2003 911 C4S with 140k - Priced too high?

Good morning everyone, Quick intro: My name is Yann, and I’ve been a car enthusiast for as long as I can remember. Owning a 911 has always been a dream of mine, and I’m excited about the possibility. I work at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, so Porsches are a big part of my life. I’m currently looking at purchasing my first 911 and stumbled upon this intriguing offer on FB Marketplace. The car seems well-maintained with a clean Carfax, and the extensive maintenance history is definitely a plus. Here are the key details: Model: 996 Carrera 4s Mileage: 141,660 miles Features: Extended leather, Alcantara headliner, Porsche navigation, self-dimming mirrors, rear wiper Price: $35,000 Notable Maintenance: IMS Bearing Pre-purchase DME inspections in 2016 @ 121,478 miles and 2018 @ ~125,937 miles (no over revs) Suspension Refresh “Brake Refresh” Clutch Replacement Religious oil, diff oil, transmission oil, brake fluid changes Motor Mounts Coolant reservoir replacement Bumper resprayed for rock chips Additional Detailed Maintenance History: 4/13/2015 - $254 - Thermostat, Water pump, Expansion tank, belts 9/25/2015 - $3,229 - LN Engineering IMS Retrofit kit & Clutch - New Country Porsche of Clifton Park 9/22/2016 - New Spark Plugs and Coils, $1,330 - Left and Right CSF high-performance radiators (Turbo 997), $1,175 - Replacement suspension OEM suspension (Receipt), $806 - more suspension parts (ECS Tuning) 12/31/2016 - $1,882.35 - Suspension refresh - Inner and outer tie rod boots, OEM Suspension shocks & springs, new drop links (Customer provided parts) 6/22/2017 - $3008.93 - Front brake service kit + Secondary Air Injection pump purchase and install 7/19/2021 - $7,983 - Drive belts, oil filler neck, rubber spacer, oil pressure sender, drive shaft flex disc, breather hose, hood struts, fuel injectors, AOS and mod, cabin air filter, spark plugs, water pump, thermostat, expansion tank, transaxle oil change, engine mounts 12/15/2024 - $1,000 - Bumper Resprayed for rock chips by Rob @ CarLove who does work for all the high-end dealers locally, 2/10/2024 - Car paint corrected and ceramic coated with McKees37 5-year ceramic coating After researching the market, I feel the car is worth around $25k to $28k. However, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences, especially if anyone has insights on similar models or maintenance considerations. I did get in touch with Goldcrest motorsports and they offered to do a PPI for $495. I plan to enjoy driving the car and working on it with my son, hopefully passing it on to him one day. Any advice or comments are welcome! Kind Regards, Yann

Hi Yann - this looks like a nice car. What is the seller asking? I assume more than what you're thinking? With these cars good service records > miles. I'd highly recommend doing the PPI and paying extra to bore scope the engine, at least bank 2. 4S seem to carry a premium as well so something to keep in mind.

There was a black C4S listed in the Marketplace here with 200k miles for about $25k I think. It had very good maintenance records like this one, and the car sold pretty quickly. I am not sure that the car will bring the $35k the owner is asking, but maybe somewhere around $30k would be more appropriate given the recent-ish maintenance. However, take this as a grain of salt as I am only going off of what I have seen in my own personal search for a 996. Maybe wait for some others to chime in.

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$34k

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I just updated the initial post - the seller is asking $35k thank you both for the prompt responses! I think if he's willing to go closer to $30k it may be more tempting!

Looks like it's a local car to you, so there is a lot of value in that. Go check it out, talk to the owner and get the PPI done. I think finding a middle ground between 30-35k would be fair for both sides. It looks like the previous owner did not spare expanse on maintenance so look through the records if you can. It sounds like he drove the car a good deal but also maintained it well.

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Ironic�you know the seller Rick Stengard that works with you?

I dont actually know him - he works on the track experience part and im at PCNA corporate. We haven't met but I suggested that we should !

Beautiful car, well documented, and local to you with good provenance. The only red flag I see here is that the guy who coaches at Experience Atlanta is selling the C4S so he can HPDE a Camaro.

I bought my C4s after searching for a year and can chime in. The common color is downside. Huge upside is the manual transmission, interior color, assuming pccm+ (you said Porsche nav), and IMS/AOS. Prices have increased from last year and last year this is a 32,995 car. The service history that you have is worth a huge piece of mind. I honestly think now for 34 it�s an unbelievably clean c4s. That rear sonar is amazing to see too. Good luck with the Purchase.

It looks like a nice example of an 996 C4S. According to the maintenance records it is overdue for an IMS Retrofit replacement (6 yrs). if doing this, go with IMS Solution. It is a permanent fix. You might want to consider a fuel pump replacement. The pump can begin to lose pressure as they age and the venturi pick up hoses can crack and leak. This can cause the. Engine to run lean at high rpm. Good luck with it Mark

I think that number is definitely a bit too high given how high the miles are $26k. Based solely on the miles. Given the ims already done and solid service records it�s a good car most likely, and ultimately it�s worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

I don�t know the market as well per se, but from experience currently owning a 996 C4s with 85k miles, when people say �well maintained� or PO spared no expense with a lot of recent upgrades/replacements - that can be true but it doesn�t mean you won�t be relieved of the same kind of expenses as the PO. I�d plan to be spending the same kind of money they recently have been to maintain this car, looks like about 8K every 3 years or so. Plan to have to drop 5k the minute you buy the car just to be safe, even if you don�t have to. Just my .02

I'll to the chase. First of all, beautiful C4S and the fact that it was driven and not a garage queen might pay you dividends if you decide to buy it. However, the M96.03 engines are well documented to suffer from cylinder bore scoring on bank2, with cylinder #6 being the worst. Therefore, make sure your PPI will include a bore scope inspection and get them to provide you images. Report back. All the best!!!

thanks everyone for the responses / feedback. I'm going to see the car this afternoon and will report back. I definitely want to get a PPI done that includes bore scoring inspection. Regards, Yann

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Let's say they do discover bore scoring during the PPI - what is the impact ? Is the only option to cylinder re-sleeving ? Can one continue to use the engine with bore scoring ? I wonder if the current owner has a recent oil analysis report - doesn't that typically reveal early signs of bore scoring with iron, aluminum and silicon?

Good morning! I went to look at the car yesterday evening and can confirm that it is clean example (on the outside at least). I did notice a few oil drops on the drain plug but the area surrounding it looked dry. Initially, I wanted to get a PPI done at Goldcrest but they don�t have any availability until the 29th and that�s too long for the seller to wait. Option B is for me to get a PPI done either Monday or Tuesday at Atlanta SpeedWerks (although they quoted me $875 compared to $575 at Goldcrest). thanks again for everyone�s feedback!

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Atlanta SpeedWerks would be my choice even though it's about $300 more. They're a LN Engineering/Flat 6 Innovations certified shop. That means they've been trained on the M96 by Jake Raby and you'll get a more thorough inspection of the engine on this C4S. I've had the pleasure of meeting the owner Todd Lamb. Todd is a truly nice guy and very knowledgeable of M9X based Porsches and other German sports cars. For others interested: https://www.atlspeedwerks.com/about

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thanks for the reply ZuffenZeus! I�ll ring them first thing Monday morning !

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Polar Silver is definitely not a common color. Personally, I think it's worth a decent premium over Arctic Silver (but I'm also a bit biased).

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Hello Yann (French, maybe?) I'm a bit confused by that maintenance line. I don't see anywhere close to 8 grand of work there. Maybe 3k? The car you're looking at seems very, very nice. Let us know the results of your PPI and try to negotiate a good deal

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It is indeed French! Still trying to get a PPI scheduled - I�ll keep you posted

Hi Yann, looks like a great car, but if you really want to know what these are selling for, you should sign up for the stuttgart market letter. It comes out every day and lists the sold auction prices for these vehicles. It gives you a great base to compare. For some context (and I'm no expert), I paid in 2024; 2004 C4S Cabriolet Manual Transmission Sports Exhaust IMS Done No bore scoring 48,000 miles Pretty darn good condition exterior and interior (except for the cabriolet top which was a little mangled) $41,000USD + $2100 PPF + $800Parts + $900 winter Wheels PLUS TAX (all prices converted to USD) Everything else I've done to the car (more expenses obviously) were my choice.