has either a boxster or 997 now. I don't see too many douchy 996 drivers out there but the Porsche mentality is definitely there when you talk to them!

But I learned not to care, I don't act like that and enjoy the car more than I care about what other people think about me... within reason of course!

I drive less than 5k miles a year so I won't be piling on miles at least, which definitely helps on maintenance costs versus the average person at 12k miles a year. The 996 non turbo models all seem to have consistent problems while the turbos are completely unaffected by the normal 996 troubles. I feel like it is most important to look for well cared for turbos since a lot of the enthusiast owners will have taken care of the problem areas already.

I wouldn't make that jump!

If only I was Adam in the garden of eden.

I would have ask God to give me a GTR or a Porsche as a companion!

Then MAN has lived Eternal Life!!!!
But wait this means there will be no gentleman's club in this forum! Oh Noooooooh!!!!!

Wake me up in my dream!:driving:

Haha, I've just been thinking about the Z a lot lately and realized I really like it a lot. But I'm not in love with it, and feel like it's time for a change. And I love Porsches and am used to dealing with higher maintenance and reliability costs of an older car thanks to my last car.

just dump that extra maintenance cost into the Z...

If you do the swap, or you parting out first? If so shoot me a pm on the sways...

Vultures smelling da blood and circling around already :p

You know it....:stirthepot: I need to recoup parts from my big part out last december.


If had a bit more money i'd be looking at even more of his nice parts.

I have always wanted to go with a GTM stage 2 SC kit, plus my other upgrade list with coilovers, LSD, and brakes. But in the end, I don't know if that amount of coin is worth it on a car I'm not in love with I guess.

Haha, I definitely plan on parting most of it when the time comes. Mainly it will include the INGS lip, sways, wheel swap for my wheels with RE11s, GTR start button, carbon fiber interior trim pieces, G3 intakes, HFCs and FI exhaust.

That's about all the readily removable stuff I can think of haha.

While not bad looking, the 996s are far uglier than the 997 and the 993. You might not be content over time just based on the looks. It seems really dated to me whereas the Z does not.

I've driven a tiptronic 996 Turbo a few times, which I REALLY don't recommend. The shifting was incredibly slow and sloppy due to the old tech, definitely get a manual if you're going to pull the trigger.

Road feel of a Porsche can't be beat! I wish the Z's steering was a bit heavier and more connected.

Oh definitely, I will not even consider a tiptronic 996 no matter how cheap nor what mods it has. I think with a few cosmetic changes, the 996 can be brought up to look very nice. Most of that includes a GT2 front bumper and fixed rear wing as well as some new wheels.

You are right about road feel, I always felt like Porsches have a unique feel over any other car out there and I love that.

Here are some GT2s, the turbo would look exactly the same with the GT2 bumper and wing. Definitely looks more up to date than the stock turbo body (but I still love it)

http://www.gmgracing.com/images/silver996gt21big.jpg
http://www.geecar.com/1/2pic/996_gt2_1280_03.jpg

:yum:

:tup: On the bumpers and wing swap...

I autox a 997 gt3. its unbeliebeable how much better they feel . faster too

Just curious how much it would cost you for a regular change oil with a 911 GT3 at the Porsche dealership?

He said he'll do all the basic stuff himself, but i'm sure it's on par with the GT-R work at the sealership.

They charge $400 something

:icon17: Christian has got a lot of premium parts and I'm sure they will move FAST. :tup:
Used to be $500/oil change (Service A every 3000mi) & $1500 (Service B every 10000mi) for my Mercedes. Should be somewhere around then, German cars...

Yeah, but it's not like an "every 3-5k mi" oil change, right? It's like every 15k mi?

:icon18: every 3000mi as you extend past the required service mileage you have those huge alerts on the dashboard for service being late so everyone gets in the car and goes like..."Look at this guy in a fancy car and he won't even do his oil changes :p"

Stupid cry baby car telling on you like that.

I think 10K. It does have like 8-10 quarts of oil, I guess it is okay. I love the car, but they are not exactly trouble free. My old 350 actually broke a brand new GT3 radiator when it shot a rock into it. 600 miles on the car, it sat at a gas station waiting for a tow. Now the car has 20K miles, the radiator is leaking again.

When they work right, there is definitely something special about them. I wish I have one every time I get in to drive one, but then common sense kicks in once I hear all the problems and see the prices they charge.