I thought I too would offer a perspective as I have some experience with the cars mentioned here.

I bought an M4 for my wife a couple of months ago and drive it on a weekly basis.
I just traded in my '14 C2S for a '15 TTS.

Here are my thoughts.

M4 - This car has good low end torque and if you like that low end boost with little effort, this is a great feeling. it holds the road well, but I haven't pushed it super hard. I do find that the steering feel and feedback to be lacking. Sort of like playing a video game. Rear seat room is significantly better as I have 2 tweens that much prefer to ride in the m4. I find the seat bottom side bolsters in the M4 to be very uncomfortable. Lastly, the car does garner quite a bit of attention from "normal" people. My wife has been approached quite a few times to see the car, and received many comments....perhaps on par with what I receive for the porsche.

C2S- Many people here have this vehicle or experience with it, so I will keep my comments to just comparisons with the other 2. I find the C2S to be much more of a slingshot experience when accelerating due to the much higher torque in higher rpm range. Basically, you stomp it, it spools up to 4k and zoom. Lots of fun to drive in sport plus and pse sounds great. Both are must haves. Car is very fast and the road "feel" is exceptional. This car is FUN to drive...but does not have the low end torque that either of the other forced induction options discussed here have and therefore may feel underpowered when compared in this light. (And before all the porsche-o-philes shoot me for the comment, the c2s is plenty fast, just a different acceleration experience compared to m4 or tts)

TTS - Just picked it up yesterday and have less than 100 miles on it. I will just say it has a similar low end torque feel as the m4 and is very fast. Holds the road incredibly well as one might expect.

For anyone else that is considering the M4 or has questions, feel free to ask away. We really enjoy the car and for how my wife drives, it is the perfect car for her.

 

I'm originally from southern California, I live in Washington (NE of Portland), but my business is still in socal.

It took one visit at Barrier Porsche (now called Bellevue Porsche) with my Cayenne to decide I never want to deal with them again. I travel to socal about once a month on business. There are many more dealers there than in the NW. Because of that, they're more willing to earn your business. If you're considering socal, I'd visit Rusnak in Pasadena over Newport Porsche.

As STG991 mentioned, it took him a year to find the right car. If you're open to buying your car out-of-state the higher discount will help offset the slightly higher sales tax in WA.

Good luck, the 911 is a great car no matter what trim you choose.

 

Thank goodness someone else agrees about Bellevue Porsche. They have zero interest in selling cars and treated me like crap. I also travel on business several times a month to LA and SF. Beverly Hills Porsche is great, but I will try Rusnak for sure.

Regarding the M4. I have owned M cars in the past and loved them. I love a lot about the new M4, but it just does not wow me. I am buying this car to be a fun weekend car only!

My problem now is I am confused. All this talk about the S caused me to open the door to CPO and wait for the right car with low miles. I am just torn with buying a new base that's two years newer. I mean 350 HP is still fast, right? Lol.

 

In your situation I vote for a CPO C2S or C4S instead of going for a new base.
Not only will you appreciate and enjoy the higher horsepower, you will benefit from the longer warranty coverage that CPO offers. And there weren't any major design differences in the last two years....

 

great 2012.5 Black/Black 991 for sale in the marketplace. It's only been posted for a couple of days. Good luck in your search for your first Porsche. They really are a big step up from BMW and Corvette.

 

No design differences just some high end options like LED lights and may be rear view camera is useful but I presume when you get base carerra OP is likely not going to opt for these. Besides these, I'm not sure if anything big changed since 2012.5 (other than perhaps reliability improvements).

 

I was torn between S and non S and actually ordered a non S. As I was waiting I was regretting my decision and the dealer I ordered from had the exact same colors with just a couple minor differences in a 4S. It was $20,000 more but as I was waiting I realized that I would regret not getting the S and finally my wife told me to shut and get the 4S. I am so glad. Not for the 50 hp but I really think I would have always wished for the better car. If they would have had anything like mine used I would have gone that way but I had to have the espresso/cognac interior so had to either wait till someone sold or bought new. With the number of used ones coming in and especially if you are not as picky as I was you should be able to find a great slightly used one instead of the base

I know now I would be looking for an S now if I had bought a base model. So it is saving me more than the extra I spent. At least that is what I tell my wife.

 

Life is short, do what makes you happy. There are no guarantees on how long any of us will walk this earth. A friend of mine was murdered Sunday, I can't imagine $20k is going to change your lifestyle if your were prepared to spend 100k +.

Frank C.

 

Agree. Sorry to hear the news.

 

2 things...stay away from Newport Beach. They are horrible to deal with!!!

And, the 2012.5 that I own with 20k miles is totally trouble free, save for a couple recalls. I wouldn't hesitate to look at that year either.

 

To echo Seahawk12's feeling about Bellevue Porsche, Steve I 100% agree with you about Newport Porsche. For the volume of vehicles and area they're in, I'd expect MUCH better service.

The few times I've been in there it almost feels as if the dealer staff is the customer and I'm the one who's supposed to service them.