So let the 997.1 gt3 search begin...

[RC1]

Well its been a while in the making but my return to the pork fold begun in earnest today with my first ever visit to a dealer. i met a really nice chap called joji at 911 virgin and also had the dubious pleasure of one of their dogs peeing on the front spoiler of my cosseted alpina...

so a few things that i found interesting..

- not to get too hung up on the warranty thing
- even if i get one with carbons might be worth switching them out for steels depending on intended use
- rev range reports should be considered in light of the overall car and not in absolute terms (unless the car is clearly shagged)
- bolder colours are more popular than normal ones (bugger as i like the boring ones)
- some flexibility around comfort vs CS might help me get into one quicker as few CS were made
- carbons and CS will command a marked premium

Looking forward to the search and any tips from learned folk always welcome

[RC1]

cheers

to the normal driver would he notice the difference between the flywheels?

[RC1]

yep bang on. i have a slightly dicky back so that may be an issue that better lends itself to a comfort. i had recaro pole positions in my 968 CS and whilst narrow, they fitted my frame quite well.

[RC1]

i am getting a little lost on the seat options for a comfort. from what i can see there are the standard hard backed sports seats that could be heated and are adjustable but is there also a bucket seat option in leather. if so, are they adjustable buckets unlike the CS which has fixed buckets either in leather/alcantara or nomex?

[RC1]

Brilliant intel on the seats thanks for that. Re the test drive despite begging and trying to borrow the answer is no. Guess that leaves stealing?

Based on my chat with joji at 911v I'd be surprised if the drive doesn't captivate me in the way my 964 did but I'm less sure about the ideal spec and only a first hand experience will help me there

Is it a given that the michelins are better suited to the car than the pirellis?

My intended use is spirited recreational driving and fewer than 5 track days per year. Not likely any euro or gt style trips

[RC1]

D.no said:

Sadly not an option if you wish to renew the warranty though.

does that mean n rated pirellis only then?

[RC1]

D.no said:

I'm in the same position as you (i.e looking for a 7.1 GT3). I only got off the fence a couple of weeks ago after being balanced there for the last 7 years and thought "To hell with it, life's too short etc." The only thing certain about the future is that it gets shorter for every day that passes. So as I'm in full-on crisis mode, In the last 2 weeks I've driven 2 cars, with a 3rd lined-up. Get your sleeves rolled up and get on with it or I'll beat you to it!

The first car I drove was on Prelli's and aftermarket suspension (no idea what yet), and ride-wise felt very similar to my current 7.2 C2S. The second was absolutely standard and running on Cup-2's and felt more like what I was expecting a GT3 to feel like (preferred it). I much prefer road driving and Euro trips to track days these days (I get bored after a couple of hours on track days).

Each car/scenario has it's positives and negatives and it's proving nigh-on impossible to make a bloody decision!

It boils down to the age-old balancing act between heart and head.

All the very best of luck with your search.

no rush here and happy to wait albeit not indefinitely for the right one with the right compromises if required! if it helps i know i def dont want a white or red car (not many of those anyway right?)

[RC1]

short-shift said:

I kept the Porsche extended warranty current on my 997.1 GT3 during the time I owned it; the car was more than 10 years old when I sold it. Peace of mind in the event of something big and expensive (and unexpected) happening and, in my case, I certainly had value for money from it in terms of covering costs of work and replacement parts (suspension - front struts etc; split coolant pipes etc).

Everyone has their own take on this but for around £900 a year or £80 a month (if you haggle over the cost of the 111-point inspection and take the two-year package) then to me it's a no-brainer.

James

i think this is the route ill go down..for the outlay i dont think its a bad deal and given its covered what you said it did then seems a no brainer

having said that, i expect there are folks that havent had a warranty and its been just fine

[RC1]

cheers guys... it was just teh comment above re the michelins and warranty that confused me. i thought as long as the rubber was N rated it would be covered under the warranty

[RC1]

Kettmark said:

OP, what is your ideal colour & spec car?

really hard to answer at this early stage but i know i dont want a red or white car

until ive driven a CS i wont know if its no-no owing to driving position/comfort. the fixed buckets in my 968 CS were comfortable but that was a few years ago.

i would like extended leather and am not especially fond of the dash mounted clock that comes with the chrono -

hard to say re carbons/steels not having driven both in anger

as you can see theres nothing that im really fixed on aside from colour but i expect once ive been a in a few my needs may become more specific

clearly provenance and condition will be the most important factor and will likely trump all the above (apart from colour!)

[RC1]

never thought through the warranty implications of having the fix.

so bottom line is if the coolant pipe fix is done then if then an in-force warranty wont pay out. similarly, that same car wont pass a 111 point check to qualify for a porsche extended warranty if it doesnt have one already and i want to put one?

[RC1]

Now im getting really scared or paranoid about this stuff!

[RC1]

evodarren said:

No need to be scared.
Just find the best one you can buy for your budget. Put a Porsche warranty on it and go out and enjoy it.
Life really is to short. Sell it in a year, but at least you would have had that experience and memory.

Not to many gen 1,s for sale on pistonheads at the moment.
Could always make a nice offer on mine to temp me out of ownership lol

You're right and its a scratch that deserves to be itched. theres nothing out there that grabs my attention but its a crap time to sell. i thought you wanted something a bit newer what about the px route?

[RC1]

so ive just spent a good hour with Adam at jzm (who serviced my 964 c4 many moons ago) and he helped debunk a few myths and more importantly, has helped me inform myself about why my search will now be focused on a CS

having now sat inside a lovely guards red CS its clear that the CS is definitely the one i want. everything about it was nigh on perfect at least from an ergonomic and seating position perspective. i know its not a fair proxy for being out on the road in real time but sometimes you just know...

we did speak about some of the issues i read about namely, coolant pipes, radiators, rms and so on. interestingly i didnt know that the pccb discs could delaminate. i can imagine it would take a bit of work to get to that point but was a useful fact to know. also interesting to know that 2006 MY cars given their ecu are not able to store rev range data.

[RC1]

PM sent cheers for heads up

[RC1]

Surprised it ended up at a dealer. I was discussing it with the vendor at the late 60s level and I didn't get very far.