Dilemma - 997 or tweaked 996?

Hi all, 2 years of very happy 996 ownership came to a rather depressing end a couple of weeks ago when my beautiful Seal Grey 996 C2 went up in flames in front of my eyes. Cause unknown, but presumably an electrical fault of some kind. Gutted doesn't begin to describe it, but could have been much worse as the car was parked on the drive, right in front of the garage containing my beloved 944. Both cars were full of petrol at the time [ ]. Fortunately the superb fire brigade arrived just in time to save the 944 and the house, but the 996 is no more. Blooming scary! So, having received outstanding service to date from Esure, thoughts turn to a replacement. With a max budget of up to £30k, my initial thought was a 997 Carrera 2S. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether another 996 at half the price of the 997 would be a better bet. I loved the way the 996 drove and was in no hurry to replace it. A 996 turbo would probably make sense, but (lovely as they are) I just don't want one - I have the 944 for turbo kicks. I am now thinking I should get another 996 C2, maybe with Aerokit this time if possible, then spend £5k or so making it perfect - suspension refresh, decent exhaust, wheel refurb, interior refresh if necessary, etc.. Nothing excessive as the 911 is/was my daily drive and family run-around Not really sure what the point of this post is to be honest! I think I have just lost my car mojo at the moment and need to vent a bit [ ]. I hope no one else has been in the same situation, but would be interested in hearing opinions on whether the 997 is £10k+ better than a well sorted 996.

Apart from a higher v max I would not have said that you keep the 944 turbo for kicks as all it has going for it is a abit more stability when cornering hard. tThe 996 gearbox is quite big and heavy and a such goes a long way to balancing out the polar moment of the engine around the rear wheel. It is still of course biased toward the rear engine. I have both 944 turbo cab in good condition with 47,000 miles on it and it pulls hard in any gear but my 996 urbo is just an order of magnitude better. Driving at a conservative speed in the 996 traffic parts like Moses parting the red sea which it simply just does not do in the 944turbo. A 997 makes all the same argumnets of road presence but if I was given the choice (well I was three years ago) between normally aspirated 996/7 engines and the mezger lump I would come down in favour of the turbo every time. Pick up from 30 in sixth is modest until you get a few more rpm on the dial but it will plod along as it frequently does on my trips from Marlow to other points of the compass. A true 81 mph at 3000 in sixth. Then again the 944 turbo is not exactly known for its lack of turbo lag is it. On the trip to Le Mans with the all my camping equipment on board, with the roof up I managed 32/gal. Down side stupid 15 gallon tank and a luggage space smaller or at least less efficiently shaped than even the luggage comparment in the 944 Tcab. No I'm so haappy with the 996 that I hardly drive the 944 turbo cab even though it is a beautiful car, which at 47000 still drives like new but then the 996 t has only got 31000 on it.