az audi

What Ferrari dealer? I have tried two different dealers looking to order a car and willing to put up a significant deposit. Basically, both have told me they will not let me order a car until I own one, wanting me to buy a used, over sticker car, basically buying my right to buy a new one at MSRP. Not a process I am willing to go through. I can be patient and wait 12-24 months for one, but not willing to buy a used car. Would like to hear your experience.

PM if you like... Not looking to hijack this thread.

Horstair

I know, I know, but being German that's just the WRONG spelling, period. It must be some Polish/Chech version..just kidding. I don't know what happened and who his parents were but his name is simply spelled wrong, period and I automatically type the "butcher" profession... And we Germans know our spelling...

Horstair

Hi Macca! Have enjoyed your posts tremendously... And I know fast is good and so is PS ("there's no substitute for HP", an old American saying) BUT it depends on what you do with your car, right? You've been driving around in your "dinosaur" and enjoyed it, right? Now, you finally realized that it is time to catch up with the real (automated, assisted, easy-to-get-along-with) world and are hot on this new one. Nothing wrong with it, but again, reflect where you're coming from... that's all I'm saying. When I followed my friend on Thunderhill, I realized that in his PDK he didn't have all the challenges I had. Not being able to (or didn't make sense) to shift before a corner (he did twice!) and coming out of it I had to figure out to use the little torque I had left to my best advantage... and so on. It all depends on where you're at in this "track-driving" cycle. I'm still in the early stages (3 years so far) and having not even explored the 9/10 or let alone the 10/10 edges of my car, I feel I have years to go to have fun. And I'm not a purist as in "I only drive manuals" but just like the challenge of coaxing this short-wheel based 997 beast around Sonoma Raceway and not getting eaten alive by turbo-powered Mazdas...

You're absolutely right! And it might take me a few more years..
PS: If I want raw power (which I do like :-) I'd just buy a new Corvette. The cost of maintaining a GT3 on the racetrack is probably the only reason to "stray away" from Porsche down the road. $2500 tire changes every 6 months is getting kind of old

Macca

All good points and I fully agree. I have no intentions of selling my 993 infact its just in the process of having a whole load more modifications done to it including Monoballs, camber plates, RS uprights and tie rods. Its certainly not as quick as any GT3 yet, in my hands at least, but it sure is a whole lot of fun to drive. I expect the 991 GT3 to be just as much fun in a much different way.

If I only had one Porsche right now and it was a 2011 997 GT3 I wouldn't even be looking at this thread. However if I was coming to market fresh and considering the new GT3 vs the old one even though Im a die hard air cooled old skool guy Id go straight for the 991 GT3. Its just a very 21st century solution to an age old addiction (speed, performance, handling, sound, looks) and IMHO every GT3 has been better than the one that preceded it.

By the way on your other thread you say your deal claims only cars built in 2015 are 2015 MY cars. Since the beginning Porsche MY have been set from the first day of production after the summer holiday (which was traditionally a month holiday I believe but likely no longer). Porsche cars produced from August 2014 will become MY 2014 and that includes the GT3. However as the GT3 is a short run vehicle its often referred to with its model designation by the first year of its production (i.e. 1999 996 GT3, 2003 996 GT3, 2009 997 GT3 etc).

Mate, you enjoy your 997 GT3. Its a brilliant car. Wait a couple of years and check out whats happening with the 991 GT3 then decide!

Nick

Sadly, that is how the Ferrari system works because of the limited production. You need to become a client either by purchasing a used Ferrari from the dealer or get your name on the list and hope you get called.

However, once you become a client you get priority in future car purchases. It is not often a person can walk into a Ferrari dealership and be able to order a popular new Ferrari without first becoming a client.

frayed

I think people tend to over estimate the ability of the factory to make changes mid production run. With inventory purchased, tooling in place, lack of long term testing by first adopters (and consequent statistically reliable data), I doubt much will change from the early cars to the later built cars.

Would have to wait till the 991 GT3.2 facelift to find appreciable updates IMO.

With that said, I seem to recall AP saying the 991 GT3 had 4x the development hours than any other GT3 before it. If accurate, I'm expecting a robust car.

I know the detractors will disagree; just the way I see things

Nick

I thought there were several problems with the 997GT3 and RS?

frayed

What precisely do you mean Nick? There are a host of problems with the 997 all documented on the 997 GT3 forum.

Nick

That was what I was referring to i.e. coolant hose, CL and other issues. These despite extensive testing by Porsche surfaced after the initial deliveries.

alpine-al

And, as far as I know, those issues weren't corrected mid production run.

.

frayed

I don't think the coolant fittings were fixed, centerlocks were only on the .2 cars and the full re-engineering of the hubs didn't happen till just now. There are some other issues with the beloved mezger motor as well.

MaxLTV

Exactly. The amount of testing that has to be done for every change is huge and takes a lot of time and money (and doing it faster costs exponentially more money). Electronics/software fixes are the easiest to implement, in fact, which is one pro of more things being electronics-driven (diff, RWS etc). Case in point - BMW could not fix HPFP screw up of epic proportions (mechanical issue) for years, and took a big PR and monetary hit, basically replacing faulty parts with same faulty parts to infinity. At the same time, software bug in DCT was first addressed in less than 6 months and completely fixed in less than a year.

Nizer

There are always problems. The only relevant factor is how the manufacturer deals with them.

az audi

Thanks. Based on other reading, I unfortunately have come to this realization.