[Don Plumley]

Welcome.

First, a 89-94 Carrera is often called a 964. There are a few well-documented issues with that era car (specifically 89-91), but given the age and with a thorough PPI, these should have been resolved. More on that later.*

C4 is very well regarded as a snow car. C2 works reasonably good too as the weight is biased over the drive wheels (that's why they make outstanding race cars). Shifting is shifting - it's a relatively heavy hydraulically operated clutch (not like an Asian econobox) with a very good gearbox. Call it solid, positive, etc. You either like to shift or you don't, so I don't know what you call tiresome. Personally, I'm not too keen on driving one frequently in stop and go traffic.

Dependable - yes. Low on maintenance costs - that's relative to car age, your use and what you call low. Compared to a Honda, it would be outrageous in both frequency and expense. Compared to a Ferrari, it's a Honda.

To be clear, we are talking about a 17 year old car. Stuff wears out. Many will have more than 100K miles. Some examples are well-cared for with meticulous routine maintenance by the prior owners. Others from that era (in fact, many) were driven hard and put down wet. They are aging poorly.

If you choose your car poorly, you are rolling the dice on what can be one of the most expensive cars made. Choose smartly, and you'll join a group of people that have found them to be wonderful cars with great engineering, performance and heart.

You'll need to find a good independent mechanic to perform a thorough PPI. Stay away from the dealers on a car this old. Try not to buy one off eBay or a used car lot. Find one from an owner that took care of her and supplies you with the records that validates what's been done.

My $0.02...


*Issues with early 964s: Leaking cylinder head/case gasket (it was fixed, or it leaks or it doesn't by now); dual mass flywheel (commonly replaced at first clutch job); distributor belt vent (typically added).