Eric Kasir

Been a long time since I last posted on here. I have just moved to Stamford CT from London on a relocation with my company and am looking at options for cars. I know the winters here can be quite harsh with lots of snow. My question - if I am living in central downtown Stamford in an apartment complex with underground parking, and will be driving to work everyday on main roads in town will a 997 C4S with winter tires fitted be OK to drive all year round as my only car?

And what is the going rate for a 2006 997 C4S with circa 20 - 30k miles, with a good spec, sport chrono, PSE, PASM etc?

Seen this one advertised but don't really have a feel for pricing over here:
http://weissachautohaus.com/cars/100303/100303.html

number9ine

Yes. At risk of baiting the C4 owners here, a C2/C2S with snows would work just as well.

Check cars.com, autotrader.com, craigslist for price comps. kbb.com and edmunds.com will give you book values. I think the example you post is overpriced by about 5-7k, but there's always room for negotiation. Get a PPI with a trusted mechanic (look elsewhere on this board for recommendations).

Good luck.

4 Track Mind

C4 driver here. No doubt a C2 with snows will be a blast to drive and generally reliable in the snow. I am of the opinion that the C4 AWD system is good and helps you get around better/faster when adhesion is an issue.

That said, I was impressed by this RWD chassis:
http://m.jalopnik.com/site?sid=jalop...efId%3D5497042

peterm

regardless of which carrera you drive with snows the issue will be clearance- the front spoiler is expensive to repair and some of the deeper snows would be an issue. i know getting over drivway lips etc can be an issue., when there is ice/ accumulated snow etc This past winter was not an indicator as there were only a couple of storms that affected southern ct if you talk to jersey/ pa people they might agree there are days you just cant go out

number9ine

C4S has no front "spoiler" unless it has an aerokit. There is a small rubber lip that pressure-fits into the bumper and will simply tear away with no damage. I find that the ramp angle and clearance on my 997 C2S is very decent, it would take driving through a foot of snow to cause any major issues.

No matter what you drive, there will be blizzards that keep you indoors along with everyone else. In general, you don't need to worry much about accumulation since the plows will make quick work of it, especially in an urban area of Stamford.

Bob Rouleau

Eric, I live in Montreal Canada - we get a lot more snow than where you will be. My C4S on snow tires has been a delight all winter. It is my daily driver and a pleasure to drive in snow and even on ice. Those who claim 2 wheel drive is equivalent don't drive in the same condtions I do

alexb76

But you're Canadian! and Montreal roads are plowed properly!

alexb76

C4/C4S would be one of the better cars in snow with winters. But as most said, the biggest issue would be clearance. I am not 100% sure about CT, and how quickly they take care of their roads in winter, but you gotto keep the following in mind:

- How well they take care of your driveway, and exit in your condo?
- Do you go through any non-major streets on the way to work (some are not plowed)
- Work Parking entrance? sometimes they are not cleared, so you need to CLIMB over the snow to get into parkings.

What I've found locally, is that as long as my route was on main streets, I had no issues, but when in deeper snow I had to go places with back streets I had issues with bottoming out.

My recommendation: Get the C4/C4S, try it out for the next 9 months (it's spring now), and if you got into any issues next winter, buy a cheap beater SUV or Subaru to get through the winter months on bad days.

Edgy01

These things were designed in Germany by Germans who routinely drive these things to work. The snow is worse over there than in Connecticut. They are a blast to drive in the snow--with the appropriate snow tires. (Not M+S tires--but true SNOW tires).

RonCT

Consider that a C4 without PASM will be 10mm "higher" riding than a C4S, which comes with PASM. Not truly significant, but in the winter I'd have to think higher is better than lower.

w00zie

I've been driving my C4S in Toronto for the past 4 years no problem (although we haven't received a fraction of the snow places like montreal get). But i go about 5hrs north once a month where the roads suck and never had any issues

One of the lessons i did learn was on tire size, my winters are 18" and i used to have 295's on the rear which gave me ok traction but not great. when i switched to 265's i noticed a big difference, especially going up an incline

Using Pirelli Sottozero's with great success

Bob Rouleau

The ones at my country home ..not so much

Coochas

Eric, I drove my 997 C4S 4 winters in Boston and have driven my 997 TT 1 winter here.
No problems at all. I would dare to say that these cars drive better in the snow than the vast majority of other cars that I see. You should invest in a separate set of winter tires and rims as the performance rubber will not be safe in freezing temperatures.

Tsurara

I drive a C2S in MA winters. Get some snows and you'll be set.

TheMethLab

The real issue is all the idiots that have no idea how to drive in the snow smashing into you.