Tell me about the 911

[Salterns]

Would be interested to know if there any advantages over an Aston Martin Vantage? Would like to know about any clutch issues or other common mechanical problems? the servicing costs, etc? Thanks.

[g7jhp]

Salterns said:

Would be interested to know if there any advantages over an Aston Martin Vantage? Would like to know about any clutch issues or other common mechanical problems? the servicing costs, etc? Thanks.

Quite a wide question with 50 years to cars to choose.

If you've got a later V8 Vantage then you're probably best comparing it to a 997.2 C2 /GTS.

The Porsche will be quicker, more agile and generally feel more sporty. Costs of running will be lower than am AMVV8. Not really any issues to note on the 997.2 (the 997.1 had the engine issues).

[jakesmith]

Very different cars really. Vantage is very pretty, sounds divine
911 comes in loads of different flavors, sharper drive, faster

Servicing on Vantage is 10,000 or annual and costs £600 at an indi or £1000 at Aston
Servicing on 997 is 20,000 or 2 years and £300ish at indi or £600ish at Porsche

2 modes of known engine failure on 997, thought to be roughly 5% chance, with £5k-£10k bill to fix
Many small nigles on Aston but nothing as serious

Clutch on 997 good for 60k+ costs about £1k to replace
Clutch on Vantage thought to be good for 20k+ costs about £2k to replace

Fuel consumption on vantage is dire, think 10mpg round town, 18mpg open road, 25mpg 65mph on motorway
997 better, motr like 15 town, 23 open road, 30 65mph motorway
Boot in vantage is fairly small, even smaller in cab
997 has 2 very small rear seats OK for young children or luggage

Summary is Vantage is not a day to day car
Vantage better for impressing people & nicer cabin
997 (especially gen 2 2008+ with PDK) light years ahead to drive and much faster
Vantage 4.3 is not that fast, 4.7 greatly improved, or fit Bamfor rose's £5000 exhaust system to add about 40BHP
V12 is a monster & the one to have
Both good cars so enjoy

[jakesmith]

Oh and the contributors on the Aston board on here are even more cringey than the Porsche ones!

[Salterns]

Thanks all. As I suspected the 911 does look like a safer bet for me.

g7jhp said:

Quite a wide question with 50 years to cars to choose.

Yes indeed. I thought this was a pretty car and on my budget.

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

jakesmith said:

Oh and the contributors on the Aston board on here are even more cringey than the Porsche ones!

There are certainly some characters on the Aston board.

[Magic919]

Those links never seem to work. What car is it?

[Salterns]

Its a 911 Carrera S, 53,000 miles, 2010, £42k

[Magic919]

Looks ok. Presume nothing exciting in the spec from the price. Can't go too wrong with the 2 year warranty.

[SkinnyP]

jakesmith said:

Very different cars really. Vantage is very pretty, sounds divine
911 comes in loads of different flavors, sharper drive, faster

Servicing on Vantage is 10,000 or annual and costs £600 at an indi or £1000 at Aston
Servicing on 997 is 20,000 or 2 years and £300ish at indi or £600ish at Porsche

2 modes of known engine failure on 997, thought to be roughly 5% chance, with £5k-£10k bill to fix
Many small nigles on Aston but nothing as serious

Clutch on 997 good for 60k+ costs about £1k to replace
Clutch on Vantage thought to be good for 20k+ costs about £2k to replace

Fuel consumption on vantage is dire, think 10mpg round town, 18mpg open road, 25mpg 65mph on motorway
997 better, motr like 15 town, 23 open road, 30 65mph motorway
Boot in vantage is fairly small, even smaller in cab
997 has 2 very small rear seats OK for young children or luggage

Summary is Vantage is not a day to day car
Vantage better for impressing people & nicer cabin
997 (especially gen 2 2008+ with PDK) light years ahead to drive and much faster
Vantage 4.3 is not that fast, 4.7 greatly improved, or fit Bamfor rose's £5000 exhaust system to add about 40BHP
V12 is a monster & the one to have
Both good cars so enjoy

This is accurate I think.

I chose a Porsche over an AM, but it was definitely a head over heart decision.

[jakesmith]

Salterns said:

Its a 911 Carrera S, 53,000 miles, 2010, £42k

I don't think that offers much benefit over the gen 1 997S for £20k less to be honest. If I was spending £42k I'd want something a lot more special like a Ferarri 360 or R8. Fir a 997 at that price range I'd be looking at a Turbo for sure.

[Technomad]

SkinnyP said:

This is accurate I think.

I chose a Porsche over an AM, but it was definitely a head over heart decision.

Spot on, I think - I bought my 997.2 at exactly the same time as a colleague bought a v8s - and that sums up our experiences v nicely - including the clutch change on the Aston.

[Salterns]

Technomad said:

SkinnyP said:

This is accurate I think.

I chose a Porsche over an AM, but it was definitely a head over heart decision.

Spot on, I think - I bought my 997.2 at exactly the same time as a colleague bought a v8s - and that sums up our experiences v nicely - including the clutch change on the Aston.

I think this is exactly where I'm at, I don't know anything about Porsche. I'll prbably end up not buying either.

[hondansx]

jakesmith said:

Salterns said:

Its a 911 Carrera S, 53,000 miles, 2010, £42k

I don't think that offers much benefit over the gen 1 997S for £20k less to be honest. If I was spending £42k I'd want something a lot more special like a Ferarri 360 or R8. Fir a 997 at that price range I'd be looking at a Turbo for sure.

Assume you haven't driven any of these cars then!

Just because they look the same, the assumption is the Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars are the same to drive. Actually, it was a significant leap forward.

For the same money, you could indeed get a Gen 1 Turbo. Thing is, it won't handle as nicely, won't sound as good, and won't have the upgraded PCM. The only trump card is straightline speed.

[jakesmith]

So I'm assuming you're a gen 2 owner who's desperate to justify the extra expence for what was essentially a mild facelift

Handling of a gen 1 vs a gen 2 - what did they actually change? move the engine forward a bit?
Sound NA vs Turbo - personal taste but judging by how few NA 997s have PSE it obviously isn't as important to everyone, I have a NA 997.1 and with PSE off is barely louder than an Audi A4
And finally the PCM, seriously? It's almost exactly the same as 2, ie, utter rubbish. The integration is obviously better but sound quality is so poor on the Bose system that anyone who really cared would rip the whole system out & start again anyway
PDK and the engine reliability are good benefits though

Not £20k worth in my book, especially when that takes you into the realm of far more interesting (to me) machinery