997 Gen 1 or Gen 2 - what to buy?

[c2mike]

I'm 997 C2 shopping and need to decide on how new to go: Gen 1 or Gen 2. There's plenty of low mileage Gen 1s at good prices now (under £35k), but I'm attracted by the hopefully more robust new engine and better nav/bluetooth/ipod capability on the Gen2. However, that doesn't add up to £10k worth, which is about the extra £ required. Very few Gen 2 cars under £45K. Anybody got experience driving both generations?
BTW, my point of reference is a 3.4 996 C4 I owned several years ago. Loved the car, but it did suffer from some transmission wind-up (4WD related?), heavyish clutch and motorway road noise. What improvement can I expect with a 997 of either generation?

[sbrewster]

Not much improvement (reduction) on motorway noise in my experience between 996 and 997.

[Wozy68]

I am also interested in this. Early 997 prices are becoming very interesting and damn its a pretty Porsche. Is the gen 2 really that much better, and why?

[scarebus]

I think the Gen 1's are prettier, but the Gen 2 engines are better....

I am sure the Gen 2's have a bit more to loose in value before they become a 'valued buy'

[c2mike]

I'm looking at buying in January - hopefully will show some more depreciation by then...

[v4nnm]

if you drive a gen1 and a gen2, you'll know the answer to this question

(get a gen2, in case you're wondering - a world of difference)

[ROK]

in the world of carreras, most def get the newest u can afford.

[g7jhp]

I'd go Gen 2. Newer, reliable engine, better mpg.

The £10k difference will seem small if you get a Gen 1 and the engine pops.

[Waitforme]

If Gen 1 engines didn't have the issues that they have I'd buy one , but since they do I'm waiting on Gen 2 prices to fall a bit further. Another year and there will be a fair bit of choice in the 30s.

[HoHoHo]

g7jhp said:

I'd go Gen 2. Newer, reliable engine, better mpg.

The £10k difference will seem small if you get a Gen 1 and the engine pops.

Or buy a Gen 1 and get a warranty, you'll not lose any sleep about the 'small' chance you may have a problem.

[Helicopter123]

If your thinking auto def go Gen II and get the PDK box.

Epic.

[HoHoHo]

Helicopter123 said:

If your thinking auto def go Gen II and get the PDK box.

Epic.

Cheapest is £45k so may just be within reach of the OP.

But is it worth £10k more than a good Gen 1 C2S which (aside from the PDK) probably won't be anywhere near as well spec'd?

[c2mike]

I'm hoping to find a good Gen2 C2 for under £45k - preferably an S. Manual is OK for me - seems there is a premium for PDK. Surprised to see the last of the Gen 1s still being advertised at over £40k

[ras62]

The Gen 2 is still going to be worth more come resale so why get hung up on the extra 10k?

[mollytherocker]

ras62 said:

The Gen 2 is still going to be worth more come resale so why get hung up on the extra 10k?

It is possible that the Gen 2 could have a similar or even lower total ownership cost than a Gen 1.

This could make the right Gen 2 a comparitively (In current Porsche terms) good buy.

MTR

[dazco]

Do we know for sure the gen 2 models are ultra reliable?

I could not pay £45k for a gen 2 997 knowing that 997 TT's are approaching that price.

[kbf1981]

Do people buy cars or just sit and wait for the values to hit a certain level? It's Christmas, buy yourself a present

Personally from my 30 minute test drive in a Gen 1 C2 and C2S....I'd say the Gen 2 feels nippier, slightly more sorted handling, but mostly just the cabin is nicer. I don't think you'll go wrong with either. Buy the nicest car you can afford and enjoy it.

[v4nnm]

My 57-plate 3.6 29k-mile Gen1 C2 is about to be put into OPC Leicester tomorrow as p/x. That's the last of the Gen1 cars so the engine issues were largely ironed out by then.

running report in my profile if you're interested.

Edited by v4nnm on Monday 28th November 08:45

[mollytherocker]

v4nnm said:

My 57-plate 3.6 29k-mile Gen1 C2 is about to be put into OPC Leicester tomorrow as p/x. That's the last of the Gen1 cars so the engine issues were largely ironed out by then.

running report in my profile if you're interested.

Edited by v4nnm on Monday 28th November 08:45

That is not quite accurate. These later cars have more issues with bore scoring.

There are measures that can be takien to reduce the likelehood (Like a lower temp thermostat) but its important that people are aware of that.

MTR

[SFO]

Gen II DFI engine is more free revving, more powerful and more athletic .. plus more economical