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Desirable spec....?

jaychief

Well-known member
Joined
17 Jan 2017
Messages
74
Hi,
I am getting close to purchasing a 911, however am I still in shock that I am buying a Porsche I don't want to get blinded by the "911 effect" what sort of spec should I be looking for?
I have driven a few and come to the conclusion that I want a C4S manual.....
But what spec ????
Thanks
J
 
Manual, PSE, Sport Chrono and Bose would be the key ones for me
 
Are you looking for a Gen1 or Gen2?

Go for as many options as you can get, everyone will give you their opinion... talking of which, these were important to me;


Manual
Sport Design wheels
Metallic paint
PSE
Sport seats
Sunroof
Rain sensors/ auto dimming mirror
Good warranty (Gen1 car)
No boy racer additions :cap:

I particularly did not want a rear wiper or parking sensors. I also would have preferred a non-black interior, but I had to make a compromise!

Good luck, the search is all part of the fun! :lol:
 
My list was manual, convertible and low mileage.

Options are very personal and some will be completely swayed by a particular one being present or absent.

If I were to buy another one desirable options (on top of the compulsory above) would be:

Sports exhaust
Heated sports seats
Rear parking sensors
Rain sensor/auto mirrors (less so)

The main problem is that you can become totally obsessed and search for a unicorn car. If you're fixed on options you run the risk of paying too much or discounting mechanically much better cars. There is a whole lot of joy in a carrera 2 with no options at all.
 
PSE
Heated seats
Sports seats
Cruise
Park sensors

were all must haves for me
 
All good advice! My list in order of preference.

Sport chrono
Sunroof
Fully electric sport seats
Heated seats
I enjoy my pcm3 in my gen1 turbo but not many made with the GEN 2 pcm. It's an easy change If you like a decent system.

Most important if you find one don't delay get to see it quick! All the good ones get snapped up!
 
The key options for me were the Sports Chrono Plus (I have a PDK), the sports seats and sports exhaust (that's a lot of "sports" stuff), but there was also a bunch of options that I specifically didn't want for my ideal specification: I didn't want the rear wash wiper, sunroof, turbo rims, black exterior or red interior.
 
I have a C4S without Sports Chrono, so what am I actually missing, given that I don't go in for track work or traffic light burn ups?
 
As has been said, it's each to their own really. A good mix of options is going to help resale...but that's presumably not why you're buying the car?

Based on experience with buying my 993s, I made a list of 'Essentials', 'Highly Desirables' and 'Desirables', each in priority order. I then measured each prospective car against my list, factoring in such lesser factors (for me) as colour and mileage, in order to judge the 'value' of any particular car to me. At times I had to discipline myself to stick to my list, rather than being carried away in the moment when viewing a particular car. For example, manual and 2WD were top Essentials for me, but every so often I'd come across a nice car and could feel myself thinking..."..maybe PDK is OK for me, or maybe that 4S is too good to pass by..". But my List, which in my heart I wanted, saved me from a number of speculative purchases.

Some of my list could be easily retro-fitted, such as a different style of wheels or cruise control, but if I came across a car with what I wanted fitted from the factory, then so much the better.

Anyway, in the end, I got 14 from my list of 17 parameters. I got all my Essentials, all bar one of my Highly Desirables (TPMS), and had to forego a couple of lesser Desirables, which for me, were BOSE and Rear Wiper.

The hunt was long and expensive in time, but in the end I was pleased I got, pretty much, what I wanted. As I said at the start, it's all very personal.....
[/i]
 
Personally I won't get overly hung up on spec with the 997 for the most part - it is if you want specific things that are difficult or disproportionately expensive to retrofit : those should take your focus. So colour needs to be agreeable (inside and out) and if we are talking about a gen 2, if you want tyre pressure monitors then you need to seek one out (almost nothing had them optioned), if you want PCM then make sure it is there as retrofitting costs a huge bundle of cash, as do ceramic brakes. If you do or don't want a sun roof then that is also an expensive line in the sand.

The rest though... You can have the bits of Sport Chrono that you want (i.e. everything but the stopwatch) retrofitted by an OPC for a few hundred quid. The sports exhaust is also readily retrofittable, as would be something even fruitier in the aftermarket if you don't plan to live under the yoke of warranty extension terms. Steering wheels also eminently changeable. Cruise control can also be retrofitted for not insane money and even if you wanted different seats then getting alternates via the used market then reselling the originals makes the task viable. Basically, given the right car none of those items should have a make or break effect on your choice to acquire it.
 
MarkC4S said:
I have a C4S without Sports Chrono, so what am I actually missing, given that I don't go in for track work or traffic light burn ups?

Sharpens the throttle response, fattens out the engine map and changes the intervention threshold for the traction/stability system. Also adds launch control on PDK cars IIRC. If you don't have it you won't miss it but if you did, you would. The stop watch in the dashboard is utterly pointless IMHO (I've never used it). Not a critical item in the used market though as the sport button and software can be done as a retrofit by your OPC (without the stop watch).
 
My list is as follows

2S (which will give you a lot of extras to start with)
X51
Manual
No sunroof
No rear wiper
No sport Chrono (useless on a manual)
SSK (short shift kit)
PSE
Sport (heated) seats
Rennline pedal set

Got all above, happy :lol:
 
Disco said:
MarkC4S said:
I have a C4S without Sports Chrono, so what am I actually missing, given that I don't go in for track work or traffic light burn ups?

Sharpens the throttle response, fattens out the engine map and changes the intervention threshold for the traction/stability system. Also adds launch control on PDK cars IIRC. If you don't have it you won't miss it but if you did, you would. The stop watch in the dashboard is utterly pointless IMHO (I've never used it). Not a critical item in the used market though as the sport button and software can be done as a retrofit by your OPC (without the stop watch).

Helpful, thank you Sir. I had to make a call about the car missing this apparently much sought after option, when pretty much everything else was okay with the spec. Don't miss it personally and glad to hear not so critical on a manual car vis-a-vis resale.
 
As others have said, pretty much everything can be retrofitted within a fair budget with the exception of paint colour and interior . you also cant retro fit a good service history with either opc or Porsche indy. So IMO those are the only things that would be really important. And knowing if you want manual or tip/pdk as its a big compromise to not get that right for you and will affect your enjoyment of the car

I personally wanted a car with sunroof delete as it adds weight in the wrong place as it happens mine came with no sunroof so great but I wouldnt have not brought it if it had got a sunroof. sport seats are nice but there is nothing wrong with the comfort seats semi auto or full auto didnt worry me.
my old 997 had comfort new has sport seats really not much in it to be honest.

So I really wouldnt get hung up missing a great car because it was missing something like Bose as there are better aftermarket amps that make a non bose system far better than bose . same with PSE many of the aftermarket stainless systems are far better than PSE .
:grin: :thumb: enjoy the search
 
As a new owner I couldn't agree more with the comments on service history and good mechanicals first. Colour choice has to be next as to me nothing worse than looking out onto your porker and it not being the colour you really wanted. IMO that would play on your mind. I did the unicorn search and finally found mine, the search was painful and I picked up a few mechanical repairs as a result. No surprises though as the PPI showed them all up. Found mine with

PSE
Heated, memory sports seats both passenger and driver
Bose
Turbo alloys
Steering wheel audio controls

Three months on and I still chuckle every time I pull it out of the garage
 

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