Guys,

Been looking at 996s for a long time and prices are within reach. I am considering 2 cars. 2001 996 Turbo with 81K miles and a 2004 4S with 68K miles. I'm torn between the cars. The turbo has the better engine but the 4S is newer with less miles. The price different is about 2-3K apart. Many here in the past has stated to get the newest car I can buy so does that mean get the 4S?

Plan on the 911 would be use for the weekend and couple of days to work. I will not be doing much mods if any. Most of the money will be for maintenance.

Link to 01 turbo
Link to 04 4S

Which one to pick?

 

Drive both. The 4s is going to be boring IMO. Then again, you are on a turbo forum, so that answer shouldn't be shocking.

it's not like 70k miles is a low mileage car, so I'm thinking you're going to hit similar levels of "old car" headaches on both.

 

I think what's more important than age or miles is service history and maintenance.

To specifically answer your question: Turbo all the way

 

Both cars are serviced at Porsche and documented as so.

 

prius

 

I drove a neighbors 2009 4s (auto) and compared it to my 2003 Turbo (manual).
IMO, the turbo kick is so intoxicating - that makes it worth the price of admission. Add to that the better pedigree engine. However, I would be perfectly content in a normal 911. Newer had better interior / seats, more civilized. The different modes really made it feel like 2 cars in one - daily commuter car or street racer wannabe. Turbo was more raw and more fun.
Evaluate your needs. Drive both.
Maint. costs will always be a difficult variable to predict, but in any case - plan on $1k-$3k per year (regardless of car) and you should be OK in the long run.
Pay for a good PPI!

 

I was in the same boat. Either get the turbo or get a 997.1 Carrera. You can pick them up for about the same price level of that 4S and it is a better looking car with a much nicer interior (IMO).

Maintenance wise, the more expensive maintenance is at 30k, 60k and 90k. So, in case of the 4S, you might be a little further from the next big one than on the turbo (given that all maintenance was done).

It all comes down to how much power you want. The sky is pretty much the limit with the turbo. With an NA car, it is basically as good as it gets.

Don't compromise and get what you really want . My decision was between the 997.1 S and 996TT. I like the styling of the former better but I knew I might not remain satisfied with the power of the S.

 

4s or turbo!

Man 4s is way far from our 996tt

Go for turbo without even bother to ask

 

I had a 02 4S for a couple years and just traded in for a higher mileage 02 turbo. BIG difference in power. Otherwise not too different - so depends on what you're into. My 4S had IMS issues though... started leaking 2 years after a new clutch with less than 8k miles on it.

 

Event with the ~10 K mileage difference, the Turbo has a better engine, better performance. Given equal maintenance, I wouldn't have to think about it very long...

 

If you have to ask....go with the 4s

 

IMS is one of the things that scares me

I'll test drive both cars and see.

 

IMS....no way!! Shop owner showed me a box full of IMS bearings (broken) when I was shopping around. I didn't want that in the back of my mind....although we have coolant pipe issues but they don't seem to be as many.

 

Same story here. Looked at my TT and a 997 4S. I liked the looks of the 4S better, but after test driving both, I knew which one I wanted right away.

 

T-u-r-b-o !