The TT is most definitely a bargain. I won't argue that. I considered selling my C4S several months ago to get an '03+ TT, until I drove the 997TT which is many times improved over the 996 and realized I just couldn't live with laggy engines which is just a part of turbo life.

I also prefer the 997S package over the 996TT. I find the 996TT to look even more dated than the C4S with the ugly wing in the back.

But, yes, consider the 996TT, but again, this is upselling you. Why stop there, right? Cuz there's always better.

 

As an owner of of both, let me dis spell your worries.

They Turbo's are very easy to drive, as they both have PSM which will save even the most novice of drivers from trouble. As far as the power increase, the power is there if you want it, and not if you don't. In comparison between the two, if you drive them both, the Turbo just feels how the C4S should feel power-wise.

Aftermarket warranties WILL be tougher to get on the Turbo, so THAT is one thing you can factor in. However, if you are buying from a Porsche dealer OR a private party, you are going to get the same warranty on a CPO'd 2002 Turbo vs. a 2004 C4S.

Turbo has the same 4WD system as the C4S and is another factor in making the car actually SO ez to keep control.

Do me, nay YOURSELF a favor, drive a Turbo AND C4S, along with all the other cars BEFORE you make your decision.

Take it from a guy who's owned both!!

 

1. I notice NO lag

2. The wing on the TT is vastly better for looks IMO, another aesthetic I forgot about.

3. Why stop at the TT? Because it's the best bargain for peformance in your price range of ANY car on the market... A few thousand above a C4S. So, YES, STOP at the TT.

 

Blitter,

I live in Fenway and have owned an 01 C4 for a couple of years. If you need any help with things just drop me a line shawn.p.davis@gmail.com . I'm just around the corner from Herb Chambers.

-Shawn

 

You must be driving like a pu$$y cuz all I did was punch the throttle in 3rd gear onto an on-ramp in the 997TT and the turbos needed a split second to wind up before it went GO.

C4S's non-winged back looks better than the TT rear by far. The 996 C4S is the best looking 996, period, save for the GT2.



If this guy is OK with lag, let 'em get the TT. The 996TT just isn't for me thus my recommendation for him to stop at the C4S and go for the real upgrade that is the 997GT3 with the REAL GT1 engine.

 

TT is hell of a bargain right now, but weren't you afraid of people thinking you were being spendthrift?

I think the turbo lag will be fine for a newer performance car driver, it's about as powerful as a standard carrera before the boost builds, and you can chip your way to a lot of power once you're out of warranty, more upside.

Best advice: stop typing, get out there and drive a few different examples of each trim, C2, C4, C4S, turbo, heck drive a Cayman S while you're at it. Pick the one that moves you, you'll be able to live with any one of them.

 

bitterazn,
Here's my 2 cents on my latest buying experience:

Like you, when I first started looking, I was thinking a regular C2 in the $35-40K range, but I love the looks of the C4S and it comes with most of the options standard that I wanted. After I got the C2 out of my head I started looking at the C4S. I saw some in the low $40's, but there was always a bit of an issue with them at that price/miles (usually around 50K+ miles at that price).

So, I bumped up my budget to look for something CPO'd in the upper $40's. I've used several venues to look for cars: Rennlist, autotrader, cars.com, Porsche.com, ebay. Ebay - I was able to use that to see what cars were actually selling for (if in fact they did sell with a winning bidder). I also used that in conjunction with Autotrader and Cars.com to see what companies were selling cars and from there I would go to their individual web sites to see what else they had.

There were a few of reasons I got my car so low (my opinion). One was that the previous driver used it for Driver Education (DE), and talking to the dealer, that appeared to scare some people off. I figure, it's a Porsche and should be able to take some good driving, in addition, I have the 2yr/100k mile warranty. Another reason was that the dealer screwed up once and put the wrong mileage into the system when servicing the car, then carfax picked it up and now carfax and the car are off by 3,000 miles. So, it looks a bit strange, but I got all the records from the dealer and the dealer is in the process of straightening it out with carfax (that's stated in my purchase). The third reason is that the seat belts are yellow, seat backs are yellow and the center console (from the shifter back) is yellow. So some people don't want that. I'm not driving it every day, so I don't mind.

I knew that the market was soft for the C4S, usually about $3K below what the price on Porsche or other sites are. What I saw is that most places would have the car for a while, then after a certain amount of time, the price would be reduced by about $2-3k and then you're hopefully able to negotiate another $1.5-2K. When I made my offer, I wasn't even aware that the CPO window sticker for my car was $54K. So I actually did my negotiations based on $49.9K and it worked out for me.

Sorry to ramble on so much, but I hope that helped.

Go for the C4S!!!

 

Uber -

Yup, this car's listed at $54k on the website, but I see on AutoTrader that it's been freshly reduced to $52k. I think it's fair value in the $48k range.

Btw, isn't this your car? http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...00&cardist=817

For some reason it says newly listed. Maybe you drove it away so fast they don't even realize it's off the lot!

 

If you do the edmunds TMV thing on an 03 C4S, there is a $5k option for an "upgraded suspension" is this the PSM? Do most have it? Makes a big difference on the bargaining power of edmunds!

Thanks, Mike

 

bitterazn,
Correct, that's my car still on Autotrader (although with 1,000 extra miles now). I did check the dealer's official Porsche site and it is no longer listed there.
Eric

 

TT if you got the $$

 

I've never heard anyone complain about Turbo lag on a 996 or 997. It's never been a problem for me, and I only notice it WAY low down in the RPM's, like 1500. Pickup is INSANE on my car. If im not mistaken, you told me the C4S was the slowest variant and was saddled with the weight of the 911 Turbo minus the turbo's speed and an M3 would waste it in any race....so cmon now.

Not sure what you mean 997 Gt3 with the "REAL" GT1 block. If you're saying it's any different than the 996TT's Gt1 inspired block, it's not.

The Turbo's rear-end looks better and more updated to me, as well the wing is FAR better than the standard 996 rubber accordion look. Here's a comparo, this is obviously opinion. Let the others decide which look they like better.

One last thing, as an owner of both, had I been ready to buy my 1st Porsche now, and could spend $55k, even if I was a total novice, 1st time Porsche owner, I would DEFINITELY skip the C4S and go RIGHT for the Turbo. I'm sure ANYONE who's owned both would agree. I dare you to find someone that doesn't!!!

 

Just to chime in -

Went to go see them in person. Didn't have time to feel them drive (had to run back to work, ugh), but did hear the C4S idle. Man the PSE makes the thing sound like a bat out of hell. I didn't hear the other cars, but I just know I want my car to sound like that . . .

Impressions on the '02 C4S vs. '03 C4 cab vs. '06 Cayman S: had to say I liked the C4S most

The C4 cab had the hardtop on. I think all the reasons I've read about why people don't use their 996 hardtops are wrong (hard to store, annoying to put on, etc.). The chief reason has to be that it's UGLY. It doesn't fit perfectly and so it looks like a very clunky helmet. With a hardtop out of the question, the idea of driving in Boston weather w/ a ragtop was pretty unappealing, so I think I'm eliminating the cab.

The Cayman S I had to admit was pretty tempting. It was in mint condition, the interior was much more up to date, and I know in my head (if not my heart) that the Cayman S drives really well. That being said, it looked like a Boxster w/ a lid and I'm telling myself that I can modernize the 996 w/ a nice modded nav screen or something for ~$1k (no idea if that's true).

arr0gant, for your sake I sat in the '01 TT for a little bit. It was beautiful too, w/ contrast stitching on the leather, intakes ready to suck in low flying birds, etc. But I will say my tastes are a little milder than most here, and I wouldn't want a permanent wing on my car when I'm putzing around Boston at 20 mph. The cumulative effect all seemed a bit . . . much.

In general, I don't think I could justify another $8k or so for performance I'll never fully appreciate. For context, I'm looking at this '04 C4S (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...dZViewItem#img) and I think it's hard to justify going back 3 model years + likely pay more in insurance/extended warranty just so I could get turbo pedigree (when I don't even know how to drive stick yet!).

I appreciate everyone's input. Will update after test drives this Saturday.

 

I think these last paragraphs say it all. Having the power vs. being able to enjoy only a small percentage of that power at a cost changes the decision making.

In my lowly C4S, I can LEAVE this guy I know with a (chipped and exhaust'ed) 996TT in the canyons. I've left this same guy in my E46 M3! Of course, on a straight/freeway race, it's over.

Having a fast car and being able to drive it fast (aside from going straight) are different things. Some out there buy the 996TT for the badge and most likely to compensate for some shortcomings.

 

If you're not looking for super performance, the TT just may not be for you after all. I'm sure that C4S is hot!! Good luck!