C2 or C4 neubie needs help

[rdking]

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!

[s_wilwerding]

1) a daily driver

Any 964 C2 or C4 should work fine as a daily driver.

2) something fun for the twisties

Doesn't get any better than a 911

3) able to take the wife and our small baby away for the weekend (will a car seat fit in a 911?)

A car seat will fit in the front seat, not so well in the back seats

4) something capable of making the trip up to tahoe in the snow...

A C2 with snow tires will work well in the snow. You won't find a much better car than a C4 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.

964s make great track cars.

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.

The C4 is more complicated, and as the cars get older, the C4 will likely cost you more to maintain than a C2.

2) My budget is 30K and I am hoping for a mint 1990 or older with low miles... is this reasonable.

Most people's advice is to buy the latest car that you can. Personally, I would buy a 1993 964 with 60,000 miles before I would buy a 1990 964 with 30,000 miles. The cars did improve as the years went by. For $30,000, you should be able to find a nice late model C2 or C4 with low miles.

3) any years I should "not" consider.

I know that some of the early cars had certain problems, but most of them have been fixed by now, so I would not specifically rule out any year.

[Planter91C2]

why would anyone want to drive a 911 in the snow? you are supposed to store them for the winter.

[JavaBrewer]

Winter? Snow? Storage?

rdking, sounds like you're looking for a Cayenne. Wait about 2 years and the 03's should have depreciated enough so that your $30K will get you a nice one

The only problem area with a 911 might be the baby seat - the 911 rear seats won't accomodate a rear facing seat easily. Do a search here for baby seats and see what you drum up. These cars are difficult to drive fast unless you know what you're doing and have some DE time. I suck as a driver so I drive within my means and enjoy the hell out of my 911. Good luck.

[smoak]

I saw a Porsche car seat in a 993TT at my wrench's shop and it fit fine. I would find a couple of people in your area that work on Porsche's and see if they have any cars of their customers that are for sale. You can also chat them up about differences in years etc. I will tell you this, I drive my '88 cab daily and am really dissapointed with the AC and wish I would have known that this problem was really expensive to try and correct. the AC situation was better in the 964 and much better by the 993's. This is just an example of one issue that changed over the model years, not that this really matters to you? There are other things that are likely more important and those issues can be different for model years, so keep asking questions.

[MonkeyBoy]

My needs were the same as yours. I bought my 90 C4 cab 3 years ago when my daughter was 3 months old. I used a Britax Handle With Care seat in the back rear facing until she was too big (6 months). Then there was a 6 month period where she had to be rear facing in a large seat, so she didn't get to ride in the car. At about a year, I used a Cosco Alpha Omega seat in the back without the base, and that worked pretty well - although the passenger seat had to be moved pretty far forward.

The C4 was the best car I've driven in the snow. It was my daily ride and drove it like I stole it most of the time. My wife also had no problem driving it, and there were several times when I'm convinced that the AWD saved us from an accident.

The value of the 964 seems to have dropped a bit - everyone seems to want a 993. I took $27K for mine. It was in decent shape but had a torn roof and was a theft recovery with an ugly carfax. I bet you can do better pricewise than the guy who bought mine if you hunt around.

[rdking]

First, thanks for all your responses! Second what are the differneces between the 964 and the 993? anything material? Would a 1993 C4 be the same as a modern c4 or has there been a change since 1993? Would a 1990 - 1995 still have the wing that raises up as the car hits 50mph? Shallow I know but I dig that.....

[Fritz]

Your budget is great for an early 90's car.

Just a couple of days ago there was a 92 C4 in Houston with buy me now price of 25,500. The car had less than 30k miles and was unusual (which I think is a plus) special order color.

The Auction ended but I still have the link if you want and you can contact the seller.

Good luck.