When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello All,
Made a mistake several years ago and sold my C4S 997. Been wanting to acquire another P car and was looking this one.
2012 Carrera S with 37K Miles. Nicely equipped and love your thoughts prior to purchase
VIN: WP0AB2A98CS120774 Price: $136,570.00 (New), this is a highly optioned car Exterior: Black Interior: Black leather interior Warranty Start: February 06, 2012 BASE The new 911 Carrera S 031 PDCC w/ PASM sport suspension 176 Sport Exhaust System 250 Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) 276 Automatically dimming mirrors 323 Adaptive Sport seats Plus (left) 324 Adaptive Sport seats Plus (right) 342 Seat heating (front) 446 Wheel caps color Porsche crest 450 PCCB 541 Seat ventilation (front) 603 Porsche Dynamic Light System 625 Porsche Entry & Drive 630 Light design package 640 Sport Chrono Package 651 Electric sunroof 658 Power steering plus 682 Burmester(R) Sound System 690 SiriusXM(R) & HD Radio(R) rcvr 693 6-disc CD/DVD changer 748 Electric folding ext. mirrors 840 SportDesign steering wheel A1 Black AZ Black leather interior P07 Adaptive Sport Seats Plus P3A Burmester P3C Prem Pkg Plus w 18-way seats ZAA Auto AC ZAB Ornamental Porsche Crest
Option 031 is pretty rare, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control.....car won't lean under severe cornering...But, on my former 991.1, it didn't lean amd it lacked PDCC. PCCB brakes on the option list, and they were not standard...were a $10,000 option, replacing them costs about $20,000, maybe at 100,000 miles, sooner? I am no expert on PCCBs, all I know is that me personally, I don't want them. I had them on my former 2004GTS and one of my first modifications was to take them off and replace them with iron rotors. I planned to track the car a bit and didn't want the potential liability of PCCB rotors. Be that as it may, this car has been driven....if you can live with the mileage, the upcoming maintenance due to its age/mileage (40,000 mile maintenance could be $4,000) , and the down side of the PCCBs, hmmmm maybe.
At first look, the second car looks good, noting it has Sport Suspension, 20mm lower than the standard 911...it can be a challenge in certain driveways, but it makes the car look mean! BUT, 70,000 miles? They say, "buy the latest, lowest mileage car you can find." This could be BS, but I can relate to it. To me, anything past 30,000 miles is questionable.
Used 991.1 Carrera S cars are hard to find. One other approach, look for yur used Porsche car at a Porsche dealer and only buy a Porsche Certified Pre-Owned car ala CPO. The come with a two (2) year, unlimited mileage, warranty, good at any Porsche dealer in the US. See https://finder.porsche.com/us/en-US With a CPO car, it has been through a 110 point inspection and it must meet certain strict standards to qualify. These cars are lower mileage, well under 40,000 miles, and you can buy one sight unseen, at any Porsche*** dealer in the US, if you have th guts for that. I bought my former 991.1 Carrera S this way. CPO is the only way to go....also noting, with non CPO cars, both of the above I believe, you should consider a used car warranty, from Fidelity, or? Fidelity is popular on the 991 Forum. The higher the mileage, the more expensive it will be. My neighbor just bought a 3 year, $100 deductible Fidelity Platinum Level Warranty, with a $200 Rennlist Discount, for his 20,000 mile 991.2...about $3,000. Being that most want a warranty, this makes the CPO*** car a wee bit easier to justify. But a 991.1 CPO car will be tough to find....if you have the budget, a 991.2 is something to consider. The Base 992 puts out 370 HP with monster torque across a broad range, from 1,750 RPM to 5,000....true the 991.1 Carrera S puts out 400 HP, but provides only peak torque, not broad range torque....some peopel love peak torque, and the 991.1 does cound a little more raucaous...decisions, decisions.
Keep looking, the search is so much fun, and in the process, you'll learn so much: I know I have.
***A CPO car can only be obtained from a Porsche dealer or a private party. With a private party purchase, you get the remaining time on the CPO warranty. Non-Porsche dealers cannot offer a Porsche CPO warranty, even if the car(s) in their inventory were acquired having a CPO on a trade in, auction, etc.
2nd one hard pass. High mileage. At this price point I would add 5k to the budget and find one under 20k miles from an individual you can verify history with.
Thank you for the detailed response. Wonderful points. I'm not seeing a ton within my price and desire range. Prices really out of control and I'm wondering when things will settle down.
2nd one hard pass. High mileage. At this price point I would add 5k to the budget and find one under 20k miles from an individual you can verify history with.
Agree. The first one has PSE and sport steering wheel too.
My car is almost identical to the first spec you posted except that I have the sunroof and skip the PCCB... I love the car, and got mine at 36k miles in November for $80k out the door with a 5 year, 125,000 mile Fidelity warranty from CarMax...
I did look at and drive a few 911's before I made my purchase. I appreciate the comments above about CPO weeding out bad cars and I agree it does that, most of the time. There is no substitute for an independent inspect, and a thorough test drive. I arranged for several 24 hour test drives and made sure they included some spirit runs up the mountains. It helped me avoid two stinkers (one a modified 911 that the dealer didn't recognize, and the second a car that inspected ok but was generally just rough all the way around).
I've been super happy with it and the warranty has already paid for itself thanks to a leaking double seal in the PDK. I'm currently in a loaner 2021 Macan and loving life while the fly the parts I need in from Germany. My cost? $150 USD.
So ya, get it for the night and drive it properly, have an inspection from an independent shop and if things check out buy the car and include for a Fidelity Platinum plan... It's amazing, you'll love it.
If you have any questions I can answer, just let me know. I'll do what I can to help.
I think the Carrera S is a good buy, the C4S is nice, but I don't see as good value. Both vehicles are eligible for a Manufactures Extension by Freedom Warranty, repairs accepted at all Porsche North America dealers, covered for $275 in labor an hour, only $100 deductible, and 0% financing is available. You can contract me at (855) 924-1333 or tgibson@highline-autos.com with any questions or if you'd like to see an example contract.
2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S- 30k miles 5 years / up to 100k miles $100 deductible $4,395
2014 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S- 70k miles 5 years / up to 125k miles $100 deductible $4,995
__________________
Your place for distinguished automobiles, proud provider of Fidelity & Freedom Warranty extended warranties. Visit us at Highline-Autos.com
I usually prefer RWD over AWD but in this case, I would go with the C4S. I think the C4S look very cool : 2 tone leather interior, wide body, black accents (Techno wheel + glass roof + headlights) with nice contract with body color, Sport Design front bumper and wing mirrors which make it look like a GTS.
From an owner's perspective, I see PCCB more as a problem down the road than an advantage - it is deal breaker for me if the car has PCCB (at least on a none GT car). PDCC is really nice to have but would you really feel the difference on normal roads?
I also prefer the glass roof to the metal roof (more light in the cabin). C2S has Burmester which is an advantage over the C4S Bose I have heard - I never listened to a Burmester in a 991.1 but I am OK with the Bose in my 991.1 GTS - Engine sound is the best music. Also check if you prefer 14 way seats vs 18 way seats (shoulder support in 14 way is not as good as in 18 way seats).
Mileage can be off putting but it is a 14MY so probably less quality/reliability issues down the road vs a 12MY - if service records are impeccable, I would not be worried about a higher mileage car if it more recent. OEM always improve their cars over the MY.
I will respectfully disagree with the above advice. These cars are expensive to repair and a car with twice the mileage will almost assuredly cost you more to own. I suspect it will also lose value more quickly. In 30k the C4s will have over 100k miles and its value will plummet. There aren’t any major changes from 2012 to 2016. Additionally the merits of AWD can be debated on this car.
I agree with the guys above that the C4S has some great options but I’d steer clear. If you go that route you need to get a full PPI with particular attention to tires ($$), brakes ($$$), transmission issues ($$$$), and bore scoring ($$$$$).
Nice car but that interior color ruins it for me. Also $89k, IMO, for a .1 C2S is big money... What makes these cars awesome is they are a good value, at $89k, not so much. The grey car was only $117k new, the black first one $135k.
I like the first C2S you posted, permitted you want PDK. Looks like a sports car, has all the performance options (less X51), Burnmester sounds awesome if you are into music (once you fix the rattles), and you aren't paying much of a Covid premium on it. That car was probably worth $70-75k pre covid, the grey one probably $60-65k, as people weren't as nostalgic for manuals yet.
Last edited by AdamSanta85; 03-10-2022 at 11:55 AM.
03-07-2022, 01:31 AM
Advice and Information request
