I have driven BMW's for the last 6 years. I currently have a 2002 540i 6spd and a 1996 840ci. I researched BMW's for 2 years prior to being able to own/afford them and knew a whole lot about them before I started buying them. I want to trade my 8-series on a 911 (996) but I do not know all that much about them. Little things such as knowing if a certain car has sport/premium/comfort packages by looking at the steering wheel/head unit/shifter. Does the 3 or 4 spoke steering wheel on a 911 denote sport package as on BMW's or different wheels for different years? Sport seats? Premium sound? If there is anything that can be told about the car by looking at it, can someone please post these tells? I hate to sound ignorant about these things, but I have admired the 911 for some time, but have never done research on them. I appreciate any help.

Also, are there any problems with 99's as the first 996's that should be watched out for? Any reason to purchase '00 - '01 over a '99?

By the way, I am selling a 1996 BMW 840ci with only 18,650 miles on it. BLK/BLK absolute mint condition inside and out. If anyone is interested, please message me. Thanks again for any help.

 

I don't know too much about them myself, but you asked about buying an early year. I do know this much: while the 1999-2004 models are all 996 chassis, the 2002-2004 models have several differences from the 1999-2001 model, including 20hp more.

 

In 2002 the Carrera got the 3.6L engine. In 2000, the 3.4 got 4 extra horses from 296 to 300. What else changed after the 2000 year?