Advice on buying 99 996 C4....

Have been offered a 99 C4 with 7k miles and a few packages for $60k. Is this a good deal? Are there any issues with '99 996's that one should avoid and go to a 2000 model? Thank you. DW

Don't know about '99 vs. '00 issues but here's a '99 C4 for sale from Isringhausen for $66.9K. I drove the car; it is very clean. <a href="http://www.isringhausen.com/" target="_blank">Isringhausen</a>

Dustman, on price the car seems like a decent deal. I would have quoted about $58K for a C4 given where Coupes are these days, but you will pay more for the fact that the car is a low mileage. And then there is the dealer markup. In terms of issues with regard to buying a '99 in general, the only thing that I would take note of -- but not necessarily worry about -- is that most of the '99's are now off of manufacturers warranty. Some of the early '99's had some issues relating to the engine light, fuel cap, and other small issues, but most of these were fixed under warranty. Therefore it is important to ensure your C4S has either met the TSB, or has not shown evidence of any of these problems. For a full list of problems, I would just search the archives, since they have been discussed many times here. In terms of general upkeep, I have found that the 996's are much better in terms of cost of maintenance. I am quite fanatical about my car, and yet have spent relatively little on upkeep. Hope that helps. Regards.

Thanks guys. As an update, the car has 3300 miles, is a 4/1/99 in service date, and comes with 18mo warranty from Porsche. pretty basic car though, power seats, basic leather, 6sp, alum brake + shifter, silver with grey, sunroof, 18", hi fi., PSM, no litronics though Thoughts? What is your experience with the C4?

I have a '99 C4 and love it! You can (and should) upgrade to litronics - your dealer can do it for about $1200. Good luck.

I am not an expert but in my area that is too much for a 99, even with low miles, I think it should be 2-3K cheaper, however the LA market may be very different than Connecticut where I live.

Dustman, just two days ago I bought an '00 C4 (9/99 build) with very similar options and I absolutely love the car; it is a dream to drive. If your car is very 'clean' (very good paint and interior), I think $60K is an good price. I haven't seen any low mileage '99 C4's go for that low at a dealer or on eBay.

Hi there, can only agree on the C4 being a great car. Unfortunately have nothing to compare (have not driven any other C4 model years). Must say that I am a bit jealous of the turbo-look headlights that they have on the new C4's but then again, it might not be worth the extra money. I'd say, go for it! And buy a brand new C4 a couple of years from now (when they have introduced a real upgraded model). Oh and also, the price is ridiculously cheap (compared to what they are asking in some of the European countries). What is litronics ?

[quote] Must say that I am a bit jealous of the turbo-look headlights that they have on the new C4's but then again, it might not be worth the extra money <hr></blockquote> The turbo-look headlights are on the C4S, with is mechanically and aesthetically different from the C4. [quote] What is litronics ? <hr></blockquote> Litronics are headlights that use the new xenon beams that have become all the rage. They offer a wider, more intense light dispersion that leads to much better visibility at night. Regards.

For a lightly optioned '99 C4 I think the price is to high in this market...as a rough comparison I sold the 2000 C4 Millennium with 9000 miles and 33 months of warranty for $65,500 a few months ago....I had offers as high as $74,000 and one firm contract at $68,000 but the good doctor failed to perform... another friend sold his Millennium with 7000 miles for $63,000 about the same time....trade in was $58,000 on the 2002 Twin Turbo he bought They are hard to sell because of the color I think, despite an MSRP of $94,000..... You mentioned the in service date.....What was the build date???? early or late build? I think I would look for a 2000 or 2001, the latter was limited to 500 cars for N.A. and pay a few more thousand. Good luck

Dustman, if you are still looking for a C4 check out Ebay 1849975339, 99 C4 17k miles for $53k. <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1849975339&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1" target="_blank">99 C4 ebay</a>

[quote]Originally posted by dutch-c4: <strong>What is litronics ?</strong><hr></blockquote> Litronic was the Bosch brand name for their Xenon headlights. As of 2002, the name is no longer used by Porsche. The new names are Xenon for Boxster and Bi-Xenon for the 996.