It sounds like he'll have 60K+ on any of them in no time. No one cares what the mileage was when he bought it.

Get the best condition and maintained car that falls within your top 3 color choices. I wouldn't pay a dime more for a '98, if all other factors are equal.

 

Kika wrote: "With regards to a TT, there is the added cost of maintenance as well, not to discourage anyone, but there is more than just the price of admittance. There IS the added fun factor though."

One of the great secrets of the 993TT... virturally NO difference in maintenance as compared with an NA car. Shhhhh, just between us.

 

+1 on the best condition/top color choice advice.

-1 for not wanting to pay "a dime more" for a 1998, if all other factors are equal. The issue is, all other factors are never equal. However hypothetically speaking if one was comparing a 1996 vs. 1998 C4S coupe with the same mileage, color, options, service/ownership history, the market would value the 98 higher than the 96 due to lower production figures, "last year of the air cooled" bragging rights and simply due to the fact that the 98 is 2 years newer. I'd estimate the premium at roughly $1,000 - 2,500. Just my opinion.

 

Steve and others...

Is that really true? I have heard that minor service on a 993TT is on the order of $2k, sure oil is probably the same, but is the 15K service the same?

 

The only real dfifference in maintenance is that the turbo units themselves may need rebuilding (~$1500/pair) at around 70k miles, depending upon how they are cooled after hard use. This is offset by almost never getting an SAI problem and having but 6 spark plugs. Seriously. All else is the same. We all use the same amount of oil, have 2 oil filters, etc. Same service intervals. Shhhhh. Don't spread this around. Oh wait... we also have an assisted clutch, and there is that pesky clutch accumulator (~$100) and the really nasty clutch slave cylinder (never had to change this on my two cars).

 

In retrospect 12000 miles is not much difference between cars.

So for an extra 6K, the only other real value besides the mileage would be the lower production number in the final year of build.

It all depends on color and options at this point as you suggested to pick the right car.