991.1 GTS Purchase

[MarkW34]

Hi All,

I haven’t posted in here up to now, however I have been a regular reader as I’ve sought information and built up a better understanding prior to purchasing my first 911.

It's a significant purchase for me and whilst I started with the idea of a Carrara S, Coupe, PDK, Sports Chrono and Sports exhaust as my criteria, I have since settled on a GTS 991.1 as the one to go for.

I’m close to pulling the trigger (next Saturday) on the 2015, white one in Guildford, 9k miles, listed at £93k, as it ticks all of the boxes I think I want ticked. I’m slightly troubled by the three prior owners, but that's my only niggle at the minute.

Anyhow, I’d very much appreciate any advice from the collective experience you all have on the specifics of this one, the GTSs in general and anything I should be considering with a practical buyers head, rather than the emotional one that is fulfilling a long held, since childhood aspiration.

It won’t be a daily driver, but will be used regularly at weekends.

Thanks in advance, all opinions gratefully received!

Mark

[m88ony]

Hi,

First of all congrats on being close to secure a 911. They are wonderful cars.

My first 911 was the 991.1 GTS and I have had this for 18 months. Like you it is a weekend only car.

The .1 GTS is a fantastic machine and it has one of the best sound tracks available. I don’t believe there is a bad handling 911 out there so the theatre that the .1 gts offers in addition to little design touches makes the car for me.

Spec is personal taste so as long as you like it then go for it.

Thanks

[MarkW34]

m88ony said:

Hi,

First of all congrats on being close to secure a 911. They are wonderful cars.

My first 911 was the 991.1 GTS and I have had this for 18 months. Like you it is a weekend only car.

The .1 GTS is a fantastic machine and it has one of the best sound tracks available. I don’t believe there is a bad handling 911 out there so the theatre that the .1 gts offers in addition to little design touches makes the car for me.

Spec is personal taste so as long as you like it then go for it.

Thanks

Thanks, you're quite correct, if it feels right I'm sure I'll just say yes. I'm just feeling a tad anxious as I've not spent this much money on anything that I can't actually live in previously.

[Shiverman]

Personally I wouldn’t worry about 3 owners particularly on a 2015 car. A lot of Porsche owners change their cars regularly so it is quite common to have a number of owners and low miles.

I would however check to see if they know the car did they supply from new and/or to the other owners? If the car has Reading plate I would be asking if it came from the Experience centre or was it a journo car.

Spec looks nice and the price seems fair. Sunroof splits opinion on these cars and some say it helps resale, but if you dont want it, buy the car for you not the next guy.

I dont know your budget and how you are financing the car, however, if you could stretch another £10k then Leeds have a stonking spec 991.2GTS, 2017 car with one owner and 4.5k miles at £102,500. Could even be tempted myself in all honesty!!

http://locator.porsche.com/ipl-customer/ipl/detail...

I have had both the .1GTS and .2GTS and they are both fantastic cars and I would jump at either depending on where my budget lay. The .2 is a considerable step on though IMO both in drive and infotainment and at the end of the day for me it would have to come down to where my budget was.

Hope I haven’t made matters worse for you!

[nigestar]

MarkW34 said:

Hi All,

I haven’t posted in here up to now, however I have been a regular reader as I’ve sought information and built up a better understanding prior to purchasing my first 911.

It's a significant purchase for me and whilst I started with the idea of a Carrara S, Coupe, PDK, Sports Chrono and Sports exhaust as my criteria, I have since settled on a GTS 991.1 as the one to go for.

I’m close to pulling the trigger (next Saturday) on the 2015, white one in Guildford, 9k miles, listed at £93k, as it ticks all of the boxes I think I want ticked. I’m slightly troubled by the three prior owners, but that's my only niggle at the minute.

Anyhow, I’d very much appreciate any advice from the collective experience you all have on the specifics of this one, the GTSs in general and anything I should be considering with a practical buyers head, rather than the emotional one that is fulfilling a long held, since childhood aspiration.

It won’t be a daily driver, but will be used regularly at weekends.

Thanks in advance, all opinions gratefully received!

Mark

I purchased my 997GTS from Guildford in 2015 - always wanted a 911 so in the end pushed the button.

I have a feeling this white 991.1 GTS was for sale last Xmas at Guildford. it was 2015 with white rear lights and red stitching GTS package and I think 2 owners. Looks like someone has chopped it in. maybe check. I toyed with idea of buying it. they dropped the price in the end - i think to sub 90k. if its not then it just looks the same.

I'm not keen on the white rear lights. white is a bit boring BUT contrasts well with the GTS centrelocks. All I can say is its hard to find the perfect spec GTS. its low miles which is good. the one i bought wasnt mine. in the end i get fed up waiting.

btw I am still thinking about keep upgrade to 991.1 or 991.2. my feeling is 991.1 will hold its value. not many around and sounds great which for someone like me that uses it as a weekend car for a bit of fun is what you want.
997GTS has and actually increased.

Edited by nigestar on Saturday 20th January 22:23

[MarkW34]

nigestar said:

I have a feeling this white 991.1 GTS was for sale last Xmas at Guildford. it was 2015 with white rear lights and red stitching GTS package and I think 2 owners. Looks like someone has chopped it in. maybe check. I toyed with idea of buying it. they dropped the price in the end - i think to sub 90k. if its not then it just looks the same.

The history as conveyed by the sales team (I'll be dealing with Hatfield as that is more local to me - hence it's being brought upon Saturday), is that is was Guildford's demo car, then next owner kept for a decent time and the 3rd owner bought whilst waiting for a GT3, which turned up sooner than expected, hence the short ownership.

So that kind of ties with it being the one you saw... interesting that the price was sub 90k then.

With all other used cars I've bought, there would be some negotiation on price or a deal to be struck.

What should my expectations be with this type of transaction?

[OhThatHurtAbit]

Just throwing it out there and appreciating that everyone's tastes are different, I've driven the 991.1 GTS and 991.2 GTS quite bit now and in my opinion the .2 is head and shoulders above the .1 in almost every way.

The chassis a tad sharper (if you're looking closely), the PCM unit a world ahead (by a country mile with the new features) and the off the line and mid-range performance leaves the .1 for dead. It even sounds good, banging and popping the exhaust to keep the emotions high.

There's little difference in price between the two and having broker sourced a PCP quote for a client on a .1 and .2 there's not a huge amount between them in cost with the future residuals on the .2 strong. The .2 looks amazing value in relation to .1 at the moment and think that the .1 is due a price re-alignment.

I have neither to sell at the moment, so i'm impartial, but as I said earlier each unto their own.

Don.

[RSVP911]

Shiverman said:

Personally I wouldn’t worry about 3 owners particularly on a 2015 car. A lot of Porsche owners change their cars regularly so it is quite common to have a number of owners and low miles.

I would however check to see if they know the car did they supply from new and/or to the other owners? If the car has Reading plate I would be asking if it came from the Experience centre or was it a journo car.

Spec looks nice and the price seems fair. Sunroof splits opinion on these cars and some say it helps resale, but if you dont want it, buy the car for you not the next guy.

I dont know your budget and how you are financing the car, however, if you could stretch another £10k then Leeds have a stonking spec 991.2GTS, 2017 car with one owner and 4.5k miles at £102,500. Could even be tempted myself in all honesty!!

http://locator.porsche.com/ipl-customer/ipl/detail...

I have had both the .1GTS and .2GTS and they are both fantastic cars and I would jump at either depending on where my budget lay. The .2 is a considerable step on though IMO both in drive and infotainment and at the end of the day for me it would have to come down to where my budget was.

Hope I haven’t made matters worse for you!

Any turbo lag in the .2 - If I was in the market for one, I’d choose a .1 as I’d want NA and I’d be very wary about the lack of NA flat 6 growl - is this fair, or am I being overly predjucide towards the Turbo .2 - not sure I’ll ever get over this if I’m honest.

Cheers

[Shiverman]

RSVP911 said:

Shiverman said:

Personally I wouldn’t worry about 3 owners particularly on a 2015 car. A lot of Porsche owners change their cars regularly so it is quite common to have a number of owners and low miles.

I would however check to see if they know the car did they supply from new and/or to the other owners? If the car has Reading plate I would be asking if it came from the Experience centre or was it a journo car.

Spec looks nice and the price seems fair. Sunroof splits opinion on these cars and some say it helps resale, but if you dont want it, buy the car for you not the next guy.

I dont know your budget and how you are financing the car, however, if you could stretch another £10k then Leeds have a stonking spec 991.2GTS, 2017 car with one owner and 4.5k miles at £102,500. Could even be tempted myself in all honesty!!

http://locator.porsche.com/ipl-customer/ipl/detail...

I have had both the .1GTS and .2GTS and they are both fantastic cars and I would jump at either depending on where my budget lay. The .2 is a considerable step on though IMO both in drive and infotainment and at the end of the day for me it would have to come down to where my budget was.

Hope I haven’t made matters worse for you!

Any turbo lag in the .2 - If I was in the market for one, I’d choose a .1 as I’d want NA and I’d be very wary about the lack of NA flat 6 growl - is this fair, or am I being overly predjucide towards the Turbo .2 - not sure I’ll ever get over this if I’m honest.

Cheers

I have to say I was sceptical as well. I placed an order for the .2GTS in PTS and took up my PEC day. To say I was blown away is an understatement I thought it was so good I bought a car from OPC’s showroom for immediate delivery as I didn’t want to wait.

GTS lag is minimal and it is so much better than the .1 in most normal road circumstances. Normal driving and coming off a roundabout and you want to press on, in the .1 you press the accelerator and nothing much happens, press harder and it drops down too many cogs and flies. .2GTS same roundabout press the accelerator and you’re in the right torque zone and it flies harder and faster than the .1. Won’t suit everyone, but I think it was my best car to date at that time.

I px’d the .2GTS for a new Manual GT3 which is a truly amazing Car but I still miss my .2 and might even see if I can scrape the pennies together for another one to run daily. Much better than the S and imo the .1 isn’t sharp enough and the infotainment is now too old.

Try one and if you can, go in with an open mind and you might be surprised.

Interestingly drove a 718 Boxster S yesterday as a run around and after half an hour I’d had enough. Didn’t like the sound, the lag or anything about the F4 engine.

[RSVP911]

Shiverman said:

RSVP911 said:

Shiverman said:

Personally I wouldn’t worry about 3 owners particularly on a 2015 car. A lot of Porsche owners change their cars regularly so it is quite common to have a number of owners and low miles.

I would however check to see if they know the car did they supply from new and/or to the other owners? If the car has Reading plate I would be asking if it came from the Experience centre or was it a journo car.

Spec looks nice and the price seems fair. Sunroof splits opinion on these cars and some say it helps resale, but if you dont want it, buy the car for you not the next guy.

I dont know your budget and how you are financing the car, however, if you could stretch another £10k then Leeds have a stonking spec 991.2GTS, 2017 car with one owner and 4.5k miles at £102,500. Could even be tempted myself in all honesty!!

http://locator.porsche.com/ipl-customer/ipl/detail...

I have had both the .1GTS and .2GTS and they are both fantastic cars and I would jump at either depending on where my budget lay. The .2 is a considerable step on though IMO both in drive and infotainment and at the end of the day for me it would have to come down to where my budget was.

Hope I haven’t made matters worse for you!

Any turbo lag in the .2 - If I was in the market for one, I’d choose a .1 as I’d want NA and I’d be very wary about the lack of NA flat 6 growl - is this fair, or am I being overly predjucide towards the Turbo .2 - not sure I’ll ever get over this if I’m honest.

Cheers

I have to say I was sceptical as well. I placed an order for the .2GTS in PTS and took up my PEC day. To say I was blown away is an understatement I thought it was so good I bought a car from OPC’s showroom for immediate delivery as I didn’t want to wait.

GTS lag is minimal and it is so much better than the .1 in most normal road circumstances. Normal driving and coming off a roundabout and you want to press on, in the .1 you press the accelerator and nothing much happens, press harder and it drops down too many cogs and flies. .2GTS same roundabout press the accelerator and you’re in the right torque zone and it flies harder and faster than the .1. Won’t suit everyone, but I think it was my best car to date at that time.

I px’d the .2GTS for a new Manual GT3 which is a truly amazing Car but I still miss my .2 and might even see if I can scrape the pennies together for another one to run daily. Much better than the S and imo the .1 isn’t sharp enough and the infotainment is now too old.

Try one and if you can, go in with an open mind and you might be surprised.

Interestingly drove a 718 Boxster S yesterday as a run around and after half an hour I’d had enough. Didn’t like the sound, the lag or anything about the F4 engine.

Thanks - interesting stuff - What do they sound like - heard a 991.2 S and it really sounded very challenging to say the least.

[Shiverman]

RSVP911 said:

Thanks - interesting stuff - What do they sound like - heard a 991.2 S and it really sounded very challenging to say the least.

They get better with miles on them and from outside are apparently OK. Inside is definitely quieter than the .1 but I found it to be a good compromise and great to use everyday. I get a little sick of pops and crackles so I found I was using sport+ and manual mode. Still the loud button but not the annoying farts.

If you’re happy with a GT car as a daily cruiser then it will definitely be too quiet!!

[SSJ197]

Mark, hi.

Just PM’d you on this. May have some detail on that car but also another.

[RSVP911]

Shiverman said:

RSVP911 said:

Thanks - interesting stuff - What do they sound like - heard a 991.2 S and it really sounded very challenging to say the least.

They get better with miles on them and from outside are apparently OK. Inside is definitely quieter than the .1 but I found it to be a good compromise and great to use everyday. I get a little sick of pops and crackles so I found I was using sport+ and manual mode. Still the loud button but not the annoying farts.

If you’re happy with a GT car as a daily cruiser then it will definitely be too quiet!!

Ah, that may be an issue then - pretty cars though

[MarkW34]

There does seem a lot of support for the .2 GTS.

I've not driven either yet, but I was impressed with both the standard Carrera S's that I tested at Cambridge.

I subsequently concluded that a GTS made sense from an overall package, price and presence standpoint... if I carry on like this, the escalator will just keep escalating!!.

I am trying to draw a sensible line on how much I invest in this 'want' indulgence rather than a 'need' purchase.

I'll see how I get on on Saturday... thanks for the thoughts.

Edited by MarkW34 on Sunday 21st January 22:50

[Shiverman]

MarkW34 said:

There does seem a lot of support for the .2 GTS.

I've not driven either yet, but I was impressed with both the standard Carrera S's that I at tested at Cambridge.

I subsequently concluded that a GTS made sense from an overall package, price and presence standpoint... if I carry on like this, the escalator will just keep escalating!!.

I am trying to draw a sensible line on how much I invest in this 'want' indulgence rather than a 'need' purchase.

I'll see how I get on on Saturday... thanks for the thoughts.

Hi Mark. If you can justify the extra for a .2GTS, arrange a test drive comparison. If not, then don’t in case you end up liking it. Leeds Car looks like it retailed for around £111k. Mine had a similar spec and sold for around £109k over Xmas with same miles.
I wouldn’t rush to buy a .2S having driven one. I did find it a big laggy and didn’t like to be revved as high or as responsive. So make sure you drive both .1 & .2GTS’s.

Totally understand the level of investment on an indulgence and they will both depreciate but I would hope they will both be at the lower end of a depreciation curve so a relatively good place to put your cash in terms of cars. Trouble is they are so good you might end up wanting to drive it everyday. I do now, I’m totally hooked on them!

[anonymous-user]

MarkW34 said:

There does seem a lot of support for the .2 GTS.

I've not driven either yet, but I was impressed with both the standard Carrera S's that I at tested at Cambridge.

I subsequently concluded that a GTS made sense from an overall package, price and presence standpoint... if I carry on like this, the escalator will just keep escalating!!.

I am trying to draw a sensible line on how much I invest in this 'want' indulgence rather than a 'need' purchase.

I'll see how I get on on Saturday... thanks for the thoughts.

I don't know how far you will be able to prudently explore the car on a test drive, let alone do a serious head to head of a .2 vs .1, but it'll be a personal preference at the end of the day that won't reveal itself unless the car is pushed hard.

I have a 991.1 c2s as an A to A car. It is driven purely for fun. If it is replaced in that role, another 991.1, likely a gts, would be top of my shopping list. I find the car absolutely thrilling. Once out of built up areas, I hit the sports plus button and the power delivery is just hilarious. Nothing like a nasp engine on cam imho but then it does come down to preference. I have no idea what the infotainment system is like because I have never used it and likely never will.

If I could justify running a porker as a daily drive, I'd love a 991.2.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 21st January 22:40

[m88ony]

Hang On said:

I don't know how far you will be able to prudently explore the car on a test drive, let alone do a serious head to head of a .2 vs .1, but it'll be a personal preference at the end of the day that won't reveal itself unless the car is pushed hard.

I have a 991.1 c2s as an A to A car. It is driven purely for fun. If it is replaced in that role, another 991.1, likely a gts, would be top of my shopping list. I find the car absolutely thrilling. Once out of built up areas, I hit the sports plus button and the power delivery is just hilarious. Nothing like a nasp engine on cam imho but then it does come down to preference. I have no idea what the infotainment system is like because I have never used it and likely never will.

If I could justify running a porker as a daily drive, I'd love a 991.2.

Edited by Hang On on Sunday 21st January 22:40

Agreed. The engine noise in the .1 is just fabulous that the infotainment is never on. Always off!

I have the driven a .2 GTS and it’s a great car. I don’t believe there is a bad 911 out there. Something about the way the .1 GTS builds its revs to a crescendo that makes it special.

[nigestar]

MarkW34 said:

The history as conveyed by the sales team (I'll be dealing with Hatfield as that is more local to me - hence it's being brought upon Saturday), is that is was Guildford's demo car, then next owner kept for a decent time and the 3rd owner bought whilst waiting for a GT3, which turned up sooner than expected, hence the short ownership.

So that kind of ties with it being the one you saw... interesting that the price was sub 90k then.

With all other used cars I've bought, there would be some negotiation on price or a deal to be struck.

What should my expectations be with this type of transaction?

That makes sense.
negotiation: if it helps I got mine end of January and got some discount. they were quiet.