FRUNKenstein

C4S. Mileage means very little on a roughly 15 year old car. When you buy a low mileage car, you buy odometer angst. With the C4S, you'll end up driving it a lot more.

As for spending $5,000 in maintenance on it right off the bat, if it has had the IMS bearing replaced already, then the only way you are going to spend that kind of money is if you adopt the "I'll replace perfectly good, functioning parts because someday they might break" mentality. That's a slippery slope. While I like both of these cars, neither is going to ever be collectible. They are meant to be driven, so drive it and enjoy it and fix it when it breaks. Of course, if it hasn't had the IMS bearing replaced, then ejdougherty is spot on. You'll want to do this on either car because they are smack dab in the middle of the IMS bearing red zone. The one on the C4S probably wouldn't given out by now if it was a bad one, but even if it was a good factory bearing, the design being the worst of the IMS bearings means that I still wouldn't trust it. If you are going to drop the transmission, then yes, there are several "while you are in there" items to swap out that would make economic sense.

Agree with Dr_Strangelove to stay patient because Labor Day marks the beginning of about a 4 month long buyer's market. You'll see several cars go up for sale in the northern states as owners will opt to sell rather than store for another winter.

Palting

BTW, you mentioned scissors lifts and wrenching your car.

I have this:
http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/spe...ts/md-6xp.aspx

It works for about 80%-90% of what you'd need to do. The cross bars get in the way of some engine and transmission work. I think I would rather have bought this:
http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/spe...s/mds-6kf.aspx

TonyTwoBags

Why would the OP want to buy a car that weighs in at 2900lbs & ~375bhp* & costs almost half the price of a GT3?

jllphan

Jeez, so much great info here... love it. Three of my four BMWs are black and are all garaged, nothing would change here for the 996.

I mentioned a C2 over a C4S because this is my first 911. Just seems appropriate to get the quintessential 911 experience and graduate to other iterations later. Which is why I'm willing to make sacrifices on what i want, because I don't really know and won't until i own one.

Silver is meh, but honestly the C4S is a bit out of my price range given purchase price is just the barrier to entry and not what i consider the total initial investment. Initial preventive maintenance, a few new tools and some farkling have to be factored in. All that to say I'll take a silver 911 if it gets me into a C4S.

Kind of dumb to buy a C4S and then remove the 4WD, but I just might do it. Aesthetics are important to me and the two just aren't comparable in this regard.

Awesome, will do, thanks.

gnarbowski

Who in their right mind would do such a thing.

VivG

Having owned both a C2 and a C4, I'll say that the C4 is probably a superior car overall - more stable at speed, much better in inclement weather, traction control, etc. The C2 can get a bit floaty as you get into the triple digits, but the steering feel is phenomenal, there's less in the way of mechanical losses, and it's overall probably more entertaining to drive than the C4. They're both excellent in different ways, but I feel like I prefer the C2.

A RWD-converted C4S would be my ultimate 996, so I totally feel where you're coming from. The widebody look is just so compelling.

sugarwood

You're not giving yourself enough credit. You already know how to buy a car.

Grey: high miles, 8 owners, no service history, and a color you don't like
Black: Low miles, but no service history, and dealer seller. Close, but no cigar.

If these were BMW's, would you be considering them? I doubt it.
You have extensive BMW experience so don't throw that instinct away when buying a 911.

In the real world, you don't need 4S, so don't pay for it, then remove it. That's nuts.

Unless you're saying it's almost impossible to find a 996 in your state, keep looking.
That is half the fun.

peterp

To me, the number one priority would be to drive both. That is the most important action you can take to figure out which version you prefer and to get a feel for the condition of each car absent records. There is a lot of variability between individual samples of cars now that they are 15ish years old.

To me, the reason why the 996 is because of the way it drives. That is 90 percent of the attraction, 10 percent is because of how it looks. I like the way it looks too, but I love the way it drives. I did not like the way my Tip Carrera 4 drove (that I owned back when they were new), but I absolutely love the 6-speed 2wd I have now.