I'm about to buy a 997 s 2005 with 90,000 miles on it, (have ok history on car) or a 2004 996 4s 60K miles on it (a one owner car) The car will be nothing more then a toy & prob. put under 10K miles on it a year. I'm leaning toward the 4s due to the AWD & lower miles but other then that it's a toss up IMO. I know nothing about these cars & just looking for some feedback on what you like & why. Asking price on both cars is exactly the same & both are in about the same condition body & interiors. Were yellow belts & gauges an oem option on the 05's ?
Thanks in advance for your replys

 

997s all the way... updated everything engine, nav, interior, exterior

 

Yes, yellow belts and gauges were options -- Porsche actually offered (offers) a range of colors to choose from.

Whatever you decide, get a PPI performed.

Also, for both cars, you could face the dreaded IMS/RMS issue (do a search on the forum to get more info). Preventative measures (not too common, but do occur) are available to prevent catastrophic failures, but they can be somewhat costly (I believe they run approx. $1500, but could be wrong).

Do you need AWD due to bad weather? If not, then RWD (IMO) is better/more fun.

I much prefer the 997 to the 996 in every comparison category.

 

The 997 is (IMHO) more refined regarding both exterior and interior. Of course if you live in area (rainy or wet) that would benefit from 4WD the 996 might be the better choice.

Yellow belts and gauge faces were not standard . . . had to be dealer or customer ordered.

 

My First post here but I was just recently in the same position as you. I ended up with the 997 for multiple reasons, only had 10k miles on it, but it was just a much nicer car to drive then a 996. You say it will mostly be a toy, so the 4wd is probably not needed, I would go with the 997 all day long and never look back. I gave up tons of options and power, etc to go with the 997 (it is a 2011) and I have zero regret, I know I made the right choice every time I turn the key and drive. My worthless $.02 from another newbie.

 

+1 except for the bold part. I'm a bit biased, though.

 

I went for a 2006 c2s. Because:

look much better than 996 imo. and 997 have the same look as a brand new 911 (ok except the 2013) when I parked my 2006 in the driveway the first time, neighbors thought it was a brand new one :-)

and C2S because S feel like 200hp more. and RWD because I like smashing the gas in corners and have the car doing micro-drift
dont be scared at millage. they are designed to the driven

 

I would go 997 as well, but I might wait until I could swing a 2006 with less miles. No need to get in a hurry on this.

 

I would choose the 997, and if the history looks good on the car and the price is right and its what you want i would go that one.....or like Scooter said there are Plenty of fish in the sea....... You could wait to find one you really want.

 

I have had both. The 997 is much better, but with 90,000 miles on the clock, you have to consider the C4S with 60k miles as a viable option. It probably has sport exhaust and some other nice options and a lot less miles which is huge and you haven't given the options on the 997. The C4S is a nice car and should be considered. Either way, get a good PPI.

 

Sounds like the 997 is the way to go & some good advice about not rushing in. The 997 I'm looking at is black on black coupe which is exactly what I want. The only downside is the 90K miles. I've only been looking for about 3 weeks but every 2005 I've seen the asking price is 5K-12K more which is a deal breaker for me, the one I'm looking at is just under 34K. Do you I will save some $ if I keep looking ?
Thanks again

Options on 997
navigation
leather adaptive sport seats (many adjustments to fit your body type)
aluminum trim interior
seat belts in speed yellow
instrument dials in speed yellow
sport chrono package plus
OEM short shifter
parking assist
self dimming mirrors
OEM floor mats

 

Get the 05. Better in every way.

 

First off - I'm biased. I bought an '05 997 C2S Black on Black earlier this year. The one I got had 47k miles and I got a CPO warranty for 3 years / 36k miles with it.

I had toyed with the idea of a 996 4S (a good friend of mine has one) - but the 997 seemed so much more modern to me.

Now - whenever I approach a 996 from the front - and see the headlights, I'm glad I chose the 997.

The 996 is a brilliant car - but for my money I wanted as modern as I could get.

I've done very little mileage on my car since I got it since it's not a DD - but I have no reason to believe it won't go to 200k miles. Doesn't burn a drop of oil even though the dealer warned me that they often do.

Don't be scared of the '05 model year. Good luck and enjoy whichever direction you choose to go in.

 

I've had both 996's and 997's and love the current 997S (2005). Having said that, take seriously the post about the IMS failure. Mine is currently in the shop under review by the warranty company for an engine replacement. Estimated cost is $19K. That's right... 3 zeros.
Not to scare you. I've heard its rare and everybody told me I'd probably never see it. But here I am. So thankful I said yes to the finance guy selling the warranty.
BTW- the 90K miles is a good thing when it comes to IMS. A) it hasn't happened yet so it may not and B) there is some suggestion failure correlates with lack of use. Good Luck

 

19K for a motor wow ! What company holds the warranty if you don't mind sharing I'm wondering if I should try & buy one if possible or just spend the 1.5K & get it replaced. How many miles were on your car when it happened ?