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Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:31 am
by ipman
I am starting a new thread from my Buyer Input one since I did purchase one.

After a very exhaustive search and 3 PPIs this week, I picked up a 55K mile 2001 Polar Arctic 911 TT. All stock except the radio is upgraded. Two previous owners, Carfax show it was dealer maintained with lots of service records, and both POs had bought it at the same dealer, so they knew the car and the previous owners who were both enthusiasts and in their mid-50s. It has been on the market for 4 months and they wanted to move it so I got a very fair deal, they actually lost money on it. It also came with a box of 60K parts as well as some O2 sensors and a set of intercoolers. I am unsure of the value but guessing $1200-1500. I have had my eye on this one ever since I saw in almost 2 months ago so it kept drawing me back and the color is gorgeous IMO.

A buddy and I drove to Denver from Austin Thursday, using a 1-way rental. Friday morning, it had snow on it, battery was completely dead. I was OK with that because I got to see a cold start in teen-ish degrees. It had not bee started for at least a month.

After we had it running, we took it to get a PPI on it and came back with a few minor things, but overall a very good report. It had no leaks which I had encountered on one of the other PPIs. This was a big concern for me as I had seen a few other records where seals and gaskets were replaced on very low mileage specimens due to non-use. The PPI showed :

1- tires needed balancing to correct shaking wheel on the highway
2- oil level sensor was not working
3- needed a new battery
4- slightly out of alignment, which I was willing to concede

It was in good shape aesthetically with the exception of the front bumper. It has a small crack where the license plate grommet had ripped out. A plate will cover the tear and I can use a screw and washer to hold the plate since TX requires them front and back.

The dealer, especially the salesperson and techs that worked on it were incredible. They balanced the tires and in doing so found that the right rear had a hole, so they plugged it. New Colorado law says it has to be done a certain way, not just pushing the rubber filler in, but removing the tire, putting on a special patch with some metal in it and then vulcanizing it from the inside (reminds me of the way the used to do it years ago). Two were out of balance and this fixed the slight vibration.

They knew it needed a battery so that was already on order.

The long pole was the oil level sensor. I have swapped one on my Benz and talked to the tech who said it was very similar. Both parties wanted to ensure it had enough oil so we could drive the 1000 miles back, and the only way to do that was a fresh all synthetic Mobil 1 oil change at $330 that they performed. I will order the sensor today and swap it in this week as I am a shade-tree mechanic. I talked to both techs extensively (both whom worked at Porsche for 7-8 years prior and had been certified) and the concerns my buddy and I had were quelled. One mentioned how clean it was underneath and said the underbelly had hardly any scratches on it. I peaked under and saw the same, no leaks and pretty shiny.

Anyway, the drive home was uneventful, made it back without hiccup, except the oil light that would come on at startup. I am very pleased with deal and the customer service I received. It was fortuitous that it had sat for awhile and so the leverage was on our side more. I did ask the salesman why he thought it sat so long and he said it was the wrong time of year to sell a car like that in Colorado.

Here is a pic. Thanks again to those who assisted me in this endeavor.

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:37 am
by pcasanova
ipman Very nice looking car. Epic journey, glad to see what you ended up with. Things listed in the PPI are really minor, so looks like you eded with a gem.

Is it a TIP or Manual? Any pics of the interior?

Congrats on the purchase!!! Most importantly, ENJOY!

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:58 am
by ipman
Thank you. I will get some pics in the next week as the dealer pulled them down already. We hit some rain on the last 40 miles so it's dirty. It is natural gray I believe they call it, dark gray but not black. Oh, it's a 6 speed manual, Jeff convinced me to get one so that is what I did. I am pleased with my decision.

I took the mrs for a ride in it, recorded her reaction, it is priceless. It scared her, and her palms were sweating!

BTW, you have good taste in colors too, yours being a silver an all as well as all stock. :)

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 8:37 am
by Cuda911
Very nice.... congrats!!

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 8:42 am
by gnat
Always liked the Arctic Silver. Very nice and an excellent location for your first pic!

Congrats.

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:22 am
by 5chn3ll
Sleeper color. I like. It does not scream "I AM A PIMP" like my car, or "GIVE ME A TICKET" like the yellow ones.

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:37 am
by ipman
Haha true. I do like yellow and did look at a red one but that was heavily smoked in. Sleeper fits me perfectly.

About 30 miles earlier where the photo was taken, we were cruising at 81/82 in a 75 two-lane county road and I see a state trooper rolling up on me very fast. I thought to self, “what, he’s gonna pull me over for 6-7 over?”. Well he flies by me and I saw him 8 miles later at the scene of an accident where an 18 wheeler ran off. So it may have worked already.

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 11:10 am
by B3DAWG
I'm just glad you got the rear window wiper. I was beginning to feel alone. :lol:


Seriously, congrats!

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 11:34 am
by FRUNKenstein
Congratulations Jason! Sounds like you got a great deal. Frankly, I'll bet it would have sold easily had they held on to that car for another 5 or 6 weeks. So, your timing was perfect.

Natural gray is a fantastic interior color - it holds up well like black, but without some of the negatives of black. It also seems to be a pretty rare interior color. Nice pull on that.


I'm glad you went to pick it up and drive it home. Hopefully you and your buddy had a good trip and you know he'll always remember going with you to pick up your "911 Turbo".

Be sure to post up some more pics once you get it cleaned back up from the trip. I'd really like to see that interior. I know you worked really, really hard at finding the right one, so now "Enjoy!"

Re: Search is Over, Picked up a 911TT

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:26 pm
by ipman
Rear wiper? I saw some searching that had it deleted. Why is that done? I am fine with it.

One annoying thing I encountered is the factory mat catches when putting the clutch down all the way, so it comes back up with the pedal. I want to replace them with some all-weather mats anyway, so suggestions welcome especially to avoid this issue.

Thanks J, yes the search took a lot of time and the last week was really crazy with 3 PPIs, but this was calling me. I was really trying to get something before the spring markup begins and kept recalling your advice. I will get some pics when it's cleaned up, weather is not looking great this week so it may be a week or so, but I will get some.

Oh, another question- it has Continental ExtremeContact DWS all weather tires on it. The fronts are factory size but the rear is minus 1, they're 285/30s instead of 295/30s. My buddy said to be careful "getting on it" since it is AWD and could affect the transfer case. Is there any truth to this? The tires have minimal wear on them so I'd prefer to just run them and then get the 295s but certainly don't want to damage the AWD system.