manimal

Join date of July 2018 checks out.

FRUNKenstein

Baumhaus: well, despite the Monday-morning grumbles from my Turbros above, welcome.


When you say "2004 C4" vs a 996TT, I assume you are cross shopping a "C4S", which like a 996TT, has a wide body and the same brakes, suspension, etc. The big difference is the engine. The 996TT has a Mezger engine whereas the C4S has the M96 engine. A C4 is the narrow body car - still a great car, but normally buyers wouldn't be comparing the C4 to a 996TT.

IMHO, based on the current C4S market, I would recommend moving up to the 996TT. Currently, the difference between the two cars is about $10,000. A nice C4S is going to be in the $30k - $33k range, with some really nice ones in the upper $30k range. Add $10k to that and you are right smack in meat of the 996TT price range: $42k to $49k. Yes, you can spend more on a 996TT, but there are a lot of very nice cars in that price range.

For the extra $10k, you never have to worry about the IMS bearing failure. There are also several other modes of failure for the M96 engine. It's not that the M96 is a horrible engine - they run great, produce good power and the vast majority of them (90%+) don't suffer from catastrophic engine failure. It's just that the Mezger engine is such a fantastic engine, it makes the $10k to upgrade to a 996TT seem like chump change. And, when it comes time to sell, you'll get that $10k back (plus some). So, given the relatively minimal price differential between a C4S and a 996TT, I'd highly recommend the 996TT. If you were looking at the lower end of the 996 range, say a narrow body car with around 100k miles (which will set you back about $16,000), then I'd say go try out the normally aspirated 996 to see if you like it. The risk is pretty minimal at that price point and you are getting 90% of the 996TT experience for about 1/3 of the entry price. But, to me, the C4S is in "no man's land", where you pay a premium price for the wide body looks of the turbo, but don't get the tremendous advantage of the Mezger engine. And BTW, I've owned both a '99 C4 aerokit coupe and currently have a '02 996TT. While I loved the '99 C4, I'm very happy that I upgraded to the 996TT.

Baumhaus

I HAVE googled and read most of these threads on here. VERY time consuming. I am quite informed on these vehicles but I am sorry IF my question annoyed you.

Baumhaus

And that means what?

Baumhaus

Thanks for your reply! I actually am comparing a 996 C4 cab with full aerokit mint condition only 10k miles to a 996TT cab trying to decide if the higher cost is doable for me. I never considered a TT because of the higher entrance cost but am trying to make a decision based on maintenance costs and other factors ie insurance etc)

Atrox

FRUNKenstein

OK, my bad. We just get a lot of C4S vs. 996TT cross-shoppers but rarely a narrow body vs. 996TT. Bad assumption on my part.

In that case, the 2004 C4 with low miles is going to need an IMS bearing upgrade if it hasn't been done already. With that low of miles, it is really imperative that it be done right away. The good news is that the IMS Solution is a permanent fix. The bad news is that it is a little pricey.

Any chance that the C4 is a tiptronic? If so, then there is less risk of an IMS bearing failure, but still I'd get it taken care of with that low of mileage.

I love the normally aspirated aerokit cars - the little extra bling really works well with the body lines.

Since you are looking at cabriolets, keep in mind that the 996TT cabs generally sell for a little less money than a coupe. And, if you are considering a 996TT tiptronic, it will sell for less also. There is a significant price difference between a 6 speed coupe and a Tiptonic cabriolet. It's not gigantic, but significant - I'd say 10%, maybe even as high as 15%.

Baumhaus

No tip for me stick all the way! Ha an 01 C4 new put 60k miles on it never heard of the ims problem back then, kids and college got me out of the porsche time to get back in! I did all my own maintenance Only saw the dealer once. Of course now buying older car was trying to make a decsion. I guess Im leaning to the TT even though kind of over my budget...

FRUNKenstein

Oh, and feel free to post links to ads for each of the vehicles so that we can look them over, especially if there are pics. We like pics.

FRUNKenstein

Don't be afraid of a higher mileage 996TT. That might take some of the sting out of the difference between the C4 and the 996TT. If you shop around, you can find a higher mileage 996TT in the $30ks. And "higher mileage" for a 996TT starts around 70k miles. Personally, I wouldn't consider a 15 year old car with 70k miles as "high mileage", but a lot of buyers are looking for the 20k or 30k miles cars, so it is all relative. If you are willing to take something right around 100k miles, then you're in low $30ks territory, which can't be that much more than the 10k mile 2004 C4.

(Oh, and you just gave Atrox a punch to the nards - it's OK, he's used to it)

s65e90

Doesn't annoy me, but shouldn't you be consuming your time to research before purchase? There's a wealth of knowledge out there. This is 2018 in a nutshell.

FRUNKenstein

One other thing - if you wait until after Labor Day, the market softens, especially for cabriolets.

Dock

+1

leftlane

I'd pay the extra for the TT over a C4 every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I do like the C4S look but I still say go for the TT. The maintenance has been no more expensive than the NA cars - I have had 2 NA 911s and 2 TT 911s and all of them have been reliable and relatively inexpensive to maintain. When something breaks it will cost more, but then again everything gets the Porsche tax applied, NA or TT. I think the 996TT is the supercar bargain of our lifetime - get it now before the price goes parabolic.

Dranon

wrong thread