996 or 997

im in the market for my 1st european car ive been looking on forums got alot of answers to my questions thanks everyone. my main question is with a budget at around 40s. found alot of both 996 & 997. i know im on 996 forum but what is the biggest differances barring all service and miles are around same. i think my biggest concern is the age of 996s. it something i gotta get past on my own thats why i seem more intersed in 997s. thanks for all your input

The newest 996s and the oldest 997s aren't far apart in terms of age... The 997 was an incremental improvement over the 996. It has a refreshed interior, updated headlights and other exterior features, 19" wheel options and more. The driving experience will be very, very similar. It changes when you get into the 997.2 with direct fuel injection, but you won't have to worry about that in your price range. Personally, I would take a nicely optioned 996 C4S or turbo over a stripped down 997. Your choices will be dictated to a certain extent by what you want in a car. Do you want a cab or a coupe? Manual transmission or automatic? What kind of options do you want? Look at both, and drive both if you can. It's the best way to decide.

For 40k I don't think you can beat the 996TT. 40k will get you into a car with very reasonable miles, no IMS to worry about, and should hold value better than a similarly priced 997.

i have found 07 c2s for around $45 with 36k, an 01 turbo for $42 with 40k, and an 03 c4s for $38 with 36k, all manual i think the guy with the 996s is on rennlist

all coupes not interested in cab

Don't be in a hurry - the search is half the fun. Look at several cars before pulling the trigger. You should get an idea of what YOU prefer after seeing and driving several. Keep an open mind. I convinced myself that I absolutely had to have a 2002-2004 C4S ( which are really cool), but then saw a Mk1 Aero in person and loved it. Throw in that it was about 2/3 the price and I was sold. There were things that I thought would bother me about the Mk 1s that really didn't once I saw them (no glove box for example - don't miss it at all as the door pockets work fine). IMHO, for $40k budget, I'd definitely do the 996TT - freakin' awesome car.

For value, performance and overall appeal, my picks along with my target price for a clean, mid-mile example: 996 C2 MkII(2002-2004) $26K 996 Turbo MkI (2000-2002) $35K 996 Turbo MkII (2002-2004) $42K 997 C2 MkI (2005-2008) $36K I think MkI 997's offer little performance or reliability advantage over MkII 996's and still have quite a large price premium for round headlights and a slightly updated interior... A MkII 997 has a significantly revised engine with no IMSB, but are still way too pricey for my needs. 996 Turbos are no doubt the value king of the Porsche world right now. Extremely quick and reliable at bargain prices. My only issue, and I know others will think I'm crazy for saying this, but the AWD Porsche's are simply not as much fun to drive fast as C2's!

996tt or 997

+1 on drive as many as you can. also, buying used cars is like finding a wife - none are perfect, lol...so you gotta find one that's close, but some(body/thing) that you CAN'T live without if you can get a clean TT for under $40k, that would be very tempting. for me, it's probably not worth paying $35k for C4S as i think they're coming down in prices and you can get for that money you can get a TT. p.s. i don't understand the ims/rms concern - it's NOT an engine issue and just a $2.5k fix that includes a new clutch, and it's MORE THAN compensated by the lower 996 prices.

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+1 When you look back at old threads from 2003 to 2006, owners were initially freaking out about RMS leaks, but nobody loses sleep over a leaking RMS anymore - just fix it and move on. Frankly, it is time to treat the IMSB issue the same way: replace it for peace of mind next time you drop the engine for any reason. If it keeps you awake at night, then spend the $$ to swap out the bearing right away and take care of some "while you're in there" stuff to maximize the value of the work already being done to change the bearing. I think the bearing is being swapped out now on a routine basis as you are starting to see a lot of cars advertised for sale that have had this done already. The IMSB swap has probably only become widely done in, what, the last 4 years? Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that. Bottom line, it is a plague that now, for the most part, has a vaccine to prevent. If you don't want to get your IMSB shot, that's your problem - don't bitch when you get the flu.

Not to be captain buzzkill but if this is your first european car, and unless you have the equipment and experience to do all the maintenance yourself, plan to spend at least $2k a year on maintenance, so factor that in. Some years it's less, some years it's more. Also, when looking at used 911s you'll learn that for some CRAZY reason they all seem to need new brakes and rear tires, so plan to add that immediate expense to the asking price. I'm brand new to the 911 and it's a joy to drive - just astonishingly fun - and if you have the means to handle the maintenance, de nada, but nothing would turn a dream car into a nightmare faster than being stretched by routine, unforeseen, expenses, so I wanted to throw that out there. Good luck in your search! nb4 $2k is way high - that's a general rule of thumb I use, having owned BMWs since '05 and now just getting into the wonderful world of Porsche. Individual results may vary, but I like to be on the aggressive side when estimating expenses and on the conservative side when estimating income, so I'm pleasantly surprised when wrong.

Totally agree with pfbz and his comments. The C2 is much more fun around a racetrack. It does not feel as fast as a turbo but it has way less understeer coming out of the corners. You will have much more fun on the track with a C2. That being said, i would much rather have a turbo for everything else. When you are not pushing the car really hard and just taking a jaunt up your favorite twisty roads, the boost is very addicting. Those are fair prices to be paid for a good example of each. Personally for 40k I would get the turbo.

Let's not forget that the 997.1 cars all have the same IMSB concerns as the 996. Get it fixed, and move on. My car is actually at my independent mechanic getting a new clutch and a new LN Engineering ceramic IMSB as we speak! I'm looking forward to seeing how my original IMSB looks after ~125K miles.

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Except that 997.1 IMSB's can not be replaced/retrofitted by simply pulling the transmission... You need to pull the engine and split the cases! Arguably a lower incidence of failure on the 997.1's, but *way* more expensive to do a preventative fix! Dennis... What shop are you having do your IMSB/Clutch?

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So are we, Dennis! Saw my 1st IMSB in person this week coming out of an '02 C2. It looked in still very good working order but both seals were still present, so I can't comment on the internal ball bearings' condition.

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I'm having it done at 3zero3 Motorsports in Wheatridge.

I agree. If you have the chance to get into a TT car or any other Metzger engine car, do it. You should avoid the M96 versions like the plague. Especially wiht the TT prices getting better. JMHO.

I think a 996 turbo might be the way to go. There's a 2001 for sale on autotrader.com right now for $34,980. It's a one owner car with 82,539 miles on the odometer and relatively new tires. That might be an interesting place to start.

Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it. I've driven the c4s and I loved it. I'm gonna drive the other two this weekend hopefully I can narrow it down between a 996 or 997. I've been an American muscle car guy.( I know this will get some ppl to chime in). Just sold my 07 corvette now I'm ready for a real sports car. Thanks again for everyone's help. Being this is my 1st porsche I didn't know if I should go to a cheaper one and move up as my finances allow or just get the best bang for the buck.

Another ??? It seems like the models I've picked are the best performance. Should only be looking for to or s models? Thanks again

In the 996 series, the only S is the C4S. It has the same engine as the standard 996. I has improved brakes and suspension, as well as some interior improvements, wide body, etc. In the 997 series, there is a C2S and a C4S. These cars have increased horsepower over the standard C2 and C4. They are both impressive vehicles, but they are not as fast as a 996 turbo.

At the end of the day these are all Porsches, they all look and drive amazingly. To me, condition, color and options have a greater overall impact on long-term pleasure than a few cosmetic differences or (unless you plan on racing competitively) a few more or less hp or a few mph at top speed which (again unless you race it) you won't come near the limit of. I admit I didn't do my homework as well as I should have, because I knew nothing of the IMS fiasco when I bought. I got a 997 MY05, because it was the color and options I wanted, and yes I happen to like the front end and dash a little more than the 996 but those weren't dealbreakers by any means. Luckily mine turned out to be an early build with the serviceable IMS and I had it upgraded to the LN ceramic. It was also CPO, and new enough that when it expired I was able to purchase a B2B extended warranty, which has almost paid for itself with almost 4 years left on it. That will make a huge difference on cost of ownership. That said, if I had it to do over I would seriously have considered an end run 993. As a DD I think the 996/997 are more creature-comfortable, but given that the 996/997 are and will continue to depreciate while the 993 seems to be holding or appreciating, at least from an economic standpoint it would have been worth considering.