Wife Asks for a Mid-Life-Crisis Mom's Car....and GETS ONE!! (UPDATE)

I guess years of seeing me pull away in the 993TT has changed her mind about sports cars! Here are the requirements: AWD for those wet Seattle falls and occasionally snowy winters Tiptronic/Automatic: she can drive manual but has to go up and down steep and hilly intersections with lights and stop signs Rear seats for our child Something stylish to usher in the next 40 years! So cabriolet would be a plus. Also we prefer the wide bodies. So, my thoughts go to the 2004 Carrera 4S Cabriolets of course. Other options would be the Carrera 4 Cabs or Turbo Cabs, but I've always liked the 4S as I almost bought one myself, and I think Turbo would be too much speed and $$ for her taste. I'd prefer to stay with the 996s since I do like the looks better than the 997. Any thoughts or input on a 4S (especially a 4S Cab) as a family car? We still have a Subaru wagon so we are not completely crazy.... Thanks!

Panamera

Panamera doesn't come in convertible - that I know of... Sounds like a C4S cab would fit the bill! Just warn her that there's not a lot of trunk space... How old is your child? If he/she's an infant, you'll have a tough time putting a car seat in the rear. If he/she is toddler or bigger, that will work better because booster seats *do* fit pretty well.

My vote would be to stretch for a 996 TT Cab. If the cab is even a requirement? Very easy to find in a tip and all are AWD. It's not that much power

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The kid is 6 years old, so just about perfect for those smallish seats for the next few years. And I look forward to driving a Subaru as a daily driver, because then there will be days when I will be asked "Would you mind taking the 4S to work today instead? I need the Subaru for something...." imagine that.

my 11 and 10 year old boys both get in the back of my car w/o issue. I live in Bellevue so I understand your "weather issues" I would say the C4 is a perfect car for her. Like you say the Subi is available should she need the space or the roads are not worth taking the P-Car out. good luck with your search, hope to see you around Ed

Man, that's a sweet looking 993TT - got any more pictures of that? If you haven't yet, I'd recommend trying a cab on for size... If you or your wife tend towards tall, setting the seats back eat up a lot of leg room - I'm a shade under 6' and the combination of the seat position and tilt leaves just enough room for a gym bag and not much more... Good luck and don't forget to post pics of your new addition! Rudy

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C4's do not have the type of AWD you need for Seattle wintertime driving. Plus, there's all those idiots out there at the same time. IMMHO the cab's are butt ugly top up which is the way it would be most of the time here. Buy her a 78-83 Targa w/stick and let her ENJOY the summer but park it during the winter. Yes, those hills are a challenge but that's part of what "this" is all about.

I think I will end up driving the C4 or 4S when it snows and hand the Subaru back to her and the kid then. I am worried about the clearance, but with snow tires I should be OK on the arterials (depends on who runs the Dept of Traffic here in Seattle next winter!! This past winter was a joke). Or the other option is making our fourth car (yes we have 4: but we have 4 adults in the multigenerational household) another Subaru instead of an old 98 Camry. That'll take care of our rare winter problem. Boy....Tiptronic 4S Cabs are not that easy to find. Sports Trend Auto, a Studio City, CA. dealer with a "+/--" reputation amongst these forums, has one with a hardtop (a plus), Rusnak dealership has one also in San Fernando valley, there are some on Ebay..... Is a hardtop with matching color hard to find separately?

Don't listen to that BS. They do winter driving schools in Europe in the C4S. With the right tires, it's a great winter car.

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That's easy for someone from "so cal" to say. There are times around here, granted, while rare, that the only answer is to have enough traction (mostly called rear tire chains) to leave the arterials, or even the roadbed briefly, to get around the traffic mess. Mostly patently UNSAFE FWD or F/awd, uncontrollable on the slippery stuff, vehicles. Then we have the 4WD/4X4 drivers that think that because they can get up and going, moving, in this stuff they still have a modicum of directional control and braking capability.

I drive my C4S all year, and I'm not quite in SoCal... Montreal, Canada... Tons 'o snow... No issues.

I can see in Redmond, the Eastside, where WWest lives, it's a lot hillier than here in Seattle. So for me to go to work, I can certainly manage in a 4S with snow tires if I can actually get to and from work in my M3 in snow, a few times without snow tires. I will still hand off the Subie to her when it snows more than just a little bit, as she has the kid most of the time also needs to negotiate Queen Anne hill north of downtown for school drop off. Those are some serious hills with just a thin layer of snow. I would say that the kid gets driven around in Subaru all the time when it snows.

996TT Cab... better internals than the normal 4S and prices now are really not that far off...

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That's great. Any tire recommendations for snow?

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For really good snow tires, you can't go wrong with Nokian Hakka's! Excellent snow traction, but they tend to be loud in the dry. If you live somewhere where it snows occasionally, you may want to go with something like the Continental ContiWinterContact - snow traction not as good as the Nokians, but better in the dry IMHO.

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Factory approved are Pirelli 240 SnowSports, which are now discontinued & replaced by the 240 Sottozero II. They are nice but don't last me long. I had Michelin Pilot Alpins on a previous car and they were very good - lasted a long time. I'm not sure they make the OE sizes though. Others also like the BS Blizzaks, which I haven't tried. With proper winter tires & common sense you can't go wrong w/ a C4S in the white stuff...lots of fun.

I drove the C2 last winter most every day (and you know how many were snow days in Seattle last winter) Blizzaks - loved it ! Perfect control and handling + a blast to drive when it was apropriate to open it up a bit and have a spot of fun

Targa 4 Practical (hatchback), AWD, Targa top lets in a tremendous amount of natural light.

I am with Itc on this one. A Targa will give you the best of both worlds.

I did think about the Targa, but when I checked into it, I don't think I want to spend 997 dollars, and I don't think they made Targa 4 in 996 model years, right? I like 996 looks better anyways. I am looking at the market offerings: 996 4S Cab tiptronics are going for as low as $44K up to $57K or slightly more. Is this pretty much the market range? A Porsche Certified Pre-owned 2004 4S Cab....is the extra cost (seems to be at least another 5K to 7K at least) worth it? Is the Porsche certified program owner-friendly?

Porsche CPO is the best in the business. http://www.reuters.com/article/press...09+PRN20090513 17" wheels w/Blizzaks and you'll do fine in the winter w/a 4. If you see anything in our inventory that grabs you, give me a call.

Are these the only two cars in the family? With multiple kids it seems a bit impractical to have 2 911s... when I was reading over the list I was thinking "Audi S4" personally...

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I was also thinking of that but with the prices I would rather get the 4S or TT Cab in Tiptronic. S4 cabs are not THAT much cheaper... Currently we have: 993TT BMW M3 (my DD) Subaru Outback Wagon Camry So we are looking to replace the manual shifting M3 with something she really likes in automatic/Tiptronic, then it can be her DD, and I don't mind driving the Outback since I have the 993TT lurking in the garage ready to pounce whenever my tiny midlife crisis pangs hit.

Updates: M3 has been sold, to a just-turned-18 year old young man who is taking this to college. He does seem rather responsible for his age. He bought it with almost all of the cash in his personal account, plus an Apple 23-in Cinema Display AND a Canon 5D. I happen to like those two trades he mentioned so it worked out for both of us. I sold it to him at a lower cash price and took his trades because I didn't want to spend another weekend showing the car around. Deposit down on a 2004 4S Cabrio. CPO car. Low miles. Should get here close to and maybe just before wife's birthday. Thanks for all of your input and advice.

coming out to RTC (see 6 speed northwest forum) or the Porsche breakfast at XXX in issaquah? Love to see the new car thanks for the update - good karma on the M3 sale!

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Thanks for the tip. I saw the RTC topic on 6speedonline NW but it was for 7/4. Do people meet at RTC every Saturday, as they do/did old Main St. Bellevue? And when is the Porsche breakfast at XXX: is it every Sat or Sunday? Thanks. Look forward to attending one of those! Jim

Congrats! I think you'll be really happy.

RTC happens almost every weekend (weather permitting) I have gone about 1/2 dozen times. Its very informal, just show up, park, drink coffee and chit chat for an hour or so, then take off....really simple, good guys and even if your car is dirty (like any DD would be from our constant beautiful weather in Seattle) no one cares... thay just love the cars (though I do wash mine most time before heading over) I have yet to hit the XXX breakfast, tried 2 times and ? ? ? missed ? - anyhow, if you miss, RTC is a nice little drive down Sammamish away, and it still makes for a good morning. XXX is a once a month event. Watch at the 6 for updates. Have not hit the "old" exotics on main - there was some sort of a break off and thats how RTC got started.... seems to be a more "uppidy" crowd? I dont know the whole scoop

this saturday starts at 9:00??? but was about a 9:30 start last month ? watch for updates LINK to Breakfast Thread

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Turbo tips are a steal right now... however, for a cab... you might be in a turbo S.... but then its hard to find that in a Tip as well.... then there is always the c4 cabs. GL tough choices.

Nice choice! Pictures!

update on xxx breakfast - I went, wont go again. consisted of mid 70-80's cars (911's 944's) mostly track guys, good people, just not really my thing. RTC is more rounded and better fit.

were you the "water cooled" outsider?

no - but I was light on fiberglass panels, engine parts that required opening your hood up in a parking lot, sticky track tires, fire extinguisher, full 6 point belts, $4000 custom wheels and body panels hammed into submission after being "altered" from the learning curve or any of the "lingo" associated with these things... I am just a DD and part time novice/begginer at the track 944-951 and a 928 (all have das Wasser) but no flat 6 water cars

Update: HERE SHE IS. Kept the search and the hunt a complete secret....even kept the sale of my M3 daily driver a secret for a long while (told her it was in the shop "for a front end respray paint job")....until the title was Fed-Ex'd from the previous owner and she got suspicious seeing a FedEx envelope with the words "title" and "vehicle" on the front. My great scheme of making a new Porsche suddenly appear in our garage, completely unbeknownst to my wife (you gotta admit if it worked it would have been a heck of a job?!), undone by unexpected details out of my control. The car is on its way here being transported by DeMoise Trk-Ing. Here are some not so high res pictures of the new 2004 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, with @11000 miles, tiptronic, CPO, just the way my wife fancied: http://view.admission.net/abc/carsad...JPG?t=tr/w:640 http://view.admission.net/abc/carsad...JPG?t=tr/w:640

WOW I love the interior ! beautiful car, good job holding it away from her as long as you did

Good catch and getting it with a warranty, too, which is good piece of mind when buying a used car.

Wow, beauty! Yes, you'll be 'gettin' some.

Nice cab!

Congrats! Great pick - I'm sure she'll be ecstatic! Rudy

Beautiful car. Nice color combo