New 997 Ordered - anyone else out there?

[senator]

So after reading a few reviews and looking at the photos, I have decided that after 2 years away from 911 ownership, now was the time to jump back in.

Deposit was paid yesterday for a November build, Carrera S for delivery some time around January.

Anyone else taken the plunge?

If so what colour and spec? Still can't decide on colour and still can't decide between sensible tiptronic or fun 6 speed manual.

spec so far

Carrera S
Tiptronic
Midnight Blue/Maritime Blue interior
Sport Chrono plus
Sunroof
PCM + phone + multifunction wheel
Bose
electric/heated seats
park distance
cruise control
cd auto-changer
rain sensors
factory collection - anyone tried it?

(as you can see 2 years out of 911s has made me addicted to my toys and creature comforts)

>>> Edited by senator on Monday 19th July 17:30

[dds1]

yep,
Carrera S
Polar Silver
Sports exhaust
short shifter
-20mm suspension
LSD
sport design wheels
sport chrono pack
sunroof
sat nav
carbon steering wheel
bose

had to put order in for november/dec build (cos some of those options not available until october)

>> Edited by dds1 on Monday 19th July 17:24

[AC79xxx]

dds1 said:

yep, Carrera S Polar Silver Sports exhaust short shifter -20mm suspension LSD sport design wheels sport chrono pack sunroof sat nav carbon steering wheel bose had to put order in for november/dec build (cos some of those options not available until october)

I spoke to AFN Chiswick a couple of weeks ago about an S and the saleswoman said that only some options were available for the early car of which the sports exhaust was definately not one of them - are they now including this as an early build option?

I also note both of you have opted for the cyclops clock in the dash. What else is included with this item?

[craig]

just did factory collection on GT3

can't recommend it highly enough

great tour of the factory for 1.5hrs, VIP treatment when you are shown your car and lovely meal in Porsche restaurant

also, the car is run in when you get back...

[senator]

along with the slightly unsightly cyclops you aparently get a performance enhancement by way of electronics when you hit the "sport" button on the dash.

This takes the form of increased throttle response, higher levels of tolerance from the PSM, on the tiptronic more aggressive change points and the sportier PASM settings.

Allegedly it takes a few tenths of here and there.

Probably not on my commute into the city!

[dds1]

AC79xxx said:

dds1 said: yep, Carrera S Polar Silver Sports exhaust short shifter -20mm suspension LSD sport design wheels sport chrono pack sunroof sat nav carbon steering wheel bose had to put order in for november/dec build (cos some of those options not available until october) I spoke to AFN Chiswick a couple of weeks ago about an S and the saleswoman said that only some options were available for the early car of which the sports exhaust was definately not one of them - are they now including this as an early build option? I also note both of you have opted for the cyclops clock in the dash. What else is included with this item?

Thats why i had to delay a bit, the sports exhaust, short shifter, special paint, and steering wheel are only available after 1st build cars are done (so from October build onwards, the production lines are tooled up for the more varied options) at least that's my understanding of the process!.

Sport chrono pack includes the laptimer chrono thingy (yuk) but more importantly gives you a sport mode which changes the mapping to a more aggresive setup (throttle/suspension) and PSM becomes a bit less intrusive

www.rennteam.com is the best resource i've found on the net for the 997

hope that helps

[agent006]

The factory visit is well worth it. Even the regular tour is brilliant, but i imagine you'd get special treatment.

[porkophile]

Unless you intend to spend a lot of time in traffic consign the idea of Tip box to the round filing cabinet. I wish I had. Takes all the pleasure away - apart from in traffic jams. And that's not why I keep buying Porsches

[senator]

John

I had 2 996 tiptronics (a 1999 3.4 and a 2002 3.6), which, albeit not giving 100% of the experience of the manual, did get damn close and saved a load of cursing in my daily grind into central London.

At the moment I'm running a BMW Z4 manual as a second car and its the first manual I've had for 7 years and I can't deny that it brings a smile to my face every time I get behind the wheel, BUT I know the auto X5 is there for the slogs into town and the long distance work where the constant changing becomes a drag. I can't justify keeping the X5 and spending £75k on a 997 so it will have to be my primary vehicle.

I am worried tho as the only (limited) reports I've read on the tiptronic are not overflowing with praise and I've even heard that its merely a stop-gap until the DSG is available.

Oh dear - back to the drawing board. I have until the official launch in September to change my mind.

[dds1]

I look at it this way:

I would much rather sit there in traffic cursing the fact that sometimes a slushbox would be easier on my thigh, than be blatting down an open road depressed that I didn't buy a manual...

[jjr1]

Who did you place an order with to get a delivery of January on the Carrera S, as I was under the impression that waiting lists were considerably longer than that?

[AC79xxx]

jjr1 said:

Who did you place an order with to get a delivery of January on the Carrera S, as I was under the impression that waiting lists were considerably longer than that?

AFN Chiswick were taking orders a fortnight ago with delivery in Jan 05 for an S. Standard Carreras are booking for delivery in Jun 05.

I think quite a lot of people are holding back until they're able to specify from the entire options list :ticktock:

[senator]

Ordered through Porsche Centre in Hatfield. Apparently its a November build car, and I have allegedly been given preferred status as I have bought 2 cars from them previously. I would imagine that like all things, either there are some spaces on the list for those who they want to prefer, or more likely the list isn't quite as long as Porsche would like to have us believe.

I was actually offered a September build car if I wanted the standard Carrera, but I can't see the point. Its too close to the 996 and by the time you add all the extras that the S has there's very little difference in price.

[SunDiver]

I'm curious here. I have been looking for a 993 as I prefer it aesthetically over the 996 but the 997 holds interest also... In short, for those buying a 997 do you just pay for it outright and throw c£70K at a car or use finance in some form? Having 70K tied up in a depreciating asset seems a lot or do you part finance it - I guess essentially I'm interested in the most common way that a *new* Porsche is bought...? Thoughts? Any stats anywhere on this sort of thing?

[johnny senna]

SunDiver said:

I'm curious here. I have been looking for a 993 as I prefer it aesthetically over the 996 but the 997 holds interest also... In short, for those buying a 997 do you just pay for it outright and throw c£70K at a car or use finance in some form? Having 70K tied up in a depreciating asset seems a lot or do you part finance it - I guess essentially I'm interested in the most common way that a *new* Porsche is bought...? Thoughts? Any stats anywhere on this sort of thing?

If any of this is b_llox, please say, I'm no accountant.......

I have looked into this recently. My info comes from chatting to the OPC (so biased!) and a mate of mine who until recently flogged Land Rovers.

The majority of Porsches are bought on finance of some kind, I have heard up to 90% of them. Hardly anyone pays cash.

The majority of those bought on finance tend to use the "balloon" payment method. This involves putting down a deposit which can be any amount really from a few grand upwards, but not usually more than 30% of the value of the car I am told. The punter then pays a fixed amount back each month, usually several hundred quid on a nice motor. At the end of the finance term, often 3 years, the punter can walk away, pay the car off in full, or give the car back to the dealer and start a new finance deal on another (often brand new) car. The deposit for this second deal is often made up from the difference in the "guaranteed future value" the punter was quoted at the outset and the approx value of the 3 year old car.

I am told that the down side to this type of deal is that in the long run, you end up paying more interest than if you just borrowed a lump sum of money from a bank etc. They sting you in more than one step along the path of the deal, basically in the repayments and then with the balloon part (again, so I am told).

People like this type of deal because it involves a modest outlay initially and then the monthly payments are low. But people usually never end up owning their car outright, but they are always paying a monthly sum for as long as they want to drive a fancy car.

My preference is to pay off each car I have in full before getting another one. I am also mighty tempted to wander into the OPC and order a 997S with loud pipes and bang it on finance. But my sensible head says I should pay off the Boxster S (I bought it on a cheap personal loan), perhaps at an accelerated rate, and then flog the thing......then borrow another big sum needed to fund the difference and end up in the 997. In the end, I think this will be cheaper.

[murray]

On the GT3 I've just bought the original owner was financing ~63k and put down ~20% deposit. Looks as though most of the new ones bought through OPC are on finance as they 'had to' give me a spiel about Gap insurance and get me to sign a form saying I had been offered it but declined.

Jim

[SunDiver]

Interesting. Anyone else? Naturally, I understand there are people who have sufficient funds to just write a cheque for the list price but how common is this? I could afford to put down a deposit and could certainly afford the monthly payments but I couldn't afford to buy a 997 outright. For a number of years I've owed nothing at all outside of my mortgage and that's felt good. I could spring for a 993 without borrowing at a push but I guess I always assumed people who bought new Porsches bought them because they could easily afford a new one for cash; it would seem that this isn't necessarily the case?

I guess in all likelihood I'll stay with my original plan and plump for a 993. I know I'd love a 997 but losing a 20K premium (in depreciation and interest at a rough guess) for a couple years' ownership means my head will win over my heart...! Sometimes I wish I could be a bit more carefree...! Besides I'll probably change my mind tomorrow and be down the OPC...;-)

[GuyR]

I get the impression that in the old days a lot more of the cars were sold for cash, but Porsche realised they could sell more cars and also make more money on finance by pushing the cars to the 'non-cash' market. This has allowed Porsche to become much more accessible to most people and is partly why their sales figures are so much higher than a decade ago. (obivously the Boxster and it's lower price level helped this trend)

That said Car Finance is always expensive. It's always better to use cash you have to put into the car, as if you're paying 9% on finance, you've got to be earning circa 15% gross if you're a higher rate taxpayer to make better use of the money. It's also much better to borrow on a mortgage at 5% if you need to borrow.

I guess I'm a bit of an exception, as I bought my used 996 GT2 privately so had to pay cash.

Guy

[johnny senna]

GuyR said:

It's also much better to borrow on a mortgage at 5% if you need to borrow. Guy

I still can't get my head around putting a car on the mortgage, but this is exactly what MY financial adviser did recently. He won't spend 25 years paying for the car of course, he will pay it off over 3 years or whatever, he is just taking advantage of the low interest rates available on mortgages.

Flip, it actually seems sensible.

[MOD500]

Yep, as Guy says I think the days of cash giving an advantage in car deals are gone.

Though that said I do the deals when the firm buys construction plant and paying in full via cheque or draft still gets you an fair advantage when negotiating. Depends on the sector I suppose.

I reckon the percentage of cars bought on finance would vary largely with the marque in question? It would be interesting to see some data showing the trend across marques.

Best Regards


Martyn.


>> Edited by MOD500 on Wednesday 21st July 07:34