I took the C4 for a spin last night.

The car is achingly beautiful, quite nice on the interior as well (there was a bit of a conspicuous dye smell in there, and the navy leather looked pretty fresh but not uncannily so). One spot of bubbling on the dash. I also spotted a very soft dent on the rear passenger side—enough to trigger my OCD since the rest of the car was so clean, but likely pretty easy to pop out.

The test drive was good, but not the most fun—West Hollywood in early evening traffic was a bit slow, didn’t really get to open ‘er up. The seller was friendly but very chatty and kept shoulder checking on my behalf which I found kind of distracting. It otherwise was reminiscent of the two other 996s I’d driven, maybe felt a bit heavier, and a bit less peppy than the C2. The feedback from the steering wheel felt great, and the suspension was stiff but I didn’t find it too punishing on some very roughly patched surface streets.

One source of disappointment was the service history binder: much less extensive than I’d hoped for from a car with 143K miles. Most of it consisted of smog tests and registration renewals from the past 7-8 years, along with a smattering of oil changes and a PPI showing some issues that had no record of having been addressed. That said, no smoke from a cold start, two clean exhaust pipes, no funny noises from the engine, etc. The seller confessed to me that this was his 29th car (“I know, I have a problem…” he apologized) so he has some sense for this stuff.

He’s willing to take the car in for a PPI on my dime.

That said, I’m still on the fence. The ride was engaging, visibility is excellent, and it doesn’t feel dangerously low to the ground, but I’m a bit worried my wife wouldn’t appreciate how “raw” the driving experience is—heavy steering, gas and brake pedals, stiff suspension, etc. So there’s still some pondering to be done on that front.

 

I'm one of those people.

Buying and experiencing lower-cost (sub $50K) fun cars is my hobby. I get a thrill out of the hunt and the catch of a great car at a great price. Then I get bored with them in less than a year, even if I put a lot of money into restoring or modding them. As much as I love my 47K mile 996 C4S, if something more amazing shows up on my radar, it'd be tough for me not to consider selling or trading it to make a deal happen.

I go through phases where I want random ****. For months it'll be a Euro sports wagon (like the E63 AMG or Audi RS6 wagons), then I'll want a sexy, wingless but wide 911 (like my C4S or a modern GT3 touring). Then I'll want a baller/gangster car like a black S63 AMG. Then I'll want a brutal SUV (like my X5 M). Then I'll want a business guy rocket like an E60 M5. I'm all over the f*cking place. I always sell my cars in better condition than they were when I got them.

You mentioned that you want an auto because your wife may drive it, but you also want feel. Just know that your wife can learn to drive stick in an afternoon. I've taught people that quickly. Several years ago, my neighbor wanted me to go with her to look at some cars at CarMax because she hated her Taurus (understandably) and she asked me to go because I knew about cars. She fell in love with a silver VW Beetle 6MT...but she didn't know how to drive stick. I test drove it for her. She loved it so much she traded in her Taurus on the spot and I drove it home for her. She treated me to dinner then we went to a stadium parking lot and I showed her the basics. An hour or so later she drove us home. The words that I told her that got her over the mental block were, "If 15 year old kids in HS can do this, you can do this."

If you can get your wife on board with a manual car, then it unlocks a lot for you.

Have you identified what you want from the next car? What's important to you? Horsepower, torque, speed, looks (aggressive, sophisticated, refined, luxury, exotic, etc...), feel, etc...? Do you plan to mod the car (wheels, suspension, stereo, etc...)? Do you plan to upgrade/tune it to make it faster? Or do you like your cars stock as the manufacturer intended?

 

Fair point re: stick, although I feel like I’m already negotiating from a position of weakness by shopping for a car with only two doors, very limited cargo room, and *not* a derivative of a VW Golf (which is probably the only platform she truly loves.) In this context, advocating for a manual transmission is an instant “talk to the hand” scenario.

I’ve made the rounds. My dream car remains a 928, but it’s a bit too crude and (and thirsty) for the missus. The occasional Audi (TT, A3 wagon) catches my eye. Some late 80s/early 90s Japanese cars, are cool, but also too primitive for our needs. I’m too tall for a Miata (and an auto would be counter-productive.)

Essentially the only three cars that we both find tolerable are the GTI/R, Ioniq 5, and Polestar 2. The 996, as I’ve mentioned, is turning into a bit of a hard sell unfortunately.

 

Good to see the owner just replaced the water pump.

You can transform the ride with bigger rubber on the wheels to better soak up the bumps around town.

But unless your wife is happy with the car, you aren't going to be happy. However, while my wife hates to drive my 996 ever since I put in the GT3 seats and set the suspension up for the track back in 2006, she has her own convertible Audi to drive. So she is happy. But we do share an Audi Q7 for grunt work. Works well.

 

Well, she's your partner so I agree that it's fair to consider her opinions as well (to say the very least). Could be worse...without talking to her, you could show up tomorrow afternoon with a motorcycle...or worse, a boat 😂

I'm a big VW nerd. My all-time favorite was my 2004 Tornado Red R32. One of the few cars that I regret selling. Tell her that the 996 is the ancestor to all sporty VWs.

Maybe consider some B7 or B8 A4/S4 wagons. They don't have crazy HP (neither do the 996s that you are considering), but can look damn good when lowered on appropriate wheels. And they would definitely handle family duty as well as have roof rails for travel boxes for extra space on road trips.




Also, maybe consider older M3s and M5s. You probably have a better chance at finding a clean older M5 than M3 because the kids are gonna buy up all of the M3s and rag them out. I bought a bone stock, clean af, 2006 M5 for like 40K miles for less than $30K a year ago. Sold it on BAT and took the funds and bought my 996. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-bmw-m5-167/ That sold for $27K.

Going in a different direction, maybe consider the D3 S8. Baller sporty. Can defiantly do family duty, too. But, not a head-turner like the 911. One of those, if you know you know cars.




F*ck. [Checks checking account balance. Opens up autotrader, cars.com, and craigslist on web browser....]

 

Oh, and then there is the 970 Panamera. The DNA is definitely Porsche. Even base Panameras feel more sporty than many BMW M cars and Mercedes AMGs. They also have a very low seating position like Porsche sports cars. I had a 970.2 Panamera and liked it. It performed family duty very well. Wife currently has a 971 Panamera Sport Turismo that we love.

But those lean far away from "sports car" and well into "sporty family car".

 

I can commiserate a little. My wife was adamant I but an automatic sports car so she could drive it, and now she flat out refuses to drive the 996.

Golf R gets my vote of the cars you mention.

Out of left field, but have you looked at an X3 M40i? I am completely shocked at how good that car is in just about everything. It's almost completely faultless IMO.

 

I haven’t driven an R yet (plenty of GTIs though.) Maybe that could be an acceptable compromise…

And I’ve yet to hear anyone say a bad thing about the X3. Our neighbor just bought one and loves it. But our other car is a compact SUV and I think I’d rather have a bit more variety in the stable. Still might be worth a test drive for fun…

 

The wife loves wagons, and Audi does a good wagon. I might want something a bit more nimble though.

 

My VR Corrados would like a word with you...


Back to the OP's question, seriously a Mk7 or 7.5 R is going to be a far better choice than a 996 based on what you have listed. And I love the 996.
(Or for goofball fun a first-gen Cayenne Turbo. Yes it's a huge brick but OMG it's outright ridiculous how fast and nimble the thing is.)

 

Well, with enough money to spend on suspension components, you can make almost any car dance. I've put coilovers on a Lexus LS 430 before...and they totally woke the car up. Cornering, acceleration, braking, and ride quality were all improved. $2,000 well-spent. I had coilovers on my B7 A4 Avant as well.

 

Yeah, I forgot about the Corrado! Those are rad.

Also, don't sleep on modern super SUVs (ML 63 AMG, X5M, Cayenne Turbo). My X5 M is a "twin turbo V8 lifted M5". It's nuts. I have Dinan suspension on mine but will probably go KW to get lower just to get a meaner look and more car-like feel. This is as close to an M5 Estate that I can get for a while...and it's probably lighter than the recently announced hybrid M5 😂

(inspiration pic from Bimmerpost):



Not the most nimble, but more than I have the ***** to do. I would give up before it would:


It's big enough for family duty, can be turned (TT V8), can be loud, handles like a car, perfect for city life, can tow, can put stuff in the boot and on top, has great seats and general ergonomics, aggressive looks. I hate SUVs but I bought this one. It does sort of blend into the soup of SUVs on the road. But, hey, that's America these days. You can get into one of these for under $40K. Maybe under $30K for rougher examples.

 

Of all the curveballs to come out of this sub-forum, I never imagined the words Panamera and Cayenne to figure among them. 😂

They’re a dime a dozen out here, but I just assumed they’re a flat tire away from a salvage title. Should I really be considering them?

 

My Cayenne Turbo S is a V8 sports car in disguise despite weighing 5500 pounds. And they can be had for less than $10k. The downside is 12 mpg (I like to hear the whooshing lol).
I still think the Mk7 or 7.5 R is a great choice for this sort of use as it's amazingly practical, gets really good mileage, probably about bottomed in depreciation, and it's actually great to drive.

 

YES.

Go to CarMax and you'll probably find one of each there.

I had a base V6 Panamera 970.2 and the PDK made it much faster than it should have been.

The Cayenne is simply special. It's not a regular SUV.

307kph / 190mph:

And the 1st gen base diesel can go 220kph / 135mph:


And they can hang with the old guard (Land Cruisers, etc...) off road. That's why a lot of people are buying them up to make Porsche off-road builds with them.