Multi-function wheel, Park Assist and Telephone module.

[Manks]

Hi All

Need to put the finishing touches to a 991 spec and I am chewing over whether to order Rear Park Assist, Telephone Module and Multi-Function Steering Wheel.

I rarely if ever use Park, but I am aware it is popular and would not wish to affect resale.

I am going PDK and the MFSW cannot have paddles, which is fine for me because I prefer the buttons. But again will buttons and no MFSW offend the market?

Has anyone any comments please about Telephone Module vs Preparation for telephone. I am unclear what each does.

Thanks for your input chaps.

[daveyb662]

Manks, what a damn sticky situation to be in!!!

[Durzel]

If you care enough about resale I'd enquire as to which options can be retrofitted and which can't.

I would suspect all of the ones you're uncertain about can be, MFSW would be simple enough, not 100% on telephone module - could just be software activation of an already factory-installed module.

I found the buttons really unintuitive on the 2011 PDK Boxster I had on loan recently, it would be paddles all the way for me even if it meant losing the MFSW. Again though I would assume that paddles would be retrofittable based on 997s.

[Manks]

Durzel said:

If you care enough about resale I'd enquire as to which options can be retrofitted and which can't.

I would suspect all of the ones you're uncertain about can be, MFSW would be simple enough, not 100% on telephone module - could just be software activation of an already factory-installed module.

I found the buttons really unintuitive on the 2011 PDK Boxster I had on loan recently, it would be paddles all the way for me even if it meant losing the MFSW. Again though I would assume that paddles would be retrofittable based on 997s.

Good points.

Park may or may not be available as retro. The MF wheel can be for about £800-£1k (from new its £350 odd) and the phone thing I just don't understand.

I like the buttons a lot, they are tactile and I like that both do the same thing.

I think I shall take another look at the MF wheel tomorrow and see exactly what it does. The one on my 997 is not my favourite part to be honest.

Oh, and before someone pipes up "but Manks you are speccing the car for YOU" that is only partly right. I am buying a car I won't have tested, if I hate it (yuh right!) I want to be able to sell easily.

[betternotbigger]

Manks

You only need preparation for mobile phone (= bluetooth) and not telephone module, unless you also sport wide shoulder pads, a filofax and 2 sim cards (or your phone lacks basic bluetooth).

MFSW I like but I like the paddles even more. I've switched recently and I'm coping fine without steering wheel control of the volume. I'm also fiddling less with PCM now I can't do so from the wheel and watching the road more. I think without paddles you are certainly limiting resale even if the paddle shift wheel is a retrofit.

Lady-park seems to be a default on all dealer spec-ed cars. Considering some of them still also spec a cd auto-changer, I don't think we can consider dealers to be the last word in modern fashion but they ought to know, oughtn't they? Personally I like the beepers.

[Manks]

betternotbigger said:

Manks

You only need preparation for mobile phone (= bluetooth) and not telephone module, unless you also sport wide shoulder pads, a filofax and 2 sim cards (or your phone lacks basic bluetooth).

MFSW I like but I like the paddles even more. I've switched recently and I'm coping fine without steering wheel control of the volume. I'm also fiddling less with PCM now I can't do so from the wheel and watching the road more. I think without paddles you are certainly limiting resale even if the paddle shift wheel is a retrofit.

Lady-park seems to be a default on all dealer spec-ed cars. Considering some of them still also spec a cd auto-changer, I don't think we can consider dealers to be the last word in modern fashion but they ought to know, oughtn't they? Personally I like the beepers.

Thanks for the input and explanation of mobile. I have no shoulder pads, therefore maybe prep is enough!

Lady park - good description. I might ditch it because the 911 is a man's car and I am not a lady....

With regard to paddles, I am not buying a canoe.

Maybe I should dump MFSW, Park and phone module.

[betternotbigger]

Good luck choosing.

You'll enjoy the PDK. I'm just up to 1700 miles so letting loose on the loud pedal at last. Tooling along in 7th at 60 on the M62 today and thought I'd see what it sounded like if I floored it from there. The rev needle span full circle clockwise as it executed an instantaneous 7th to 2nd and the car leapt forward like a scalded cat. The transition from calm commuter to raging beast is just so damned immediate. Loving it.

[mollytherocker]

Very surprised you are choosing buttons over paddles. Ive never heard anyone say that they prefer them.

I thought that the buttons were like using a PS3 controller.

But seriously, its your car, you should get what you want. I would.

MTR

[RedSpiseeBalls]

Park assist, other 2 in my opinion arn't worth the money

[Sierra Mike]

Manks said:

Need to put the finishing touches to a 991 spec and I am chewing over whether to order Rear Park Assist, Telephone Module and Multi-Function Steering Wheel.

I rarely if ever use Park, but I am aware it is popular and would not wish to affect resale.

I am going PDK and the MFSW cannot have paddles, which is fine for me because I prefer the buttons. But again will buttons and no MFSW offend the market?

Rear Park Assist: I always spec this because, quite simply, it's cheaper to add the option that to pay for a repair. That said, my GT3 does fine without.

Telephone Module: I don't have shoulder pads or Filofax but I do have two SIMs with Orange Single Number. This is a take it or leave it option though.

Multi-functional SW: It's a shame about losing the paddles but the right hand dial in the instrument binnacle is multi-functional and this is how you control the display. I've only ever driven a car with MFSW so I don't know about functionality without this option.

I'm taking delivery of a Cayenne next week and specced all three of these options. Voice control is a great option as well.

Edited by Sierra Mike on Thursday 6th October 00:10

[anonymous-user]

I'd go for paddles and park assist. The paddles are a must for PDK (even if you don't think so personally) and the latter is quite handy as a precaution - especially popular with the city folk who often have to park tightly on the street. Telephone module is obsolete nowadays, but bluetooth prep would be handy (presuming that's what it is)

[Manks]

uktrailmonster said:

The paddles are a must for PDK (even if you don't think so personally)

I am not sure the broader market takes that view. I think the PH Massive and some sniffy journos do. I also suspect that some people who say they don't like buttons have never tried them. I think they are excellent and much nicer than the paddles, and it is unlikely that I am on my own.

Can someone please explain to me exactly what telephone module does over and above preparation for telephone?

[anonymous-user]

Manks said:

I am not sure the broader market takes that view. I think the PH Massive and some sniffy journos do. I also suspect that some people who say they don't like buttons have never tried them. I think they are excellent and much nicer than the paddles, and it is unlikely that I am on my own.

Can someone please explain to me exactly what telephone module does over and above preparation for telephone?

You may be right about the broader market, but you don't get button shift on an F1 car. Most people who want to actually drive it as a manual will prefer paddles.
A telephone module is an actual built-in phone. Telephone prep is a bluetooth receiver to work with your own mobile phone i.e. not a phone in its own right. Similar to an aftermarket hands free kit.

[Durzel]

Paddles just feel massively more intuitive to use, even when the car isn't even moving. I found the buttons on the Boxster PDK I loaned were very close to where I would naturally rest my thumb/hands, and on more than one occasion I had to think about my hands to avoid accidental shifts.

I don't doubt that people can get used to buttons eventually just as you can get used to any peculiar marque trait, but my gut feeling based on brief experience with paddles is that using them is far more intuitive and transferrable to/from other cars with paddle-shifts.

Resale wise - again a presumption - but I would imagine that paddle-shifting is what people expect on a "sporty semi-auto". If you tell people you change gear via buttons, well it just doesn't have quite the same appeal does it?

If I had to choose between paddles and MFSS, Park Assist and Telephone prep combined I would choose paddles without hesitation.

[DS240]

You can't have pdk paddles and mfsw.... Yet. I don't think mfsw is any great loss. Love the look of the non pdk plain steering wheels. It just shouts, get on with the driving and focus on nothing else.

Plus it isn't really that much of a hardship reaching to centre console and changing the volume levels. Handy yes, vital no.

I would definitely have paddles with pdk. Buttons will be big problem at resale. Someone at Porsche is just being stubborn keeping the button option.

For 991 I would have park assist. It just makes life a bit easier and will be seen as a desirable option 2nd hand.

For the price of the car, telephone prep isn't much more, so tick it anyway. Module is full on handset.

Edited by DS240 on Thursday 6th October 09:31

[STiG911]

Tick:
Park Assist (more useful than you might realise)
Phone Prep (Useful fine prevention)
MFSW (If someone really wants paddles come resale, they can argue the toss with the OPC)
Then just drive the car and stop worrying about resale - you've only just got it!

[Actus Reus]

Lady park and phone prep would/will be desirable options. MFSW isn't for me - I prefer the sports wheel with paddles. Buttons I need to use more often - they're not intuitive, but I finally got to grips with them when testing a Boxster over summer - I think I could grow to like them. That said, I'd spec paddles - the Spyder I drove with PDK and paddles was simply sublime.

[Tony 1234]

I've gone for

Platinum silver
Park assist
Rain sensor
Sports exhaust
PDK
PDCC
Sports Chrono plus
Carrera classic wheels
TPM
Floor mats
Sports design steering wheel (with paddles)

Delivery in March

Edited by Tony 1234 on Thursday 6th October 10:08

[betternotbigger]

Tony 1234 said:

I've gone for

Platinum silver
Park assist
Rain sensor
Sports exhaust
PDK
PDCC
Sports Chrono plus
Carrera classic wheels
TPM
Floor mats
Sports design steering wheel (with paddles)

Delivery in March

Edited by Tony 1234 on Thursday 6th October 10:08

Very good spec that. What about PTV? I guess no one knows yet if that's a asset on a 2WD car.

[Manks]

DS240 said:

I would definitely have paddles with pdk. Buttons will be big problem at resale. Someone at Porsche is just being stubborn keeping the button option.

Won't be a big problem will it. Worst case scenario I will agree to change the wheel and sell the old one on Ebay. I will be a few hundred quid down at worst.

But I have spoken to 3 people at Porsche in the past couple of days about this (2 employees and a customer) and all of them preferred buttons.

I think there is a tendency on PH for people to believe that PH represents the whole market - it doesn't.