In a pickle... 991 Carrera S vs 997.2 Turbo

[Schlam]

Hi,

For a chunk of time now I've had my heart set on a 997.2 Turbo, however, just recently the appeal of a slightly newer and more refined 991 carrera s has been blurring my decision.

My current car goes back after it's lease in four weeks and I'll be looking to purchase a 991/turbo, with a budget of £60-65k. My intention is to keep the car for around 12 months, so residuals are going to be important and I haven't done too much research on the 991's to make a truly educated decision.

I'd be interested to know what the pro's & con's are with each option, aside from the obvious power advantage of the Turbo.

Any help's appreciated.

Cheers
Sam

[Adam B]

I'd say the pros and cons are pretty obvious too - depreciation wise the older car will logically be a better bet, especially as a new 991 has just come out

[ORD]

Neither. 997 GTS. Manual. Low miles. A decent colour. It will barely depreciate and will be more enjoyable than either to drive.

[RSVP911]

ORD said:

Neither. 997 GTS. Manual. Low miles. A decent colour. It will barely depreciate and will be more enjoyable than either to drive.

I agree with this - I had a 997.2 Turbo after a 997.2 GTS (both PDK) The GTS was more fun IMHO , however I think the Turbo looked better - nice looking car the 997.2 Turbo . I think your big problem will be depreciation on either as you only have 12 months to amortise the dealer margin , unless of course you buy privately - either way , good luck

[ORD]

Oops. I missed that you're only keeping it for 12 months. You'll take a massive bath on anything, then. But still less on the GTS.

[TheBMWDriver]

If it was me I would get a 991, but then I would say that as I have a 991 lol.

The turbo sounds boring, has so much power I think a bit of fun is lost form the car. The interior is a big step forward in the 991.

My old 991 is for sale if you are interested I have a bit of movement on the price as I have a new 991 now and a GT4 due in a couple of weeks

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

[Adam B]

ORD said:

Oops. I missed that you're only keeping it for 12 months. You'll take a massive bath on anything, then.

not if he buys and sells privately

[London GT3]

My experience:

I purchased a 991 C4S new in Dec 2012. I sold it back to the dealer in June 2013 because they paid me what I gave for it 6 months earlier.

3 months ago I bought a beautiful 997.2 Turbo S.

Both were/are PDK

The 991 C4S was by far the "better" car. A huge leap forward in terms of driving, performance and comfort. Not quite as quick as the 997.2 Turbo S (530 bhp) but better in every other driving respect.

However, I just love the look of the Turbo S. I won't own it for maybe more than a year but while I do, it gives me a great deal of pleasure. I wanted to tick the box to say that I had owned a 911 Turbo and I have no regrets.

With the knowledge I have, I would advise the 991 Carrera S as being more suitable to most people.

[kilarney]

RSVP911 said:

I agree with this - I had a 997.2 Turbo after a 997.2 GTS (both PDK) The GTS was more fun IMHO , however I think the Turbo looked better - nice looking car the 997.2 Turbo . I think your big problem will be depreciation on either as you only have 12 months to amortise the dealer margin , unless of course you buy privately - either way , good luck

And I triple agree. I looked at 997.2 turbo but a manual 2wd GTS got me in the end. Even the GTS is too fast for the road but the fun comes at a lower speed than a turbo. Out of the cars your considering it should fare well in depreciation however a 997 is going to be a far better bet than a 991 unless its a special like GT.

[Glenn Quagmire]

kilarney said:

RSVP911 said:

I agree with this - I had a 997.2 Turbo after a 997.2 GTS (both PDK) The GTS was more fun IMHO , however I think the Turbo looked better - nice looking car the 997.2 Turbo . I think your big problem will be depreciation on either as you only have 12 months to amortise the dealer margin , unless of course you buy privately - either way , good luck

And I triple agree. I looked at 997.2 turbo but a manual 2wd GTS got me in the end. Even the GTS is too fast for the road but the fun comes at a lower speed than a turbo. Out of the cars your considering it should fare well in depreciation however a 997 is going to be a far better bet than a 991 unless its a special like GT.

And I quadruple agree.

Get into the GTS now before prices go GT3 silly.

[Chad_Hugo]

If it's a choice between a 911 Carrera S and 997.2 Turbo it's an easy choice

Turbo is faster, looks better (IMHO), and if your keeping for just 12 months as you say it will lose far less, if anything at all as it's rarer and finding a good one is not so easy at all!

[Schlam]

Thanks for the advice.

I think that the Turbo is a much better looking car also, however, the refinement of the 991 is quite appealing. Especially as I have just come from a new car.

What's reliability like on the Gen2 engine?

Sam

[Schlam]

I've looked at the GTS before, but, I can't help but feel that it looks a little dull.

I'm sure it would be a great investment though, but I'll let my heart rule my head with the GTS.

Sam

[TheBMWDriver]

Schlam said:

Thanks for the advice.

I think that the Turbo is a much better looking car also, however, the refinement of the 991 is quite appealing. Especially as I have just come from a new car.

What's reliability like on the Gen2 engine?

Sam

The Gen 2 cars are really generally rock solid, it was only the 997.1 and 996 that had a lot of issues.

In terms of options PSE, Sports chrono, PDK are essential. The 18 way seats are very nice to have but the 14 way will do, it adds memory, lumbar support and also makes the steering wheel electrically adjustable.

PDCC is also a nice option but very rare, most cars have full leather but I would avoid one that does not.

Edited by TheBMWDriver on Monday 2nd November 09:41

[Schlam]

I've seen a lovely, low miles Gen2, black on black. Not seen it in person yet however.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

[berty37]

Interesting thread and some good opinions and advice and one that I will be watching closely. I currently own a 997 2WD GTS PDK and previously had the 997.1 turbo manual short shift. I am looking at going into a 997.2 Turbo S as I just miss that mad feeling of being shoved into the back of your seat when those turbos spool up. Dont get me wrong especially in sport plus the the GTS is a quick car and yes also the noise of the NA 911's is great but I actually for some reason still miss the turbo.

[Schlam]

Good to hear your view Berty.

I think I would miss the rasp of the NA engine if I get the Turbo.... But, like you said, the sickening boost should make up for it!

[Buggernuts]

TheBMWDriver said:

The Gen 2 cars are really generally rock solid, it was only the 997.1 and 996 that had a lot of issues.

In terms of options .... PDK... are essential.

[fastgerman]

Adam B said:

ORD said:

Oops. I missed that you're only keeping it for 12 months. You'll take a massive bath on anything, then.

not if he buys and sells privately

Very small market for people spending 65k on a car that will buy privately. Add in the fact that its a Porsche and you have an even fussier market.

Imo, expect to lose 10% just from buying and selling through a dealer in the same month.

If depreciation really is the highest factor on your list, buy something rare/air-cooled.

If you want new and fast, then I think depreciation has to happen.

On the fun part (the car choice), the 991 is an event to drive due to the engine/exhaust note. When are you really going to use 500 bhp from a turbo? I'd go 991 or 997 GTS and forget about the money, you'll probably keep it longer than 12 months :-)

[W1TAK]

Schlam said:

I've seen a lovely, low miles Gen2, black on black. Not seen it in person yet however.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

That's a lot of car for the money. Talking of depreciation, with people paying upwards of 50k for 996 turbo's how can a Gen II Turbo depreciate that much? Surely its value is bolstered by 'lesser' models beneath it (not that I want to offend anyone in a 996 turbo or Gen I turbo as i am sure they are great cars ). The Gen II Turbo, in its limited numbers should be a reasonably safe place to put your money...at least as good as the 997 GTS.

To me the Turbo is the flagship 911.