I lived through an IMSB failure on my 2003 Boxster S that I had bought new. At 42,000 miles I proactively had the OEM IMSB replaced with the LN dual row ceramic IMSB, which failed at 77,500 miles. I had the engine rebuilt as a 3.6 with LN Nickies and the LN IMS Solution. Since my GT4 is PDK and also has the PDLS+ LED headlights, two very high dollar replacement items, I decided to buy an extended warranty from Porsche for some added peace of mind. I think we are still in the honeymoon phase with these cars, time will tell if there is an issue with them similar to the IMSB. I also don't think the IMSB fiasco was a one-off for Porsche, Delivar head studs and airboxes needing pop-off valves were 2 issues with the air cooled engines, Alusil cylinder liners on the M96/M97 engines are another that comes to mind.
I enjoy the PDK, but understand why the manual is attractive. Bottom line get what you like and don't look back!

 

Transmission is a primary choice and should not be subject budget constraints. Pick MT / PDK first and let budget influence all other selections.

 

My apologies. I did not mean to compare the two with respect to the resultant damage caused by each but more of the rarity, randomness of who it effects, and whether or not Porsche is willing to or should take responsibility.

Thanks for the feedback!!

 

No worries, and you are welcome.

IMHO clutches are one of those items that can easily get a bad rep, too bad especially considering how much their longevity can be impacted by improper operation.

 

People get a stick because they want one. Driving a stick takes more effort.
Not an argument of better or worse, just know that your driving experience with a stick will be vastly different than with a PDK.

 

I'm late to the party, but the whole point of me upgrading from my manual 1st gen Cayman S was the engine. I wasn't a fan of the previous GT4, as I wanted something a bit softer for daily driving, and long trips. The whole point that drove me to purchase this car new, as others said was the option of a manual transmission with the 4.0. It really is a lovely transmission and the torque that the 4.0 has over the previous engines is pretty significant. There is plenty of torque at and in the 4k and above range. So it's less concerning to always have to keep the engine on boil as in some others. I find the 4.0 to be sweet, and I'm sure you'll very much enjoy whichever one you want. I had a Panamera GTS with a PDK, and even with having my manual Cayman, I did get bored with the GTS and while it was nice on highway trips for my wife to drive, it just wasn't the same (there were lovely noises from the 4.8 on downshifts, and awesome power while still being able to pull 29 mpg US on the highway)....so I don't mean to say it wasn't good enough. I just wanted to have the nicer interior of the Panamera with the manual of my Cayman. I did go full leather on the interior (but not the seat backs), and I've been very happy with that. The race tex interior didn't appeal to me the way the leather and manual did.

As others also stated, it gets tougher to purchase a 100k car that has the same plastic interior as the base or S models, although I'm not in the mindset of planning to sell this in the next 5-10 years. You can't go wrong with either, but the manual trans is really the best option for weekend driving if you aren't going to be stuck slogging in traffic...and even if you do, it isn't the worst scenario to be stuck in. You will touch and feel, and enjoy the leather much more on every single outing of your car, and the PDK will provide some benefits here and there. I'd also say to go with both, but hands down the manual is the bigger selling point to me of the entire car. I'm almost at 7,000 miles, much less than West, but I've had no shifting issues, and even on track it was still wonderful to have the control over the car I wanted. I was able to focus on my involvement and engagement with the car, and maybe later next year I'll worry about improving my times.

Best of luck in your decision!

 

I have to say, this really hit home for me as I didn't want to spend all this money only to find out that I'm bored driving the car. This, as well as other people's comments, contributed to my final spec. which is leather and a manual transmission. I took out red stitching (as someone suggested) which allowed me to add other nice options such as light design package, alcantara visor, leather steering column etc. They weren't part of my original options list but it helps give the car the "total package"..

Thank you everyone! Now it's just a matter of waiting but waiting is half the fun right?

-Moto

 

Congrats, you’ve graduated to the waiting room!

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