TAZ40JAHRE

Another vote for the 40 Jahre 911. I own Nr. 0711, having bought it in Aug 2012 with about 67K on the clock. Have 95K now. If you want to know more about that model, in addition to several current owners in this thread, you can visit our worldwide Registry (links in my signature below).

FletcherHubbard

if it were me I'd say all points towards getting the 40J. Cheaper, unmodified, lighter, more powerful, rarer, etc.

ssherman68

<rant>
I don't get these people that want to sell their car privately (and probably want a premium price) but don't want to deal with questions or let people test drive. They need to get over themselves. It's a $30K 25 year old car. Not a $200K Ferrari. If you don't want to deal with people take it to a dealership and trade it in. I think this brand sometimes attracts people with egos who don't like being questioned.
</rant>

If you're really young and seem like you're in over your head I can see why people might not want to offer a test drive. I'm not seeing that in your posts though. When I bought mine 4 out of the 5 of the owners whose cars I physically looked at let me test drive it. The other one might have if I had asked but I was really tired that day and didn't want to deal with it. The first person I dealt with was out of state. He was fine to deal with until I told him I was no longer interested in the car due to oil change frequency. He changed it every 10K miles no matter how many years had gone by. It was 20 years old and had 30K miles on it (so, 3 oil changes in 20 years?). He accused me of trying to get a car at a bargain basement price.

911Syncro

A few thoughts:

• I believe all of the C4S came with full leather interior, so no difference there.
• The AE may have the M030 option, but the C4S has the Turbo suspension and brakes. (Approximately the Turbo suspension, the springs and shocks are tuned to the C4S). And I can't recall if M030 comes with bigger brakes. Not sure which would be better, but the performance may be about the same.
• The AE has an LSD, but the AWD in the C4S performs that same function. So no real difference there.

I like the OP's choice based on the seller. When we buy these things we are not just buying the car, we are also buying the seller.

connect_yvr

Your rant sounds exactly like the C4S seller I dealt with (and won't be buying from). Found a dealer who's willing to let me go for a test drive in a C4S and I'm thinking the 40J owner will let me take it for a spin as well off the back of our meet and greet phone call.

It may be because I look a bit younger than I am - I'm in my mid-30s, but probably look like I'm 25.

Looks like most folks are leaning towards the 40J over a C4S which I am now as well, but I'm hoping the drives will help to solidify my instincts.

Pnwdbag69

natural leather > full leather, all day long. Not even close.
lsd and awd are in no way the same thing…

turbo suspension is only different in that it accounts for additional weight in the front end (it’s not any different than the narrow body c4 suspension either). Its not an “upgrade”. M030 IS an upgrade

2mAn

Definitely drive the cars before you buy. Any update yet?

connect_yvr

Got to check out the 40J today. Super nice owner - let me take it for a spin and took me on some local roads where I was able to open it up a couple of times. I was surprised with how free revving the engine was and how much midrange torque was available (my only real comparison is a 2007 Boxster I last drove almost 10 years ago though). It's a way more beautiful car in person than in photos. I think it's hard to capture how curvy the narrow body is in photos. Minimal options on this one - just power seats, Bose, and a CD changer; it's very much a driver's car. The only bummer is there are no records before the current owner (who's had it since 2015) and this includes no records of the IMSB replacement (reportedly done at 63k km). Also no records of even a minor service being done and the owner has only done annual oil changes (albeit the car has been trouble-free for him for almost 9 years).

The stars seem to have aligned and I'm set-up for a test drive of a C4S on Saturday. Will see how I feel after that!

wdb

40AE cars have the X51 engine package. Cams, head work, tune, some oiling stuff too. That is going to be a livelier engine than a standard M9x.

plpete84

I've dubbed the 40AE the GTS of the 996 gen, which means that it already came with most of the good options from factory. There wasn't much you could add to it besides the comfort seats (sport seats were the default actually but for some reason many cars in US were spec'd with comfort seats) and navigation unit. It seems like you liked the car and the owner seems to be reasonable. I'd factor in the IMS and a service into the offer and go from there. Sadly, if no records, you don't want to go by someone's word. Get a solid PPI and proceed accordingly.

gbarron

If the IMS was replaced with an LN Engineering product (and correctly registered) you can check the VIN here to see if it is on file: https://lnengineering.com/ims-lookup.html

Eric Black

definately 40J. and i know many people wont agree, but you could then throw the oem aerokit wing on the back as well. then youll really be able to make it "your own".

But thats just me lol

connect_yvr

Update, for those who are interested.

I drove the C4S on Saturday and was frankly underwhelmed after having driven the 40th AE. I think the combination of the X51 engine, suspension, RWD, and lighter weight (~400 lbs!) in the 40th AE really give it a lot more zip and road feel compared to the C4S which felt sluggish in comparison. The C4S does, in my opinion, have the more beautiful lines and I still love the reflector bar, but as a driving machine, the 40th AE takes the cake easily.

Really glad I took the time and effort to drive both cars before making a decision. I totally get the "sheep in wolf's clothing" analogy that so many people use when describing the C4S. I'm going to move forward with negotiating the 40th AE (which isn't quite as well sorted as I had thought, but hopefully the seller will be reasonable with negotiations).

sdematt

Great to hear!

I lived in Vancouver for 30 years, and I'd say unless you were planning on going skiing every weekend, you don't need AWD, just some good all seasons...

Best of luck on the 40J! Had I known better when I was first buying my 911 C2, I probably would have searched out a 40J instead...

Eric Black

That's actually really good to hear.

Hopefully you can pick up the 40J for a good price! Good Luck!