Scrolling on Auto-Trader at Work
It was a miserable grey day in the City back in March 2024, and I was in the office. As many of you already know, my day job is working in Management Consulting, and at the time I was working for a well known luxury British automotive brand. However, I’ve always had a soft spot for Porsche, and like many of you I’m sure, I’m always scrolling through Auto-Trader!
Considering an E46 M3
For years I’d been looking at E46 M3s for my first “proper” car. I’ve been obsessed with the sound of the iconic S54 engine ever since my Dad had one back in the mid 2000s, and to this day we both wish he never sold it. In many people’s eyes, including mine, it’s gone on to earn the reputation of peak M3 and it’s still such a well proportioned, pretty shape. Also, who doesn’t love those grey M dials with the light up rev counter to indicate progress in the engine warm-up cycle?! My Dad’s was a 54 plate with the all important manual gearbox, finished in carbon black (which had a stunning deep blue metallic finish in certain lights) with the red leather interior, which I still think is the best spec for that car. However, finding good examples of the E46 M3 is now a real challenge, with many high mileage, modified and poorly maintained. So I started to look at my other “affordable” childhood hero, ever since my Dad’s boss at the time let me sit in his and rev the engine when I was about 10 years old, the Porsche 996 911 Carrera 4S…
The Porsche 996 Generation
The 996 has always been a controversial 911. It represented the shift from air-cooled to water-cooled, and the styling was met with mixed reviews, with many people hating on the “fried egg” highlights of the first gen model. There is also a lot of scaremongering when it comes to “common” faults with the 996 engine, namely bore scoring and IMS failures. However, ask any Porsche specialist, the proportion of cars impacted by these issues was incredibly small and regular servicing, oil changes and respecting engine warm up cycles was often enough to avoid encountering them.
Nevertheless, the styling and perceived unreliability meant prices for 996s were (and still are relatively speaking to other 911 generations) on the floor. So it represented an affordable route into the brand as a 29 year old at the time, and for me, if you’re looking at 996s (and are not in the league for a GT3), then the Carrera 4S is the sweet-spot. You get the Turbo looks with the wider body and turbo twist wheels, but paired with arguably one of the best sounding and raspiest engine notes of any 911 with the naturally aspirated 3.6 litre flat six, as long as you’ve got the all important Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE) factory option. Moreover, whilst I’d be hard pushed to call it an investment, I was and am still convinced values of the C4S will trickle upwards as more people start to appreciate what is arguably the best looking rear of any 911, so I see it as a fairly safe place to put my money.
Finding the Perfect Example
Much like the E46 M3s however, it’s not easy to find mint examples of the 996 C4S, but that morning in London one popped up on Auto-Trader, and best of all it was listed by the reputable Porsche specialist, Philip Raby, which handily is based in Chichester, less than an hour from me in Hove.
It was the perfect spec. Black on black, manual, sports seats and with the all important PSE. It had also been fastidiously maintained, with only 58k miles on the clock (which was less than 3k miles a year) and the all important, major work (IMS, RMS etc.) done. I immediately walked over to the corner of the office and called Philip Raby and just like that I was booked in to go and see it and take it out for a test drive the upcoming Saturday morning. I now just had to tell my Dad…
Dad Wasn’t Happy
“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve got a flat, I didn’t get nice cars until I was in my late 30’s and 40’s, you need to buy a house first! And where are you going to park it?!”
It was a challenging start! However I explained my plan to finance half of the car and that I would ask (persuade) my Grandparents to let me rid them of some of their junk in their garage to free up some space! My Dad reluctantly agreed to come with me to see the car and to test drive it, but I was absolutely not buying it…
Test Drive Day
Upon arrival at Philip Raby, there was still a glimmer of hope, as the car looked stunning and was in such great condition. The paintwork and interior plastics in particular all totally belied the fact this was a 21 year old car. The previous owner clearly took great pride in it too, as the car came with two prints of the professional photography shoot it had been part of (which are now framed and hanging in my office at home), and a copy of the official Porsche magazine it featured in. Then the test drive…
We drove down together and during the journey I thought I’d chance it and suggest the idea of co-ownership. Dad had recently sold his Jaguar XFR (another car I wish he never sold as that 5 litre supercharged V8 is legendary!) and bought a Z4 for the summer which I thought was a questionable move and a bit of a mid-life crisis! This too was met with a firm response… “No, I don’t want to sell my car, the timing is not right for me either!”
I went first and immediately fell in love with the raw, analogue experience and feeling through the steering wheel. I got out, handed over to my Dad and straight away called my mate Jack to say “I’m not sure how yet, but I’ve just got to get it!”. Then 10 minutes later my Dad arrived back from his stint behind the wheel, immediately looked at me and uttered those magical words… “we’re getting it!”
We told Philip Raby we would pop home and call them back in a few hours as there was still a few major hurdles to overcome; my Dad telling my Mum, us making sure my Grandparents would let us use their garage and that the wide hips of the turbo body would actually fit…
Convincing the Family
I have rarely seen my parents argue, but this was one of those occasions! My Dad said he would walk my Mum around to my grandparents and meet me there, hoping in that time he could explain the rationale behind the decision and calm her down! By the time they arrived, she was still fuming so I had my work cut out, but after convincing her it was a sensible investment and that it would lead to great father-son bonding time, she reluctantly accepted the idea as long as my grandparents agreed to us taking over their garage. This was an easy sell, as I just promised them it would mean I’d see them more often, and with the garage confirmed wide enough, we got back on the phone to Philip Raby and bought the car!
No Regrets
18 months on, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made and I’d also highly recommend co-ownership with someone you trust and that has the same passion and care for cars as yourself. It’s a great way to make maintenance of these sorts of cars more affordable (to do it properly it’s not cheap as you still need to service it like it’s the £75k Porsche it once was) and it also means you’re closer to being able to afford to add a second car to the collection! More on what’s being eyed up next another time…
