2017 911 or keep my 718
 

Hello All -
I'm fairly new to the Porsche world. A couple years ago, I purchased a 718 Boxter (2017) PDK. I love the car. Lately, however, I've been looking into a 2017 911 (possible manual). I love having a convertible, but manual convertibles are not easy to find. I have found a few certified manual 911 coupes. My questions: (1) should I stick to the 718 Boxter I have, or trade it in for a 2017 911 (plus another $30k out of pocket), and (2) am I crazy to get a manual - which appears to have a higher maintenance cost associated with it - namely, replacing the clutch every 40k miles or so? I only drive 6k miles per year (and it will be my daily driver), so I feel like the joy of a manual would outweigh the headache. By the way, I think the pdk is amazing - I've just been craving a manual for a while (let me know if you think I'm being foolish).

Appreciate any feedback from experienced Porsche fans.

Many thanks.

I had a Boxster S prior to getting my manual-trans 991 S Cab. You are correct, there are very few manual 991 convertibles out there, by far the majority are PDK's, I don't know the exact ratio but is around 90%. Convertible buyers tend to like comfort and most are higher optioned vehicles.

What you will mostly see as a difference in the two cars in my experience owning both is that you get a slightly more comfortable car with the 991, and its hugely less claustrophobic when the top is up. If your 718 is a 4 cyl, then there is a big step up in the engine, if you have a the 6 cyl in your car, there's not much difference. Only you can decide if the value is there to swap, both are wonderful drives.

These are not Ferrari's, unless you are abusing the clutch you won't need a new one in 40K miles. The manual trans in a 991 is actually a re-worked PDK transmission with a complex mechanical (not electrical) shift linkage. I'm on my fifth manual trans Porsche, and never put a clutch in any of them, not even the one I drove to 240,000 miles.

My must-have priority was a manual. I found next to nothing in manual 911s with desired options. So I ordered a C4S manual.

Nothing wrong with a Cayman/Boxster, even the four cylinder ones, they're great on track and a whole lot less than 911s.

I've driven the Cayman, Boxsters, the 991.2 GTS, the Turbo S and the 992 Carreras at the Barber PTX and you can't go wrong with any of them. PDKs mostly, did drive a manual GTS (no manuals there as of this year) and they are something else. I still prefer my manual.

In a 911, there's a feeling of substance and more comfort, the cabin is more spacious and feels less stressed in comparison to the Cayman/Boxsters even though you're accelerating quicker.

If I were to do a lot of track time, I'd have a Cayman. For daily driving and occasional track, a 911.

Good luck.

A feeling of substance is a great description. I got into the world of Porsche’s with Caymans. A 2007 987S and then A 2018 718S.

The 718 lost something for me. I got hot on the 911T and quickly traded my 1 year old 718S for a 2019 T.

Best decision I ever made. There is a reason the 911 is the car people think of when they think Porsche.

The fit, finish, feel. Everything about it is better to me. Porsche was brilliant to bring a low cost model into the lineup to get new buyers. Buyers that eventually will usually move up in models.

Get the 911, you won’t regret it. But hold out for a manual.

The 2017+ 911's are all turbo. That itself is a huge step up in usable power and unlocks so much more potential that any previous generation carrera would of had.

Thank you all. Very helpful information. I’m going to look for a certified 991.2 manual, drive it, and see if it’s worth the additional $30k on top of my 718 trade in. I don’t think I’ll miss my 718 cab if I can find a manual 911. Thanks again.

I have had both a manual 718 Cayman (AWE exhaust, IPE cats, Cobb tune) manual, and a 2017 Cayman S PDK. I now have a 2019 PDK Targa 4S and a 2006 one of a kind (it has over 500K invested in it) 997S manual. The 997 was in the opinion of someone that has owned 45 Porsche's in the last 5 decades the last of the none GT ish 911's. Not that the 991 is a bad car (I had a 2013 C4S that I traded in on the targa), but the 718 is much more of a drivers car and more of a sports car. If I could only have one I'd probably take the Boxster and do what I did to the Cayman. If you are a convertible guy, I doubt you will be happy very long with a coupe. You could probably get a Boxster GTS in manual (or just an S) if you really want to get rid of your car. I don't like 7 speed manual boxes, I see no need for them.

Echoing and following on from what @BSO posted, but from someone with zero track time or skill, just a regular guy driving his DD.

Bit of history:

I bought a '14 981 S, 6MT, used, summer of 2018. Loved it to bits. Up and on beyond 4,000 RPM, the 3.4 NA motor sounded like ripping silk. It was tossable and fun. It was also cramped, and the visibility was not super terrific; you could fit a piece of paper behind the front seats, but that was about it. The frunk was great, as was the hatch. There were some little issues in execution (the "I AM LOCKED!" red LED indicator on the dash blinding you, the comic-book Roadrunner MEEP MEEP of the horn, minor stuff like that.) But the car was reliable, and drove well. I put a set of Michelins on, and replaced the battery. I also dinged the rear bumper, by backing into and touching the plate surround on another car (no backup camera in '14). I'll also add one other observation: I thought the styling of the Cayman was terrific, but I never, ever, ran into anyone who knew what kind of car it was. They thought it was cool and all, but it was so uncommon as to be unknown. Most common response to "it's a Cayman" was "so, is that like a porch 911"? Long story short, I wanted to upgrade.

Last year, I traded up to a '17 base C2, 7MT+SC, which were my only requirements besides color. It was a CPO car, newly traded in, and located at a dealer in Long Island. In the process of selling the Cayman and buying the 911 I probably brought another $40K to do the deal. We flew to JFK one way and drove it home to Tampa. The 991.2 is vastly better as a "real" car, day to day. Yes the back is designed for little people, but they offer a very useful space. Mostly I drive with the seat backs down to create the small shelf back there. The Turbo 3.0 is especially useful in regular day to day driving, with grunt down low, where you are not needing to rev the nuts off the car to get things moving. (I suspect the 718 is similar in this regard). The 7MT is a lot of fun, I find the clutch light and progressive. (I've driven MT virtually my entire life, save that one disastrous choice of a '99 MBZ C280, that was in the shop 11 times over three years. Yech. Never again.) MT is obviously both a personal preference and slower to shift than Porsche's excellent PDK; speaking only for me, I prefer the driving involvement and control of an MT, and always will. Also, no one asks me what it is anymore -- it's a 911, one of the most iconic shapes in the auto industry. The car is better equipped and better featured, at even my base poverty spec level, than the equivalent 981/982. And the thing that fascinated me about the 911 was how little drama there was - No scraping the front air dam over bumps like my E92 M3; great visibility all around for daily driving, fantastic lighting from the standard headlights, useful interior space, windshield wipers that actually work in torrential rain; all of these things "just work", and work reliably, in a 911. It's a very unfussy car.

I would sum up the transition by saying the 911 is like a car for grown ups.

I can't speak to the cab vs. coupe thing. I don't understand convertibles, never bought one. Maybe if I lived in Santa Barbara CA (one of our favorite places to visit), but it doesn't make sense here in FL (where we spend most of our time) for me.

So yeah, trade a 718 for a 911? I get it. It's not foolish at all. Good luck. :)

lol we are like living parallel lives. i also live in tampa and wanted a 991.2 7spd manual w/SC. only difference is that i never bought a cayman; after multiple test drives i decided it wasn't for me, and i also was willing to wait for the right one to pop up close by. ended up getting an 18 CPO from porsche jacksonville in June and i love it. The MT is awesome and you will not regret it!

Thank you for the feedback and insight! I live in L.A., which is why I'm considering a convertible. Thanks again.

Thanks - that's part of my dilemma - I really like the drive of the smaller 718, and even though it's a 4 cyl, I think the drive is fantastic.

Any MT owners (non-track users) had issues with having to replace the clutch?

I recently picked up a '17 base manual cab and have been very happy with it. It is hard to find a real stick, but if you're patient they are out there. This listing just popped up (I still have my searches turned on) for a nicely spec'ed one at a very fair price:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...CALERTSEMLSRCH

I haven't driven a 718, but I really like the power delivery of the .2 cars over the 981 that I spent a lot of time with. I'll echo what drcollie said, if you treat a manual right, there is no need to expect to replace clutches. I've never replaced one in my numerous manual cars.

Thanks Josh - very helpful

If you're ok with a 991.1 instead: https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1173922