2007 Porsche 997 C4S- Meteor Grey on Black Full Leather-6-speed, Sport Exhaust, Ohlins Suspension, 100% covered in PPF, $106, 375 MSRP, insanely nice, 55k miles

If you have watched any of my buying guides you know two of my mantra’s:

• Buy the SELLER/Previous Owner
• INSPECT what you EXPECT!

In the case of this C4S you are covered in both areas! I have a great client of mine who lives just outside Raleigh, NC and we have bought and sold several cars over the years. This client is “wound a little tight”, hence him and I being sympatico car enthusiasts. His stuff is DIALED…. He recently reached out to me and told me he was making the painful choice to sell this C4S and he asked if I would sell it for him. I was hesitant to pay the $2500 freight to ship it enclosed to Seattle as Murphy’s law says I will sell it to someone on the East Coast… BUT I do NOT sell cars I have not inspected so as I recommend to all my clients, I personally went to Raleigh and inspected the car. I was 99% sure that the car would be what I expected but you know what they say when you assume….

So the executive summary: This car is truly spectacular in almost all aspects… If you want more details:

The car was sold new at Leith Porsche in Raleigh, NC and has spent its entire life in this climate ideal location. Here is how the car was ordered new:

• Meteor Grey Metallic
• Black Full Leather
• Carpet in deviated color
• Front seat centers in Alacantara
• Self-dimming mirrors
• Heated front seats
• Thicker leather steering wheel
• Sport Chrono Package Plus
• BOSE sound system
• Door entry guards in Stainless Illuminated
• Gear/Handbrake in Aluminum
• Black Mats
• Full Power Seat Package
• Sport Exhaust System
• 19” Carrera Sport wheels

Original MSRP: $106,375

In addition to the original order, the following upgrades have been added:

• Porsche Exclusive Leather 4S Center console cover
• Center console painted in Meteor Grey Metallic
• OEM clear front marker lights
• iSimple Bluetooth integrated into factory PCM w/ hardwired powered Lightning Cable
• Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers
• Elephant racing front camber plates
• 15mm front spacers, 30mm rear spacers
• 100% of the car is covered in XPEL Paint Protection Film (PPF)-Drive without worry!
• Ceramic Pro: Exterior, Interior and Wheels!

The car looks truly spectacular, literally almost ZERO exterior flaws! The car has had PPF on it since new, so it presents like a near new example. 100% original paint on the body as verified by paint meter. Between the PPF and the Ceramic coating, this would be a very easy car to live with, no worries about road debris and its clean up so easily with the coating.

The interior is likewise immaculate, with the only notable wear being some evidence of use on the driver’s side seat bolsters. I really like how this car was specified with the deviated carpets, alacantara seat centers, full leather, painted console, and the thicker leather steering wheel. Just a great place to spend some time DRIVING!

Now lest you think my client just worried about the aesthetics, well he is fastidious on everything. The car has been exclusively serviced at Leith Porsche since new and it comes with a stack of service records documenting everything that has ever happened to it. It has been serviced WELL above factory standards. I would be happy to walk any prospective buyer thru the full history but suffice it to say it has been well loved.

Now let’s not forget how this car DRIVES… First off the factory Sport Exhaust on the 997 era cars is SO good! The modern Porsche Sport Exhaust seems to rely on software manipulation to create pops and cracks, but these older systems seem to have relied on hundreds of hours of engineering time. They sound authentically brilliant, unleashing that Flat-Six soundtrack yet never droning nor being obnoxious. Love it! Couple that wonderful sound with the Ohlins suspension and you realize one big miss on the 997 cars was the factory suspension tuning. While these cars did come with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) I find the standard setting to be underdamped and the Sport mode to mistake “crazy stiff” for good. Maybe on German roads, but here in the US I find that mode nearly unusable. The Ohlins manage to offer factory like ride quality yet reduce body roll, pitch/dive yet communicate well. I find I can drive much more aggressively yet well within the capabilities of the platform, bravo! Not to mention the ride height and wheel fitment coupled with the 4S wide rear hips and you have near aesthetic perfection!

The car comes complete with both original keys, all the original books/manuals, complete service history, tool kit and more.

Now sadly my clients OCD did bite him in the a%$… While on the UNC campus an employee rolled into the rear bumper. On initial inspection he didn’t see any damage but wanted to be 100% certain so he took the car to Leith Porsche to have it inspected. They removed the rear bumper cover and notated they found no damage. Upon close inspection he did notice two small marks ~1” in size in the cover, but he wanted it perfect so he had the cover refinished. Sadly that got sent to Carfax as a “rear end collision”, ugh! I am happy to send all the photos both with the cover on/off as well as Leith’s report showing no damage found when they removed the cover.

So if you are shopping for a 997, you could certainly find one cheaper… but could you find one better? I am not so sure about that….