Great post.. and my answer is actually no to both. I am coming from a 991.1 C2S that I have enjoyed a lot of great times with my son since he was 1. The backseat was actually usable and he had the time of his life on road trips to Porsche Experience Center events and now is 5 and loves cars and Porsches. Now, I am looking for something less "practical" and the GT3 and RS has been my dream car since I made the practical decision when I got the C2S. With the market being so crazy, especially on .2's I am looking at nicely spec'd 991.1 RS for $175-190K and $220-240K for a 991.2 RS. My budget has increased to the point where a CPO 458 is now a realistic option for me, which I never thought it would so I'm wondering if I don't take the shot now, will I regret it later? I'm not a Ferrari guy, I just love the 458, so I am only looking at that model.

The reason for my post is that I can only afford 1 Both cars are amazing so I will be overly happy with either, really appreciate the posts on here and comparing to my gut feeling on which car.

Thank you for your post. My 911 now is pending funds transfer so I am in the research and hunting mode and thank you for mentioning to enjoy it, because that is all part of the process as either car is not going to be an insignificant amount of money for me.

Being realistic to myself. Either car will see the track, but I won't be tracking it often and tracking it is not the primary reason I am considering either car. The GT3RS has been a dream car of mine but I have been in the 991.1 platform for the past 3.5 years, not comparing a C2S to the RS at all.. but an entirely new driving experience and awesome looking interior and CF bits in the 458 I am looking at are just next level and totally different than what I've been looking at.

Top contenders are:

991.1 GT3RS in GT Silver $175-190K - some CPO, most not. 8-20K miles, really nice specs. I feel like this is the smartest buy as the .1 is not overly inflated like all .2s are right now with the 992 GT3 pending availability.

2010-13 458 $185-210K: looking for a silver or blue one (do not want the typical Ferrari guy spec) would be CPO for 2 years. Biggest concerns are maintenance (but would be CPO'd), worried about the age of the car and how the interior etc. will hold up,

991.2 GT3RS: $220-240K, realistically my budget is closer to the 220 range and I'm not finding exactly what I want at that range. I think the .2 market is really high right now and will be the first to drop once the 992's are more readily available so with time this could change. I have found minimally spec'd .2's in my budget but not the color I want (GT Silver, Chalk, Miami Blue). These are all CPO cars.

Also, thank you to everyone for your responses

 

There is a well sorted ,2 MB RS for sale on here at 222k without the WP, if you went with a .2 RS, is that a must have for you?

I have seen GT silver in person on an RS and to my eye they are stunning. Not sure pictures quite capture how well the color fits.

I think one other item to consider is how much you want to drive the car. For some this becomes a factor after the purchase, e.g. concerns about adding too many miles. I would lean towards the car you will drive more. Certainly nothing wrong with looking at a beautiful car in the garage but you're in CA - you'll be able to enjoy any car year round.

 

Here is the MB .2 RS car CubsFan is referring to:
https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1263250

I hate to turn this into another value thread, but this is worth a watch if you haven't already regarding the 992 GT debut impacting the 991 GT market.

 

So you did it any way.........new car debut always has an impact at some point and at some level. The 992 GT3 is a Porsche volume product. Just like the 991.2 GT3. They are a mainstream product and Porsche will likely produce in excess of 8,000 units.

They are cars, they are not a premium investment.

Its brutally simple, if you're worried about depreciation and mileage - you can't afford to own one. Just drive them and enjoy them.

 

Agreed on them not being an investment and should be driven/enjoyed - I disagree with you about not being able to afford one simply because people are doing their due diligence and attempting to mitigate their cost of entry.

Best of luck with your decision, OP. The good news is the consensus is seemingly you can't go wrong with either (or any of the other suggestions in the thread - 430 scud, etc.)

 

Going to check out the RS and 458 at their respective dealers today.

GT3RS specific questions on .1 vs. 2 options, would like your input on these cars:

1: 991.1 GT3RS - 6K miles ($208K sticker), nice options, no CPO : $199K
2: 991.1 GT3RS - 20K miles ($222K sticker - awesome spec), no CPO: $179K
3: 991.1 GT3RS - 9K miles ($208 sticker) nicely modified with stuff I would do eventually, no CPO, $215K
4: 991.2 GT3RS - 15k miles ($192K sticker) very minimal options, yes CPO, $215K

I will likely put 5kish miles on the car a year - I will modify the car with wheels, cage, exhaust etc.. curious as to your feedback on say a bare bones .2 vs. a loaded higher miles .1 for less. For reference the 458 is $200-220 CPO, so that's the range I want to look at.

 

You can buy my .2 Miami Blue RS listed in the classified section, cheapest in the country within your budget

 

I can add a little bit of constructive info to your decision:
I owned a 991.1 Turbo S prior to buying my .2 3RS. When I drove my RS for the first time, the VERY first thing that hit me was how completely different it was compared to my TTS. And I mean different - it literally amazed me how cars with such similar DNA could have such a foundationally different driving experience. I imagine you'll feel the same coming from your 991 too... so I wouldn't let the argument "you already have a 991 so the RS is too similar" get in your way.

I see that you're quite concerned about getting CPO. Have you identified what your length of ownership will be? Reason I ask is because outside of the finger-follower issue on the .1s (which is covered 100% from Porsche for 10 years/120k), the GTs are known to be very reliable. If you think you'll only keep the car a few years, the CPO might not matter much. And consider that dealers like to wave that CPO around like it's worth a fortune... just don't forget to be on guard with that... and factor it's true value it into any price comparisons.

Personally for me, I'm a sucker for a tight wheel arch, and Ferraris are terrible with this, esp the 458. Personal preference and very minor detail of course, but when you're comparing two really sweet cars, it's these small details that tip the scales.

You'll be happy with either choice I'm sure. Enjoy the hunt!

 

458’s are sweet! Just wish they came in the gated manual.

 

991.1 RS is not covered by the engine warranty. Engine issue is not applicable, failure mode is rare, etc. depending on who you listen to.

 

UPDATE:

Just drove both back to back within the same few hours. 458 and .2 RS.. all I can say is wow.. and we are all blessed to drive these insane machines!

So thinking out loud..

They are both SO different and aside from being the best sounding NA engines possibly ever, they are not very similar at all.

458:
- Engine sounds better than imagined, loved driving it, very refined type of experience. Rich leather smell, cool carbon bits, a lot of neat things going on in the interior, my son would go crazy with all the lights and stuff inside.
- Driving - you can feel that looseness of the electromagnetic dampening, steering very light, back end wants to break loose, and overall not as confidence inspiring even coming from my basic 991.1 C2S. That said, its a lot of fun, lots going on, great noises and extremely fast and fun.
- for the majority of my use, this is much more practical for my lifestyle.. driving with 5 y/o son, cars and coffee, dinner w/ wife, trips to golf course etc.. BUT, with my buddies, would be taking it up to canyons and track days more frequently, 458 could definitely still hold it's own but trying to be realistic with my use case because of the review I'm about to give the RS
- I expected the 458 to be amazing and it was

RS (.2):
- first off I was shocked at how insanely cool it looks.. coming from my C2S, I underestimated how truly different a similar platformed car could be, truly night and day
- Driving: HOLY SH&T.. I got out of the car with an ear to ear grin on my face and was left almost speechless.. 7-9K revs were where the fun happens.. and thinking back I do think I have to be pushing this car harder to get that satisfaction because the car is SO GOOD.
- vents/ducts/roll cage - just a lot of awesome stuff going on in this car
- downside is the current market on the .2, I just cant justify some of the prices on them (within my price range, and compared to the 458) prices are all over the place and looking for them to normalize
- Carbon buckets in the RS are 1000x better than the daytona seats on the 458, getting in and out goes to the 458 lol

If you had a gun to my head and told me to pick one, I would pick the RS.

If you told me to be realistic with what I'm going to use the car 80% of the time, it would go to the 458.

I have not driven the .1 RS yet, but I will when I get back from vacation.

The 458 was as I expected, really really good. The RS blew me away. I'll be on a long road trip for the next week with the family and will have to digest all of this sensory overload

 

you summed up the differences pretty well. The ferrari does feel special in some intangible subjective ways: the smells, sights, sounds. nostalgia. The suspension/steering is not as sorted as the GT cars but... thats kind of what makes it fun. its very darty and on edge. the back end likes to break loose... which can be fun in your into that. I wouldn't even try sliding my GT3 around on the street with cup tires and the tons of mechanical grip it has.


so true. i lowered my 458 on novitec springs to get rid of that awful 4x4 wheel gap it has. It looked amazing. Unfortunately once you do that you will scrape on all your favorite roads unless they are perfectly smooth.

 

And that right there.. is why the 458 is in the mix lol. The angles and side profile are so gorgeous.. the RS appealed to a different side of me.. the sheer aggressiveness of it all and then the driving experience. It's going to be very difficult for me not to go with the RS.

Curious.. when you did the Novitec, and the tires were garbage on the 458 I drove.. does it improve some of the grip with the 458?

Also, neither car I drove had FAL.. Where I live has really nice roads, so I'm not too worried about it for where I drive 90% of the time, it's the other 10% where I don't want to rip my front lip off.

 

i did the novitec springs as well as the 15mm front and 20mm rear spacers. I didn't notice much improvement in grip. but i never tracked mine. i'm sure there was a little with the lower cg and increased track. Comfort was still very good in bumpy road mode surprisingly though. One of the things car people usually mentioned after a ride was how well it rode given the aggressive stance.

if you want more grip i'd just start with a better tire. the oem pirellis aren't too great even when new.

 

Just get the 458 Speciale and be done with it. Great handling car and it is so much more of an event driving it than any GT3/RS. Speciale probably has one of the most telepathic front ends of any car I have ever driven. I don't recommend tracking it unless you have fu money. The GT3/RS is a way better track car.
Chet