CALLING Gen2 Turbo PDK Owners - Advice Needed Please

spectraluk · 30 Jun 2017

4 years without a 911 and now I'm thinking the time is right to jump back in.
Previous ownership includes 2 996 4S's with the last one being a coupe, manual and very much loved.

I'm now looking at a Gen2 997 Turbo with PDK, 2010. Budget between £70k - £80k and need to know what to look out for having not previously owned any turbos and need to hear from current owners of Gen2's please...

Any tools that will enable me to negotiate hard would be greatly appreciated, and any long term known issues so that I am also fore warned would be a great help.

ta all. :thumb:

911TEL · 30 Jun 2017

Hi there and ( almost ) welcome back .......

I think you are in the right ballpark , at current prices , for your choice of car ........but if you are there at that price , I would suggest that you ,at also be within reach of the Turbo S at the top end of your pot ........

Going for Turbo S gets you almost all the possible extras on the sat that you would want to have , some gave a few more , but generally they are loaded as standard with all the extras that were the desirable options of the day .........

I have owned my 'S' for 3 years and it has cost me only servicing and a new battery ( which was my own fault) due to a faulty connection on my trickle charger , not the battery fault.....no other issues at all !!!

The PDK can be a little bit ' clunky' when cold , but soon improves feel after use

Any Turbo you go for with PDK get the paddle steering wheel as it is night and day with the button version .......

Personally , I liked the 5 stud wheel hub , not being a fan of the Centrelock hub & wheel design on the turbo although it has since grown ( a bit) on me .........

My suggestion at your price is to buy from a really reputable dealer such as Virgin 911 / RSJ / Paragon.......someone on here on This site ......or the OPC network to feel confident that you are not buying a ragged car as any bills are not small......

Which ever way you go , you will love the Turbo ...it is infectious and there is NOTHING like the rush of acceleration that comes with the foot to the floor on a clear road ( up to the legal speed limit of course) ........

Ps try a wanted ad on here to test the water with the members first ......

edge · 30 Jun 2017

I have had my car for a few years and in that time I have had to change the Battery and I had an issue with the PDK gearbox reporting high temps which is a known issue that required a sensor change and software upgrade. As 911tel mentioned think about the centrelock option, I have them as I like the look but they are faff if like me you like to remove the wheels for cleaning. As already said I would buy from an OPC or a reputable Indy and if you can stretch to the Turbo S then go for it if only for the higher spec which is standard on that model. I am not aware of any major issues you should particularly look out for on the gen2 Turbo just make sure it has all the service history in place.
Good luck and enjoy your search.

G2 · 30 Jun 2017

Hope you find what you are looking for, you are definitely doing the right thing asking here....

but a couple of obvious things. Have you driven one? They drive different to the 996s you have had before. Faster obviously, and a different engine sound are the key differences that not everyone likes.

Next points, time of year is going to mean a premium as not many become available now. So waiting till the quieter months will probably yield a lower price and better choice but not guaranteed. Last few years March/April have seen more on the market. I'm sure you know, but basically you need to intercept one that someone is looking to trade out for something newer as cars are in short supply and dealers snap them up from the classifieds and add a whacking profit. For instance one dealer now has a 2011 61 plate 997 turbo s for £105k. Gulp.

The OPCs are back interested in them as the warranty coverage has gone to 15 years so pretty much any higher model 997s are worth them looking at trading people out of.

A lot of non-s cars do have high spec so don't rule them out. And the tip s is a very useable derivative, fully understand the intent is for a PDK, but time of year and a great budget surprisingly might not get you into one.

Also, warranty is key on the years you are looking at in my opinion. Things just need changing as the cars get older.

Hope this helped. Good luck searching.

Norfolk &amp; Idea · 30 Jun 2017

I'll have owned mine 2 years this Xmas. I can't think of anything negative to say about it. Amazing cars and I feel so lucky to own one.
Nothing jumps out regarding reliability. Pretty solid in that regard as far as I'm aware.
If you manage to chip down a seller I doubt It'll be by much, they seem to be have doing strong money for the last couple of years.
Good luck in your search, you won't be disappointed if you get into one :thumb:

Ptabi · 30 Jun 2017

Hello all,

I have owned my Turbo S for a little while previously I had a 997 gen 1.5 Turbo. Both cars are nice although I absolutely love the Turbo S. Only issue I have now is all this talk about the prices going up makes you think twice every time I drive it. I look forward to my weekend and you will too.

I just saw a 997 Turbo S 2011 year being marketed for £105,000.

Best of luck but to be honest I am sure most Porsches would put a smile on your face again.

v8fettler · 30 Jun 2017

I've just put my money on a 2010 Turbo, spent over 18months nit-picking about what to spend on one, as it gradually climbed from early/mid £60k for an OPC car with 30k miles, upto £70k for the same age/mileage now. Cabriolets have caught back up too, they were at least £5-8k cheaper than equivalent coupes when I started, now there's some bonkers prices on them!

I've been lucky (I reckon) and stumbled on a trade in, just as I was about to buy another car. Turned out there was a discrepancy on that original car which had me looking for similar cars with which to barter with, and this popped up, so I sacked off that one, and went straight down to see the one I've now got a deposit on. I think I hassled the staff at the dealer for about 90mins before I got a call back and slapped a deposit on it (something you have to do with these cars going so fast). I'd missed three cars at this point, I wasn't going to miss this one.

I don't think at the moment with prices still looking like their climbing, you'll be able to barter a deal if it's sensibly priced to start. £70-£80 should get you a low mileage 2010-11 car, or higher mileage 2012. What I did was make a snagging list, including paintwork, mechanical, and servicing into the deal. I've got pretty much what I wanted, and saved myself an untold amount of aggro smartening up a higher mileage car.

Ive got a two year warranty to shake out any issues, and fresh rubber with which to do it. Considering the fastest car I've owned before this was a tie between a S2000 and an R32 Golf, this is gonna be a bit special for a long time. I've driven faster, but never owned faster.

My only advice at this point would be to try snag a car before trade in. An ocean. Lie car was offered to me for £75k, but the 'owner' had also advertised it on Autotrader for £65k, so the Porsche Center had added at least £10k. Yes there's VAT on their part, and the 111 check, warranty etc, but if your smart and do the research, and don't mind doing a bit of legwork in independent inspections etc, you could save a few quid!

Good luck! Happy hunting!!!

Bikeracer1098 · 30 Jun 2017

v8fettler said:
I've just put my money on a 2010 Turbo, spent over 18months nit-picking about what to spend on one, as it gradually climbed from early/mid £60k for an OPC car with 30k miles, upto £70k for the same age/mileage now. Cabriolets have caught back up too, they were at least £5-8k cheaper than equivalent coupes when I started, now there's some bonkers prices on them!

I've been lucky (I reckon) and stumbled on a trade in, just as I was about to buy another car. Turned out there was a discrepancy on that original car which had me looking for similar cars with which to barter with, and this popped up, so I sacked off that one, and went straight down to see the one I've now got a deposit on. I think I hassled the staff at the dealer for about 90mins before I got a call back and slapped a deposit on it (something you have to do with these cars going so fast). I'd missed three cars at this point, I wasn't going to miss this one.

I don't think at the moment with prices still looking like their climbing, you'll be able to barter a deal if it's sensibly priced to start. £70-£80 should get you a low mileage 2010-11 car, or higher mileage 2012. What I did was make a snagging list, including paintwork, mechanical, and servicing into the deal. I've got pretty much what I wanted, and saved myself an untold amount of aggro smartening up a higher mileage car.

Ive got a two year warranty to shake out any issues, and fresh rubber with which to do it. Considering the fastest car I've owned before this was a tie between a S2000 and an R32 Golf, this is gonna be a bit special for a long time. I've driven faster, but never owned faster.

My only advice at this point would be to try snag a car before trade in. An ocean. Lie car was offered to me for £75k, but the 'owner' had also advertised it on Autotrader for £65k, so the Porsche Center had added at least £10k. Yes there's VAT on their part, and the 111 check, warranty etc, but if your smart and do the research, and don't mind doing a bit of legwork in independent inspections etc, you could save a few quid!

Good luck! Happy hunting!!!

Congrats on your purchase. A huge step in performance from a S2000 and Golf R32.

Out of interest what are the faster cars which you have driven?

For the avoidance of doubt OPC gen 2 997 turbos have never been early £60k and only ever a very few cars at £65k ish

Bikeracer1098 · 30 Jun 2017

Had my mine a few years.

Only issues have been sticking turbo actuator and PCM3 randomly switching off which was resolved with a software update.

Just make sure the car has been serviced on time and accident free along with OPC warranty is useful.

Best of luck with your search.

Happy to help with any specific questions or advice via PM.

Graemep · 1 Jul 2017

Having owned a 1.5 Turbo for nearly four years, and a Turbo S for the past six months, the only complaint I'd have with the cars themselves is the quality of the battery Porsche force you to have if you want a warranty on the car. The warranty covered some work on leaking diff seals on the 1.5, so paid for itself.

Otherwise, don't assume that an OPC is going to be perfect as far as the car/prep is concerned, push as much as you can and if in doubt get an inspection.

As mentioned, some of the early Gen2 cars 09-10, were specced pretty much to Turbo S equivalence (other than the extra power).

v8fettler · 1 Jul 2017

Bikeracer1098 said:
v8fettler said:

I've just put my money on a 2010 Turbo, spent over 18months nit-picking about what to spend on one, as it gradually climbed from early/mid £60k for an OPC car with 30k miles, upto £70k for the same age/mileage now. Cabriolets have caught back up too, they were at least £5-8k cheaper than equivalent coupes when I started, now there's some bonkers prices on them!

I've been lucky (I reckon) and stumbled on a trade in, just as I was about to buy another car. Turned out there was a discrepancy on that original car which had me looking for similar cars with which to barter with, and this popped up, so I sacked off that one, and went straight down to see the one I've now got a deposit on. I think I hassled the staff at the dealer for about 90mins before I got a call back and slapped a deposit on it (something you have to do with these cars going so fast). I'd missed three cars at this point, I wasn't going to miss this one.

I don't think at the moment with prices still looking like their climbing, you'll be able to barter a deal if it's sensibly priced to start. £70-£80 should get you a low mileage 2010-11 car, or higher mileage 2012. What I did was make a snagging list, including paintwork, mechanical, and servicing into the deal. I've got pretty much what I wanted, and saved myself an untold amount of aggro smartening up a higher mileage car.

Ive got a two year warranty to shake out any issues, and fresh rubber with which to do it. Considering the fastest car I've owned before this was a tie between a S2000 and an R32 Golf, this is gonna be a bit special for a long time. I've driven faster, but never owned faster.

My only advice at this point would be to try snag a car before trade in. An ocean. Lie car was offered to me for £75k, but the 'owner' had also advertised it on Autotrader for £65k, so the Porsche Center had added at least £10k. Yes there's VAT on their part, and the 111 check, warranty etc, but if your smart and do the research, and don't mind doing a bit of legwork in independent inspections etc, you could save a few quid!

Good luck! Happy hunting!!!

Click to expand...

Congrats on your purchase. A huge step in performance from a S2000 and Golf R32.

Out of interest what are the faster cars which you have driven?

For the avoidance of doubt OPC gen 2 997 turbos have never been early £60k and only ever a very few cars at £65k ish

I saw three Gen 2's at £63k-ish with 30kish, horrible coloured interiors and zero spec.

I've driven Ferraris (355,348,360,California), GT-Rs, Ariel aroms on track, and various others, including single seater race cars.

When I say I've driven faster, I meant than the S2000 and Golf, not the Turbo!!

ragpicker · 2 Jul 2017

Where are you finding the cars before they are traded in? The private ads on the usual websites? There are always the odd one or two private ads which I'm sure end up being traded in because many people struggle to finance these cars unless they are through a dealer...

john aus · 2 Jul 2017

ragpicker said:
Where are you finding the cars before they are traded in? The private ads on the usual websites? There are always the odd one or two private ads which I'm sure end up being traded in because many people struggle to finance these cars unless they are through a dealer...

Got my Turbo S off of Ebay
Colour I wanted meteor gray, miles 25k, Porsche warranty for 14 months. Had the car checked out
buy privately and get yourself a bargain £71k 6 months ago

A bit unnerving transferring the money

Matt Seabrook · 2 Jul 2017

john aus said:
ragpicker said:

Where are you finding the cars before they are traded in? The private ads on the usual websites? There are always the odd one or two private ads which I'm sure end up being traded in because many people struggle to finance these cars unless they are through a dealer...

Click to expand...

buy privately and get yourself a bargain £71k 6 months ago

A bit unnerving transferring the money

That's the exact reason I brought my last two cars through dealers. I brought my first Porsche privately for a fraction of your Turbo S price and to be honest I didn't enjoy the experiance much. Still as always buyer bewear private or unknown dealer.

Roger Barker · 2 Jul 2017

Had my Turbo S for over two years now.

Before buying, I was in touch with a couple of Turbo S owners here for some advice..one thing that stands out even today is another member here saying to me 'when you do buy one get ready to have the time of your life'.

I can't recommend the car highly enough, the performance and handling still amaze me, (and terrify passengers), that mixed in with the all round usability easily makes it the best I have owned and makes it almost impossible to replace without spending huge money.

I would still go for the S today even with a premium factored in over the standard Turbo if you can- rarer, PCCB as standard, extra bhp/torque/tend to be better spec too, just that bit more special IMHO and is the more desirable car to me.

You can't go wrong with either S/non S though, both are fantastic...

CALLING Gen2 Turbo PDK Owners - Advice Needed Please

spectraluk

Mugello

911TEL

Albert Park

edge

Nurburgring

G2

Mugello

Norfolk & Idea

Mugello

Ptabi

Trainee

v8fettler

Silverstone

Bikeracer1098

Suzuka

Bikeracer1098

Suzuka

Graemep

Nurburgring

v8fettler

Silverstone

ragpicker

Portimao

john aus

Trainee

Matt Seabrook

Monza

Roger Barker

Monza

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