Hello this is my first post. I've been drooling over the 981 GTS since they came out back in 2015. One popped up for sale in my price range and I was hoping to receive some insight if it's a good deal. Okay, the details:


Car is $59k with 38k miles

I'm giddy to jump on it but I'd like to hear some opinions from the experts. This would be my first Porsche. 🙂

 

I think a PPI will tell you everything you need along with a visual inspection given that the mileage is on the higher side @ 38k. Any service records? I'd also want to see this was serviced at the required intervals. If all that checks out than the price is right.

 

Is this from Elite Motors in Concord? If so, I saw the car and test drove it last weekend.

 

 

I had a 2015 CGTS that I sold last year with 12K miles so I could get a perfect Cayman R .I did the deal through a friendly consignment, the car sold for 66K to a new buyer . The build sheet on mine was lower than the one you're looking at, mine was a 6speed. But it had much lower miles .

​​​​​​they're wonderful cars and gorgeous too. But they're not that rare, I think you're in the right ballpark pricewise if the car checks out. I'd certainly get a ppi.

 

Yes this is the one in Concord. How was the car? How did it look? Did they have records?

 

Fax is clean. Car had 2 owners. 1st one had it for 6 months and put 2k on it. Second owner had it for 3 years and put 35k on it in Nevada.

 

I think the 981 GTS is a great car and the one you have found looks like a nice spec. The GTS interior package is timeless and IMO really finishes it off nicely and is worth a lot in itself.

My only problem with it which may or may not bother you is it has an open differential which may be an issue if you drive a lot in the snow or the wet. It is ok in the dry but still noticeable if you accelerate hard out of corners and do a lot of canyon or mountain driving or autocross.

If it is an issue you need to be looking for one with the PTV option which includes mechanical LSD. I don't believe there are any aftermarket LSD options for PDK 981 cars so there is no going back.

 

I was wondering this myself. I've searched around and it seems to be mixed opinions. I'm in the Bay area so no snow. I wouldn't really want to drive it in the rain unless I had to. I guess the main question is if I'll miss it that much in the canyons...

 

I'd be curious to see others weigh in on the importance of the lack of LSD on the non-PTV cars; preferably those who have had the privilege of driving both. When I was looking about 1.5 years ago, PTV was present on maybe 10-20% of the cars I came across. The Porsche CPO locator tool, if accurate, actually is less than 10% at 3 out of 40 cars having the option (the cheapest of which is $78k).

With so few cars having that option spec'd, I find it hard to believe it's such a critical configuration.

FWIW, I've had my car out to autocross twice, and placed a fairly competitive time each time despite my inexperience, finishing no more than 7th in my class out of 30+ cars, pretty much exclusively other Porsches (both events were put on by the PCA). I can't honestly say I noticed any lack of grip at all.

Also there at least used to be an aftermarket LSD alternative (albeit expensive), but if I recall correctly the part has been discontinued for lack of an active market. I could be wrong there- the owner of the company who made it posts on this board (or maybe it was Planet9... my memory isn't helping).

I'm sure PTV is a great option if you happen across it, but again- I can't imagine it should be a dealbreaker in any case.

 

Test

 

The PTV isn't fully mechanical, it has a component of braking as well. It's a neat option, I had it on my GTS .

 

I think the price is fair considering there are not many option for a 981GTS unless you want to pay upwards of 75K. If the car is from Elite Motors as other suggest, I would definitely ask for a PPI. Don't let them snake out of a PPI like they tried with me, you should insist. I had a sketchy experience with these guys when I was looking for a 981 GTS (found mine somewhere else), so I would recommend taking the car to a body shop to inspect body, paint and glass.

 

How was the car? Did you find something wrong with it where you didn't want to buy it?