991.1 GT3 Buying Advice
Discussion
Hello All,
I am in the market for a 911.1 GT3, and was looking for a bit of advice regarding prices, options etc.
Browsing the cars advertised the last couple of weeks, there seems to be a huge difference in price for somewhat similar cars. There are some advertised under 100k, and other £110k+ with similar options and milage etc. Are these cars actually changing hands at these prices?
I've noticed most of the lower price ones are white, is this a less desirable colour? or is it just a coincidence?
Also what options are considered must have?
Ideally I am looking for a red, blue or yellow car. But don't want to pay over 100k ideally.
Thanks for your help and advise
I am in the market for a 911.1 GT3, and was looking for a bit of advice regarding prices, options etc.
Browsing the cars advertised the last couple of weeks, there seems to be a huge difference in price for somewhat similar cars. There are some advertised under 100k, and other £110k+ with similar options and milage etc. Are these cars actually changing hands at these prices?
I've noticed most of the lower price ones are white, is this a less desirable colour? or is it just a coincidence?
Also what options are considered must have?
Ideally I am looking for a red, blue or yellow car. But don't want to pay over 100k ideally.
Thanks for your help and advise
Where do I start?
Well, I should declare an interest first, I bought one about three months ago, after looking around for about six months for the right car. They are bloody awesome cars!
There is a wide range of prices, that's for sure, but in my experience I found that the cars also varied a lot in specification and condition, as well as what warranty comes with the car (I'd thoroughly recommend the OPC warranty here) and who is selling them. Like you I started out at around the 100k mark hoping to get a sub 100k deal, but most of those cars had higher mileage, had seen a few tracks and quite a few owners, and felt "well worn in"... not what I was hoping for in a 100k purchase. I spent about £10k more that I originally wanted to on mine, but it had all of the options I wanted, just over 3k miles on the clock, and was immaculate inside and out (in fact it felt pretty new). The extra was well worth it, but I should say that it took a lot of looking around to find the right one.
I'm not going to go down the "must have" rabbit hole here, everyone's ideal spec is different, but you will pay more for the clubsport package (roll cage, bucket seats, etc) as well as the ceramic brakes, and then there's extended leather, coloured stitching, axle lift and a whole host of other options that some people desire... the only advice I can give you is to try a few cars and decide what is important to you, and don't be put off by everyone telling you that without a specific option it's worthless.
There are a lot of white cars, sometimes it's popular, sometimes not. Mine is white, I looked at a few red and silver cars, and a black one, but came back to the white as I wanted something different (my last 911 was black) and I think it suits the car. Again, each to their own.
Enjoy the search, for me that was part of the fun, but I will always remember seeing the spec of my car in the OPC and thinking 'this could be the one', and I won't forget the grin it put on my face accelerating down a slip road onto the M56 for the first time... that was priceless!
Well, I should declare an interest first, I bought one about three months ago, after looking around for about six months for the right car. They are bloody awesome cars!
There is a wide range of prices, that's for sure, but in my experience I found that the cars also varied a lot in specification and condition, as well as what warranty comes with the car (I'd thoroughly recommend the OPC warranty here) and who is selling them. Like you I started out at around the 100k mark hoping to get a sub 100k deal, but most of those cars had higher mileage, had seen a few tracks and quite a few owners, and felt "well worn in"... not what I was hoping for in a 100k purchase. I spent about £10k more that I originally wanted to on mine, but it had all of the options I wanted, just over 3k miles on the clock, and was immaculate inside and out (in fact it felt pretty new). The extra was well worth it, but I should say that it took a lot of looking around to find the right one.
I'm not going to go down the "must have" rabbit hole here, everyone's ideal spec is different, but you will pay more for the clubsport package (roll cage, bucket seats, etc) as well as the ceramic brakes, and then there's extended leather, coloured stitching, axle lift and a whole host of other options that some people desire... the only advice I can give you is to try a few cars and decide what is important to you, and don't be put off by everyone telling you that without a specific option it's worthless.
There are a lot of white cars, sometimes it's popular, sometimes not. Mine is white, I looked at a few red and silver cars, and a black one, but came back to the white as I wanted something different (my last 911 was black) and I think it suits the car. Again, each to their own.
Enjoy the search, for me that was part of the fun, but I will always remember seeing the spec of my car in the OPC and thinking 'this could be the one', and I won't forget the grin it put on my face accelerating down a slip road onto the M56 for the first time... that was priceless!
gd said:
Where do I start?
Well, I should declare an interest first, I bought one about three months ago, after looking around for about six months for the right car. They are bloody awesome cars!
There is a wide range of prices, that's for sure, but in my experience I found that the cars also varied a lot in specification and condition, as well as what warranty comes with the car (I'd thoroughly recommend the OPC warranty here) and who is selling them. Like you I started out at around the 100k mark hoping to get a sub 100k deal, but most of those cars had higher mileage, had seen a few tracks and quite a few owners, and felt "well worn in"... not what I was hoping for in a 100k purchase. I spent about £10k more that I originally wanted to on mine, but it had all of the options I wanted, just over 3k miles on the clock, and was immaculate inside and out (in fact it felt pretty new). The extra was well worth it, but I should say that it took a lot of looking around to find the right one.
I'm not going to go down the "must have" rabbit hole here, everyone's ideal spec is different, but you will pay more for the clubsport package (roll cage, bucket seats, etc) as well as the ceramic brakes, and then there's extended leather, coloured stitching, axle lift and a whole host of other options that some people desire... the only advice I can give you is to try a few cars and decide what is important to you, and don't be put off by everyone telling you that without a specific option it's worthless.
There are a lot of white cars, sometimes it's popular, sometimes not. Mine is white, I looked at a few red and silver cars, and a black one, but came back to the white as I wanted something different (my last 911 was black) and I think it suits the car. Again, each to their own.
Enjoy the search, for me that was part of the fun, but I will always remember seeing the spec of my car in the OPC and thinking 'this could be the one', and I won't forget the grin it put on my face accelerating down a slip road onto the M56 for the first time... that was priceless!
Thank you so much for all the feedback. To be honest I am reasonably flexible when it comes to the specification, I will most likely put quite a few miles on the car so I don't think the club sport or ceramics is necessary for me. There is probably also not much point me paying a premium for an immaculate car if I plan to use it almost daily.Well, I should declare an interest first, I bought one about three months ago, after looking around for about six months for the right car. They are bloody awesome cars!
There is a wide range of prices, that's for sure, but in my experience I found that the cars also varied a lot in specification and condition, as well as what warranty comes with the car (I'd thoroughly recommend the OPC warranty here) and who is selling them. Like you I started out at around the 100k mark hoping to get a sub 100k deal, but most of those cars had higher mileage, had seen a few tracks and quite a few owners, and felt "well worn in"... not what I was hoping for in a 100k purchase. I spent about £10k more that I originally wanted to on mine, but it had all of the options I wanted, just over 3k miles on the clock, and was immaculate inside and out (in fact it felt pretty new). The extra was well worth it, but I should say that it took a lot of looking around to find the right one.
I'm not going to go down the "must have" rabbit hole here, everyone's ideal spec is different, but you will pay more for the clubsport package (roll cage, bucket seats, etc) as well as the ceramic brakes, and then there's extended leather, coloured stitching, axle lift and a whole host of other options that some people desire... the only advice I can give you is to try a few cars and decide what is important to you, and don't be put off by everyone telling you that without a specific option it's worthless.
There are a lot of white cars, sometimes it's popular, sometimes not. Mine is white, I looked at a few red and silver cars, and a black one, but came back to the white as I wanted something different (my last 911 was black) and I think it suits the car. Again, each to their own.
Enjoy the search, for me that was part of the fun, but I will always remember seeing the spec of my car in the OPC and thinking 'this could be the one', and I won't forget the grin it put on my face accelerating down a slip road onto the M56 for the first time... that was priceless!
Do you feel the axle lift is a must? I've noticed allot of the cheaper cars do not have this.
I think I will just have to be patient and wait for the right car, especially when spending that sort of money.
gb93 said:
Thank you so much for all the feedback. To be honest I am reasonably flexible when it comes to the specification, I will most likely put quite a few miles on the car so I don't think the club sport or ceramics is necessary for me. There is probably also not much point me paying a premium for an immaculate car if I plan to use it almost daily.
Do you feel the axle lift is a must? I've noticed allot of the cheaper cars do not have this.
I think I will just have to be patient and wait for the right car, especially when spending that sort of money.
like with all options, it makes a car easier to sell, that's it.Do you feel the axle lift is a must? I've noticed allot of the cheaper cars do not have this.
I think I will just have to be patient and wait for the right car, especially when spending that sort of money.
yes you buy it cheaper and yes therefor you sell it cheaper, it's just harder to shift.
lift is not needed imo on a GT3, but again a massive selling point as people do want it.
no right and wrong answer, as the cars not an asset, buy the spec you want if you intend to drive it and don't worry.
Good choice OP. The fact that 5 year old reasonable spec and mileage 991.1 GT3s sell at or around list £ is testament to their capabilities as a rapid and involving drivers car.
332 UK cars all PDK S the 'manuel' option only available on gen 2.
Moved the game on from the 997 and a much better package imo as a usable car but with a raw edge although others will say differently.
You will no doubt be aware of the engine issues and fires which affected 2 European cars due to a faulty supplier part. This resulted in initial run cars late 13 early 14 having new engines fitted by OPCs, post May 14 cars received factory fitted revised engines one of which was mine and some of these cars will have a factory engine certificate proving this which should be with the cars history.
There were a couple of other revisions to the engines but basically the later cars on a 15 plate came with the better revised engines although Porsche provided a 10 year engine warranty a few years back.
White was the most popular colour new for the car, my gen 1 was white as is my gen 2 and still one of my favourite colours for a GT Porsche.
Spec wise, steel brakes were the most popular on the gen 1 and these are not as derided in terms of residual depreciation on the car compared to the gen 2 which sees a huge gap due to ceramics being essential as on the RS. Ceramic braked gen 1s probably worth around c£2k to £3k over a steel braked car. Clubsport a further c£4k to £5k over comfort seated cars.
There were a few buckets seated cars without clubsport however these are in the minority. 18 ways were an expensive option new.
Cars without front lift are generally a hard sell although specific clubsport cars for track use are probably ok without. Lift was a £2600 optional extra and you need it for normal driving.
Other very desirable options are extended leather which came with platinum, red or yellow stitching as cars with plastic dash and door tops again are a hard sell and worth less.
Sport chrono on later cars came with a track precision app and Porsche upped the price of this from £300 to £1300.
Carbon interior pack is popular although this suits the lighter body coloured cars better imo.
Heated seats were an optional extra with every seat type and worth having.
Various light upgrade packages were optional extras.
Worth waiting for the correct spec car. Bear in mind GT3s are hugely spec and mileage sensitive.
Good luck with your search.
332 UK cars all PDK S the 'manuel' option only available on gen 2.
Moved the game on from the 997 and a much better package imo as a usable car but with a raw edge although others will say differently.
You will no doubt be aware of the engine issues and fires which affected 2 European cars due to a faulty supplier part. This resulted in initial run cars late 13 early 14 having new engines fitted by OPCs, post May 14 cars received factory fitted revised engines one of which was mine and some of these cars will have a factory engine certificate proving this which should be with the cars history.
There were a couple of other revisions to the engines but basically the later cars on a 15 plate came with the better revised engines although Porsche provided a 10 year engine warranty a few years back.
White was the most popular colour new for the car, my gen 1 was white as is my gen 2 and still one of my favourite colours for a GT Porsche.
Spec wise, steel brakes were the most popular on the gen 1 and these are not as derided in terms of residual depreciation on the car compared to the gen 2 which sees a huge gap due to ceramics being essential as on the RS. Ceramic braked gen 1s probably worth around c£2k to £3k over a steel braked car. Clubsport a further c£4k to £5k over comfort seated cars.
There were a few buckets seated cars without clubsport however these are in the minority. 18 ways were an expensive option new.
Cars without front lift are generally a hard sell although specific clubsport cars for track use are probably ok without. Lift was a £2600 optional extra and you need it for normal driving.
Other very desirable options are extended leather which came with platinum, red or yellow stitching as cars with plastic dash and door tops again are a hard sell and worth less.
Sport chrono on later cars came with a track precision app and Porsche upped the price of this from £300 to £1300.
Carbon interior pack is popular although this suits the lighter body coloured cars better imo.
Heated seats were an optional extra with every seat type and worth having.
Various light upgrade packages were optional extras.
Worth waiting for the correct spec car. Bear in mind GT3s are hugely spec and mileage sensitive.
Good luck with your search.
Thank you so much for all your help, I honestly wasn't expecting such good guidance.
I'm looking at a few higher spec cars and probably going to budget 105-110K. I have seen this car below, which is in a colour I love. I noticed it has been advertised since november, does anyone have any information on this one?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
I'm looking at a few higher spec cars and probably going to budget 105-110K. I have seen this car below, which is in a colour I love. I noticed it has been advertised since november, does anyone have any information on this one?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Good spec clubsport with reasonable mileage. Car would have been around £123k new.
How many owners?
UK supplied c16 spec?
Check whether full OPC history and any warranty work including engine work/ replacement.
Has the car been used extensively on track?
Check the pccb condition they are very expensive to replace.
Any Porsche warranty? I wouldn't touch one without.
Sapphire wasn't that rare contrary to what ad says.
How many owners?
UK supplied c16 spec?
Check whether full OPC history and any warranty work including engine work/ replacement.
Has the car been used extensively on track?
Check the pccb condition they are very expensive to replace.
Any Porsche warranty? I wouldn't touch one without.
Sapphire wasn't that rare contrary to what ad says.
Also as a guide for mileage sensitivity pricing - for every 1000 miles extra on the car - you can take £1000 off the sale price. So a car with 16,000 miles should be roughly £10,000 less than a car with 6,000 miles assuming similar specs / condition / owners.
I would use the Porsche website for benchmarking prices against as their prices tend to reflect the the actual current market price.
The Sapphire car has almost everything on it spec wise so would be a good choice if the condition is good. Cars without front lift are very difficult to sell so I would avoid unless you are keeping it for a while.
I would use the Porsche website for benchmarking prices against as their prices tend to reflect the the actual current market price.
The Sapphire car has almost everything on it spec wise so would be a good choice if the condition is good. Cars without front lift are very difficult to sell so I would avoid unless you are keeping it for a while.
my GT3 must be worth peanuts :-)
(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
red997 said:
my GT3 must be worth peanuts :-)
(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
You go, red,(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
45K miles.
Cars are built to be driven, not stored and not to be swapped up every 2yr, haha.
I got into one recently from a 991.2 GTS as no longer needed an everyday car.
I think many of them are white because that was the launch colour and it's quite "motorsport". I was a little unsure as this is the first white car I've owned however I think it suits the car and I really like it.
Wrt spec - I personally would not get one without front lift - they are very low to the ground (even compared the GTS) so good to have at least for peace of mind. In contrast to my GTS which was fully specced (leather interior, carbon, etc) my GT3 has the standard dash with brushed aluminium - it's still top quality and in some ways suits the car better as to my mind the GT3 is more race car than luxury orientated.
You can put a Porsche warranty on (after paying for an inspection) and pricing is ok - £1.9k for 2 yrs.
If you're intending the use the car everyday then I would be more inclined to go for the comfort seats. The buckets and cage look and feel great when you're in them but are a bit more fiddly to get in and out of and from the ones I saw the seat bolsters usually get hammered.
I saw a few in my search to make sure I got one that was in good condition. I loved the GTS but as soon as I drive the GT3 I knew I had to have one!
I think many of them are white because that was the launch colour and it's quite "motorsport". I was a little unsure as this is the first white car I've owned however I think it suits the car and I really like it.
Wrt spec - I personally would not get one without front lift - they are very low to the ground (even compared the GTS) so good to have at least for peace of mind. In contrast to my GTS which was fully specced (leather interior, carbon, etc) my GT3 has the standard dash with brushed aluminium - it's still top quality and in some ways suits the car better as to my mind the GT3 is more race car than luxury orientated.
You can put a Porsche warranty on (after paying for an inspection) and pricing is ok - £1.9k for 2 yrs.
If you're intending the use the car everyday then I would be more inclined to go for the comfort seats. The buckets and cage look and feel great when you're in them but are a bit more fiddly to get in and out of and from the ones I saw the seat bolsters usually get hammered.
I saw a few in my search to make sure I got one that was in good condition. I loved the GTS but as soon as I drive the GT3 I knew I had to have one!
Edited by ksi on Thursday 8th August 20:42
red997 said:
my GT3 must be worth peanuts :-)
(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
Hat off to you with 45K miles!(45K miles, early car)
I would say lift is essential - I live in a normal suburban environment, and wouldn't even be able to get the car off he drive without lift !
This was the first car I've had with PCCB - 100% convert now - still on original discs and pads (as far as I'm aware)
Yes, its had the engine swapped out, but the OPC made this totally painless. and its got a 10 year warranty on it (from new, not engine swap date)
As an aside, I'd definitely got for a Porsche warranty.
May initially look expensive, but stuff can & does go wrong. Peace of mind & all that.
Also, worth getting the geo checked / setup to suit your requirements - GT cars tend to be very sensitive to setup. A small setup change can result in a big driving change. I've always used Centre Gravity.
First time you take it to the limiter in 2nd, at full throttle you'll get it
I take it you use it as a daily? Be very interested to hear your experiences and what kind of issues you have had (fancy one as a daily myself tbh).
What you reckon to it’s value now it’s got likely more than double the miles of the average one for sale?
I’m currently deciding between a 991.1 gt3 RS and a 991.2 gt3.
I ruled out the 991.1 gt3 as I plan to keep it for a while. Will be interesting to see what happens to their value once the 10 year warranties are up or have a year or 2 left.
Too much of a risk for me. Especially when the newer 4.0 is so much better and has had all the previous issues corrected.
I ruled out the 991.1 gt3 as I plan to keep it for a while. Will be interesting to see what happens to their value once the 10 year warranties are up or have a year or 2 left.
Too much of a risk for me. Especially when the newer 4.0 is so much better and has had all the previous issues corrected.
Kev78 said:
I’m currently deciding between a 991.1 gt3 RS and a 991.2 gt3.
I ruled out the 991.1 gt3 as I plan to keep it for a while. Will be interesting to see what happens to their value once the 10 year warranties are up or have a year or 2 left.
Too much of a risk for me. Especially when the newer 4.0 is so much better and has had all the previous issues corrected.
I suspect it will depend on how reliable the engines prove to be long term. If there are no issues running up to the 10 year anniversary then there will be little effect once that milestone is passed. I ruled out the 991.1 gt3 as I plan to keep it for a while. Will be interesting to see what happens to their value once the 10 year warranties are up or have a year or 2 left.
Too much of a risk for me. Especially when the newer 4.0 is so much better and has had all the previous issues corrected.
finmac said:
I suspect it will depend on how reliable the engines prove to be long term. If there are no issues running up to the 10 year anniversary then there will be little effect once that milestone is passed.
I thought the issue is likely to happen if the car is tracked? Seen a few threads on the 911 forum with issues occurring after supposedly fixed?They are a bargain compared to 991.2 and even 997.2 gt3’s if there is no issue. I was planning to buy a 991.1 gt3 until I was advised against it.
Kev78 said:
I thought the issue is likely to happen if the car is tracked? Seen a few threads on the 911 forum with issues occurring after supposedly fixed?
They are a bargain compared to 991.2 and even 997.2 gt3’s if there is no issue. I was planning to buy a 991.1 gt3 until I was advised against it.
You can cover the car for up to 15 years which should be plenty long enough for defects to show themselves and be fixedThey are a bargain compared to 991.2 and even 997.2 gt3’s if there is no issue. I was planning to buy a 991.1 gt3 until I was advised against it.
The price differential between a gen 1 & gen 2 is quite significant. I've driven both and whilst the gen 2 is better, its not £30-£40k better
As we move into winter, the prices will soften further. This is when I'm probably looking to buy
Gassing Station | 911/Carrera GT | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff