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Decisions Decisions

Chigster

Well-known member
Joined
14 Jan 2016
Messages
171
Clearly a First World Problem here ...

I have a 2003 Targa which is great (143K miles, original engine, no issues). But roof has just stopped working so going to need a circa 2k fix. With the miles it has, and despite being a one previous owner car and full history (all OPC) I do not see it holding value in the long term. Plus the targa roof noise is starting to do my head in.

I have an option to upgrade to a 996 C4S with a Hartech rebuild and low miles - looks well looked after although it won't have the 3 files worth of documents and receipts that I have with the Targa. Won't get much for the Targa methinks so looking at close to a 15K outlay.

For an extra 5K I could get a higher mileage (90K) Gen 2 997 C2S PDK (but with an engine rebuild from Porsche)

For another 5K on top of that I could get a more average mileage (50-60K) 997 C2 gen 2 (not an S) although that would be really breaking the bank.

I only get to drive on weekends and so averaging around 2-3K miles a year. Car will live outside and will not be stored for the winter. I have 2 young kids who are quite indiscreet when it comes to dirty shoes, drawing names on dusty paintwork and fiddling with things generally.

My head tells me to stick with the Targa and stop fantasizing. My heart tells me to get the C4S because its beautiful and (may) appreciate. My man bits tell me to get the higher mileage 997pdk because its a better car overall, you only live once and you buy to drive not to invest.

If I buy any of these SWMBO will probably lop my man bits off anyway.

What would you do???
 
I would guess a £2k fix for the roof to be an investigative estimate but you might be surprised that it could be something simple to fix and there have been a few threads on here that have fixed what they thought was terminal, do a search and see if any symptoms match. Do you lube the roof occasionally as this will quieten it down a lot and put less strain on the working parts.

What is the diagnosis on the roof, what has broke?
 
Cables gone. Motors are simply clunking with no movement after around 3 inches.
 
Thanks Infra - I've seen that and its not something I'd attempt myself.
But it does give me a reason/justification to upgrade ... without having a mild panic attack every time I feel like its smoking or tapping ...

So back to the original post ...
 
The '6 C4S sounds like a good option.

What's more important the history files that sit in a drawer or the actual car you drive. :wink:

Nice decision to be making though. :thumb:
 
996 C4S sounds great to me, but really you should test-drive that and the 997.2 and see which floats your boat the most.
 
C4S are on the way up and are going to be a future classic.

same for the targa...why? they are very low in supply and lots of them came with good specs

as folks have said try the C4S but its not going to be night and day different to your targa so see how you get on.

if your targa is 2wd then its prob carrying the same weight as the C4S so won't be much in it.
 
I'd buy the 997.2 PDK, really really superb to drive, modern enough.

As with all of the generations of Porsche, there is much being fettled underneath that most don't take into account, for example the PSM is many generations newer (14 I think) in my 997.2 C4S compared to our 996 C2.

That said I bought our 996 on a whim for the wife mainly (tlo avloid her driving mine) having had my 997 almost a year at that point and its remarkably good, far better than it should be for its years and mileage but mine is just awesome, a worthy upgrade.
 
If you're paying £15k on top of your targa then I don't reckon it's going up much more - these have had their big rise already.

I'd get the 997.2 pdk for 5k more. But personally I don't like paying a premium for low miles as it means then you can't use them.

Either way sod the investment tho. Neither of those will go down I reckon so you won't lose money. But you won't make any either
 
My neighbour has a 997.2 PDK on over 100k and it's been reliable. I'd go for that. Think the 997.2 is a sweet spot. Reliable engines (more so than 997.1), PDK option and small body compared to 991. Although if you can add a bit more a low mile manual 997.2S will be a classic in years to come!
 

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