997 GTS or 997 GT3 (gen 1)

[Jonny F]

Could someone give me a little advice?

I’ve been looking to buy a 997 GTS but prices seem to be creeping ever closer to the 997 GT3 (Gen 1). This purchase will be a “high day and holiday drive” and not the daily run around so with one eye on residuals, is the GT3 not a better bet for less than £10K more than a GTS?

[Porsche911R]

drive both, both great cars, both very far apart in how they go about things.

I would take a mint GTS 2WD with sharkwerks bypass, ohlins roads and track and cup 2's myself.
No manual 2WD GTS for sale atm though !

Edited by Porsche911R on Monday 21st March 15:22

[v8ksn]

Porsche911R said:

drive both, both great cars, both very far apart in how they go about things.

^ Have to agree with this, drive both then come back and start a new thread asking which 997.1 GT3 to buy

[Phooey]

I'd look at the black 7GT3 at JZM. Good value IMO.

eta - had both and the GT3 is worth twice what a GTS is (IMO)

[slodge]

Phooey said:

I'd look at the black 7GT3 at JZM. Good value IMO.

eta - had both and the GT3 is worth twice what a GTS is (IMO)

+1

Had both.

For high days and holidays, GT3 every time.

GTS is a cracking daily mind.

Cheers

Slodge

[Jonny F]

Thanks folks. Just had a look at the GT3 at 911 Virgin. Not sure about white! JZM next. Head definitely thinking GT3 has the edge both in value and sense of occasion!

[krallicious]

If I were in your shoes, then GT3.

As slodge says, the GTS is a great daily but the GT3 is a different car altogether. I would also reccommend trying a turbo if you are set on a GTS.

I can still vividly recall a pax lap I had in a GT3 at DN last year. Been checking prices ever since. Cheers slodge

Edited by krallicious on Monday 21st March 19:53

[C2'S'man]

Also had both, currently got the GTS & great cars in their own way,.
The GT3 for track days & high days etc, but isn't ideal as a daily . The GTS is a consumate all rounder, track days (but not with the gusto of the GT car) pub, school runs etc.
Yer pays yer money & takes yer pick, the GTS suits my lifestyle at the moment, but the GTcars are very special & I wouldn't have missed my time with them for anything!!!

[911Viking]

10 out 10 times it would be GT3... GTS is a DD, nothing special imv, its a souped up Carrera. If similar money, really a no brainer as the special car. GT3 can also be DD if having to. If cost of ownership is of interest, GT3 is by far the overall cheaper car. GTS will depreciate, GT3 likely to appreciate. Delta easily offsets higher cost of consumables.

[Big E 118]

I have a 997 GTS and it's a great car but would go GT3 for a weekend car, no question!

[Cheib]

I have just bought a manual RWD GTS....absolutely love it. I am using mine as a weekend car...., I think the suspension is great for where I use it...country lanes and B roads...also I have two young kids so the extra practicality means it will get used more.

As far as I know there have been three RWD GTS coupes for sale since Xmas, all sold very quickly...one that was featured in PH that was at Maxted Page, mine and one that RPM had and sold very quickly last week.

I am not sure about the cost to own argument...I bought mine from an OPC so have a two year warranty, I doubt you'll find a 997.1 GT3 at an OPC that is sensibly priced. GTS's are not showing any signs of depreciating either...don't think they'll go up but I think they're a relatively safe place to put your money.

I think a lot depends on where you want to drive it....on the roads I drive mine on I never use the Sport PASM setting (I imagine a GT3 is stiffer than PASM SPort on a GTS) and really don't need any more power.

I read somewhere ( I think 911 UK) that possibly the ultimate road going 911 would be a 997 GT3 with suspension set up for road use...can't comment but sounds like a mighty interesting idea!

[Mario149]

Cheib said:

I read somewhere ( I think 911 UK) that possibly the ultimate road going 911 would be a 997 GT3 with suspension set up for road use...can't comment but sounds like a mighty interesting idea!

May have been on here. I posted a while back suggesting that the ultimate road 911 would be a 997.1 GT3 with much more road biased suspension, regular buckets (not Carrera GT ones that were optional) and a Cup or RS final drive to shorten the in gear speeds. Stick a couple of seatbelts in the back an there's your daily. Could probably do it for £7K or so on top of the GT3 purchase price if you didn't have to change the seats. Bang, there's your 997R if you weren't able to get a 991R.

ETA: if I hadn't sold my GT3 back in Nov, this is probably what I'd be doing.

[Cheib]

Mario149 said:

Cheib said:

I read somewhere ( I think 911 UK) that possibly the ultimate road going 911 would be a 997 GT3 with suspension set up for road use...can't comment but sounds like a mighty interesting idea!

May have been on here. I posted a while back suggesting that the ultimate road 911 would be a 997.1 GT3 with much more road biased suspension, regular buckets (not Carrera GT ones that were optional) and a Cup or RS final drive to shorten the in gear speeds. Stick a couple of seatbelts in the back an there's your daily. Could probably do it for £7K or so on top of the GT3 purchase price if you didn't have to change the seats. Bang, there's your 997R if you weren't able to get a 991R.

ETA: if I hadn't sold my GT3 back in Nov, this is probably what I'd be doing.

Indeed it was!

[wtdoom]

No contest gt3 , all day long .
Take it up to tuthills and fit a set of exe tc dampers [or öhlins from another specialist] and you have everything a car could be and more

[slodge]

krallicious said:

If I were in your shoes, then GT3.

As slodge says, the GTS is a great daily but the GT3 is a different car altogether. I would also reccommend trying a turbo if you are set on a GTS.

I can still vividly recall a pax lap I had in a GT3 at DN last year. Been checking prices ever since. Cheers slodge

Edited by krallicious on Monday 21st March 19:53

Anytime dude! I still remember the turbo shove!

[Jonny F]

Thank you everyone for your comments and views - all much appreciated. So one last question? The three GT3 Gen 1's I'm looking at have all been on the market for some months at mid £70K. A gen 2 car at £105K flies out the door over night........Was it that much better??? Somebody thinks so. And here's another thing, Hexagon now have a manual GTS (admittedly with only 4K on the clock) at the same price (give or take a grand) as a GT3! What are we all missing?

[andyc11]

For my needs and driving ability a GTS fits the bill. I turned down a 7.1 GT3 for the same price as my GTS (back in December '13), as I preferred the GTS. Each to their own and all that, GT3 is definitely a more special thing than a GTS, but I still have a huge smile on my face when I drive mine.

Not sure I'd buy a GTS at over £70k myself, would say the bulk of that is the mileage rather than manual 'box, but they're getting a harder beast to find these manual GTS'.

[hondansx]

GT3 is so much better than a GTS they are beyond comparison in my opinion.

And my opinion is that, if you wanted to, a GT3 can be used as a daily driver. I found the ride and NVH absolutely fine; the only compromise is the low ride height with speedbumps.

[Phooey]

Jonny F said:

Thank you everyone for your comments and views - all much appreciated. So one last question? The three GT3 Gen 1's I'm looking at have all been on the market for some months at mid £70K. A gen 2 car at £105K flies out the door over night........Was it that much better??? Somebody thinks so. And here's another thing, Hexagon now have a manual GTS (admittedly with only 4K on the clock) at the same price (give or take a grand) as a GT3! What are we all missing?

re gen2 - I think it's just a coincidence it selling "overnight". Somebody probably wanted the 'newer' car, that's all. You wouldn't notice a 30-40% difference in how they drive!I would have the gen1 at mid-seventies personally. Apart from the obvious cost difference - one benefit is not having the PITA centre-locks. You can also extend warranty to 15 years on Porsche's now.

GTS at 70k is bonkers

[Porsche911R]

Jonny F said:

Thank you everyone for your comments and views - all much appreciated. So one last question? The three GT3 Gen 1's I'm looking at have all been on the market for some months at mid £70K. A gen 2 car at £105K flies out the door over night........Was it that much better??? Somebody thinks so. And here's another thing, Hexagon now have a manual GTS (admittedly with only 4K on the clock) at the same price (give or take a grand) as a GT3! What are we all missing?

the 3 GT3 have chairs, chairs in a GT3 is a big F4*k off no no and you cannot sell the bloody things, even though you will get a ton of people here saying other wise.
A set of oem seats is about £8k to add.

the fact is having a GT3 with chairs is a bloody hard sell and hence the 3 are for sale longer than normal,, the gen 2 GT3 had buckets and is 3 years newer it is what it is.

again depends what you want, some say the 997.1 is the sweet spot, it's a lighter engine and is the pick of the bunch, more refined than the 996 but a better car all round it seems.

The 3.8 I thought is the car to own if you want to use it also as a daily more than you would a 997.1, less hardcore than the 997.1, you can spec lift, it's newer etc etc.

each car has plus and minus points depending what sort of drive you are after, the key is, EVERY GT3 if you want to sell it some time soon will need bucket seats !!!

the GTS at £73k is a very nice car , but you cannot use it !!! add 10k miles and it will cost you £10k in a drop in value !!!