I've been lurking and reading for months and visiting dealerships often. I've been working with a local deal that has a car that I have a deposit on and am awaiting some logistical stuff before making the purchase. This is a '16 GTS PDK with a few options (glass sunroof, bose, aerokit cup) in sapphire blue with about 20K miles. I've got a deal at $113K, but trying to make sure that inexperience doesn't leave me with a bad deal. To me it seems like this, while inflated from prices before the latest shortages, this is a decent deal on a very nicely optioned car that will hold some value if I were to want to upgrade or change something else in a few years. The sound and feel of the N/A 3.8 is intoxicating and I may want more power in a turbo car later, but this seems like an incredible introduction in my first Porsche. Can anyone lend some advise, insight, etc. as I approach finalizing the deal? Thanks!

 

My first Porsche is a .1 GTS purchased about 2 months ago. Go for it and don't look back. I am very happy with mine!

 

Have a knowledgeable person do a thorough pre purchase inspection before you buy the car.

 

I got my .1 GTS a few months ago and it's a beast of a car. Unfortunately I needed a new engine almost immediately (bore scoring). As rare as it is, for your own sanity get the plugs pulled and boroscope as part of the PPI. While Porsche *should* cover this issue even out of warranty you don't want a nasty surprise down the line.

I'd recommend a few mods to maximize your enjoyment.

My personal must-haves:
1) Get a DSC v3 suspension controller and have it installed. Night and day improvement in handling both during aggressive driving and comfort during normal driving.
2) Consider doing the JoyeAuto CarPlay retrofit. It works really well and then you don't have to deal with the ancient-feeling PCM v3.
3) Exhaust upgrade. I have the akrapovic which is expensive but sounds absolutely insane wide open and is very well-behaved with the valves closed. The sharkwerks is a cheaper option which still sounds great (but I'll be honest not *quite* as good). You're getting an NA car... trust me, this is worth its weight in gold in helping your car sing. Don't bother with headers tbh. Almost no power to be had and you'll rule out CA buyers if you ever sell it.
4) Retrofit the 991.2 steering wheel. The 991.1 steering wheel (especially the non sport-design one) is clunky and unrefined by comparison. You can instead opt for the 991.2 multifunction steering wheel by using a "GPS adapter" (https://gpsadapter.us). Just email the guy with what you have and what you want and he can recommend the needed adapter. This also lets you eg; use the multifunction switch on the steering wheel to set the mode (eg; Sport+).


Nice-to-haves:
1) I've realized you can get *HUGE* steering and handling improvements just from suspension upgrades alone. The SPASM is solid if you have it (and paired with DSCv3). But if you have regular PASM consider upgrading to tractive DDA coilovers or Bilstein B16s (a more economical option) along with the GT3 sway bars. You can then run a little bit of negative camber and you'll get a much more responsive feel. Even better, TPC racing sells a front axle width increase kit that increases the front track width a tiny bit the "proper way" (i.e not using shims). Drastically improves the handling for the better.
2) The OEM aluminum gas cap. Stupid, I know but trust me you'll smile every time you fill it up.

Enjoy. It's a beast of a car and prices seem to be continuously climbing (and the cars are indeed selling at these prices). It's pretty much the ultimate naturally aspirated Carrera.

 

Welcome to RL! I just got out of my 991.1 GTS cab. The 991.1 GTS is a fantastic car and one worth keeping long-term. If you do decide to sell it one day, I do not think you will have a shortage of buyers and I foresee the price of the 991.1 GTS continuing to climb going forward. I think you might find that it is a forever car. I was just reading elsewhere on RL a prior 991.1 GTS owner who sold his for something else and is missing his GTS. The GTS in NA form may be the perfect 911. Yes, the Touring is AMAZING (I have one) but the GTS is so much more dextrous than the GT3. It can be sporty, it can be luxury sedan-ish, it can be loud, it can be quiet, it can be some combination of the aforementioned. The GT3, while better in objective metrics, is a sledgehammer that can be driven daily but wants to be pushed. The GTS is perfectly at home with mundane driving but when pushed, it loves to let her rip. Sometimes, I will go back and forth from normal mode with PSE off to sport mode with PSE on, to sport mode with PSE off to normal mode with PSE on, all in the same drive. The GTS is the ultimate titratable sports car and the sound that 3.8 L NA engine makes is something special. I can't say its song is better than the 991.2 GT3's, but it is different (less angry and more soulful, I would say) and just as fun to ring out mile after mile. Good luck with your decision and I hope I have made it easier for you!

 

I would verify that 4 year/40k mile service has been completed (plugs, filters, etc.) If not, you're in for some initial maintenance costs. Good luck!

 

As a member of the 991.1 GTS club, I can wholeheartedly agree with all expressed sentiments in this thread. Buy the car and you won't regret it.

 

I would agree with everyone here, just get it.

The above information is mostly true.......

1&2 - yes for sure
3 - kind of? Sharkwerks doesn't make an exhaust for the GTS since the GTS has PSE, so if you use their bypass pipes you lose the PSE option of switching. There are lots of options here though with fabspeed, soul, IPE (what I have), akra, etc.
Not sure what he's talking about with the headers, I just put Klines on mine and now at launch it's crazy how much wheel spin I get in comparison and how well the torque is distributed thru the powerband, it's noticeable for sure AND the sound is just perfect! Now when I don't have the PSE switch on, I get more growl in the exhaust sound. So instead of having ZERO sound or INSANE sound, I get a nice growl with no drone or hit the button and I get classic F1 style scream (IPE thing).
4 - Absolute MUST get if you have PDK, especially if you have PDK with multi function and the stupid "buttons" for PDK shifts.

 

Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement. The few things that are on my mind are the carplay conversion and the 991.2 multi-function wheel. Otherwise, I'm certainly an exhaust/headers guy but uncertain as to what I'd want so I'll likely drive it stock for some time to decide just want I want or slowly step from exhaust back to cats/headers one at a time.

The car did have the big 4 year service done by the dealer and is being CPO so I'll get 2 years unlimited miles from the time I purchase.

 

I also recommend the T-Design Memory Module. It remembers the last mode you were driving in and will start back up in that configuration.
It’s a sports car, IMO it should start up in the sports mode.
You can also decide if you want the exhaust mode on or off at startup independent of the sports mode.
Enjoy the car, your going to love it.

 

Has anyone heard of a latest EPA/Emissions issue that has rendered cars with Sport+ (Sport Chrono) for certain years (my 2016 991.1 GTS I'm looking at is included) unable to be sold CPO or by Porsche dealers. I can't find anything but I have a deposit on the car waiting for that effort to "clear" it to be sold. Can't find that info ANYWHERE online.

 

The Porsche Stop Sale order is covered in this thread, along with a lot of speculation and off-topic chatter. If your GTS has a manual transmission, readers reported that it is no longer affected by the stop sale order and the Porsche dealer should be ok to complete the purchase and deliver the car. https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1222...rt-chrono.html There is a link to a PDF copy of the order in post #211. I haven't seen anything in writing since then that expressly states that sales of only the PDK equipped cars are stopped, so who knows for sure.

 

Make sure it has been maintained properly and get a PPI

 

thank you for the link. I missed that thread somehow. Mine is a PDK. Guess I’m screwed for now.

 

Get it. If you're going to get a 991.1 the GTS engine is arguably one of the "peak" NA motors now that they're generally being phased out of the higher volume cars. I'll admit, the added power and RPM ceiling over a regular S motor is negligible, but mentally it's kind of a nice thing to know you have.