What Porsche for £55k?

[Beknown]

Nobody can answer this question for me so instead please consider this thread a rant, but basically I have a budget of £55k to spend on a Porsche but I’ll be damned if I can choose one.

As some of you know I have a manual 987.2 which I’m confident is the best car I’ll ever own. It’s got it’s downsides which do annoy me from time to time but yet on other days I think I could drive it until the end of time.

I’ve driven all of the current Porsche range but I’m still none the wiser. I don’t think Porsche make any bad cars in fact I think I want to own them all it’s just a case of which one next?

Another issue I have is my budget is made up of cash and my current cars (conservative) estimated value so I’d have to sell it in order to fund my next car and therefore I run the risk of being without a Porsche while I wait (possibly) months for the correct model/spec to come on sale. Unless of course I get a loan/finance and then sell my Cayman after collecting a new car.

997.2
+Last analogue 911
+ never owned a rear engine car
- Very similar to what I have at the moment
- The “old” model
- A lot of money to change for what is a very similar car

981 Cayman
+ Many things that I love and adore
+ With my budget the world is my oyster
+Vast majority of the time its modern features would suit me more than the 987
- If I go manual I can’t drive with reduced PSM without the stupid engine blip
- Chassis isn’t as engaging as a 997/987
- Although PDK is great for the commute I will be bored during the weekends, plus the theatrical blip on downshifts pisses me off
- Engine sounds totally fake like a computer game

991
+ See 981
- See 981 (also not many in my budget)
- People say it doesn’t feel rear engined enough and feels more like a Cayman

Panamera
+I love these so much. Had a gen 2 diesel for a week and although I don’t like diesels I didn’t want to give it back, I was very upset having to drive my Cayman home!
+Gen 1 turbo in budget
+ Be nice to use for family duties instead of a boring 1.6 ecobox.
- Gen 1 ugly as fk
- Gen 2 is gorgeous but the only one I can afford is the diesel, none GTS and Turbo models only a V6 as well
- Most of the time I will be carting around an extra 600kg for no reason, so may as well stick with a sports car

I go through phases were I think one car is better than the other, the truth is they are all good in separate areas. A 997 will be a hoot for a blast, but the tyre roar and manual box aren’t great for hammering the miles on it (I suffer the same issue with my current Cayman).

A 981 will be a lovely daily driver for the commute and chores but I find it quite boring when you actually want some fun.

A Panamera is gorgeous but probably overkill and way more expensive to run/track etc., plus my girlfriends wont find it as cool as a 2 seater but at least I could have more than 1 of them with me

But anyway I just wanted to share some thoughts. It wouldn't surprise me if others go through this same conundrum.

Just to clarify I am not interested in any other manufacture, it has to be Porsche.

Edited by Beknown on Monday 16th November 17:06

Edited by Beknown on Monday 16th November 17:55

[Beknown]

PorscheGT4 said:

Cayman R and £15k in your pocket

Unfortunately the idiosyncrasies in my Cayman would be exacerbated in a Cayman R

[Beknown]

swimd said:

Beknown said:

991
+ See 981
- See 981 (also not many in my budget)
- People say it doesn’t feel mid-engined enough and feels more like a Cayman

What are you confused about?

The positives and negatives in the 991 are the same as the 981 (lets be honest they are almost the same car), with the added fact there is hardly any 991's in my budget.

[Beknown]

Craigybaby69 said:

swimd said:

Beknown said:

991
+ See 981
- See 981 (also not many in my budget)
- People say it doesn’t feel mid-engined enough and feels more like a Cayman

Must be the 991 being mid engined bit

My bad

PorscheGT4 said:

what bits don't you like, it will help me choose a car for you :-)

Its manual gearbox can wind me up on the commute 5 days a week, snail pace traffic for 45 minutes (in addition to the rest of the commute) each way every day. But its the same gearbox that puts such a smile on my face during the evening and weekend blasts.

Tyre roar on longer journeys especially when 'making good progress'. 17,000 miles done this year so far.

Ultimately I have money available to spend and I like to try new things.

I think a Panamera turbo would be a good laugh but it doesnt seem like a serious decision.

[Beknown]

Thanks for all of the replies.

About the 997 GTS, while its definitely extremely desirable is it just me that is put off by the price difference between it and an S, or even regular Carrera?

I'm more inclined to go with the regular 2 or 2S and save £10/15k. I don't think the argument for residuals is too concrete, not after I've stuck thousands of miles on it and bumped it into 50/60k territory.

[Beknown]

ORD said:

As above, just go low miles whatever you do. Some people have been fobbed off when trying to get a replacement gearbox under warranty with the line that gearboxes only last 50k miles. The same goes for suspension parts.

As an existing Porsche owner I know exactly what you mean, that said I went low mileage and still had to replace a ton of st.

Part of me thinks that by 50-60k most of the stuff that will fall off has fallen off and has been replaced.

But yes I'd be content with a regular 997, the GTS is great but what I've not driven I won't miss

[Beknown]

itsybitsy said:

I think you have answered your own question!
I found the caymanR not special enough you wont gain or feel much over your 987.2cs I didn't even over a non pasm 987.1cs!,a spyder is a fantastic special car but really a third car but no good if you prefer a coupe!,a 997.2s imo is 10-15% cheaper than a gts but not much less of a car!
Imo a manual non pasm 997.2 is the one to go for!plus it will be well under your budget and cheaper to run ie low rfl.
or if power is your thing you cant go wrong with a manual 997.1 turbo and imo bit of a bargain at the moment as out of all of the above is most likely to increase greatly in value!

Glad to see I am not the only one against the consensus, problem with the regular 3.6 I've found is most are badly specced!

I think a 3.8 and take PASM on the chin is probably the answer. Anyway we'll see what comes up on autotrader

[Beknown]

itsybitsy said:

this looks a really nice car bar the colour,its been up a while so a deal could be struck with your car!if I wasn't getting a gt4 I would be tempted!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Thanks for the suggestion (and I know I'll get hammered for this) but no bose! Plus don't you think its expensive for a non OPC car?

[Beknown]

13m said:

Have you had Bose? It's not all that. I had Burmester in one of mine and even that was just okay. The standard kit is good enough IMHO.

Yes I have it at the moment, I know it gets a lot of stick but my ears have attuned nicely to it. I really can't stand sound package plus or even the one below that.

[Beknown]

Well I finally managed to drive a 997.2 C2S in maximum attack mode and Jesus Christ where has it been all my life.

It was absolutely phenomenal and made my much loved Cayman feel a bit naff. I'm amazed at how different it was and the entire performance/handling was off the scale.

The particular car had PDK with sport chrono and although I am very impressed with the box from a technical point of view I just don't know if I can commit to an automatic for a daily driver, even if I did enjoy it in maximum attack mode.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Beknown]

13m said:

They're good aren't they.

And yes, get the PDK. In the 997 it makes the car easier to drive daily but the car doesn't become boring because of it.

I like the 997 a lot but the 997.2 is brilliant.

I've had PDK in Boxsters/Caymans and not liked it, but I think with 385bhp you can actually get enough fun from the sheer acceleration rather than just the interaction.

Also there are plenty of horror stories about the manual box in the 997, maybe the PDK is more reliable?

Does anyone know what the differences are between the PDK in the 997 compared to that in the 981? I found the latter one very annoying, everything from the theatrical down shift blip to the economy shifts to the sport plus 'kick' which seems far better turned in the 997.

[Beknown]

The thing is what if I buy the PDK and get bored within 5 minutes? I'd have to unload the car quickly because it would annoy me and I'd take a huge hit.

Far better to play it safe and buy a manual, plus footwork is very good and would hate for it to go to waste

Also when I was out hooning it was 5*c and wet, and traction was incredible. Pretty sure that in 98% of circumstances it renders the 4S null and void.