996 C4S, a few Qs
 

I know there are problems with the first gen of water cooled engines. What do I need to be aware of?

I have a few locally that I am looking at and I was going to get them checked at Champion porsche here in florida as well as the obvious car fax. Are there major issues with certain years? Major TSBs I need to be aware of? If there is a site that can comprehensively teach me what I need to buy the right car, I am all for doing some reading. Thank you

I think if you browse on here and rennlist you'll find most if not all of your answers. When you have more specific questions on one you're considering purchasing..I'm sure others will chime in. Good luck on your search for a C4S! You won't be disappointed.

I have an '03 C4S and love it, as mentioned you won't be dissappointed. You really don't have any issues specific to the C4S that other 996's don't have. One thing about the C4S is that it shares a lot of components with the turbo, so if you plan on doing mods you have to make sure it fits the C4S, not just "Porsche."
If you find one post what you found and we'll go over it with you. Make sure you get a good PPI.

you should also look at turbos, last i checked the prices of the c4s werent that different to the turbos

I have a 03 4S and haven't had any issues. Its a great car with timeless looks. You can't beat the looks from the standard 911.

I suspect C4S prices to be at least $5 - $10K on average LESS than the equivalent Turbo. Engine of Turbo is based on GT1, the M96 engine has the IMSB issue - which is greatly overblown on these forums. M69 engines with low miles are to be wary of. A higher mileage engine will likely live for a good long time. Changing oil at least every 5000 with the proper oil (at least 40W summer) full synthetic, inspect filter, add magnetic drain plug, rev the damn thing - you will be fine. My '03 C4S has 95K miles and runs hard and strong. Tracked it for the first time this year (twice) and had a blast. Drove it to Traverse City MI for the PCA annual Parade and had a blast. People stop and look this car over and take pictures whenever I'm out and about - and as a bonus the insurance is less and repairs are bound to be less.