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A few G on leather was the easiest money I've ever spent on an option. One door looks like a base model honda civic. The other looks like a 6 figure car. IMO the leather interior is the only money option that will likely see you get back all your money on resale and possible then some. I remember in Canada literally every car for sale at the beginning of covid that sat on the market was a plastic interior car except for 1 or 2.
I could see getting the base interior on the base 718 especially if you’re trying to get into a Porsche. But spending over. $100k, you’re kind of protecting your investment or reducing depreciation by getting an interior that matches the cost. And although I’d say stick with the manual over the PDK if you have to choose one or the other option, in the grand scheme of things, adding both options is just 7 or so % more (or 3% over your budget) and maybe $20-30 a month if you finance the car.
When deciding on what car to buy, I often start with "what transmission is offered in the car". Even on my daily driver for instance, I wanted a ZF8, or normal torque converter auto, not a dual clutch for reliability purposes. Yes, I've had a dual clutch fail in a daily driver, it's expensive.
Regarding your decision, I'd 100% opt for a manual in a weekend car. I get bored easily and when I'm driving for fun, I really want that extra bit of engagement. It also slows me down a bit. I don't want to be driving more than 10-20mph over the speed limit on a backroad. On the track or on a daily driver, I'd take the automatic transmission. PDK is absolutely amazing. There's nothing wrong with choosing that option, I just prefer manual.
Regarding leather, I do think it adds a premium feel and even a premium smell to the interior. However, even if you couldn't option that, I'd tell you it's fine, specifically in a GT car. It can make it feel more purposeful with the plastic dash, although I do prefer full leather.
So the good news is my dealership recently contacted me and said they might have an allocation for a GT4 and asked for my spec. I pretty much determined most of my options. The bad news is, because of my self imposed spending limit, I am trying to decide between leather or PDK. The "Leather/Race-Tex Interior in Black with Red Stitching" will cost $3660 because of the additional charge for "Stitching in Deviated Color". PDK is $3210 so the cost is approximately the same give or take. My previous car was an '06 CS with manual and standard interior which I was extremely happy with so I do not have experience with either which is why I'm turning to the community for their opinion.
As far as how I intend on using the car, this will purely be a weekend fun car. I might track it but I also said the same thing about my previous vehicle but never got around to it. I'm just wondering which one would you choose if you could only choose one.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing people's opinion.
-Moto
I completely get the idea of staying on budget when ordering a car, and based on the use you state, like me a fun car, I do get to the track but not for the need to set low lap times, but to enjoy the experience, improve my skills and understand the car better. Because I do look around and see the interior, I appreciate the finishing touches like Leather and Carbon accents, deviated stitching and the like. As for the transmission, driving involvement and an unfiltered connection to the car there is only one choice for me, the 6MT, the PDK is great but not in the same way for the use you stated.
I would go leather interior on every day of the week.. I personally feel the plastic like dash cheapens the car!!
And...maybe ask a dealer or three what is better for re sale.
All the best either way and kind regards from New Zealand.
Little late to the party, but for me i went PDK and Leather.
The main question you want to ask yourself is, why do you even want PDK? For me it was a no-brainer because of a medical condition. However prior to this car i also had the dilema of choosing MT over DCT. I eventually chose manual. Is the PDK for convenience? Or is because you assume its going to be amazing? Bottom line is, if you know yyou are going to have fun with a manual, buy the manual and get the leather.
And...maybe ask a dealer or three what is better for re sale.
IMO dealers are just going to say what options they think they can sell you on. Dealers always said a car without a sports exhaust and sport chrono was unsellable and that no one wanted a base model, it had to be at least an S. Plus you know they apply that TruCoat at the factory. Honestly we all know that's all lies.
Automatic transmission (including PDK) is the only option you pay extra for when you buy the car only to be charged for it again when you sell the car. I don't know too many people who are agnostic about the transmission. Either you must have the manual or not. If you must have it save on the transmission and get the leather. If you're ambivalent about the transmission, get the leather. If you feel a compelling need to get the PDK, then get the PDK and skip the leather.
Of course! I fully recognize my preferences are not the majority, so I don’t expect anyone to share the same rationale—I built it exactly the way I wanted.
1. I like the standard interior—I’ve had Porsches with full leather, and the standard interior (I had the standard interior in my 981 Cayman), and loved it. I love how easy it is to clean, and it looked perfect to me after years of ownership as day 1. No regrets.
2. I really dislike Race-Tex. Leather interior adds a ton of it to the lower dash and doors. Just not my thing.
3. My car is primarily a track car—I don’t feel any desire for the impression of luxury on track. With having to run windows open, it gets dusty, and the standard interior is super easy to wipe clean.
4. I’ve seen lots of leather interiors that change in appearance as they age—some people like this. The leather can get shiny, etc. Not for me.
The whole $100k+ thing doesn’t mean anything to me. For my use case, I don’t get in the car expecting a feel of luxury…it’s a track-oriented car for me. I’m hoping to get a GT4 RS, which I will probably get the standard interior again if I get so lucky.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. It definitely makes sense why you chose not to go with leather. In my '06 CS, I didn't think the standard interior was that bad.
Originally Posted by sanderabernathy
Either you must have the manual or not. If you must have it save on the transmission and get the leather.
Normally it's a no brainer as I'd choose manual but I've heard so many good things about PDK, it makes me doubt my decision.
Originally Posted by Zhao
IMO dealers are just going to say what options they think they can sell you on.
I have to say, the salesperson I've been dealing with has steered me away/towards certain options but most options seem to be a personal decision.
Originally Posted by Xxyion
The main question you want to ask yourself is, why do you even want PDK? For me it was a no-brainer because of a medical condition.
Not having driven a car with PDK, the only reason I'd want PDK over manual is purely because what others have said about PDK how much "better" it is compared to manual. Since this will probably be the car I'll be buried in, potential medical conditions plays a small part but definitely not the deciding factor.
Thanks to everyone's feedback, I'm feeling much more comfortable about going with leather and a manual transmission.
Last edited by MotoFanatic; 12-09-2022 at 03:36 PM.
Given the above, I'll weigh in. If you're a hard core manual guy because you gotta do the left foot dance, most guys like that seem to not be satisfied with PDK. Especially if the car is rarely or never tracked.
As an example of how a three pedal guy can be happy with PDK, consider a case study of me:
All my cars up until the GT4 have been manual, but the reason for my preference isn't so much the left foot wiggle, it's control over engine. As in, I want the engine to be at the RPM I want at all times, I want no unlocked torque converter at any point in the drive, I don't want it shift when I don't command a shift, and I do want it to shift immediately when I command a shift. Sure, I do get some satisfaction out of a very good manual transmission, heel and toe, an exceptional shifter (I now have CAE in 2 of my cars), etc. But the PDK meets the stated control goals, and has the advantage is shifting faster than I ever could... and being smooth when a WOT upshift is commanded with a paddle (and executed in milliseconds) while the car is loaded in turns and I keep both hands on the wheel. I also thoroughly enjoy the power cut cracks when shifts are commanded at anything north of 1/2 throttle. And I love left foot braking. And then on the track, concentrating on everything else as opposed to working around shifting, and shifting in places I'd never dare to with a three pedal. The two things I'm giving up are ease of rolling the car around in the shop when I'm wrenching and the ability to self finnesse the clutch on takeoff (for all sorts of conditions on the street... tho hill assist and takeoff assist and whatever else assist kinda ruin this). No other two pedal (outside of a select few DCTs) has been able to offer this (anything with a torque converter shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence as PDK), thus I've always had three pedal... but I'm very happy with PDK.
If you don't meet the above, or have some compelling reason you want PDK, manual is likely the better choice.
12-04-2022, 01:10 PM
