The search for a 996 C4S begins

[Jefferson Steelflex]

I've decided to sod common sense and get into a 996 C4S (manual) while I have some money in my pocket. Despite not actually needing one or really having room on my driveway, I started looking a few weeks ago. I went through the choices of perhaps a 997 but I really like something about the 996 and the wide body of the C4S.

Background is that I had a 718S on order but decided, given my limited mileage, that £60k on a weekend car was a bit pointless, so here I am after cancelling the Cayman looking for a 911.

I looked at one for the first time last week, was £20k with 85-odd k miles and it was a bit average, just needing some work doing and I didn't get a great feeling from the seller. So, this weekend I'm pushing the budget a bit and looking at another one at a reputable dealer for £24k.

It has all of the spec I'm looking for and seems lovely, but the prices seems to be getting a bit aggressive which is perhaps the way the market is going. If it genuinely needs absolutely nothing doing then it might be ok but we will see.

I've read all of the guides and know my way around a car anyway so I know what I'm looking for, but any comments or advice in my search are much appreciated.

Edited by Jefferson Steelflex on Friday 15th September 21:41

[c4sman]

Not an expert on the market for these but my mate has had one for 6-7 years and still loves it (as do I). Really light on its feet for a 4WD 911 and more fun than the 997 C4S I had for a while (although that was a cab). Seems quite strong money to me for the mileage but that may be where the market is. I think he paid about that with 30 on the clock 6 ish years ago so they must be on the up.

[IanG1]

I've been searching on and off for a few months with a £25K budget, Have missed out on a few that looked good as they to go quick if they tick all the boxes. I have also viewed some real hounds at the price point. Pricing seems to vary considerably with some optimistic owners trying to pass leggy cars on the basis of the perceived price rises and current popularity of the model.
Good luck with the hunt and keep us posted.

[1 Pheasant Plucker]

The 996-4S really is a cracking car, I bought mine with the intention of keeping it 12 months then going 997TT, but here I am 6 years later still using it as my daily driver.. it's plenty fast enough for a road car, handles very well and copes with 'B' road bumps just fine..

22mpg all year round shopping/jobbing miles with 30mpg+ on a longer run..

From a drivers perspective, if you like leaning on the tyres and having some fun on bends/roundabouts you're going to need the sports seats, it's easy to fall out of the comfort ones, the front brakes are not great, but fine for most of the time, unless they get really hot then they just get noisy and give up.., but both these things you can fix for a few £'s..

Great value for money, cheap to insure, service, go anywhere, park anywhere, you can of course spend 2/3/4 times the money on a newer 1, but not really go any faster and when the bubble does pop, you won't be caught with a more expensive depreciating asset losing a grand or 2 a month..

[LordHaveMurci]

1 Pheasant Plucker said:

The 996-4S really is a cracking car, I bought mine with the intention of keeping it 12 months then going 997TT, but here I am 6 years later still using it as my daily driver.. it's plenty fast enough for a road car, handles very well and copes with 'B' road bumps just fine..

22mpg all year round shopping/jobbing miles with 30mpg+ on a longer run..

From a drivers perspective, if you like leaning on the tyres and having some fun on bends/roundabouts you're going to need the sports seats, it's easy to fall out of the comfort ones, the front brakes are not great, but fine for most of the time, unless they get really hot then they just get noisy and give up.., but both these things you can fix for a few £'s..

Great value for money, cheap to insure, service, go anywhere, park anywhere, you can of course spend 2/3/4 times the money on a newer 1, but not really go any faster and when the bubble does pop, you won't be caught with a more expensive depreciating asset losing a grand or 2 a month..

Never had an issue witht he standard seats in my C2 & I have been known to use it in a spirited fashion!

Also never had an issue with the brakes, never heard anybody else have an issue with the brakes unless using on track? Thought the C4S had the Turbo brakes so even better than the NB cars?

[sundayjumper]

I have (ok, had) the sports seats in mine and tbh I never found them very comfortable. The shoulder bits are(were) too narrow and push my shoulders forwards uncomfortably.

I'm currently putting some buckets in. A bit extreme, but they fit me a lot better, and it's not my daily so it doesn't matter if it's a bit impractical.

[Jefferson Steelflex]

The car in the link has Sports Seats plus a load of other goodies so spec wise i'm happy. I think i'd prefer the Sport Seat option anyway, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker in any way. I'm more interested in the exterior and overall condition and history which is where i've struggled so far. Hopefully will change on Saturday...

[1 Pheasant Plucker]

Jefferson Steelflex said:

The car in the link has Sports Seats plus a load of other goodies so spec wise i'm happy. I think i'd prefer the Sport Seat option anyway, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker in any way. I'm more interested in the exterior and overall condition and history which is where i've struggled so far. Hopefully will change on Saturday...

No, these are the comfort seats, the sports seats have the ears around the shoulders, as for fit, it's a bit subjective and depends what size and shape you are really, but the base in the sports seats also have higher side bolsters and lock you in much better..

The 4S does have the Turbo brakes, and they are still very average, they work fine 1st hit, but 2nd, 3rd hit when they are hot they just get noisy and don't do much stopping, you might never get them that hot on the road but if you live near MK there are a lot of roundabouts close together.. it's only the TTS/GT2/3 cars that have the 6 pot fronts that work very well..

Some cars have the aluminium gear stick/handbrake options too which is a much nicer finish, but buy on condition and maintenance done, if you can find one that's had all the usual stuff that goes wrong replaced then all the better.., starter motor, alternator, all the AC rads, a set of discs and pads, a recent battery, a set of Coil packs, clutches last 35,000 miles typically (£1500), IMS/RMS, tyres are £800 a set.

I've found the cruise control excellent and really smooth, road noise in the car is par for the course for a 2004 sports car, expect the PCM2 and Bose sound system to be garbage, and it is compared to more modern infotainment/Nav .. but again, this can be fixed for a few £'s..

Servicing/maintenance and fixing bit's that break all in runs at just under £2K a year on average based on my 6 years experience of running mine and looking after it, this will depend on what you buy and what work it's had of course so go through any receipts and tick off what's been done, then expect to have to do the rest..

Just a great value for money 911, and arguably the best looking too..

Edited by 1 Pheasant Plucker on Sunday 20th August 20:43

[Digga]

1 Pheasant Plucker said:

The 4S does have the Turbo brakes, and they are still very average, they work fine 1st hit, but 2nd, 3rd hit when they are hot they just get noisy and don't do much stopping, you might never get them that hot on the road but if you live near MK there are a lot of roundabouts close together.. it's only the X50/GT2/3 cars that have the 6 pot fronts that work very well..

A proper set - not cheap copy - of front discs, some Pagid RS29 pads and follow the bedding-in instructions and you will have much improved brake feel and performance IME.

[Bruce-ruwux]

Hi I had a 2005 996 c4s tiptronic in seal grey 35000 miles which i had to sell last year. I loved the car. Before buying the car its well worth getting a Peter Morgan inspection done. They are about £300 but are very thorough and will pick up virtually anything that is wrong with the car. Its easy to spend several thousand sorting out what appears to be a sound car. Good luck, personally I prefer to buy privately as they are around 5-6k cheaper for the same spec. Try the 911uk forum classifieds too.

Good luck

[Scho]

Digga said:

proper set - not cheap copy - of front discs, some Pagid RS29 pads and follow the bedding-in instructions and you will have much improved brake feel and performance IME.

Any plenty of squealing!

[anonymous-user]

Bruce-ruwux said:

Hi I had a 2005 996 c4s tiptronic in seal grey 35000 miles which i had to sell last year. I loved the car. Before buying the car its well worth getting a Peter Morgan inspection done. They are about £300 but are very thorough and will pick up virtually anything that is wrong with the car. Its easy to spend several thousand sorting out what appears to be a sound car. Good luck, personally I prefer to buy privately as they are around 5-6k cheaper for the same spec. Try the 911uk forum classifieds too.

Good luck

Agree re the inspection but you need more than a Peter Morgan roadside job. You need these up on a ramp, time for the engine to cool and a bore scope done as a minimum. Ideally a full leak down test too.

Cost doesn't need to be wildly off what Peter Morgan charge either.

Could be wrong but pretty sure he doesn't do borescope ramps etc.

[davidc1]

My brother has a 52 plate 1 previous owner 19000 miles car. Coupe , black black leather. It looks so sweet still but when i drove it last week the brakes were not great. So maybe you have to allow for that v a new car.
If he was to sell i want 1st refusal!
Good luck with your hunt.

[LordHaveMurci]

davidc1 said:

My brother has a 52 plate 1 previous owner 19000 miles car. Coupe , black black leather. It looks so sweet still but when i drove it last week the brakes were not great. So maybe you have to allow for that v a new car.
If he was to sell i want 1st refusal!
Good luck with your hunt.

Not great in what way? Many people complain about 996 brakes as they are not over servoed, actually use them & most find out they are plenty good enough!

[jboy72]

I recently bought a 996 c2 in similar circumstances ie not much room on drive, no need for a third car but what the hell etc. I live very near MR 911 so if you want an extra pair of eyes that will spot paint blemishes and not be dazzled by the C4S rear pm me and I will see if I can make it over...!

[Digga]

Scho said:

Digga said:

proper set - not cheap copy - of front discs, some Pagid RS29 pads and follow the bedding-in instructions and you will have much improved brake feel and performance IME.

Any plenty of squealing!

If they're properly bedded in and, with a bit of use, squeal is negligible. It's a very cheap way to get a significant upgrade in performance.

[Scho]

I've got them on mine at the moment, brilliant at spa and the ring but a flipping embrasamant in town.

Mine start quiet but then get really loud when warmed up. Hard braking not an issue but coming to a gentle stop is ridiculous.

Followed the pagid recommended bedding in.

Are yours quiet?

[Jefferson Steelflex]

Thanks all, done the deal today and bought the C4S. It was in really good condition, backed up by a wad full of receipts.

I found the brakes quite poor, but coming directly out of of my new VW maybe it's like chalk and cheese. I'm not in a rush so will be a few weeks before collection but the car will be serviced, so happy to hang on.

When I got home I realised I hadn't checked the all of the admin stuff like VIN, HPI docs, etc but I'm happy to do that on collection.

It was a lovely car, sounded great and had everything I wanted, so happy indeed. I'll do a proper readers cars thread soon enough.

I just need to tell my wife.

Edited by Jefferson Steelflex on Friday 15th September 21:43

[Jefferson Steelflex]

jboy72 said:

I recently bought a 996 c2 in similar circumstances ie not much room on drive, no need for a third car but what the hell etc. I live very near so if you want an extra pair of eyes that will spot paint blemishes and not be dazzled by the C4S rear pm me and I will see if I can make it over...!

Thanks for the offer, sorry I missed this earlier and really appreciate the help. I was happy with the overall condition, there were a few minor blemishes that are being corrected pre-sale.

Edited by Jefferson Steelflex on Friday 15th September 21:44

[jboy72]

Jefferson Steelflex said:

Thanks for the offer, sorry I missed this earlier and really appreciate the help. I was happy with the overall condition, there were a few minor blemishes that are being corrected pre-sale.

No worries - congratulations, the car looks lovely. Good value as well IMO. If you are based this way will we be seeing you at the Badgers Mount breakfast meets?