what to buy?
 

Hope I'm posting this in the right area. Kindly let me know if not so.
I drove my first Porsche 911 Turbo a few weeks ago and am totally hooked. I have been a loyal BMW fan all my life and cannot say why Porsche never entered my consciousness. Please forgive me! I promise I will make up for this oversight.
I am thinking about a Turbo S but could also live with a Turbo. The 2014 model year seems to be in the sweet spot of my pricing limit but I am totally open to reasons why I should consider an older/younger model.
Anything I need to be aware of from a reliability standpoint (stay away from x because of y or z)
This will be my daily driver. Any pointers would be appreciated.

If you are thinking of mods, and are not road-course oriented, I would go with a 991.1 Turbo that has had its intake pipes glued or replaced from the technical service bulletin (in other words, that has been maintained). The 991.2 has not had its ECU cracked yet, so aftermarket mods for power are very limited.

Or, if you are a real tech nerd like me and plan to keep the car pretty stock, a 991.2 is a big upgrade in several ways. Better fuel milage, more power, much better electronics, and a suspension upgrade.

991.2 is a lotta years and dollars away from a 2014.

The non-power difference (btw, 40 bhp) between the Turbo and S are the options that are standard. Research which options you *have* to have and then go from there.
(Some) options that are standard on the S:
18-way seats
PDCC
PCCB
CLW
LEDs
SC

Then there are the three different sunroofs.

Last but not least: CPO. These monsters are solid and reliable, but expensive when they're not.

A few things to know so you go in eyes wide open:

1. Centerlock wheels look cool and require about $1k of tools if you want to take the wheels off yourself. I use winter seasonal tires so to me it was a hassle.

2. PCCB rotors last a long time on the street (less so in the track) and are very expensive. New from Porsche they run $5k per corner (at full price). You can buy a kit to convert to steel or to the Corvette CCBs to dramatically reduce that cost.

3. If you reflash/tune the car, the 991.1 turbo and turbo S produce the same power. Otherwise it's 40hp different like the spec sheet says. Essentially all of that difference is in the ECU's programmed boost target.

4. Not everyone likes PDCC. It definitely reduces body roll, some find the feeling artificial or synthetic, and it supposedly increases tire life on the track. I like it, but YMMV.

991.2 turbos are different between standard and S version. FYI.

If '14 is the range for your budget, the main difference between S and non-S is carbon ceramic brakes. If you want those, the S will come with that plus more things that are only optional on the non-S, plus added HP. Both very reliable. FWIW, I have a '15 non-S and don't miss the S. But I got it new. As used cars, I think the price differential shrinks between S and non-S.

I bought a 2014 CPO TTS earlier this year and found the pricing on the 14-15' models to mostly depend on mileage--the extra year of warranty on the 2015s didnt seem to be that big of a factor. The pricing for the used 2016 models are all over the map though--seems like some dealers are ignoring the fact that there was a refresh in 2017.

If a 2014 is in your sweet spot, you should also consider 2015 if you want an extra year of warranty--the pricing should still be in your range. As others have said, the main difference between the S and non-S are the carbon ceramic brakes and PDCC on the S, but the price differential seems to be narrowing on the 14's and 15's so I'd just pay the little extra for the S.

Do you have the Technical Bulletin or reference number you can post or PM?

Sorry, I don't. It's to resolve a situation where you can blow the intake tube/s off when using full boost. It's really not a big deal, but also not ideal.

The difference between 2014 TT and TTS is becoming negligible. Get the S and forget it.