Purchase advice please
After many years of waiting, the time is right to purchase a 911. I have been following this forum for a number of months now, trying to gather as much information on the current state of affairs with Porsche and their cars. Any now it is time to ask for some advice on a purchase decision.
First off a couple of comments, this is a great forum. Most opinions are thoughtful and interesting. RC, your insight into Porsche is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you for taking the time, energy and resources to make this forum a reality.
First some background, I live in Montreal (Canada), which means we have serious winters from December until the end of March. We get lots of snow, some say more than any other large city(3.5M+ people) on the planet. We also get nights that are -30C.
This would suggest that the 911 should be parked for the winter, but I would really prefer to drive a car all year round. Not on the worst of days, the SUV can handle that, but on the nice winter days, why not? Living in the country, there is always snow and ice on the roads until April. This is a fact of life here.
My personal preference in a 911 has always been the turbo. From the first one I saw in '76 until now, it has always been the car of desire. I have been riding superbikes for a long time (which have now been retired because of family/children) and the turbo always seemed like a great alternative, maybe not as quick as a bike, but close enough.
The current generation of turbo with 4 wheel drive would suggest that it would handle less than perfect road conditions as well. Pierre's story of his winter drives, would seem to re-enforce the opinion that the turbo can handle winter. Not to mention, Porsche's own marketing with turbos' being shown in the Canadian winter...
The car would be used as daily transportation and a weekend car for the mountain twisties (summer only). High speed (ticket collecting) highway travel is not interesting to me. What is most interesting is cornering and acceleration on mountain roads.
So my first question is: Can the current generation 911 turbo be a daily drive in a city with real winters? Is the car built to take the abuse of cold, ice, snow, and salt? Or am I deluding myself in thinking that a Porsche sports car can handle winter?
Second/third question is: I cannot decide whether it is best to wait for the new 997TT or order a 2005TT. Is the current generation turbo still available for order (non 'S') or have they stopped accepting orders. Is there any more clarity on when a new 997TT would be available in the market?
Forth question: There have been a few nightmare stories with regards to new 997's and system faults. There is no doubt that the current generation have bugs that are being fixed, only to make next years that much more reliable. Would this suggest that the new 997TT will also have similar issues, or will the new TT be built with most of the problems taken care of? In other words, is the next generation built from 996TT and 997 technology or is based upon new and yet to be proven electronic systems?
I want to buy and keep the car for at least 10 years. I am not the kind of person that wants to keep trading in a car for the latest and greatest. I want a high quality product that will go 200,000+km without major headaches. Spending time at the dealer in other words is not something that interests me and is very expensive (not in dollars, but in time).
If the TT cannot handle winter, then I will purchase a CS for the summer months. If the TT can handle winter, is it best to wait for the new one or order the proven current generation?
Thanks,
First off a couple of comments, this is a great forum. Most opinions are thoughtful and interesting. RC, your insight into Porsche is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you for taking the time, energy and resources to make this forum a reality.
First some background, I live in Montreal (Canada), which means we have serious winters from December until the end of March. We get lots of snow, some say more than any other large city(3.5M+ people) on the planet. We also get nights that are -30C.
This would suggest that the 911 should be parked for the winter, but I would really prefer to drive a car all year round. Not on the worst of days, the SUV can handle that, but on the nice winter days, why not? Living in the country, there is always snow and ice on the roads until April. This is a fact of life here.
My personal preference in a 911 has always been the turbo. From the first one I saw in '76 until now, it has always been the car of desire. I have been riding superbikes for a long time (which have now been retired because of family/children) and the turbo always seemed like a great alternative, maybe not as quick as a bike, but close enough.
The current generation of turbo with 4 wheel drive would suggest that it would handle less than perfect road conditions as well. Pierre's story of his winter drives, would seem to re-enforce the opinion that the turbo can handle winter. Not to mention, Porsche's own marketing with turbos' being shown in the Canadian winter...
The car would be used as daily transportation and a weekend car for the mountain twisties (summer only). High speed (ticket collecting) highway travel is not interesting to me. What is most interesting is cornering and acceleration on mountain roads.
So my first question is: Can the current generation 911 turbo be a daily drive in a city with real winters? Is the car built to take the abuse of cold, ice, snow, and salt? Or am I deluding myself in thinking that a Porsche sports car can handle winter?
Second/third question is: I cannot decide whether it is best to wait for the new 997TT or order a 2005TT. Is the current generation turbo still available for order (non 'S') or have they stopped accepting orders. Is there any more clarity on when a new 997TT would be available in the market?
Forth question: There have been a few nightmare stories with regards to new 997's and system faults. There is no doubt that the current generation have bugs that are being fixed, only to make next years that much more reliable. Would this suggest that the new 997TT will also have similar issues, or will the new TT be built with most of the problems taken care of? In other words, is the next generation built from 996TT and 997 technology or is based upon new and yet to be proven electronic systems?
I want to buy and keep the car for at least 10 years. I am not the kind of person that wants to keep trading in a car for the latest and greatest. I want a high quality product that will go 200,000+km without major headaches. Spending time at the dealer in other words is not something that interests me and is very expensive (not in dollars, but in time).
If the TT cannot handle winter, then I will purchase a CS for the summer months. If the TT can handle winter, is it best to wait for the new one or order the proven current generation?
Thanks,
