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Introduction, and my new-to-me 991.2 Sapphire Blue GT3
Hello to everyone! I'd like to introduce myself, and my new-to-me 991.2 GT3:
This is my first Porsche. Obligatory shoutout to Porsche Beachwood, their GM Phil Snyder, and sales associate Steve Youhana, who sourced this car for me (from a fellow renlister, I believe). If the title wasn't a giveaway, it's used, but PoB procured it for me for a very reasonable premium. They were also very accommodating of my needs; the car needed some minor touchup to the paint from a highway rock strike, which was included in the sale. However, they received the car slightly later than expected, and I needed to take delivery at a certain date in order to make the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix with my father and his 1966 Corvette (more on that later). They wouldn't have been able to get the normal CPO reconditioning, paintwork, and PPF done in time for the show, and so agreed to let me take delivery with only the CPO recon done, attend the show, then return it to them to finish off the rest, including giving me a loaner to bring back to Pittsburgh from Ohio for a week while they finished the work. Through the whole process they have been very accommodating of my needs, and I've been very happy with the final outcome, modulo a paperwork snafu with dealing with my out-of-state registration needs (you'd really think PA and OH would play nice being right next to each other, but alas, they do not).
This car is my daily driver. And when I say that, I really mean it. It's my only car. It had 8,000 miles on it when I took delivery, and in the three weeks of actual time I've had with the car, I've put on another ~1,000 miles. It's sitting outside in the rain in my company parking lot as we speak. Mooty would be proud I even had PoB lift the car back up to regular SPASM ride height so that I can clear the terrible roads we have here in Pittsburgh, and most importantly, allow it to actually get into my garage, as even with the FAL it wouldn't have had enough breakover to make it at the stock ride height. It fits now, but barely:
A bit about me, and why I chose a 911 GT3. I'm a software engineer working on autonomous vehicles. Ironic, trying to replace driving and owning a car like this, I know. But my personal belief is that, really, 99.9% of people out there that drive really would rather not be driving, and honestly most of them aren't very good at it. If we make "A to B appliance driving" totally unnecessary, that means that the only cars we'll need to personally own are fun cars like this for people that really want to actually drive. And we rid the road of distracted, unsafe drivers that really would rather be doing anything else but drive. It's a win-win. As for why a GT3? Well, honestly, my dream car was always a Nissan GT-R. But, when I finally had the money to afford it, I discovered that I don't fit. At all. I'm 6'6". It turns out, the 911 is about the only sports car someone of my height and all-leg proportions can comfortably fit in. And after doing some research on the GT3, well, the emotion of the drive is way more important to me than raw speed, and nothing thing side of a $400,000 Ferrari (which I wouldn't fit in) trumps the GT3 in terms of raw emotion when driving, even at sane road speeds.
As for why a sports car in general, given that I'm only 31 and there probably more responsible things I could do with the money? That story is more interesting. My father is the Corvette Vagabond. He's owned his 1966 Corvette Stingray since 1969. It was his daily driver for 20 years, and still is most days even today. He's driven it over 400,000 miles at this point, to every state in the lower 48, even shipped it over to Europe for a 12 country tour. That car is the car I grew up with. When I was 2 years old I'd steer it down the driveway at our house. I learned how to drive stick in it at 15. I wanted a car like that of my own. A really special vehicle that I could have countless adventures in and hopefully own for long enough to consider passing it down to my own kids. Something more than just an appliance from getting from A to B, a real part of the family and my identity. And the GT3 fits that bill to a T. Special enough that it puts a smile on your face every time you even just sit in it. Practical enough that you really can drive it every day and not need to own another car to do mundane things like get groceries. So, when the finances worked out, there was never any doubt about what I was going to do.
Here's a picture of my car and his together:
So, wrapping up, here's to what is hopefully the beginning of a long and enjoyable ownership period with this car. And to never getting tired of this view in parking lots:
I'll leave with my Dad's motto: "Get out and drive your car!"
I am 6.5 and a bit, and I found enough room in my gt4 and 991.2 gt3 manual (both with LWB) cannot fit in a 964 or 993 for love or money - and thought I was interested in a GTR as well - but not for long
SC997 put 60k plus on his 991.1 GT3 and I believe he has his new 991.2 GT3 so you have a target somewhat shy of your father's 400k!
Do you have 4 ways or 18 ways? It would be good to know for other tall folks what you fit in.
4-ways. I tried 18-ways in a TTS and they weren't as comfortable. Though, I really didn't have much choice in the matter, it was "what I can get." But I didn't want the buckets. Not because I dislike them, I daily-drove a horrible franken-monster of a WRX-STI with Bride Zeta III's in it for 6 years. But because literally no one else that I know, most importantly the significant other, could stand being in the buckets for more than 10 minutes Given that this is a daily and not a track-focused car, the 4-ways seemed more appropriate. If we got the folding buckets over here, I might have preferred those, but you just loose too much practicality with the fixed buckets.
Originally Posted by Needsdecaf
Great story! That GT3 is a driver...8k miles when you bought it. I kept checking to see if it was a .1.
Yeah, it's very fitting that the original owner also drove it. I think he was doing something crazy like commuting from NYC to ATL in it, which is why the mileage was so high. Given the mileage and the fact that it has an imperfect carfax from the strike (the strike was so minor, it's actually in all of those pictures. See if you can spot it!), the premium was quite reasonable, only a few grand over MSRP, and crazy reasonable if you subtract out the pieces that PoB replaced/repaired (tires, front lip, one of the brake ducts, the paintwork) and the ride height adjustment plus their labor on sourcing the car and transporting it to them. These cars are specked to last 150K+ miles before something major goes, and I intend to test that limit!
Congrats!!
That is the color I pick out but was discontinue and so I pick JM black, great to see you daily drive GT3, hope you can share your exp with maintenance and such because that is your only car and will add a lot of miles , mine will share duties with the 1M.
The 4 ways are great seats (I much prefer them to the 18 way). Given it seems like a low spec car (I love strippers), a few bucks over MSRP with CPO is a great deal.
I am 6.5 and a bit, and I found enough room in my gt4 and 991.2 gt3 manual (both with LWB) cannot fit in a 964 or 993 for love or money - and thought I was interested in a GTR as well - but not for long
What transmission in the GT3?
Ah right, I forgot. It's a PDK, which is what I wanted. I've driven manual cars since before I could legally drive. I was, frankly, tired of dealing with a manual high performance car in Pittsburgh, where the traffic is terrible and is nearly as hilly as SF, except with worse roads. Plus, my personal take, but I think PDK suits the character of the car more, because it makes the performance easier to access in quick bursts when you get that short opening driving around town. And ultimately, most of the canyon carving I can do here is "just leave it in 3rd," at which point the transmission doesn't really matter because you're not shifting
I've tried Boxters/Caymans before. I don't fit in them. Same problem I have in my Dad's Corvette; It's not the headroom, though there isn't much. It's legroom. My knees physically obstruct the steering wheel from turning. No such problem in the 911, and I don't even need to put the sofas all the way to the floor or all the way back to get into a comfortable driving position. The 911 is also the only sports car where I can actually see to the right of me, as my sightline is under the rear view mirror. In every other car (including the WRX STI I traded in for this) the rear view mirror sits right in my sightline, more or less completely obstructing my view. Never again shall I nearly run over pedestrians stepping into crosswalks because I can't see them!
08-13-2018, 02:24 PM
Introduction, and my new-to-me 991.2 Sapphire Blue GT3
I even had PoB lift the car back up to regular SPASM ride height so that I can clear the terrible roads we have here in Pittsburgh, and most importantly, allow it to actually get into my garage, as even with the FAL it wouldn't have had enough breakover to make it at the stock ride height. It fits now, but barely:
