[Kirk]

Originally Posted by jacabean

I keep seeing turbos online for really short money . you can easily get a low mileage turbo for about 5g more than they are asking for a C4S. I did a quick reliability search and it seems like they are not afflicted with the m96 problems. They obviously have there own inherit problems. They seem minor compared to the m96 unit.

If you're interested in buying I would look at buying soon before things (the economy) turn around too much. I think last summer was the best time to buy. I personally purchased three used cars last summer as it was a GREAT buyer's market. One of those cars was a 2003 C4S. Looking at autotrader it seems that the prices on the C4S and other cars I was shopping last summer have gone back up by about 20%!

One thing to factor is continuing maintenance and repair costs. That's something you're considering, but only from the perspective of general problems with a motor platform. I personally do not lose any sleep worrying over D-chunk or IMS failures. One reason why I didn't opt for spending more to get a turbo was because when they do break they can be very expensive to fix in comparison to the naturally aspirated cars. Just look at the replacement cost of a turbo engine compared to an NA engine. Along this same thought I could have purchased a Ferrari, but I could not have afforded to fix it if it broke. I think the NA 996's are a much more affordable option long term, especially if you can work on them yourself!

Kirk