A couple questions on MY/Option differences

I notice what appears to be on MY 99, but the headlights have heavily colored orange coloring at the base of the headlight housing. Was that an early 99 production thing? A friend of mine has a 99 and he does not have that on the headlights. I do not seem to see that on anything but 99's. Second, the 3 spoke steering wheel, was that an option or part of a package? I seem to see that throughout the years. Well at least 99 - 01. Some have 4 spoke some 3. I seem to have an affinity for 3-spoke steering wheels. I am trying to whittle down the options I would ideally like, basically a priority so I don't just buy a car and get pissed off at myself down the road didn't get one with the options I wanted. Thanks, I know you all have been inundated with folks looking to buy. Which reminds me, we need to see some cars for sale in the classifieds. So get to sellin'!

OK, the lower portion of the headlight was amber in 1999. Porsche changed it to a smoke colored lens with an amber bulb for 2000 (I think, my 2001 has smoke lens) to make it different from the Boxster. Also, the 3-spoke steering wheel is an option. Take your time to find exactly what you want. You won't regret it later. For me, it took about 3 months of searching before I found the combination of options, colors, and model year that I wanted.

headlights can be swapped out but at a fairly high cost. I think a set of clear would be worth around $5-600 used (litronic HID's are around $1k used) and you could re-sell the amber ones for about $175-250 depending on condition. Dont let that steer you away to hard from any cars you might be interested in.. the job itself takes about 5 minutes and requires only as much skill as it takes to load your dishwasher at home (almost) 3 spoke was an option and here again it can be swithed, again at a price. Maybe a net loss of $3-500? i dont know I haven't checked prices on those... also, if you wanted it and the car didnt have it... you could do some work and modify the car to your likings. MODS as we call them are a sort of "right of passage" everyone does them and everyone has a set that they find important to themself...thats part of the fun. It might be helpful to post things like your budget range, what type of things you will use the car for and what type or background in cars/racing/mechanics/pleasure you have. Also how many miles you think you will drive per year, any interests in special things you have seen and so on. Many cars are on the market and with a little insight you can land something that will put a smile on your face for years to come.. best of luck Ed

Thanks, I appreciate the input. I pretty much set myself at <= $25K. Allows me to put in a decent down payment to keep the payments reasonable and then I have the ability to keep some money for maintenance. As for modding cars, I am unfortunately all too familiar. I've had to make an agreement with the missus that I find what I want (as best I can) in my price range. No modding. Of course I can always get away with a few hundred here, a few there. Might be hard to sell her on an aero kit after the fact. My past automobiles prior to our domestic cohabitation were fair game for any modding. As for use, DD. I have an Audi (which I would probably sell), an old truck and a BMW MC as well. Though I may sell the bike. Regardless, I expect, as I love driving, that I would put 10 - 15K a year on the car. Though that really depends if I find a C4, otherwise 8 - 12 is more like it. I have been looking at cars around the 40 - 60K miles range. Seems like a good place to be. I doubt I will track it, maybe do a driving event if I have time. Where I live every weekend is a driving event. Lots of windy roads and always somewhere nice to go. I understand the philosophy of anything can be done for a cost. I prefer to get the best bang for the buck, so if I can find something with everything I want at the price I am willing to pay then yahoo! Otherwise, I have to understand that I may need to give up certain things that are not must haves. Here is my list: Ext Color: 1. Black 2. White 3. Grey 4. Silver Int Color: 1. Black 2. Grey 3. Tan (though if there is a tan with a black dash and steering wheel it's a 2, maybe a 1) Must have: Manual, no tips for me Nice to haves: 1. Factory aero kit (bonus for no wing) 2. 3 spoke steering wheel 4. C4 The one thing that tops everything, well documented maintenance history. I know when buying a used car it's not just the car I am buying, but the history. While I can be picky over stupid things, I always seem to know what I want as soon as I see it. My biggest issue is time, time to get out and drive and see cars. Not a lot of options for sale where I live. There are a few, need to finish checking them out. I also need to realize these are NA and I come from turbo-ville and pushing 23lbs of boost in my car makes these 911's feel slow, even though they are anything but. Plus, I am not hell bent on spending money, just wanted one since I was a kid and figured the timing may be about right (same thing happened 10 years ago when I bought my truck). Along with that I am spending about the same average annual maintenance costs for a 996 on my Audi every year. This site and renntech have been invaluable in researching these cars. I have learned a lot by reading the forums, the buyers guide and the DIYs. I really like the DIYs as I like to try and do as much maintenance on my own as I can. Thanks again.

<raises hand> Dibs on the wing IF you get one you hate !! (I have 2 stock ones you can have - shut up TIM LMAO! )

Two Wings??? I thought you only had the GT2 "bench." Come on, spill your guts.

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2 stock wings, 1 GT2 wing, 1 GT2 hood... I swear .... nothing else... maybe... OK.. 4 headlights too... some "extra" seats and ONE extra set of wheels and tires (which hardly counts for extra right?) a second set of stock 3.6 mufflers I am having MKII modded, and I did sell the GT2 muffler so I am getting LOW on "things" now... gawd I am sick

Hey Jay, yeah the early '99s started selling around mid-'98 and had the amber front & rear. They had a mid-year change to the clear lenses, and it's not cheap to switch them out, so at least get a late '99. The three spoke wheel was an option, but a little less common. Being a mile high, don't know if you've ever thought about 944 Turbo? There are some nice examples out there, even though it's not really a Porsche, ha. Also, don't know if you've really had a chance to open up a 996 up to redline? The motor really comes alive as you get towards 5k rpm to redline. You can certainly get a nice C2 in that range, maybe a C4 too? You might also be able to find an already slightly modded car (exhaust or other goodies) with a good history. You might like to have LSD in a C2 for better traction in snow. It's funny that a lot of dealers don't know what options these cars have, so I guess you've seen the option codes lookup on Renntech. I guess you know the option codes are listed on a sticker under the front hood? Let us know how we can help you put one in your garage?

This looks like a pretty clean 2000 C4 in LA, black on black, looks pretty stock, and asking price is dropping. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv...057439677.html Really seems like a low percentage of coupes listed....