Carrera 4 ?????

[Brian993]

I am going to look at a 1991 Carrera 4 cabriolet with 87K miles.

Is there any reason not to buy a Carrera 4?

[Oracle]

Brian,
I have seent this question posted in Rennlist. Maybe you can find something interesting there.

My 2 cents..
-J

[umfan866]

Yes they say don't buy a 90-92 carrera, only the 93 due to the gasket seal issues. If you insist on buying one, make sure the seal issue has been addressed. BTW that body style (mid-90-1993 is called a 964). Search for 964 and seal either here or Rennlist.

[umfan866]

Ok you should read the Feb 2007 issue of Excellence magazine,
it should be in bookstores now. on page 142 of the 964/993 buyers
guide..."in 89-91 Porsche did not use head gaskets and are susceptible to head-to-cylinder leakage. Only a small percentage leaked, and Porshe updated any that leaked that were wet to the touch, but not if they showed signs of leakage in the past" This is also what my mechanic said: if you are going to buy a 964, buy a 1993.

[livi]

Provided the well known quirks have been sorted (and I believe most have by now), it should be a very nice car. The extra security and stability of the four wheel drive combined with the slightly more modern touch and a pretty good gear box, while still retaining the original shape and feel of the 911.

Just my uninitiated 0.02 cents of course..

[cnavarro]

I purchased a 91 c4 cab just recently and I have been very pleased. The only problem I had was the front diff began to leak after switching out the fluid to fresh syn, which facilitated new seals. The engine does leak, again only after switching to syn, but the leak and consumption is only about 1/2 to 2/3rds qt in well over 1500mi or more. Mine had less than 47k on the clock when purchased and is well near 50k since this september. As with any older Porsche, expect to spend $2000-2500/yr on routine and preventative maintainence. In my case that included the new front diff seals, all new belts (including dissy belt), oil change, tranny fluid change, new o2 sensor, new tires, and some upgrades - steve w chip and strut bar. Car has been an excellent daily driver with poor road conditions - ice, snow, etc, and drives great. As in one of the articles in the this months Excellence says, get the newest Porsche you can afford. I chose a very low mileage cream-puff early 964, with full records that had been serviced and any repairs already done (that were known about) and paid a premium for it. Glad to see I was still within the valuations shown in Excellence this month :-)

[cnavarro]

And for the record, as long as the engine has good leakdown and compression numbers, I could care less if it has had the cylinder gasket addressed... it's more of a leak when cold, aka marking it's territory leak, which is what God invented oil dry or pig mats for :-) It will just be an excuse to build yourself a 3.8 in a few years!

[Thomas Owen]

Just to clarify a few inaccurate statements above -

The C4 was first offered in 1989, not 1990
The 'head seal' issue was resolved for the '92 model year, not '93

Find a car you like and have it thoroughly inspected with these issues in mind - they will have either been addressed, not be a factor, or be very obvious!

Good luck -