996C4

I've been to look at a 996 C4 Tiptronic 2000model -W reg-with the narrow air intakes-the seller (a lawyer) states it is a 996 C4S & his re-issued V5 states that (he has swapped off his personal reg). As the "S" didn't appear until 2002 with the turbo look body & rectangular vents,is this possible? I presume I need to get hold of the VIN no to have it checked & if it is wrong anybody had any experience of correcting the error on the V5 if it is one. My knees are however slightly quaking on possibly going to a kettle from our previous 964! despite having an inspection at Unit 11 later this week.

It isn't a C4S, as that wasn't introduced until MY2002. What it probably says is Carrera 4 Tiptronic S. V5C's say all sorts. The S stands for Switches on the steering wheel. 996's have always has Tip S. On early 993's the S was optional (gear lever change only) and on later 993's it became standard.

Thanks for that Richard-I had sensed that it would have an S in it's title because of the steering wheel switches-maybe the V5 has the S in the wrong place because it doesn't have the S on the wheel centres nor on the engine lid. It's got a full OPC (Stratstone ) service history-one service just before the seller bought it included discs etc & a bill for over £ 2000- 84k miles & if I buy it ,hope to get it for 10.5K plus. It is silver with black leather .

Yes, Mine has C4s on the log book too. "s being for the Tip". The guy sounds a 2**t and doesn't know what car he has or what he's talking about, But hey He is a Lawyer (they get paid to lie). C4. Edited by admin - too clsoe to a very rude word for my liking!

Crikey, what did you put before you edited your post [ ][ ][ ] Colin, Richard (as ever) is right. Car sounds like good value, irrespective of the profession of its current keeper! With all this rain, C4 is clearly the way to go - should have kept mine, Spyder is currently as much use as a chocolate teapot!

Rob, Thanks for that-my comment (for other forum posts as well) was intended to infer exactly the opposite-someone who didn't lie,could be trusted but maybe wasn't as clued up on cars as some people,although an enthusiast wanting a Porsche.He wants to sell because although he owns 3 racehorses at present,he wants to buy a yearling & he has only done 3000miles in it in the time since he bought it 3 yrs ago. As you know Rob, Irene will be driving it most of the time & should be great during the poorer weather driving upto our daughters in Northumberland-would have preferred a manual-the seller had it because of a left ankle football injury some yrs ago-and it looks very good value.He paid 18.5k 3yrs ago with 81.5 k miles.

I knew what you were inferring Colin - seems we have a bad press amongst other posters though [X(][ ] The main concern has to be the old IMS issue but Hartech isn't so far away for you! By coincidence, I just stumbled over another one at http://www.newbarncarsprestbury.co.uk similar sort of age/colour/mileage but with the added come back of buying from a trader. Unfortunately, it is at the other end of the country. My general experience of lawyers is that they are really bad at looking after cars, obviously with notable exceptions!

And Clients! [ ][ ][ ]

Richard, Have you had a bad experience?You should deal with us Northern blokes-we are very easy to get on with.(not that I'm a lawyer but I am near the end of a horrendous law case which I will win in Nov)

Not mine [ ]

Without meaning to deviate from your original post, Win or lose its all the same! they are the ones that only ever win. Judges, Lawyer, Barristers etc. Under worked & Overpaid. Funny how Watchdog never takes them on.

Is that the case where someone bought a C4S and found it wasn't one?

By the way Good luck with your purchase! I actually think for what the 996 can be picked up for they are a good 911 to buy 2nd hand at such low prices. Its the first owners till now that have had massive depreciation values and mainly because of the internet and the ease of modern communication's & word of mouth and bad press of some engine woes. I cant see that they will depreciate much more and if they do then at least getting a new engine cheap wont be an issue, but finding a good one might?. I change my Oil every year or 3000 miles what ever comes first and I try to drive it hard quite often so that stagnant oil in the dark area round Intermediate mediate spiffy gets addressed. Its a lottery but so is life!.

Seriously, they're not all the same. I know so many crap lawyers that the medical profession terrifies me in case similar statistics apply!

LOL true, At least there not playing with me Kidney's.

To change the subject-[ ] with a daughter who is nearly a Consultant Paediatrician married to the Head of A&E in a hospital in Newcastle ,I am well aware there are doctors who don't come up to scratch,but seeing as Rob is posting on this forum,all lawyers are wonderful

Richard, Thanks for the good wishes-tomorrow it's going for a full inspection by John & Danny at Unit 11 Porsche near Warrington-the seller (despite being a lawyer [ ]is trusting me with it on my own). Then ,I will make him an offer & hope he will accept it.Yes,it could be a lottery-IMS/bearing-cracked liner(s) etc but as you know ,there are 1000's of perfectly good 996's on the road.I will rely heavily on what John says about it-as it is ,it appears to be in very good order.

Oh no, Colin, you are now confirming my theory!! More importantly, has the C4 been inspected and when are you picking it up - club night next Wednesday! (edit - cross posted Colin, iPhone a bit slow!)

I rest my case,M'lord.[8|]

Yes there are 1000's of good engines out there but thanks to the Internet those figures get foggy. I hope it all comes off for you. I crawled all over mine when I bought her!. Will they do a readout of fault codes over revs etc?. Once again good luck.

How's the inspection gone Colin? Best of luck, hope the car's a good'un. First of the watercooled, it's got future classic written all over it!

C'mon were hangin here!. [&:] Did you get it?...

Well,followers,thanks for your interest & support & sorry for keeping you in suspense. For a start,it scared me stiff as I accelerated onto the M58-a red warning light came on flashing-took me a while to realise it was on the RHS of the temperature gauge-of course I hadn't had time to both read & memorise the driver's manual but I presumed it must be the level warning lamp so cruised at 60 mph to the M6 keeping an eye on all the gauges-the tempgauge generally reading just past vertical-60 plus degs. Just my luck-M6 almost a southbound parking lot,so stop/start all the way past the A580-temp gauge seems to be rising-tickover seems to be fluttering-panic could start start to set in but traffic clears & temperature drops back to how it started so reach Unit 11 by 8.30am. Quick check-water low needing nearly 2 litres coolant to top up John gave it a thorough look over with the list including:- Both NSF control arms-all front & rear coffin arms-both radiators-new gearbox sump seal,filter,oil-full service-new upgraded reservoir cap-front discs need skimming-Becker doesn't work-find anothe Becker in the trunk-new spark plug tubes & seals Cost at £50/hr inc parts £2174 or £2574 if a new radio needed inc VAT. Otherwise,John thinks it's in good condition better than most & all faults are normal to the model & probably would have been picked up had the seller had it serviced by a specialist like Unit 11 but he just had the oil & filter changed by a garage in Southport-last service was in 2008 & he had not done that many miles since buying it so possibly thought it didn't need the service-& there's me (with all due respects Rob) thinking he was a sensible lawyer.[8|]. At present,I am waiting for the seller to explain about the radio(s)-I would have expected him to know & tell me but can excuse his lack of knowledge about the other items. Then I will make him an offer reflecting the rectification costs-possibly £9750 (as I could do some of the items myself at lower cost). I have to say that it drives very nicely & the engine sounds sweet-it has had a new water pump sometime & 2 water reservoirs,the last one was a secondhand item fitted by a Cheshire specialist-& John thought that the water pump problem may have caused the current state of the radiators which although not leaking,have slightly expanded core sections at their bases. It is then upto him to accept or reject my offer.Will advise further as it progresses.

Hi there, Glad you enjoyed it Was there any error codes?. £400 pounds for a Becker! Why?

Richard, Sorry ,omitted that bit-yes there were many & various error codes which were all cleared except an O2 sensor which John reckons most likely to be AFM insert. The Becker price was given to me by Porsche Chester for this model( I buy all the bits for the 924S's there & the 964 before it was sold) so there would be a discount off that price .This cost was just for the seller's info. Incidentally,the car has had a complete new exhaust system,new pads & discs at Stratstone ,Wilmslow earlier on in it's life when it's 1st owner(a Director of Swinton Insurance) was running it as a company car.One invoice in the collection covering this work was for £3985 inc VAT paid by credit card.

Yes sorry in that case £400 is spot on. Good luck.

Told ya!! Sounds like you could have a really well sorted car at modest cost if you can deal up with the seller. Good luck with the negotiations.

Rob, You might say that,I couldn't possibly comment.[ ]Turns out the radio isn't actually connected (because he says-he prefers to concentrate on the driving) at our 1st test drive I heard him say something about that but didn't take a lot of notice-I presumed he just turned it off-also the other Becker is the radio/cassette that was originally fitted -I am assured they both work OK. Now it's down to what to offer without insulting him-as you know Rob.it's best to stay friends with lawyers,not make enemies of them[ ] . 2K off 10.5K seems an insult!-I could do with a jury to help me.

Bearing in mind the work that needs doing, I don't think an offer of 9k would be insulting. But if that's your opening gambit, it is likely he might want you to meet him half way. It's 3 years overdue for a service, and he obviously hasn't spent any money on it in a long time. Bearing in mind that the one Rob linked to is the same sort of money from a trader, I think his £10.5k is a bit optimistic. The Beckers have a security code, so if the code has been lost that might be why it isn't plugged in. If that's the case, I have a good decoder, and could get it from the serial number. It sounds like the car is basically sound, but neglected during his ownership. I hope it works out and you can do a deal, but don't worry if not - there are plenty more fish in the sea.

Yep there's a 99 at the end of my road for 11,995 but the dealer is open to offers I'm sure as its been there since May!.

He actually has it priced at £11950-I was going to offer £10,500 & maybe go to £10,850 but that was before the inspection-this now suggests £8380 say to £8680-as although the '99 model in Cheltenham is £10995-I would offer £10,500 & get presumably 6 mths warranty with no expected faults 1 yr older-5K more miles but sunroof,cruise control & more electric seat adjustment. Unfortunately ,rather farther to Cheltenham than Birkdale.

A car that has been neglected for that long will only keep turning up problems, walk away. I bought a car in very good condition and still I've spent £4-5000 over 2 seasons. (hope my wife isn't reading this..)

I like your man maths Colin! £2k work required less what you save from doing some of it yourself! Good luck with the deal if it's still what you want. Could still end up a cheap and well sorted car.

Well,guys--no deal.Basically,offered him the figures in my post above-he stuck to wanting his figure with no allowance for the work needed-we parted amicably & only cost me the inspection of which I gave him the results. Maybe ,he'll ring in a few weeks time.Thanks for your interest.

Unfortunate, he probably doesn't even realize how neglected he has left his car and probably thinks your trying to fog him. Maybe if he gets a few more people that see beyond the badge! like you say "he might give you a call" Best of luck Regards Richard.

Maybe you'd be interested in buying my C4? See: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=658212 Regards Andrew

To be honest I'm not really surprised - I initially thought the asking price was £10500 but when you said it was £12k, he was never going to take £8380, especially as he was a lawyer! The seller won't get his asking price though so you may still be able to meet in the middle somewhere in a couple of weeks? I'd splash out on that C4 - looks lovely and the Hartech work means no sleepless nights.

Thanks Rob. I sincerely believe it would hard to find a better looked after 996 C4.

Andrew, I did look at your post with interest but initially,there was no price suggested-my son even picked up on it at that stage & suggested I make an offer of £14500 ( if I remember right)-no insult meant or intended. At the time ,I didn,t think that would be your price range so didn't. And to be honest I don't want to spend more than £12.5 -£13k at present-however agree your car fits the bill,& looks great-a long way to look at it ,though.

Andrews car looks concourse condition and IMS bearing done its like winning the lottery. Andrew how long did you own her and was she your daily driver? Very nice. And can we please have a post with Pics of that Vette please?.

Bought the C4 in 2002 when it was under a year old and paid pretty much list price for it. I used it every day and meticulously looked after it. Corvette photos are here: Photos of my 1973 Corvette

You Kept her in great condition and it was such bad luck the Ims gave way. The Corvette look amazing id love to see it in the flesh someday, man those things are quick.

Richard, Stop encouraging me-I've been thinking all day how I can bridge the gap-I shall have to sell some of my wife's jewellery.[&o]

Just sell your wife [ ] Only joking. London's only 2 hours away on the train these days Colin. My similar C4 which you will no doubt recall (facelift, new engine, that sort of mileage, concours prize winning) was sold again (quickly too) by Bolton OPC around February/March this year with an asking price of a fair bit more despite the, err, interesting interior! You're here for a good time not a long time! See you later on hopefully.