Buying dilemma

Hello everybody, I'm new on here and I'm going to apologise firstly because I'm about to ask a question you are no doubt bored with answering a few times before... I have a dilemma about the purchase (options) of a 996. After several weeks searching I am now down to two completely different vehicles. Which one do I buy? Vehicle No 1. 2002 (51) pre-facelift C4 Coupe Tip Silver/Grey 43,000 miles - Seems like excellent condition - Comes with: Sat Nav PCM1 (for what its worth!) Xenon Lights, Sunroof, Sports Seats (embossed) Heated seats (nice) 12 Month IPC Warranty (I checked covers RMS, engine, gearbox etc) Full Porsche Service History £29,000 Or Vehicle No 2. 2001 (Y) pre-facelift C2 Convertible Tip Silver/Blue 36,000 miles – Seems Like excellent condition – Comes with: Sat Nav PCM1 (for what its worth!) Std lights Sports Seats, 12 Month IPC Warranty (I checked covers RMS, engine, gearbox etc) Full Service History but mainly IPC - £29,000 Now I know they are 'different horses" and I feel fairly sure about the differences between C4 against C2 (although I would be happy for your opinion on this)... but if it were you which do you think you would go for and why? Also, I think I will get both vehicles PPI'd - Can you recommend anybody who will check both vehicles at reasonable cost. **blob**

C2 Cab v C4 Coupe, talk about different ! PPI depends on location but for 30-31k you should easily be able to hunt out a facelifted car who's the garage as who's a IPC warranty ?

Hi Dr Thanks for your reply.... yeah I have seen a couple of c2/4 facelifted for about 30-32k but the miles tend to be high (65-75,000)... any facelifts with low miles tend to be 34-38K. One of the cars is from Dove House, the other from Nick Whale

cars i spent 2 months trying to get a tiptronic facelift car for around the 32k mark with lowish miles and im afraid (unless you buy private) its not happening at the moment! In the end I plumped for an 01 3.4 c2 tip, for 27k with 47k on clock and think it was a fab choice, (18: carerra wheels/extended leather/carbon dash/ etc) and i have save 5-7k compared to facelift model ( i prefer the look of the old lights anyway!) I personally dont like the cabs but your c4 sounds like a good buy, there are plenty of manual facelifted cars with 50k on clock for around 30-32k but tips seem to be higher priced at the moment/or just a little harder to find. also dont rule out a targa, but again you will pay 2k extra. I took great advice on this site which basically amounted to 'buy the best condition car you can find" and if its a 3.4 then so be it! (sat nav not much good though on your c4!) happy hunting!

check the Cab has heated seats ? as from the pic, those are actually sports seats

cab or c2 the cab looks nice, best colour combination in my mind! not so keen on the c2 grey interior but thats just me. I have a couple of links to manuals for 30k and below check these links http://www.paulfrench.co.uk/page5.htm http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=20559&pageid=3 http://www.paragon.gb.com/sales/vehicle-details.asp?ID=307196 the blue one at paragon is a beauty and a tip!!!!

I agree on not liking a grey interior, dark colours are better

Thanks for your help... Ok, I have now found out about the 12month warranty which comes with the c2 cab. Its issued by "Lumley Auto" (underwritten by AXA Ins) It includes Roadside Assistance and Mechanical Breakdown Insurance . It has unlimited claims up to the value of the car and covers engine (& RMS), gearbox and all the usual mechanical parts. It cost about £700-800 yr but first yr comes within purchase price of the car.... thereafter its payable on renewal. The thing that worries me about this car is its complete lack of "paper" history... The service book is stamped up and looks correct but none of the stams are from OPC... they are all (3) from IPC's. No bills, no history of repairs or replacements... no paperwork (except MOT's). They are awaiting a HPI Mileage check to be done... !!! The other car (c4 coup) Also comes with a 12 month warranty but as yet not sure who issues it!.... but they (Dove House) tell me that the renewal cost of there warranty is only £300-400... Whats the huge difference in cost between one warranty and another??? Any advise or experience with warranties ?????

The warranty on the Cab sounds great and would offer a lot of peace of mind, however, your concerns on the lack of proper history with the car will probably be more of a worry when you come to sell it on and may harm the value. The cheaper warranties normally have a claim limit that reders them pretty useless if you hav e a major problem. With regard to the differences of Cab versus Coupe was a dilemna for me as well - I drove both and decided as it was to be a weekend car, it had to be the Cab and I prefered the driving experience of the C2 and certainly the boot size!

I bought my 4s from Nick Whale- they were good to deal with. The warranty actually looks very good, and specifically includes RMS which is nice.

remember that not everyone who buys a porsche is an enthusiast, so the stamps in the service book are considered to be the service history by some folk. I have to give all of my receipts for the car to my accountants and only keep a photo copy of service expenses with the car docs. IPC's are perfectly respectable and less expensive than OPC's, maybe check out the Indepandent who serviced the car you as will have to get it serviced somewhere. TB

Okay - so many issues here, and given I bought my car blindly and wished I had been more informed, here are some thoughts: Buy on condition and feel. You are buying a car that will become a love of our life, so surely you want to know its been loved by others before you? Avoid anything that smells dodgy at all. ie weird service stamps from random Skoda garages (although stamps from Porsche specialists would be fine in my eyes), weird mileages, weird salesmen etc Nothing wrong with buying private, but its essential to get a Pre Purchase Inspection done (search the forum for info on PPI) Warranty. You can get a Porsche warranty for c.£890 (once Porsche have checked the car (£200) and you have fixed all the existing problems they find) The Porsche warranty is nowhere near bulletproof, but I reckon most people on here have got it (cos we are enthusiasts and not made of money). Coupe vs Cab - there is no right answer here. Its gut feel, what style of driving you do, and whether you know what GHD products are. Good luck, and when you find the right car, you will love driving it.