Looking at this 03 996 C4S

Hey guys, I've been buying toys for a while now and I have an itch for a 911 C4S. I have bought a lot of cars in the past recent years, most recently a 14 Audi S4 to DD. I found this car and I'm wondering if I'm going to take another beating like all my other cars. I met the guy and he's the guy you want to buy a car from. The car has spent a fair amount of time on a track which doesn't really bother me since it's been well maintained and upgraded. The exterior is perfect but the interior is hit. All the other 996's I see have tight looking leather and are less worn. There is like foam hanging out of one the vents too. If I buy it right, I don't mind putting some money into the interior but the guy is pretty firm on his price. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...modelCode1=911

I believe there are a few different finishes for the leather, one that includes a look like that. At least I know there was was for the 2004 Cayenne S, so I bet there was for the 911. It is something like the supple option. I only realized it when I purchased a new drivers seat for my cayenne (it was cheaper to buy a new seat than it was to fix the heated seat). The used seat I purchased (off of eBay) was like the ones you show above. The rest of the seats are much tighter.

It also has all the wood trim that I am not a fan of. I'm not so much concerned about the scratches on the plastics since those can be easily repainted. It's hard to chew on those seats. I offered 27k and it's where I could accept them but he declined. He's at 29.5 and at that number I'm worried that in 6 months when I resell I'm going to have the same issues with the new buyer hating the interior color / condition.

I found this car and I'm wondering if I'm going to take another beating like all my other cars. I met the guy and he's the guy you want to buy a car from. The car has spent a fair amount of time on a track which doesn't really bother me since it's been well maintained and upgraded. The exterior is perfect but the interior is hit. All the other 996's I see have tight looking leather and are less worn. There is like foam hanging out of one the vents too. If I buy it right, I don't mind putting some money into the interior but the guy is pretty firm on his price. My crystal ball says you are going to take a beating. Track time is hard time, no way around that. And who says the car has been well maintained? To whose standards? I come across owner maintained cars way too often that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. Word is that wood trim only goes downhill. I think you can find a better car.

IMHO Blue over Gray is a classic combination and the leather is the Supple Leather Option. As most things in life some folks will love it and some won't. With some detailing and conditioning that car would be quite presentable, interior and all.

That leather is the supple leather, an option on the 996. It doesn't look bad, at least in the photos. Having said that, that car is way overpriced. "There is like foam hanging out of one the vents too." That is a bad sign. IME, it takes a major hit or drop to dislodge foam insulation from the dash. It begs that question "What happened?". I would move on. There are better cars out there.

Bummer, the search continues. If he would take $25k I think I would be willing but he's being stubborn on price. He's owned the car for 10 years and has all records of service and mods. I'll keep looking!

Agreed, keep looking: this is needy and overpriced, and ain't the last nor the best one you'll find.

Foam coming out of the vents is normal and nothing to worry about.

Agree, wood is no good. Keep looking

I wouldn't worry so much over cosmetics things because those can be fixed relatively easy, but any car that's been tracked would need a serious PPI before purchasing it especially if there are no records of IMS replacement. As Macster stated, track time is hard time on the M96 engines. And, there are many C4S examples on the market for around $25K and so be patient and find a more loved non-tracked example.