Crown

My dealer has been valiantly trying to persuade me to trade my 991 in for a new car and has sent me details of everything from a whole selection of 991C2S models, Panamera GTS and a few Cayene GTS cars he had in stock or that were available to him. I borrowed the Panamera GTS for 24 hours and loved it but don't really need the rear seats. None of the 991 cars available really grabbed my interest in terms of spec and I wasn't really that bothered about changing my car. However give the man his due he kept on at me knowing I'd crack eventually as I like a "deal"

So back I went to the showroom on Tuesday and he showed me a Boxster that my other half loved in white with pebble and agate interior, 20" Carrera Classics, brown roof, PDK, PCM, painted side intakes, roll hoops in exterior colour, phone prep and various other items. We agreed a very nice discount and I was all set to buy that car when I spotted a very nice Boxster in GT silver with red roof, red interior, PDK, 20" Carrera classics, painted exterior package, roll hoops in exterior colour, PCM, Bose, sport chrono, phone prep ++. It occurred to me that I might get a very nice deal for two cars with year end sales targets to be hit   Being partial to trying different models I sold him my 991 and took the two 981s. I've kept the Cayman R for when I need a more driving focused early morning blast across the back roads.

We collected the cars this morning and I have to say I'm very impressed. Considering I bought both these cars for not much more than the list price of my 991 I feel like they are something of a bargain. I'll return to 991 ownership with either a targa or turbo but in the meantime shall enjoy being back behind the wheel of a Boxster.

2 porsches better than one.

Tim

2010 997.2 GT3RS;  2008 Cayenne Turbo;  2006 911 Club Coupe #13;  2011 Panamera 4

Love them! BUUUUUUUT I am scratching my head. Other than a good deal, having two identical cars (excepting color schemes) is puzzling. It's not like you are deprived of top down driving in your garage.

Who said the economy is sluggish because of weak demand?

Kidding aside, Congratulations! Both are lovely color combinations. I'm intrigued by the notion of ~identical his and hers cars. Something to think about... Enjoy them in good health.

No real mystery Nick as they are daily drivers for each of us. I hadn't intended to get myself one but the deal on the table was too good to pass up. I don't really need a practical car as such so tend to buy anything that catches my interest as my daily. The Panamera GTS would have given me something different but at twice the price of the Boxster and with almost guaranteed hefty depreciation I ruled it out as a needless expense. I haven't used the 991 as much as I thought I would as I tend to drive the 458 or one of my Dinos when I want some fun so it was an expensive car that was going to depreciate at a faster rate than I'd hoped. The UK market has been somewhat swamped with 991s by Porsche this year and they are discounting physical stock heavily to clear the decks for year end so that is killing residuals on 2012 cars. Dealer allocation of the 991 is being significantly reduced here next year in an effort to improve residuals but that effect could take a while to work through to the used market. The Boxster deal therefore gave me an opportunity to get out of the 991 now at sensible money and avoid further losses. When the time comes to move the 981s on I should have a head start with the discount I negotiated coupled with the fact that supply on this model is also being reduced next year and there is a price increase of circa 3% in January.

I'm speechless. You buy cars like I buy car magazines at the press shop around the corner.

I should know better than to doubt your decision making.

However, I do have difficulty seeing you drive a 981 as a daily car given what you have in your garage. 

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And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the textbook definition of being a badass Porschephile. 

nberry:

I should know better than to doubt your decision making.

However, I do have difficulty seeing you drive a 981 as a daily car given what you have in your garage. 

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Nick, I've had a couple of 987 Boxsters as my daily before. I've also had a few more discreet small cars as dailys in the last few years including a Fiat 500 and an Abarth 500. I had an Alfa MiTo 1.4 turbo for nearly 16 months as a daily last year which was a great car so the 981 is a step up from that

Nice cars!!

I too am thinking of a 981S, does your 981S's have PASM? If not , how do they ride on 20" wheels compared to the 991 you had?

ASCHAN:

Nice cars!!

I too am thinking of a 981S, does your 981S's have PASM? If not , how do they ride on 20" wheels compared to the 991 you had?

Unless I'm mistaken Iain's brace of Boxsters are base 981 not S.  . 

interesting logic on buying not one but two Porsches, not sure it would work with SWMBO somehow..... White and GT silver are probably the best colours for 981 IMO. 

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Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK Aqua Blue / Black - Toyota Yaris D4D  "Clockwork Rat"

Unless I'm mistaken Iain's brace of Boxsters are base 981 not S.  . 

interesting logic on buying not one but two Porsches, not sure it would work with SWMBO somehow..... White and GT silver are probably the best colours for 981 IMO. 

You have eagle eyes

They are 2.7 models on 20" with standard suspension. The ride quality is every bit as good as my 991S with PASM was I'd say. I'm sure I read somewhere that the 981/991 were developed around riding on 20" wheels and I'd say the engineers have done a great job with the standard suspension.

I guess the need for PASM depends on the surface quality of the roads you normally drive on. I took our Cayman R up to Edinburgh last week for example and the streets there are in a disgraceful state so my spine and teeth got a bit of a pummeling. PASM would be a benefit there but  wouldn't filter out all of the dips and holes in the road surface. SPASM on the other hand is a no go according to the local OPC there who told me they had made a huge error in spec'ing two showroom cars with it. On the normal routes I drive in the Cayman R the suspension is absolutely fine.

Preferences to ride quality is down to the individual I guess. I've laboured on here ad nauseum about the ride quality of our now departed Cayman S on standard suspension / 18" wheels, I found it just about acceptable but SWMBO detested it and was the most uncomfortable car she had ever experienced. PASM tends to remove the harshness of road surface being transferred to the passengers, whilst our previous Boxsters and current 997/2 have PASM the ride is still firm but the harshness is gone. Even in sport mode the 997/2 PASM is not as harsh as the standard Cayman suspension was. So for us, we would never, ever have a Porsche without PASM, although the new 991/981 suspension is allegedly a lot more compliant than the 987 / 997 was. The Silverstone driving consultants we spoke to on several occasions also advise always opting for PASM, even in the latest models.

@ ISUK - I visit Edinburgh fairly frequently as my daughter is in university there, parking is abysmal and public transport so cheap and reliable see little point in driving there. We get the FlyBe flight up and back for something less than 50% of the costs of driving so it's a no brainer for us.

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Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK Aqua Blue / Black - Toyota Yaris D4D  "Clockwork Rat"

both look great. however, the White one is stunning....

congrats !

dreamcar,

I'm originally from Edinburgh and enjoy the drive there. I wouldn't miss an opportunity to drive the A701 from Moffat to Edinburgh as it's a superb drivers road and on both legs of the journey I had it all virtually to myself....bliss! The city centre hotel I stay in has it's own private car park so I just leave the car in it when I arrive and walk everywhere. Flying isn't worthwhile as it would take me well over an hour to get to either East Midlands or Luton airports then I'd have to check in around 90 minutes before the flight as the security queues at both can be horrendous, then it's an hour in the plane plus a further hour or more to transfer at the other end. It only took me just under 5 hours to drive there

PS The guys at the driving experience centre have a habit of saying what they think you want to hear and or trying to get you to load the car with costly options. I've been four times now and the only cars they ever recommended PASM to me on were the Cayenne and Panamera.

Obviously the public transport option for me is a no brainer, living in Southampton it's just over an hour flight then the express 'bus straight to the City Centre. There is nothing pleasant for me with the long drive A34 / M40 / M42 / M6 / A74   I've never had a problem at Edinburgh or Southampton airports, and invariably the FlyBe flights are on time. We normally stay at the Bruntsfield Hotel, which does have off street parking. 

We've booked a couple of weeks holiday next September based in the Trossachs, so will explore Scotland more then - and yes for that we will drive up! 

I've always found the driver consultants advice at Silverstone  pretty honest and knowledgeable, unlike the average Porsche salesman who couldn't care less, in the case of Bournemouth staff possess lamentable product knowledge and whose only interest in gaining a sale. In the case of the Cayman I'm convinced the dealer's advice was more about not pricing us out of a sale rather than sound advice, knowing that we had always had PASM on our previous cars. We would have been very happy with the Cayman S had we specified PASM, and would almost certainly still own it now. 

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Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK Aqua Blue / Black - Toyota Yaris D4D  "Clockwork Rat"

I concur regarding the usefulness of PASM.

However, ISUK keeps his cars for such a short time period,  that he can afford to experiment with specification. Even if wrong, the car won't stay more than a few months.

"Form follows function"

ISUK,

next question, is the 2.7l quick enough? 

reginos:

I concur regarding the usefulness of PASM.

However, ISUK keeps his cars for such a short time period,  that he can afford to experiment with specification. Even if wrong, the car won't stay more than a few months.

I tend to keep them for a bit longer than that reginos   I had the Cayenne diesel for just a few weeks short of a year and the 991 for 10 months. That length of ownership gives a bit more insight than an extended test drive or a driving centre day can provide but a lot depends upon the personal preference of the buyer. I'm used to a wide variety of suspension offerings from the varied cars I've owned (PASM, Magneride, Skyhook, standard passive set ups etc) so have a fair reference point to call upon in terms of handling, ride quality and comfort.  Try a 981 on standard suspension if you can...... you may just get a pleasant surprise

Aschan,

I've only just collected it so I need to run it in before making a final judgement. Based upon my experience of a couple of days loan of a 2.7 versus a four day loan on an S I found the 2.7 fast enough for what I want it for.  I was offered a choice of two S models but passed on this occasion. If it were my only car then I would probably have gone for an S but have to say I really don't feel short changed at this point especially with the PDK gearbox and sport chrono package. I had to ask myself how often I would actually use the additional performance of the S as I've never really had much opportunity to use anywhere approaching the true performance of the 991C2S other than short bursts of acceleration. I decided I could easily live with the 2.7 which represented fantastic value IMHO. Sometimes it's more satisfying to use nearly all of  the performance out of the smaller engined variant than it is being frustrated by never having the real opportunity (in normal road driving) to use the additional performance of the more costly larger engined variant.

You really need to try both I'd suggest. It's possible to configure these cars so specifically to your own driving preferences these days that engine size may bnot be the sole deciding factor. There is manual vs PDK, standard suspension versus PASM, 18" vs 20" wheels, PTV, sport chrono, PSE etc etc that all change the feel of the car and can seriously increase it's purchase price. My 991 was a very driver oriented spec and the dealer in Edinburgh gave me a laughable part exchange value on it as a result as they said their market just is not receptive to that type of car would you believe. And here was me thinking that 911s were/are meant to be sports cars

ISUK:

My 991 was a very driver oriented spec and the dealer in Edinburgh gave me a laughable part exchange value on it as a result as they said their market just is not receptive to that type of car would you believe. 

 

Due to over supply you mentioned earlier in this thread I believe resale on all 991's are bad, no matter what the spec. Good time to pick up a used one at bargain prices, if I could justify the money I'd be very seriously looking at one now.

Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK Aqua Blue / Black - Toyota Yaris D4D  "Clockwork Rat"

dreamcar:

 

Due to over supply you mentioned earlier in this thread I believe resale on all 991's are bad, no matter what the spec. Good time to pick up a used one at bargain prices, if I could justify the money I'd be very seriously looking at one now.

The December sales push on existing stock of 991 has been extremely successful apparently and allocation of new cars for the UK for next year has been significantly cut. Residuals should start to firm up from next spring as a result as dealers are going to be in the situation they found themselves in back in 2009/10 when they were short of new stock and were chasing good quality used stock to fill the gap. My dealer is quoting a 5 month lead time on new Boxster orders, next April for 991 C2 I think and May for C2S.

If anyone is considering a new car and is in a position to deal next week before the year end PM me as my dealer was looking for 1 more sale to hit his target and said he'd do a very good price on a car in physical stock. Once January arrives there is a price increase coming.

ISUK:

If anyone is considering a new car and is in a position to deal next week before the year end PM me as my dealer was looking for 1 more sale to hit his target and said he'd do a very good price on a car in physical stock. Once January arrives there is a price increase coming.

I wish.... But other priorities prevents us. 

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Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK Aqua Blue / Black - Toyota Yaris D4D  "Clockwork Rat"

isuk - i would love to ping you on that offer for a car but tooooooo far to ship! anyway, great comments on the thoughts around bagging these 2 machines.

btw- first shot i can remember seeing of the rear apron painted option. i think it really pickes up the complexity of that part of the car.

finally, just last week someone was bugging me that the S was the only way to go, i threw them the same argument that with PDK you can easily run that 2.7  engine to the top end & have more than enough fun.

2012 991 C2S -PDK / 2010 997.2 turbo cab manual, sold / 2008 Cayenne GTS Manual /2008 RS 60 sold /04 C4S sold - 08 Cayenne Turbo PDCC sold

Here is another pic of the body coloured rear apron which comes as part of the painted exterior package.

A picture of the interior of the white car. The pebble leather looks great against the white paint and the agate leather on the dash and door tops works really well with the brown roof. This is the first white 981 I've seen spec'ed like this and it gives the car a really different look. It's going to look great in the summer sunshine (if we hopefully get some ).

You just make me smile every time Mr. ISUK. Love the his and hers touch. Enjoy in good health

brown roof and white is stunning

ISUK - I echo your comments on 991 pricing. Some great deals to be had if you're in the right position to move on them.

991 (what a car!) XC90 - Black/Black 2 kids, 1 dog