Ducati1199

Just thought I’d tell my, not quite, European Delivery RS story.
I sold my 570S in April of this year and had an allocation for a 600LT with delivery 1Q/19 and so thought I’d look around for a “stand in” car while I waited. Wanted it to be fast, fun and exciting without losing a fortune. Thought a .1 RS would be ideal. I started looking around and although there were close to 100 RS’s for sale hardly any were below MSRP – I hadn’t been keeping up so was a little surprised – I knew GT cars were some of the best cars around to hold their value but didn’t realize that they almost appreciated in value. I assume this is because people paid ADM and so didn’t want to lose their $20, 30, 50k? I got on the jungle drums to fellow car guys that I was on the lookout and got a few “hits” back. Then one day I struck gold and a friend told me about an allocation for a .2 RS. Long story short I got lucky and after a few emails and calls I had a deposit down on a late August delivery 991.2 GT3 RS. I had a fantastic experience with the GM and the dealership. Even though I’d never bought a car from them before they treated me like royalty and went out of their way to make my buying experience painless, smooth and as easy as could be.
Just one minor glitch, they’re on the East coast and I’m on West coast so when spec’ing the car I decided I’d save myself a few thousand bucks to get it transported and get LA PEC delivery at $875. Note even though I requested it there was no way I could get the cost removed from the MSRP – I was happy to pay it but if added to the MSRP it adds to the tax of the car. Not really a financial issue, I just didn’t want to give the State of Cali 1 cent more if I could help it!!
So I twisted the wife’s arm and we planned to fly down from the Bay Area, pick up the car and break it in by driving it home. I didn’t really need what came with PEC delivery (meet & greet, 90 mins track experience, unveiling of car and run through of every last switch and button and lunch in the 917 restaurant) but thought 90 mins on the track would be well worth it and good fun. You’re allowed to split the time with one (free) guest but I bought another 90 min time slot so the wife could get out there as well.
What I hadn’t counted on was the extra wait time to pick up the car the PEC added. Of course the car now stays on the boat much longer as it continues on past the East coast ports, through the Panama canal and up the West coast all the way to Benicia not 30 miles from me. It then got transported all the way back down to LA. Obviously some trucking logistics as too why it didn’t come off the boat in San Diego or LA? When I got a date from PEC I called them up and asked for an earlier date as the date given was 5.5 weeks after the car landed in Benicia! I was told that my date was the earliest there was as LA PEC (don’t know if Atlanta PEC is the same) only deliver one car a day on Tue, Wed, Thur and Fri i.e. four cars a week!!!! So if you’re considering a PEC delivery factor in some extra wait time.

So onto the “experience” itself. We got there a bit early, well half an hour before the 8.30am start time and the doors were still locked but we got let in fairly quickly and meet Charles Taylor who is in charge of the delivery experience. We did a quick bit of admin and got our badges as other paying guests started to arrive for their track experience. Charles gave us a tour of the display area and showed us where they work on the cars – several cup cars being worked on – as well as doing all the vehicle pre-delivery inspection. Then we met up with our driving instructors and got a cup of coffee as we talked through the day. It became apparent that my instructor would not only instruct me but be a large part of the delivery process as well – he had a different shirt on to the other instructors which must have meant he was special lol!! But in all seriousness both were great and Dieter, my instructor, talked about his driving and racing experiences just to let us know he knew what he was doing – he did btw!!

Then we were ready to go – you get to drive an equivalent car to the one you’re taking delivery of so I got into the only RS they currently had that had 650 miles on it!! Dieter took us out for a couple of orientation laps and then we switched. He was great and talked about all aspects of driving as we lapped the short but very technical circuit. TBH getting into a brand new car, on a brand new technical circuit that makes Sonoma look like it has masses of run off – the concrete walls are very close in places – puts the old ECU into overload a bit but still great fun. Then we went over to the launch control area. Bear in mind the car was well warmed up but still 650+ miles in total on it and we launched the car several times! At the end of the launch “runway” there is a reconstruction of the carousel which you dive down into and hold a maintenance throttle while you do a wall of death type loop and then floor it coming out. We did that a few times and then headed to the circular water skid pan that they refer to as “Hollywood ice”. All the PEC cars are on MPSC 2’s so not great rain tires but good lord it is a total ice rink. Turn the wheel too quick and you’re into understeer, too much right foot and round she comes!! Spent a while deliberately inducing under and over steer to catch and play with it. Dieter focused on the difference in using the steering wheel and the throttle to control direction and control. Then we had a quick change of car to a GT3 as we headed to the kick plate next. We changed to the 3 as the mechanics didn’t want the RS with its suspension on the oversteer induced kick plate. You drive dead straight around 18 mph and as you go over the plate it kicks the back out randomly one way or the other. The 100 yards or so of “road” after the kick plate is painted and water covered so the car is immediately thrown into a huge oversteer moment and the idea being to use (very) quick hands to catch it and keep the car straight. Second best option, so we were told, was to get the car to do a 360 as this means the car is at least going in somewhat of a straight line and not veering off a cliff. I had four or five goes and only managed to catch it once and get one 360. It’s crazy as you get so competitive to catch it that on one occasion I felt the plate kick and turned the wheel without first realizing which way the back was going – I got lucky and basically guessed the right way but was so determined to use fast hands I went way too much and Dieter and I felt like Goose and Maverick going into a flat spin into the middle of the Pacific!! We then moved over to the “Hollywood ice hill”. Again painted, water soaked downhill that goes into a 180 bend. We first started off feeling the car understeer and learned to get the car out of the understeer before any car control could be applied. Once we had the hang of that we practiced inducing a little oversteer and throttling our way around the corner and driving out without spinning the car – much easier said than done. Oh and I should say that as you started mastering all the slide techniques Dieter would gradually turn off all the nannies so your driving skills (or lack of them) was the only thing keeping the car straight.
By now we were well into our 90 minutes and I had the drift course left to do but I asked if we could get back in the RS and do more track time which was no problem at all. It was noticeable going out for the second time with some track time under my belt that I could now concentrate more on brake points, apexes and getting on the gas rather than trying to figure out “does this go left or right over this blind apex?” Times got noticeably quicker and certainly more “yes”’s coming from Dieter as we powered out of a turn!! And then it was done and we were back in the pits and met up with my wife who loved all the skid pads as she’s never had a car skid on her.

We met up with Charles once again and Dieter stayed with us and we moved into a private room where the car, my very own car, was waiting under a cover!! We did the whole unveil bit and then got a good up close look at the car and then we went through all the documents – they give you a plasticized copy of the Mulroney which is a nice little trinket to have as well. I was pretty up with all the switches and bits so only had one question – “how do you make the track app work. It only needs to be wifi’d to the car, no need for Bluetooth and that’s it. But Dieter did say that sometimes the app just does not work and nobody, including the mothership, can explain this., He did tell me we are pressurizing them to get it fixed as its embarrassing for them to show the cars and not have the app work. If its not working sometimes deleting the app and then pulling it up again can work but you have to remember to swap over the wifi connections to complete this. At this point they gave me a free 3 month wifi hotspot as well which in all honesty I’ll probably never use but another nice freebie. After the car debrief I was asked to sign a plaque that had the delivery number of my car on (number 88 if anyone is wondering and I was surprised at how low the number was but again at only 4 delivered cars a week it makes sense) and I then added it to the wall of stars – again a nice touch.
Then its off to lunch in the 917 restaurant which is very nice – the menu is custom made with your name on and car that you are picking up. The food was first class for sure but not you do get to pay for any alcohol you drink. Not an issue but just beware as you do get a bill with your free lunch!! Again the wait staff know who you are and treat you exceptionally well making you feel very special and give you the best table in the house. Following lunch its back downstairs and bid farewell to Charles and team and get on your way but not before he passes on a nice Porsche goodie bag that includes your menus and a collection of 100 plus photographs of you and your car. With farewells done we then headed North.
Hope this provides a little insight into the PEC delivery experience for others as I know I asked a few members questions about it before I signed up so just trying to give back. I've also included a few of the photos that Charles took.......


Showing a little rear titanium!! Unfortunately that will have to come off at some point!!


Dieter shows me the way around the track to begin with. Note 650 miles on the only RS they have so far - no break-in required.


Pre-inspection to its big brother



It's all smiles after several launches and diving in the carousel.


The wife gets to grips with the Caymen on the kick plate.


The "Hollywood ice" hill - survive the understeer push only to be bite with oversteer!

After the driving it's on to the delivery room!


Nearly there........


Rock star status (well for 15 mins) with car matching M&M's!!


Guess where #0088 goes??


Green, green and more green!


Catch it at right time and you get a cool RS on the back of the carbon buckets.


And finally only one thing left to do - launch it off the PEC lot!!!!

usctrojanGT3

Congrats on the RS, enjoy in good health.

JAM2

SCCAForums

Great Write up, thanks for the sharing your experience. My RS is currently at Port Emden, awaiting her boat ride. I believe my PECLA delivery will be some time in February.

Can you share when your car was 'picked up' by Boat... and then PECLA date scheduled? I'd like to understand what sort of wait time I might have as well.

I plan to bring my Dad, since I brought my wife to Euro Delivery last year. How much did it cost to pay for your wife to get her own track time?

Best Regards,
Dave

Dot23RS

pitt911

congratulation on the car
I debated the PEC ATL delivery myself , but because of the lack of accurate delivery time frame , I passed

Ducati1199

Let me dig out my full schedule for you and I'll post it up.
$385 for the 90 mins in a Cayman. In a GT3 the price jumps to $875 for the 90 mins! And although I was phoning up people to double//triple check this they actually do figure out that you and a partner are there together and schedule the times together!!

I'm not sure why it would go to the dealer if you have a PEC delivery scheduled as the PEC does all the PDI, etc. I was told I wouldn't (and didn't) get a specific delivery date for PEC until the boat was close to docking. I assume this cuts down on the chance that they give you date and then for some reason the car doesn't get to the PEC in time.

Ducati1199

Few more photos..........


I'm actually sponsored by UA and they provided my underwear for the day!!


Who knew the lizard glowed in the dark?


The lizard.


I was concerned I might have over-done the green but I love it more and more each day!!

Jim137a

jackmac

ipse dixit

Congrats, and thanks for sharing.

And, yes, Dieter is a great guy.

Ducati1199

This was the last official set of dates I got:


Actual "entry Port Benicia" was 9/22 so boat was ahead of schedule. BTW it left Eden on 8//20 but did sail to the UK and then went "backwards" i.e. sailed back East, past Emden to Bremerhaven, before it turned and headed West again!! I got my dates in the description above a bit wrong so I did not have as long a wait as I said - it just felt like it!! PEC delivery date was 10/16 and I got notified by PECLA with a choice of dates on 8/20 - once the boat had departed. SO I suspect you will not get a date for PEC delivery until the boat departs Emden.

Ducati1199

Some people match their Rolex's and Panerai's with the cars they're driving - I'm just more subtle and get the necessities sorted!! Just a bit of bad British humor!!!

armbar

Great writeup.

Beautiful car.

Well done!

Ducati1199

@Orthojoe asked me the same question the other day and this was my response:

Track - RS
Sounds - RS
Driving around acting like a hooligan - RS
Doors - Mac
Uniqueness - Mac
Technology - Mac
Overall driving experience - Mac
Depreciation - RS!!

I couldn't get within 3 secs of my 991.1 GT3 time at Sonoma in the Mac. This is down to my ability of course not the car but if I want a track car I'm going GT3 (&/or RS) all day. But for the grunt/torque and shear speed the Mac wins plus people (in general) just don't know what a McLaren is in the US which gives it a uniqueness that I like. I also think that the Mac technology is superior and the reliability is good - imho its become urban legend that Macs fall to bits - they don't. Some issues for sure but ALL cars have these. I think the 991.2 PCM knocks the socks off the IRIS 2 system and it surprises me Mac haven't updated this. My real issue with Mac is that their cycle time is very short and the new model is so much better than the replacement (that's a good thing) but it kills the value and unfortunately although I can purchase cars in this $ range I can't afford the constant loss, especially paying California car tax, every 18-24 months. I know that's my issue but I have a problem holding onto cars for more than two years!!! If the cycle time was longer &/or they held their value a bit better I don't think I'd ever be in any car other than a McLaren. Please don't get me wrong I'm loving this RS I'm just trying to be totally objective about it and, of course, its only my feelings and thoughts - not anybody else's.