Advice please on ordering a 991 cabriolet

Hi Everyone,
I have been reading the froum for a while to get some advice and have joined now that I am ready to order a 991 cabriolet.

If I can fill people in on my situation hopefully you will have some helpful tips for me.

We currently have a family car, BMW X5, and I am looking for a weekend/fun car. I will probably drive it around 1-2,000 miles year.

At the moment, I am assuming that I will pretty much keep the car indefinitely after I buy it.

I have a wife and 5 year old daughter and the availability of small rear seats in the 991 is a big factor in choosing the car. I work away from home during the week and want to be able to enjoy the car with all of my family when I am at home.

I have test driven a Carrera S Cabriolet at my local dealer and was extremely impressed. Having never had a sports car before I have little basis for comparison. Obviously its quite different to my 4x4. Unexpectedly the ride was probably as good as my X5. I know that it is not for everyone, but the higher level of comfort and refinement in the new 991 is one of the major reasons I would now like to buy one.

I would never take the car on a track and whilst I do like to press on when driving, I do not like to drive excessively fast or throw the car around.

For me I think I am really interested in the overall experience of the car if I can explain it that way.

I do not want to over spec the car and am a little wary of having an excessive number of electrical gadgets for long term reliability.

The main questions for me are -

1. C2 or C4?

I know this generates a lot of debate. I have never had a rear wheel drive car and am somehwat used to driving a car where you can be quite brutal with the accelerator and not have to worry too much about it. I live in Edinburgh and while I won't need to drive in snow, it rains too much to think I would only ever drive in the dry.

It had just stopped raining when I drove the C2S and I was quite gentle with it. I tried one maximum throttle opening where I thought it was safe on a straight slip road and was quite shocked that it spun the wheels at around 40mph. Clearly I'd have to worry less about this in a C4, but on the other hand perhaps it is not a bad idea to be encouraged to be more gentle with the throttle.

2. 3.4 or 3.8S?

It seems that the 3.4 is more than fast enough. I have always felt that as I have had more powerful cars over the years that they lose some of the fun of wringing the power out of the car as they are going dangerously fast when you do this.

I can't see why but is there any reason I should be thinking of the S.

3. PASM or standard suspension?

The salesguy was quite happy to say that there was no need for most options. He however, did seem to be more of a fan of PASM. As I would be unlikely to drive the car aggressively enough to require the suspension to be in sport mode would I notice a difference in general driving?

4. 19 or 20 inch wheels?

19 seem fine and would likely result in a better ride. Almost all cars seem to be on the 20s. They may look a little nicer but I doubt I would really notice the difference.

5. Sports or standard exhaust?

One of the joys of these cars is the engine sound. It is perhaps a little muted in the 991, at least from the inside.

The demonstrator had the sports exhaust, I switched it off and on a few times and the difference did not seem that great, certainly not for £2000. Am I missing something, also am I right in thinking it sometimes has reliability issues?

6. If I plan to keep a car for 10+ years, is there a paint colour that ages better?

I am leaning to Aqua Blue, Platinum Silver or White

As an aside after having a black car, I have decided that they show surface scratches way too easily and thus show their age.


Other than this the spec I am looking at is-

PDK
Standard seats
Agate grey/pebble grey interior
Park assist
Garage door opener
Cruise control
Light Design
Heated Seats
Aluminium interior
Mobile phone prep

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

Alistair

:welcome:

Manual, sports exhaust, 2wd.

It's got to be driven.

That's the point of them.

:thumb:

(Other opinions are available)

PS

Don't be afraid of track days.

They're great fun, and a great way to get to know your car.

(Although you've some pretty tasty roads on Scotland, as we found out a few weeks ago!)

PeterS said:

Manual, sports exhaust, 2wd.

(Although you've some pretty tasty roads on Scotland, as we found out a few weeks ago!)

Click to expand...

PDK, normal exhaust, 4WD.

Manual is medieval.

Have a sports exhaust if you're under 25.

But the car must be 4WD.

And ...

PASM (It re-sells well.)
3.8S (A good big 'un is always better than a good little 'un.)
(Internal aluminium's tacky)

But not another silver Porsche, please!

Hi mralig, welcome to the forum. I will always suggest that you test drive both types of models. If we extrapolate from the 997 experience, then it's a sure thing that the S model will most probably retain stronger residuals than the 3.4. However, numerous tests in the motoring press have said great things about both 3.4 and 3.8 models. The 4WD models have a wider body than the 2WD cars and you'll be able to see the visual difference over the rear wheel arches. Whilst the traction may be better than the 2WD, the steering may not be as sharp (997 2WD has sharper steering than 4WD 997). You also get the rear lighted strip between the light clusters which makes for a nice effect. Not sure if there are any around to test drive at the moment but I highly recommend doing so before you place your order.

PSE is a highly popular option and was almost a must-have on the 997 series. A manual 991 will com standard with a 7 speed gearbox. I've read that because the gate is so tight, it may be possible to select the wrong gear at times. If you're used to autos then the PDK will be a welcome addition. PASM is standard on the S models.

If you're only going to drive it 1-2k miles per year, then as you've quite rightly said, don't have a need for all the bells and whistles. The choice should then be no more than a 991 C2 with the standard 19" wheels.

Good luck with the impending purchase.

~ Maxie :thumb:

Easy:



991 Carrera 4S £86,320
Colour to Sample (PTS) - 39V £2,835
Sports seat Plus £2,513
Yachting Blue leather £0
Bi-Xenon Headlights inc PDLS £477
Deletion of model designation £0
Park Assist front and rear £639
Rear wiper £235
Windscreen with grey top-tint £77
Automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors with integrated rain sensor £372
Electrically folding exterior mirrors including courtesy lighting £202
Slide/tilt sunroof £1,149
Aerokit Cup (XAA) £3,380
PowerKit X51 (315 KW / 428 PS) inc Sports exhaust system £9,525
Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK, 7-speed) £2,387
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) £5,787
PASM Sports Suspension (20mm lower) (M030) £558
Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) £2,185
Sport Chrono Package Plus (inc Dynamic engine mounts) £1,084
20-inch Carrera Classic wheels £728
Tyre Pressure Monitoring (TPM) £437
Cruise Control £267
Seat heating £320
Smoking package £0
Floor mats £121
Sports seat plus backrest in exterior colour £931
Yachting Blue seat belts £275
SportDesign steering wheel £146
Aluminium brushed interior package - PDK £526
Door entry guards stainless steel, illuminated (Personalised logo) £485
Preparation for Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (PVTS) £1,140
Porsche Communication Management (PCM) £2,120
Six-disc CD autochanger £445
£127,666

Thanks guys.

Occassionally I drive a manual and do enjoy changing gear, but the novelty soon wears off and I like the way an auto allows you to just focus on steering the car.

I will get the sports wheel with paddles but will likely rarely use them. However, it looks much nicer.

Plus, much as my wife's licence says she can drive a manual she struggles. She is American and was brought up on autos. Not that she is likely to get to drive it!

I am tempted by a track day or some training on the car to get a feel for the limits. The very worn shoulders of the front tyres on my X5 suggest I do like to "drive" my car, but these cars are so fast I don't really think you can exploit them on a public road.

I must have a little 25 yr old inside me somewhere as I do like the noise, but I just didn't hear that much difference. On that note why do so many cars have the BOSE stereoI'd far rather hear the engine

I am not overly concerned on PASM for resale as I plan to keep the car a long time. From what I read the ride is similar with or without it, I would just like to confirm this.

Tinker, have you seen the aluminium? All the cars I have seen have the standard silver plastic and I feel it is tacky, although it is better than similar trim on most other cars. I have wondered about the carbon fibre, but it is quite expensive for a little bit of trim. My current car has aluminium and I like the look but I have noticed it gets little dents over time probably from wedding rings etc. Maybe changing the trim is just a waste of money.

I just don't see the point of the bigger engine. My current car does 60 in under 7 and feels as fast as is safe, although the inertia of over 2 tonnes perhaps has a part to play in that.

Why are you so adamant on 4wd Tinker? I think this is the biggest question for me. the extra £6k is a lot of money, but I suspect I would feel a lot more comfortable.

Funnily enough it seems that there are now more black cars than silver, and indeed white is also very popular. Do yo think they all age similarly, does a 10 year old white car look as crisp as a new one? I quite fancy white with black wheels and roof, but black wheels are now on a 6 month delay. Otherwise, aqua blue looks a little more fun.

Thanks for the quick responses.

Thanks GT4, that does look lovely, but I don't think I could stomach the £40k of day 1 depreciation.

It did remind me that I will also spec heated seats. I would never have a car without them.

Thanks Maxie,
The salesguy informed me that most orders are still for the S and I know it has better short term residuals. However, it seems to me that the performance of the 991 3.4 is similar to the 997S and I thought there would be more of a mix of 3.4s.

If I keep the car for 10 years plus, it is difficult to see the S retaining a £10k premium.

I doubt there will be 4s to test for a while unfortunately.

C4/C4S official launch nights are end of this month/beginning of next (dependent on OPC)

Drives within one week of that.

Why are you so adamant on 4wd Tinker? I think this is the biggest question for me. the extra £6k is a lot of money, but I suspect I would feel a lot more comfortable.

Click to expand...

Safety. :wink:

Pure & simple. And worth every penny of £6K.

And they drive like a dream.

Maxie said:

The 4WD models have a wider body than the 2WD cars and you'll be able to see the visual difference over the rear wheel arches.

Click to expand...

I could be wrong but isn't it the S that makes it the wide body? :dont know:

FWIW the sure footedness / safety of 4wd in wet with all that power is a comfort/peace of mind. It is a little slower but not that you are likely to notice in ordinary use and worth it for the safety IMHO. I agree with Tinker.

PDK meant to be fab and rightly or wrongly I suspect will be the way forward in due course (I might be lynched for saying this).

White cars are popular just now (all makes) but IMHO will date. Colours do go in cycles of fashion so I would be wary of this. It is a bit of a marmite thing and you might narrow you potential buyers market when you come to sell (eventually). I say this having ordered a white car (not Porsche) last week but it's a company car so I don't care about resale/residual value.

Let us know what you go for. I'll probably be in the market for something similar second hand in a couple of years.

Forgot, sports exhaust sounds great. :thumb:

Isn't doing 1 -2000 miles a year criminal ? :judge: get out there and drive it! I suspect the enjoyment factor might mean you find excuses to drive it a bit more :lol:

Only AWD, premium GT (ie GT2, 3RS, R ETC) and GTS are widebody.

JAD said:

I could be wrong but isn't it the S that makes it the wide body? :dont know:

Click to expand...

For the 991, the 2WD Carrera 3.4 & 3.8 is narrow bodied and both have the same width of 1808mm.

ref: Porsche Carrera brochure part no. WLSC12010000425 GB/UK p.129

~ Maxie