C2 or C4 neubie needs help

rdking · 08-01-2003, 09:14 AM

I am in the market for a used 911 and need help! I want a car that is 1) a daily driver 2) something fun for the twisties 3) able to take the wife and our small baby away for the weekend (will a car seat fit in a 911?) 4) something capable of making the trip up to tahoe in the snow... 5) something fun and able to handle a track day or two every year... I currently have an audi allroad (fantastic car) that I will probably give to the wife so I can get something fun.

Here are my question: My concearns are 1) on the reliability of the C4 compared to the C2... after reading some of the posts on this board it "appears" that the C4 can have problems if you drive it agressively... launching it and running it hard in the mountains etc. 2) My budget is 30K and I am hoping for a mint 1990 or older with low miles... is this reasonable. 3) any years I should "not" consider. 4) should I go older and cheaper... what is the first year they made the c4. 5) how bad is the understeer on the C$ and is this correctable. On the otherhand I dont want my rearend breaking right and left... I am not that great a driver 6) should I NOT get a C4 given what I am looking for and get maybe an audi S4 instead? (I have wanted a porsche since I was 12). Your input is MUCH APPRECIATED. thanks!

jens_uk · 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rdking
4) something capable of making the trip up to tahoe in the snow...

6) should I NOT get a C4 given what I am looking for and get maybe an audi S4 instead? (I have wanted a porsche since I was 12). Your input is MUCH APPRECIATED. thanks!

4) Get snow tires

6) You'll still need snow tires with an S4. A guy in the next building over has a 2000 S4, and says he has *no* grip on the stock tires in snow. See Car and Driver - they rated their C2 on snows higher than the Audi TT quattro on stock tires for snow drivability. [edit] (The S4 comes with the same tires as the TT, says the S4 guy.)

TMH · 08-01-2003, 11:06 AM

First of all - I absolutely love my C4. This is the most incredible combination of power and control of any vehicle I have ever driven. I heard the stories about understeer on the C4, and they are either overblown or are real, but only to those who really push cars to the limit. I push it, but not ever too far, so the understeer is a non-issue.

I think that you might have a bigger problem. I have heard about people who have to buy the first C4 they drive because they absolutely love it. I am one of those people. Be careful - they are addictive.

Maintenance costs - I am anticipating they will be a little higher in the C4 as compared with the C2, but not by orders of magnitude.

For a lot of information on what you might watch out for in what model years (like the dual mass flywheels, etc), check the following site:

http://members.rennlist.com/jfk964/porsche_964_faq.htm

Good luck and have fun. I have seen '89 C4's with about 100k miles for as low as $17k in this soft used car market. At your budget you should be able to get a great example of a '90, and still have money left over for post-purchase fixes and maintenance.

Tom