I’m facing a dilemma- I’ve owned several Porsches in the past and sold my Boxster S a couple years ago when we began planning for a family. Now, my child is 18 months old and I’ve got the itch for something sporty. We have a Saab wagon as our primary family vehicle and I just turned in my leased Audi allroad. Given the current lease options I’m considering just purchasing my next vehicle. Here’s my question- do I buy a new lightly optioned base 997 or a used low mileage C4S? My budget is no more than 75k. What would you do and why? I appreciate your input.

 

For your budget, your question should be new 997 or 996TT. You can pick up a 02 996TT with CPO warranty with 75K. You see my choice from my signature. Nothing beat the feel when turbo kick in

 

do u live in snow? if not, 997. 996tt is a great value as many owners are trading 997tt. however, tt is heavier and will feel so w susp mods.

 

Hard to go wrong with any of those choices. I love the C4S and the 996tt, but I would take the 997. New car, warranty (well, at least mine USED to have a warranty), plus I love the way the new car looks and handles. The interior is a little cheesy, but that's hardly Porsche's specialty anyway. To my mind at least, the 997 front end stays planted better, and has less bob-and-weave, than many of the prior Porsches, including the 996s. Overall I think it's a great platform. Just my $.02.

Plus there's always room for mods once your budget recovers. That's what this board is for!

 

Used '03 C4S with 30K miles, balance of factory warranty of 1 year plus CPO, or barely used '06 997S (5 months with prior owner, 1600 miles on the odo) with balance of factory warranty plus CPO. (Prior owner was waiting for x-51 package to arrive, test drove a CPO 996TT with X-50 package, and opted for it instead).

Having driven both cars on extended test drives, I really did like the C4S (this opinion coming from a faithful Audi owner - '01.5 S4, '02 A6 4.2, '06 A4 Avant 2.0T S-line). But the 997S felt much lighter on it's feet, responded to steering input quicker, and just felt more lively. The 997S was/is in showroom condition (seal gray, lightly optioned), while the C4S was showing some wear (rock chips, paint swirls and light scratches on the Midnight Blue paint). Also, the dash layout on the 997, in my opinion, is much better than the 996.

I chose the 997S and have no regrets.

Good luck on your decision. As MexicoBlue said - hard to go wrong with any of those choices.

 

I won't bore you but to say, in my opinion, Mexico and Andre are dead on.

 

If you are interested I have a 02' C4S with 28k miles for sale. Asking 58k. Check out the for sale section.

 

I had the same dilemma. I had choose between a new 2006 997S cab or a 2005 996TT cab with under 5k miles. Having owned a 2001 996 cab, I decided that it would be a bad move to get a 996TT cab because it would pretty much look and feel like sitting in the same car (with a lot more power of course). In the end, I am very happy with my decision. The 997S is leaps and bounds better than the 996 in every way. It's like Porsche checked off every item on my list of things to improve on the 996.

 

997S > any 996 (GT3, GT2, blah blah, whatever).

 

Went through the same situation, an 03 C4S vs. 06 997. Went with the 997 and never looked back. Good luck with your decision

 

Drive them both. Even a base 997 will put a smile on your face and has more output than the C4S, + udpated chassis and interior.

 

There is absolutely no question here. My uncle has a C4S and I have an 997S. I drive his car all the time and I have to tell you that the difference is gigantic. I understand youre going for the base 997 but it is still leaps and bounds a better car than the 996. I dont care much for the bragging rights of 996tt owners. True it is faster but it is a lesser car in every other aspect. Kind of like a corvette. The 997 is one of a kind and is Porsches tour de force.

 

Oh no you didn't . . . I'll keep bumping this one until someone takes the bait and it gets ugly!

 

Different people looking for different thing from their car. I did not said anything like "996TT is better than 997". I don't think anyone will not agree TT have more kick in power than 997, C2S or even X51..... I think your comment gone a little too far.

 

Ok, Im just jealous. I drove my friends 996tt the other day and could not believe how much faster it really is than my "s". I'm just trying to justify my monthlys. To this day, I love seeing tt's on the street. Peace out. no harm no foul.

Glad you liked it Mexico!!!