Please help me decide which 996... help!

I've been ghosting on this forum for a while and wish to say thanks to everyone for all the information shared. I'm going to buy my first Porsche, and I've narrowed it down to two cars. I would appreciate any insight into which would be the better choice. I'm quite stuck.. The 911 C4S has always been my dream car, and I can now afford one... but which one!? It will be my daily car, with a very short commute of about 12km / 7.5miles. I do a lot of weekend road-trips out of the city. Both cars are 2004 996 C4S's. Here's the differences: The Black car 27K Kms / 16.7K miles. VERY low miles! Zero options. Very clean, has new tires and great brakes, tranny seal fixed, nice black interior. That's it. Minty BASE. The silver car 79K Kms / 49K miles. HID lights + washers, sport exhaust, bose stereo, painted center console, rear wiper, power seat package. Supple leather interior in GREY. New tires, 50% brakes, new clutch. Minty with nice options and more miles. The price is basically the same, Black car is a few grand more due to being basically brand new. Here are my random thoughts: - not sure about black as an exterior colour - not crazy about grey interior ! ha.. - the super low miles on the black car is very appealing - the sport exhaust, stereo and HID lights of the silver car are really appealing - how much a factor is the low miles? It's not like 79K Kms/49K miles is really getting up there yet... - silver would have better resale due to options.. - I could drive the black car for a few years without even getting near the miles on the silver car... - I really prefer the black interior So outside of my esthetic preferences.. are there any technical aspects which a Porsche newby like myself should know before choosing one? Thanks a bunch for your time, /Adam

Black ! Black is alot of work to get to look right and keep right, easy to scratch and swirl and spider web the paint... it takes work to keep nice. You can have it done once a year by a pro and then just maintain it yourself if you have that option. Black inside is the bomb! Low miles is OK, and its not so low you have to worry - just drive it HID would be nice, are the headlight Halogen? i thought by 04' they were all xenon's? sport exhaust can be bought from FisterD for a couple hundres bucks... easy install, takes an hour. Pained console you can buy from bumperplugs if you just gotta have it, power seats? how often once you set your seat do you move it? Black all the way -

Xenon, yes Xenon lamps. The black car doesn't have washers, the silver car does. I heard that if it had washers they were xenon lights, and if not they were regular halogen...? Thanks for the info. I'm leaning black for the miles and the interior. Black outside is tough though.. Nice when clean!

black interior cars usually resell much easier, the grey interior gets dirty and over time look more 'worn' the option can all be bought used and retrofited very easily. All of them are very easy DIY jobs with plenty of documentation online. Go for the black. in both cases: look into extended warranty unless you can afford to gamble on the future maintenance of your car. As with any cars nissan or porsche the dealers are expensive, but with nissan you can stop by a small shop, for Porsche often small shop don't want to deal with it and you have to go to the 'stealer'. Piece of mind to floor it : 'priceless' how much are those cars going for exactly ?

I think the '02 models all had HID headlights, and then they became optional after that.

Nice new avatar Dennis!

I'd pick the black Porsche as well, lower miles, and it really does look great when cleaned up.

For roughly the same money, Black car hands down....

I have black and I think it will be my last. It really is a pain.

Black. Mod your own car...the other one sounds like it may have been ridden hard. Black looks better than any color - when clean. So make sure you know how to PROPERLY clean it and wax it.

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Glad you awoke from your coma. IHMO nothing looks better than black when it is clean. Nothing shows dirt better either. How often can you wash it?

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was I out for long? there are ways to "wash" black and actually washing it is one of the worst things you can do... once its nice, try not to touch it! (clean very often, but use methods that minimize actual touching the car) Search on here or Autopia

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About a month OK, we all know who hijacked Ed's account.

Black - no doubt. My old black Porsche was a beauty - and honestly, I didn't think it was that bad to maintain. I mean, I used a guy (I didn't do it) but it stayed very nice.

Have a thorough PPI done and then decide... When you get down to bargaining I suspect the silver car will come down further.

With the low miles on the black one it should be in a new near condition. I bought mine 1 year ago and it had 13.5k miles and I have no regrets paying a premium for its condition.

I say neither if it will be used for a daily 7.5 mile one way commute. I think that kind of driving habit could lead to poor performance and potential problems. If you insist on using it that way I'd go for the silver one because it will still look relatively clean by the end of the week....the black could look like a mess by end of Monday/Tuesday depending on the weather. I think you will quickly get tired of continually washing a black daily driver (unless you don't mind driving a dirty car) (personally I hate to see a dirty P-Car). If it would be more of a weekend toy then I'd go with the black one for sure.

I have now had two black cars in a row, and when I made the decision to get a 996, it was NO BLACK because they are such a pain to keep clean, and NO SILVER because it seems that every other Porsche on the road is Silver. But with those two cars, I would pick the silver one. More options, not terrible mileage, and easier to maintain. I'd say let the PPI determine which way to go, but if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to pay for 2 PPI's to get one car. Get the PPI on the silver one, and if it passes, push the seller for a lower price because you could buy the black one for the same money!!! See what he does then. I would think that the market for cars is really slow right now, between winter and the bad economy. larry

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100% agree. I just sold my black BMW M5 and this was my first and last black car. Never again.

I had a black BMW also and after that one I said never again so I bought my slate grey 911, but now I think I was just a nagg' and black does look good. If you are a clean freak it might be a little painfull to have a flat black car...unless you have a cheap car was around or plenty of spare time. Just find a drivethrough touchless car wash, they usually start around $4. Wash the car twice a week, will cost you $30 a month and keep your OCD in check

If you don't mind the maintenace on the black, I say go for the black. They are more classy and very clean looking when they are taken care of. I like the idea of the low miles. Either way buy what will make you happy!

Go with the black. Don't worry about the issue in keeping it clean. Polish/wax it once a year to bring out the gloss. There are many easy to use quick detailer products out there including "no rinse" wash products that will keep it looking amazing between washes. My BMW is Steel Gray (graphite) and i can't wait to get back into a dark finish just to see that gloss again!

I would go with the black one. Although I would prefer the silver exterior, I hate the grey interior. Also, I think the low miles adds much more value than the options - the HID headlights are the only option worth while on the silver car. If you're really interested in a good stereo, you'd be better off going aftermarket anyway. (IMHO)

I'm not a fan of those really short commutes.... Really bad for the car. But between the 2... I would have to say go for the silver. It's more practical and has PSE.... Considering it was installed by the factory and has the electronics. You essentially don't have to do anything to it... Just drive. I do like black and bare bone options, but for a dd... Bare bones might get old. Though for $300 you can get Fister d..... I just dont like the washing aspect of a black DD. Not, my thing. Mileage wise... I don't think you will put on that many miles with your commute, so a low mileage car is null in you case.... Plus the fact that... It is just barely broken in.... These cars, tend to loosen up around 30k miles or so.

I've had black cars and they are a pain to keep clean, as others have mentioned. If you can find a hot chick or two to wash it once a week, it may be a sweet deal. Black cars do "look better in the shade". Personally, I prefer to have a lot of creature comforts in the car especially for a DD, which it sounds like the silver one does, so it really gets to be a personal call here. You have to consider that the black one was driven ~3K Mi/yr, and the Silver ~7K mi/yr. Considering the 20K+ I put on my DD 4x4 Expedition, that's nothing. Also, you may have better negotiating power on the silver one. Get the PPI done on both as suggested. After reading the threads, there are a lot of things that I didn't do right when I bought mine, and it could be costly not to know what you're getting into. I was fairly lucky on mine, but it still cost me $2K in post purchase expenses. Also, there may be other options out there on other sites like cars.com, if you don't mind driving or shipping to your location. Whichever you choose, good luck with the dream car!

Thanks so much for all the feedback everyone, I bought the black one! Delivery is this Sat AM, I can hardly wait. As much as I liked the silver exterior, the xenon lights and the sport exhaust, I couldn't get around the grey interior (it felt like a granddad's lexus) or the fact the black car is basically brand new! Thanks for all the info, very much appreciated.

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Great Choice! Enjoy her and please post some pics. My personal best color combo.

Oh no you bought the black one! How could these guys ever trick you into that! Should be a great car. I hope everything goes smooth with it. I just recall my old lincoln mark7 in black that was like driving in a black hole at night expecially on rainy nights. I couldn't tell where the car was at all. Anyway congrats on getting the 911. I'm sure you are going to enjoy the hack out of it. SHould be nice and warm during your winter months. Where are you located? Have the camera ready so you can claim damage and be able to post pictures on here.

Good luck with blackie! I hope you have a garage--it lengthens the time between car washes!

Cool... all the best, Enjoy.

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+1

Thanks everyone pics to follow

yea, pics so RE: the short commute. Keep in mind your oil will collect water (from outside) and not burn it off. You have to do 2 things.... get it out once a week and drive it for aprox one hour - change your oil (and filter) at about 2k mile intervals.... you need to keep that water out of the motor and that is the way you do it for a short commute car