In my opinion, in terms of dollar for dollar value, there is no better Porsche 911 than the 996 Carrera 4S. It has all the looks of the 996 Turbo, but for about half the price. In terms of reliability, as long as you take care of the boogie man IMS bearing, these cars are solid. Inside, you can go as tame or as crazy as you want, as the “special requests” just started to gain traction with the rise of the interior in the early 2000s. Today’s car, a 2002 up for sale in Miami, is just about perfect in terms of the whole package. Arctic Silver over black, full carbon fiber trim, and some H&R lowering springs to get rid of the pesky wheel gap. Sign me up.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S on eBay
Year: 2002
Model: 911 Carrera 4S
VIN: WP0AA299X2S621624
Engine: 3.6 liter flat-6
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 87,200 mi
Location: Miami, Florida
Price: Buy It Now $28,500
The C4S is one of the most desirable 996 models as it features the wide-body, brakes & suspension from the Turbo. This particular example is finished in Arctic Silver over black leather interior. The paint presents very well for the age / mileage and has a paint protection film (PPF) over the front end. The interior has carbon fiber on almost every possible panel offered by Porsche and it is in great shape showing no cracks, discoloring or fading.
This 996 sports H&R suspension and runs / drives excellent. The engine is all stock with no modification and makes plenty of power. The transmission has a short shifter which feels tight and the clutch engages with no slippage. This car would make an excellent daily driver or weekend toy!
I’m wearing surprised how great this car look for 87,000 miles. By now, these cars have lived a hard life and the interiors are usually well worn. Even more, the carbon fiber trim has been aging well as most of them I see are cracked beyond belief from stress over the years. How this one escaped unharmed in beyond me. No mention of the IMS bearing being done, so probably should keep that in the back of your mind when it comes to doing the clutch, but I can’t find really anything wrong with this one. Well, I’d like a factory head unit, but that doesn’t take long to remedy.
The price of $28,500 is right on the money I believe. The super rare color combos with low miles do bring a premium, but a silver one in above average condition with some miles on it is a high-20s car all day. I don’t think this one is going to last very long at all because of how nice it is, and if I was in the market for a really nice 996 of any guise, this is where I’d be.
– Andrew
100% agree! I’m pretty surprised these don’t hold a greater premium because they do look the business compared to a standard 996 body. The last 4-5 that closed on BaT are right in line with this pricing on this one.
dc
So you get the stellar looks of the 996, with none of the Turbo performance and also have the ever-present fear of engine failure? Sounds wonderful. Where do I sign?
The likelihood of the IMS failure at this stage is remote, of course, you should inspect. The Turbo performance is far more than the average guy can handle. Exactly how much Porsche do you think you can buy these days for under $30k?
” Exactly how much Porsche do you think you can buy these days for under $30k?”, quite a bit actually. BAT sees “premium priced or valued cars”. I just bought an 07 997, 80k miles, blue on Cork, very nice driver for $25K (needed a trans mount bushing and coolant reservoir) . Values are falling at the moment. If you’re handy and can do modest engine compartment and drive line work, you could be looking at teens. A very knowledgeable hobbyist I share space with got a 997 C4 cab, red on cork, basically needed a block swap at the end of the day, otherwise a solid example, 15K plus his time and engine swap, less than 10K including all the “while you’re in there” bits.
@ace10 You can spend twice as much and get the 996 Turbo, and still have the fear of the coolant pipes blowing apart, which is just as big a job as an IMS repair.
First google the vin to this and see what you get. You wont like what you find!
Secondly there are turbos out there with the pipes welded and reasonable miles for under $45k so its not twice the money.
There are also turbos between $33k-38k that need them welded WHEN they burst. If the IMS goes you’ll need an extra $15k-$20k for the repair.
This is actually a very nice 996 condition wise, but I’d rather just spend a few thousand more and get a 997.1. Especially with close to 90k miles on the clock.