wrightbenz

I am planning to purchase a 996. I have two I am considering and they are quite different. An early amber headlight coupe with 30k miles. The other is a 2004 C4s Cabrio with 80k miles.
both very clean cars. Early car has 30 plus service records at the dealer and is a one owner. Sounds great but it seems some worry about lack of use. The C4s has had the clutch and ims replaced and is in very good condition.
it’s a conundrum both are in the $30k range.

sublm8

Obviously they're very different cars.

A 99 one owner with those miles and records is special. Not having seen the car $30k seems undervalued. I'm biased but would lean towards that.

If you're buying to drive, the only rule here is buy what you like.

ZuffenZeus

As a general rule of thumb, coupes with manual transmission will always be valuable than cabriolets. If the '99 coupe has amber lenses that more than likely it's an early build '98 model and that's what you want, IMHO. I have some strong reasons for that and happy to share. However, on either car you really need to get the car checked out and research the serial number on the engine. That will tell you if the engine is the original factory or replaced at some point. Service records would be a big plus. C4S is a sharp looking car, but since it uses the M96.03, this means the dreaded small single row bearing and well-known to suffer from bore scoring. Again, PPI is a must.

theprf

Very different driving experiences so I suggest trying both and seeing which one you like better.

wrightbenz

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I have driven some but not a 4s and unfortunately the car is not local to me. I have read a lot about them and while different most seem to agree they are both great cars. This is what makes it a difficult decision. The coupe with such low mileage is so tempting and he has amazing maintenance history as well. The only worry here is the lack of use I mean it was drive less than 1500 miles per year. Service was done routinely though at Porsche dealership ahead of schedule.

the IMS doesn’t bother me so much as I can deal with that. The bore scoring is much more worrisome. Are the later cars more prone to the scouring ? I have been told they all have it to some degree. Some degree is the key word.

wrightbenz

please share your reasons.

wrightbenz

No answers to these questions.

peterp

Unless you really love the wide body look of the C4S, I would take the 99 Coupe by a mile. The weight difference between a narrow body coupe/C2/996.1 and a C4S is very significant -- it's not a subtle difference in driving feel. I normally post the weight difference, but I think it pisses people off, so I won't. The early 996.1 has the dual row bearing IMS (combined with less internal stress due to 3.4 vs 3.6) and the 3.4 in the 99 is far less prone to bore scoring than the 3.6.

I think most find the coupe looks much better than the cab, but that is obviously a personal preference. That said, the market typically values the coupe higher, all things being equal. To me (having owned C4 and C2 996.1 (though never a C4s), I strongly prefer the driving feel of the 2wd. There are several RL threads of people removing the front drive on C4 and/or C4s because of the driving feel. The 1500 miles a year on the 99 wouldn't bother me at all given that it was well maintained.

It would be best if you could drive them both, but I don't think it will be close if you do get to drive both.

wrightbenz

Hey thanks for the response. I was all set to pick up the coupe today. Unfortunately I discussed with the wife and she likes the C4S and I get that it’s a pretty car. Black with the Carmel leather it’s very sharp. Anyway it’s my car and I am leaning towards the hard top. We already have an SL55 for top down driving and I like the sound of a 30k mile 996. $30k seems like a good buy at this point in time. Sure I could buy a lot of cars for $30k but is have always wanted a 996.

firewalkwithme

ambers with lower mileage, more records, and its a coupe? easy decision IMO.

C4S is nice, but a cabrio isn't what you'd buy one of these for, doubly so as you already have a convertible.

996love

I believe the 99 has a cable throttle, as opposed to the later models with drive-by-wire throttle actuators (E-gas).

I like my E-gas car, but I have an inkling that a cable-actuated throttle would be much better.

edit: I’ve never tried a 996 with a cable-actuated throttle.

connect_yvr

What's your use case? Are you buying it as a driver's car or is it for you and your wife to cruise on road trips?

I recently had the opportunity to drive a 996 40th anniversary edition (with X51 engine and LSD) back to back with a C4S and the weight difference and handling characteristics were profound. C4S is a looker (although as people have noted, the cab takes away a bit over the coupe), but the Carrera is by far the better driver's car.

I really wanted a C4S before I did these test drives, but after trying both out, I'm firmly in camp C2 for driving.

wrightbenz

I drove a C4S today and it was quite different from the C2 as everyone has stated. I am going to move on the early car asap.

Patunia

Where are you in Chicago? I’m in Old Irving Park. If you want to meet up. I have an early build 06/98 with all the options I was looking for after selling my 2002. I was looking for a 40AE at the time, non available with maintenance records or were pretty much overpriced.
PM me if you want. Mike

Haalex

I'm late to the party, but there's a 540lbs weight difference between a 99 C2 coupe and a C4S 'vert.