Stock suspension in North America can be really soft and too high - esp in early 996's. I recommend lowering springs to the ROW M030 (or equiv) ride height that Porsche Engineers designed the cars around and adding stiffer roll bars. Visually and performance-wise it makes a big difference. Cornering on your favorite twisty backroad will become one of the many legal joys of ownership. Maybe factor those costs into your budget.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your thoughts. I drove two C4S's yesterday. Both immaculately cared for and low miles, very fine examples of well loved cars.

Good:

• The 6 speed was silky smooth. Really, really well done. The throws, the clutch take up, the shifter, everything was perfectly done.
• The driving position was pretty awesome, it felt like I was literally sitting on the floor.
• The car is TINY! It is hard to appreciate how small it is in the photos.

The bad:

• The car is totally gutless till you wind it up over 4k RPMs and at those revs, the sport exhaust barks quite loudly.
• Interior felt very stripped out. I don't need active side bolsters or massaging seats, but would expect a $100k car to have bluetooth or lane change clickers on the turn signals.

I don't think a non-turbo 911 is for me. I am sure it will make a great track car, but ultimately, I didn't like it for the same reason I didn't like my M3: It is the perfect car for 15% of the time and a mediocre car for 85% of the time. I find AMGs to be great cars 85% of the time and pretty ordinary 15% of the time - I am going to get a C63 as I originally planned.

Thanks for all your inputs, I wish you all well!