996 C4S 98,000m - may purchase but some concerns

My First Post: Looking at an inexpensive 2004 C4S soft top convertible with 98,000 miles and tiptronic. Sales price of $19,995 appears decent but interior in general (boxster red- not first choice) is tired. Drivers seat leather is torn all the way across stitching seam in pad. Repair unlikely so replace entire cover. Also passenger seat not far behind it so both seats likely need replacement covers. The leather also looks like it has water staining but soft top is in great condition and not leaking. Cup holder front cover and release is missing and the mechanism appears broken as it doesn't move (jammed). Handbrake is missing the thumb release. Carfax report is good up to about 2015 with service repair work done by "Service Plan Co." (car must have been under extended warranty). Last two owners owned it for 8 months each - bit of a red flag there. Car drives great and only observation was a slight whine I could hear whilst driving that increased/decreased in frequency in line with RPM's. I am not experienced with Porsches but mechanically competent so the noise is definitely coming from somewhere drive train related. Im not feeling great about it but might just be worrying excessively over an inexpensive Porsche - I guess a PPI is the safest next step. Any further thoughts about cost to put right interior? Thanks!

No such thing as an "inexpensive" Porsche!

I believe you - That was the point I was hinting at LOL.

I am interested in how much to replace the three obvious issues - seat covers (boxster red), handbrake release **** & cupholder assy??

Too many issues, I would keep looking.

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+996

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After a quick search it looks like about $800-900 ish for parts. Seat covers I could only find in black and beige in a 60 second search, FWIW, so the red may be harder to find. They are certainly more rare than black, gray, or tan. If you are not doing the work yourself, add your friendly neighborhood labor rate X hours. By your short description it sounds like you'd be a lucky guy if it ends there. The car sounds quite neglected. I've never driven a tip, but my WAG would be it should not whine.

Whine on a Tip, do a search here, could be the start of something expensive ...

You'll spend another $8 - 10K on a not well maintained/kept up car.

Run! ​​​​​​​

Thanks for the reality checks folks! Its certain that I would have to fix interior and highly likely that there is something else more costly - PPI would hopefully reveal anything major but I already can guess the conclusion. I think I will save my PPI money for a lower mileage one that has been cared for better. Also didn't really need AWD so a carerra 2 probably 997 is my better vehicle anyway. Ill pay more (upfront) but better way to go I think.

Miles a certainly an issue but a well maintained car is incredibly important unless you're ready to catch it up $$$.

I am going to keep looking. i still have my Q60S so absolutely no rush! Dr Strangelove - thank you for researching the interior costs!!

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You're welcome! Good luck with your search. 997's are cool and all, but don't give up on 996's. "Cheap" ones are not necessarily all bad, but neglected ones are always bad. That is primarily what everyone is telling you to run from. Let me preface this by saying my car is not for sale. But if I were to put my car up for sale, I would not be commanding an impressive price. However, you would be able to tell that everyone who owned my car, including yours truly, cared for it very much. While you are learning about Porsches, remember the fact that most Porsches are cared for. I don't let issues linger. So, when you are looking at cars, look for things that would be easy to fix but aren't. If you can find them - that is a warning sign for sure. I would not climb into my car and look at at huge rip in the seat for more than a week.

You should have at least $5,000 in cash ready to go into maintenance and replacement parts. If the suspension is original that will need to be replaced along with all bushings, that alone will cost $4,000.

It is an 04 C4S, for 996.1 money. The whine could be the alternator struggling with a low battery bringing it up to charge. My alternator does that when under charging load, and it's been recently replaced. If you can turn your own wrench and have a sense of adventure take a stab at it. If you don't want to or can't work on it yourself, find a better car as the labor cost to bring it to standard will kill the deal.

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I do agree that much of the cost on repairs for these cars is labor, and that these cars are a real joy to work on. I recently spent 3 hours last weekend fixing some random items on my car, and probably saved $400 in labor and another $100 because I bought the parts myself. These cars are so well built and designed that even the bolts and parts are like little works of art. Folks either have time or money, usually not both, and spending the time can really save a boatload of money.

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^ +996. I bought a C4S in infinitely better condition than the one you're describing and I spent this much in the first year on preventative maintenance and miscellaneous fixes.