Base 992 or ‘s’ is the 11k difference worth it..
Base 992 or ‘s’ is the 11k difference worth it..
Author
Discussion

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Thursday 26th December 2019
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Really close to buying my first Porsche and was set to put down deposit on base 992 but have seen quiet a few Ex demo/ 1 owner ‘s’ cars come on for sale at pretty big discounts with tiny mileage.. I know finding my ideal spec is going to be impossible but the chance of getting an S at almost the same price and saving most of the 2k otr Tax is making me think very hard ??? I have driven both for test drives but cannot really feel a difference and not many base 992 Ex Demo cars around at this stage and would prefer to have a car by Feb .....
Thanks

interstellar

5,006 posts

174 months

Thursday 26th December 2019
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If you are thinking about re sale at some point then the S will retain more value if the initial depreciation has already hit

Fnumber1user

411 posts

80 months

Thursday 26th December 2019
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You've really answered your own question if:

a) you can't tell difference between base and 's',
b) you want it by February, and,
c) you want to avoid the OTR VED

Go for it, find the ex-demo in as close a spec as you can. Job done - post pics once you've taken delivery.

Koln-RS

4,116 posts

240 months

Thursday 26th December 2019
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If I was buying a 992, I might actually prefer the standard/base model with only essential options (although I'd probably want PCCBs).
It’s a shame it doesn’t come in a ‘narrow body’.

arcamalpha

1,113 posts

192 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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The base car will be lovely and easily fast enough. Just don’t drive an S so you don’t know the extra performance you’re missing.

Right now, though, a super low miles used car is a good bet. Lots of very well specced car for under £100k. I saw a delivery miles non-S for £88k recently for example.

Having owned a fully loaded S I do wonder if the car would have been 95% as good with £15k less in options.

Edited by arcamalpha on Friday 27th December 08:40

cayman-black

13,262 posts

244 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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I would go for a low mileage S as there are some good discounts around might not be as you would spec it, but it will be an S and at less money than your base car perhaps.

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Friday 27th December 2019
quotequote all
Koln-RS said:
If I was buying a 992, I might actually prefer the standard/base model with only essential options (although I'd probably want PCCBs).
It’s a shame it doesn’t come in a ‘narrow body’.
That was my preference as well but if I can get an S for similar money I guess it must make sense , spec is so subjective anyway.

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Friday 27th December 2019
quotequote all
Fnumber1user said:
You've really answered your own question if:

a) you can't tell difference between base and 's',
b) you want it by February, and,
c) you want to avoid the OTR VED

Go for it, find the ex-demo in as close a spec as you can. Job done - post pics once you've taken delivery.
Yeah I did feel a bit of an idiot asking , when I read it back lol.. just was very keen to keep things below 90k and paying 95k for a 2nd hand S without my spec ,just was making me think !!

ags11

609 posts

168 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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That's always the conundrum.
If you're spending that amount of money or any amount of money, spend it on what YOU want.

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Friday 27th December 2019
quotequote all
ags11 said:
That's always the conundrum.
If you're spending that amount of money or any amount of money, spend it on what YOU want.
I think that’s so true , my base model with basic spec was about 88k plus the 2k OTR and is perfect for me all the S 992’s that have come on are so highly spec’d that they are all still 95-100k if I could get them at 90k then I guess I would be stupid to ignore for the sake of NO GT WHEEL OR SPORTS SIDE SKIRTS , just worried that it will bug me over time lol

interstellar

5,006 posts

174 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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Yep don’t compromise. Once behind the wheel you need to be smiling it’s right for you.

Cheib

25,326 posts

203 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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maxtennis said:
Yeah I did feel a bit of an idiot asking , when I read it back lol.. just was very keen to keep things below 90k and paying 95k for a 2nd hand S without my spec ,just was making me think !!
If £90K is your limit and these cars are currently £95k I would guess within a month or so you’ll be able to buy a car. OPC’s that are part of big dealer groups have 90 days to sell cars so £90k would be a realistic level to buy a car I reckon when they have spent another month staring at their stock list.

I’d also ring round a few of the dealers like Romans, Top 555, Bramley, JZM etc. My guess is they are getting offered 992’s at the moment but probably don’t want to buy them.

Also reckon there’s a decent chance you could buy a car now as its year end and quarter end...best time of year to buy a car from them....OPC’s will be desperate to do a deal before year end.

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
quotequote all
interstellar said:
Yep don’t compromise. Once behind the wheel you need to be smiling it’s right for you.
Sound advice !!

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
quotequote all
Cheib said:
maxtennis said:
Yeah I did feel a bit of an idiot asking , when I read it back lol.. just was very keen to keep things below 90k and paying 95k for a 2nd hand S without my spec ,just was making me think !!
If £90K is your limit and these cars are currently £95k I would guess within a month or so you’ll be able to buy a car. OPC’s that are part of big dealer groups have 90 days to sell cars so £90k would be a realistic level to buy a car I reckon when they have spent another month staring at their stock list.

I’d also ring round a few of the dealers like Romans, Top 555, Bramley, JZM etc. My guess is they are getting offered 992’s at the moment but probably don’t want to buy them.

Also reckon there’s a decent chance you could buy a car now as its year end and quarter end...best time of year to buy a car from them....OPC’s will be desperate to do a deal before year end.
Good point about calling Romans etc, had not really thought of that... keep getting told that Allocation for new cars for March will all be gone any day , so concerned that the Ex demo market strengthens and my neg power vanishes, if I don’t make my move in next week or so ?

Maybe u are right and a few cheeky bids of 5k under asking may just tempt someone if o can find an almost right spec ??

mattybrown

330 posts

238 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
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maxtennis said:
keep getting told that Allocation for new cars for March will all be gone any day , so concerned that the Ex demo market strengthens and my neg power vanishes, if I don’t make my move in next week or so ?
Not sure who to believe about allocations, but here is my current position on a 992 CS2. Deposit placed at the end of Nov told the lockout would be mid December, Jan build and March delivery. Since then no lockout and been told it will be a possible Jan lock out for March build so I take that as a late April /May delivery. Reason from the dealer is that Porsche have constrained allocations to the dealers...

mw300

24 posts

114 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
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Took delivery of my base 992 in november. Great car. Not perfect but very pleased. I’m clearly biased but to me it’s the better car for three reasons:

1. You have to rev it just a bit harder for full enjoyment than the S which makes it feel a bit more like a naturally aspirated engine and you can lift a bit later. The S has almost too much torque so you can drive it more lazily which gets boring. Rented an S for 24 hours and drove it hard so it’s not just a theoretical opinion.

2. You can get smaller wheels on the base car which make for a better ride and they look absolutely fine. The 20/21 inch wheels look ridiculous to me. Maybe get the coloured centre wheel caps to make the wheels look a bit less plain.

3. It’s closer in spirit to the older 911s and the idea that a 911 is a sportscar but not a supercar and that it’s value for money. If you want a supercar buy something else, don’t fall into the trap of dozens of gradations of turbo charged cars. I can see the appeal of a naturally aspirated engine on a T or GT3 but otherwise they’re all just too similar to justify the additional cost.

Of course, if you can get something which has already depreciated a lot then that might be a
wiser purchase. Just don’t expect to get more enjoyment out of it.

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
quotequote all
mattybrown said:
Not sure who to believe about allocations, but here is my current position on a 992 CS2. Deposit placed at the end of Nov told the lockout would be mid December, Jan build and March delivery. Since then no lockout and been told it will be a possible Jan lock out for March build so I take that as a late April /May delivery. Reason from the dealer is that Porsche have constrained allocations to the dealers...
That’s really interesting ... means that I may have a bit more time to make my choice , Thanks

maxtennis

Original Poster:

230 posts

167 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
quotequote all
mw300 said:
Took delivery of my base 992 in november. Great car. Not perfect but very pleased. I’m clearly biased but to me it’s the better car for three reasons:

1. You have to rev it just a bit harder for full enjoyment than the S which makes it feel a bit more like a naturally aspirated engine and you can lift a bit later. The S has almost too much torque so you can drive it more lazily which gets boring. Rented an S for 24 hours and drove it hard so it’s not just a theoretical opinion.

2. You can get smaller wheels on the base car which make for a better ride and they look absolutely fine. The 20/21 inch wheels look ridiculous to me. Maybe get the coloured centre wheel caps to make the wheels look a bit less plain.

3. It’s closer in spirit to the older 911s and the idea that a 911 is a sportscar but not a supercar and that it’s value for money. If you want a supercar buy something else, don’t fall into the trap of dozens of gradations of turbo charged cars. I can see the appeal of a naturally aspirated engine on a T or GT3 but otherwise they’re all just too similar to justify the additional cost.

Of course, if you can get something which has already depreciated a lot then that might be a
wiser purchase. Just don’t expect to get more enjoyment out of it.
Pretty much the same reasons as me , the more info I get , the more I am leaning to getting a new Base 992 in my spec or maybe waiting a few more weeks to see if more Base Ex Demo’s come available that are close to my spec and a few K cheaper without all the OTR tax to pay ..
I have been in a F-type ( Cab , then Coupe ) for the last 6 years , so this is gonna be very different . Having those 2 Tiny seats behind is going to feel like I’m driving a Camper van hahahahaha.. Is it your first 911 or are u a die hard fan ?

mw300

24 posts

114 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
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Had a 911 from 1985 about 10 years ago so wouldn’t consider myself a die hard fan but it’s one of those classics for which there isn’t a substitute really, because it does what it does so well. A bit like a Golf GTI or Mercedes G class.

Geneve

4,012 posts

247 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
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With Porsches, ‘less is often more’.
And, in my experience, the plain vanilla model, is quite often the nicest - a view I often hear from others, inc the better regarded motoring journos.
With ‘911s’, if you can save weight and simplify the spec, especially eliminating driver aids and unnecessary tech, you generally end up with a nicer car.
The problem is, a lot of newer Porsche buyers don’t understand that, and they assume that the greater the power and the higher the spec, the better the car.