Year round C4 in Michigan?

[lendaddy]

Hey folks, I'm considering selling my Lexus LX570 and getting back into the 911 game. I don't need a multi-passenger truckasaurus anymore. The twist is I would want to drive the 911 (c4 obviously) all year round in Michigan, snow and all. Car would have to be a coupe and a manual after that I don't care too much about mileage or minor/moderate flaws... this is more about the everyday smiles than cars and coffee. Assuming I'm willing to fly anywhere and drive it home, what can I expect to pay for a "good deal" on a fairly solid example? Ballpark stuff is fine, I'm spit-balling at this point. I am perfectly fine with wrenching on anything the better side of engine rebuild. Thanks all,

[stevej37]

^^^ No fear of the 4 months of road salt?

[onewhippedpuppy]

I assume you’re talking 996 C4? Seems like most of the higher mileage driver quality 911 coupes are $25-30k, and upwards from there. You can get a cab for less but I wouldn’t, especially for a daily driver in MI. I had several 996 C2s that I used for daily drivers, with a good set of winter tires they were unstoppable until they started to bottom out. A C4 would be a blast in the snow.

[rfuerst911sc]

I own a 996 C4 it's a great car . But I don't drive it in rain or snow . Biggest concerns I would have is road salt and ground clearance .

[oldE]

Do it. Aren't the bodies galvanized? I daily drove my 924s back in the day and the only time I had any regrets was a time when it started snowing on the way back to the office, I took a secondary road which hadn't been plowed and a big truck caught up with me. I made it through because of the dedicated snow tires, but the sound of the undertray breaking the drifts was a bit unsettling.
Ground clearance was the only issue.

[rfuerst911sc]

They are galvanized but you have a lot of aluminum suspension pieces , transmission housing and engine block that the salts attacks . It's just something to be aware of .

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ No fear of the 4 months of road salt?

No, I have a membership to a high end wash right near my house so I go at least twice a day during the salting weeks. Even still they really aren't rust prone and I'm not looking for a "perfect" car anyway.

[onewhippedpuppy]

While the salt concerns are warranted, it’s the same issue with any car. So unless you buy a disposable beater, it’s somewhat a moot point. The newer Porsches are very well protected against rust, as good as any other modern car.

Didn’t the C4 have a slightly higher ground clearance than the C2? You could always go full safari build!

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I assume you’re talking 996 C4? Seems like most of the higher mileage driver quality 911 coupes are $25-30k, and upwards from there. You can get a cab for less but I wouldn’t, especially for a daily driver in MI. I had several 996 C2s that I used for daily drivers, with a good set of winter tires they were unstoppable until they started to bottom out. A C4 would be a blast in the snow.

Yes, 996 C4 seems to be the most likely but I've seen some 997s in the 20's. I would be fine with something with crazy high miles so long as the engine tests out healthy.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I own a 996 C4 it's a great car . But I don't drive it in rain or snow . Biggest concerns I would have is road salt and ground clearance .

Ground clearance is definitely my biggest concern, though videos I've found show they "plow" pretty well with snow tires.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by oldE

Do it. Aren't the bodies galvanized? I daily drove my 924s back in the day and the only time I had any regrets was a time when it started snowing on the way back to the office, I took a secondary road which hadn't been plowed and a big truck caught up with me. I made it through because of the dedicated snow tires, but the sound of the undertray breaking the drifts was a bit unsettling.
Ground clearance was the only issue.

Thanks, I used to daily my Audi TT coupe year round and it was impressive even in the deeper stuff. I never got stuck and truly did daily it in the winter with a 40 mile commute.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

They are galvanized but you have a lot of aluminum suspension pieces , transmission housing and engine block that the salts attacks . It's just something to be aware of .

Good point on the aluminum issue but that's why I wash all the time in the winter. My current vehicles have held up great using this approach.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I only casually look because I’m not in the market, but I don’t see much under $25k. There’s always good deals to be had if you search, especially if you don’t care about super high miles and maybe a little rough around the edges. Last year I do recall a 996 with over 200k that was something like $16k, but that’s getting a little high unless a lot has been done.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

No, I have a membership to a high end wash right near my house so I go at least twice a day during the salting weeks. Even still they really aren't rust prone and I'm not looking for a "perfect" car anyway.

This is exactly what I do. But you guys get way more snow and use more salt.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

While the salt concerns are warranted, it’s the same issue with any car. So unless you buy a disposable beater, it’s somewhat a moot point. The newer Porsches are very well protected against rust, as good as any other modern car.

Didn’t the C4 have a slightly higher ground clearance than the C2? You could always go full safari build!

I've seen some of the safari builds and they are cool but not what I'm looking for. The years I'm looking at don't appear to have more ground clearance but I'm willing to deal with that based on my past experience with the TT.

[OK-944]

My 87na 944 is an absolute blast in the winter - with a hats off to Blizzak tires!

With a galvanized body and intact factory undercoating - I make sure to slather the other "exposed" (not undercoated) bits with Fluid Film in the early fall, after a thorough cleaning. Then I'll drive on some dusty roads to give the FF a good coating, and I'm good to go for the following winter.

A rather counter-intuitive aspect of the above process is that, while I try to give the car at least one hand wash per month over the winter (so long as the temps are above freezing - kind of rare this winter!)...I avoid washing the undercarriage - as FF will tend to wash off...at least with the pressure washers typically available at most car wash places.

Do keep in mind that this scenario is not perfect - and that I can count on spending a bit of time in late spring (after roads stop being salted), after the first thorough chassis cleaning...doing a bit of surface rust removal.

Bottom line? I'm 71, and simply do not want to lose whatever time I have left to drive this car - and the car needs to be driven!

[Crowbob]

Guy at work used to say rich people driving very expensive sports cars only in the summer are pikers compared to the even richer guys driving them in winter because they REALLY have money to burn.

My response was that the money is irrelevant. The big difference is the insanity factor. Especially in Michigan where it seems like the car companies are subsidizing the salt mines.

[911boost]

There’s a guy here in northern CO that daily drives his McLaren, so I say do it!! Doug at Switchcars in Ohio can easily find you a 997 C4 or 996.

[lendaddy]

Thanks folks, if anyone hears of a high mileage or otherwise imperfect C4 coupe (with at least a healthy engine) please let me know. I'm willing to fly anywhere so location doesn't really matter. I'm unapologetically looking for a deal so Bring a Trailer is off the table

[greglepore]

I'd be concerned about high centering.
Used Cayenne? First gen is half the cost of C4, and pretty darn fun for a suv. I was skeptical until I bought a GTS