4 owner 04 911 4S

Hi Everyone, I have been looking at some Porsches for some time now and came across a 2004 4S that looks really nice. It has about 48k miles on it and the cost is low 30s. The only thing that gives me pause is that it has had 4 previous owners. I did not ask the dealership if they have any maintenance records but I am assuming it is only going to be the car fax. Would the number of owners worry any of you? Thanks in Advance!

Not in the least. 911s are not your typical cars. People don�t typically buy them and own for 10yr and put 100k mi on them. most people that buy high end sports cars change cars like they change clothes. While the carfax on my car is not entirely accurate, it showed 8 previous owners and wasn�t a deal breaker. Glad for that as it�s proven to be a great car. Far at more important is the maintenance history along with a thorough PPI by a competent shop. Take your time, figure out what you want, which is best accomplished by driving a few diffenerrt examples before settling on one. That�s what I was told and it served me well. Good luck, the hunt is half the fun!

@jllphan thank you so very much for your reply, very much appreciated. With the budget I am working with I can get most/any 996s and some 997.1s (I think those go to 2008, correct?). Would you recommend one over the other? I have heard several times to get the newest Porsche I can afford, but I was thinking sticking to the 2004 or 2005s since I can replace the IMS without issue for those but not the 2006 to 2008 model years, though those model years are pretty solid from an IMS perspective. Apologies for bringing up the IMS issue as I know it has been beaten to death, its just I am a worry wart and not too much of a risk taker so it is just something for me to think about. Thanks again!

I don�t count the first two or three owners because of what jllphan said. High dollar cars get �played with and disposed of�. I look more closely at the next couple owners and what maintenance THEY did as I see them more as caretakers than owners. TC

Your on the right track. 911s get better with each new model, not worse. Again, I�d encourage you to drive a 996 and 997 and compare for yourself. Many will say they like the rawer more pure and analog experience of the 996 over the 997. They may be right but I think the 997 is better looking, particularly the interiors. And you are correct about the ims, they are not as easily replaced on the 997 but also less failure prone. But the ims is one but many potentially pitfalls of either engine. It was simply a matter of cost for me. I had a budget of $30k and figured I could do a lot more with that with a 996. $40k and I would have bought a 997. That budget included purchase price and any needed maintenance (they all need some given their age at this point) along with some fun money left over to play with. But who knows, perhaps you�d prefer the 996 as some do. Only one way to find that out, go drive both and report back, good luck!

It�s the story that matters. Why were there 4 owners? If it�s because it�s a nice toy, great. If it�s a problem car, people like to get rid of problems. The art of buying a car is to dig into the history and try to be a detective. A PPI is part of the answer, as a PPI can find some hidden issues. But not all. Often, the records from different dealerships can be located with some hard work. Find out as much as you can, and those records can help with resale as well.

Thank you guys for all the advise, I appreciate the help!

A lot of the ones I have been shopping have been 3-4 owners. In a perfect world a 1 owner with every receipt would be great but its just not the nature of 99% of cars. I believe history of maintenance and a PPI hold more weight.