Let’s take a moment to spend some time with the unloved. Porsche’s 996, the first of the water-cooled 911s, remains one of the least valuable, appreciated, respected – basically just pick your adjective – variants of the 911. There are good and bad reasons for that, but we are at the point now where a buyer looking for an entry-level 911 may be best suited by finding a 996 that is in good shape and using that to see what all the fuss is about. The example here is a beautiful Cobalt Blue Metallic 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe, located in California, with 82,400 miles on it. 2002 saw a number of changes to the 996 that would benefit this car: displacement was increased from 3.4 liters to 3.6 liters, along with a corresponding bump in horsepower and torque. The model also received a minor face lift to help quiet the uproar over what many considered a particularly ugly 911, and, specific to this car, the Carrera 4S was released allowing buyers to experience the wide-body glory of the Turbo, complete with upgraded suspension and brakes, while still making use of a lower-strain naturally-aspirated engine.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe on eBay
Year: 2003
Model: 911 C4S
Engine: 3.6 liter flat-6
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 82,400 mi
Price: Buy it Now $27,990
2003 Porsche 911 996 Carrera 4S Coupe
Fresh Clutch, IMS Bearing, and Flywheel
Mostly 1-Owner Southern California Car
Stock #0600VIN # WP0AA29913S621304
82,400 Original MilesUpdated IMS Bearing/New Clutch and Flywheel
Cobalt Blue Metallic (L3C8) on Graphite Grey Full Leather (CZ)
6-Speed ManualClean and Clear California Title
2-Owner Southern California Car (1 Owner Since 2003)
AutoCheck Score of 96 out of 100
By 2003, the Porsche 996 Carrera was completely refined and widely known as the more reliable model year. Furthermore, many of the automotive journalists touted the 996 C4S as one of the most drivable Porsches ever built.
This Porsche was sold new on December 9th, 2002 by the dealer in San Diego, CA (formerly Pioneer Porsche). The first owner had the car for less than a year when he sold it to the current owner with around 12,000 miles. The current owner has been driving Porsches for over 20-years. She is enthusiastic about this C4S and was committed to giving it the proper care. Since she used it as her primary car for commuting, no service was ever over-looked.
As long as she had Porsches, she serviced them at the world famous Andial. It was there she met the shop manager, Dwain Dement. When Dwain left Andial to open Vision Motorsports, she followed him. Vision Motorsports is one of the premier independent Porsche repair centers in Southern California specializing in the water-cooled Porsches. This 911 has to been one of the best mechanically maintained cars I’ve ever seen. Everything that could possibly need attention has been repaired or replaced. The list over the last 11-years is extensive. We have all the receipts of the work. Significant/recent services include:
IMS bearing upgrade
New clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, throw out bearing
New front differential
3M clear bra
New front brake pads and rotors
New starter
New water pump, water hoses and coolant tank
Replace oil separator
Replace motor mounts
New ground cable
Replace front differential
New wheel bearings
Major service/spark plugs (twice already)
All in all, the receipts total over $23,000.
Considering the age and miles, this Porsche is in good condition. The paint is showing some minor wear from normal use. The clear bra has certainly help protect it. The Autocheck report is clean with no accidents. The front tires have over half-life left and the front brakes/rotors are brand new. The rear tires will need to be replaced soon and the rear brakes are at about a third life. The interior is in decent condition. The dash is straight with no cracks. The carpet, door panels, and headliner look great. The driver seat shows the most amount of wear with heavy use on the exit bolster (small hole…see pics). As you can imagine, everything works great including the A/C, which blows cold.
Many of these older Porsches (whether it is due to miles or age) start to need some serious repairs that can add up quickly. On the other hand, this C4S has had nearly every imaginable repair taken care of. I doubt there are many with this kind of maintenance history.
This Porsche comes with all the books/owner’s manuals, nearly all service records from new, tool kit, spare tire, jack, car cover, and extra key.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paul at 714-335-4911 or paul@autokennel.com
For tons of pictures, go to: http://www.AutoKennel.com
During a conversation with a friend last week, he asked: what 911 could still be had for $20K to $25K? The immediate answer was a 996. We also discussed the possibility of finding a 911SC for that sort of money, though with regard to those he may have to act soon since prices continue to rise. But the 996 is the easier choice as evidenced by the example here. Sure it comes in at slightly above the given range, but it’s a C4S rather than standard Carrera and there’s certainly a chance this could be negotiated closer to $25K. I think now, given that same conversation, I’d simply recommend a good 996, drive it for a little while, see how you like the experience, and if he’s hooked then find a nice air-cooled model to enjoy with whatever budget is available. As one’s first foray into the brand, these are actually pretty hard to beat.
-Rob
Gray interior….the ghastly gray interior….sigh.
Too bad the insurance for my age group and record far surpasses the cost of ownership… Otherwise I would snatch this up in a heartbeat.
this and 996 turbos are crazy amount of car for the money
These are great driving cars.
I like this one. Nice colors, nice wheels, decent miles.
New clutch and IMS retrofit is big.
Seems like it’s priced about $5k to high?
I’m definitely considering 996’s for my next car. The few I’ve driven are certainly very nice cars, especially considering how dated the 964/993 can be in comparison. Then again, they lose some of that old world charm as well. But considering 993’s are way out of my range and 964’s have suddenly jumped the shark as well, the 996 appears to be an excellent value proposition when considering something like a similar era M car.
dc
Horrible gray, lovely blue. Further horrible combo.
I had to look it up, that grey is just too bothersome, especially with that awesome exterior – as has been pointed out. They had 3 different grey shades available that year! Only one grey on grey on grey this year (2014), and it’s darker than the one featured here. And 2 grey + other 2 tone combos as factory options for 2014 too…so at least the grey is now less austere and German blah these days.
Plus if you got this at a good price you could buy the interior out of a wrecked one and swap it…just saying. 😉
Thats a pretty high price on a car like that. They’re great perfomance bargains. The turbos are cheap too and a huge amount of car for the money. If you’re looking for a daily driver 911 the 996’s are cheap and fun. Dont ever expect them to be worth much when its time to sell. They made too many and they’re unloved.
Actually, that grey is Charcoal Grey which is the dark of the greys. The photos just make it look light. it is much darker in person.
Also, besides IMS retrofit, this owner recently invested over $10k. She did the AOS (air to oil sep), front differential, new flywheel, major service ($1,100 for these cars), new front brakes/rotors, etc, new cooling system including water pump. She basically went through the whole car and did all the pesky services these cars need once they hit 50k miles.