TheVazha

Hello good people,

I’m ready to dive in, and I’m excited. My very good friend took me to PECLA for the driving experience and I’m sold.

Here’s where I’m having a tough time. I’ve been looking at Car Gurus because they bring both dealer and private listings to one place. The issue is, their labeling of the cars is a disaster. There are a number of GTS cars but the pictures are just Carrera. There are a bunch of 4S labels, but the pictures show regulars Carreras. Maybe clickbait?

Anyway, here’s what I’d love to understand:

I can spend up to $150, and I’d love to get I to a cab or targa. I get the coupe cult following, but I’m not that serious about it, would like something I can take the top off of and have fun. Looking at 2017 and up.

1. I’ve seen a bunch of Carrera 4S cars on CG and some have the steering wheel controls and others don’t. Some have the little drive mode selector coming off the steering wheel and others don’t. They’re all labeled the same on CG, but the pictures show all these different versions.

What packages/models/options does the car have if it has the steering wheel button controls? Some of the examples I’ve been seeing have two open rectangles on either side of the steering wheel, and others have little wheels and buttons inside the rectangles, does that make sense?

What packages/models/options does the car have if it has the little drive mode selector wheel coming off the steering wheel? Same as above, I’ve seen the same Car Gurus label on a vehicle but pictures show one with the little drive mode selector and others without it.

2. Exhaust tips. Again, CG labels are either off or clickbait, but also some owners rebadge the car so couple that with CG labels it’s impossible for me to figure out what the hell im looking at.

What package/model/option do cars with the two single exhaust tips close together (right under the license plate) have? What package/model/option does the car have if the tips are spread out and there’s quad tips - two on either side. For example, I’ve seen Carrera 4S Cab labels but one had the two tips close together, and another had the quad exhaust tips. Just trying to understand what’s what.

3. GTS designation. I understand the basic difference between a Carrera and a Carrera S, and a Carrera and Carrera 4 or 4S. On Car Gurus, they have both Carrera GTS and Carrera 4S GTS. What the hell is that? Is the GTS something you can do on a base Carrera or is it only available on a 4S? In other words, I’d like the GTS package (if it’s even a package) and I’d like it on a 4S or S. I want the more power, and awd if possible. If I see a GTS am I good to assume the car im looking at has awd or “S” more power or is it possible it’s just a base Carrera with the cool GTS trim?

Last, and not hyper important as understanding the above build questions, is leather dash. I’ve seen really nice Carerras and they have plastic dashes. I love a nice leather stitched dash and was wondering how common they are on the lower models I can afford. I’m sure a new Turbo S has a nice leather stitched dash but that’s just put of my range.

This is enough to get me in the right direction. I think. I’ll be back with more in sure but I think I’ve narrowed it down to 2017+ Carerra 4S/GTS/Targa. I’ve seen one or two Turbos under $150 as well but they were coupes. Is there a compelling reason to trade my wish of an open top for the performance of a turbo? 🤪

McLaren997

My steering wheel ( 2017 Carrera ) has no steering wheel controls because that was the Sport Steering Wheel in leather option that year. Two exhaust pipes close together indicate sports exhaust option. The drive mode selector on the steering wheel indicates the sport chrono option. My advice is to find a 2017 Carrera Cab or Targa. People have been conditioned to buy S models because the pre 2017 base model cars were underpowered. Now 2017 and on cars have plenty of power in base because of the turbos. I wouldn't trade my 2017 Carrera for any car and I mean that. For street driving the base car is the best imo. According to Car & Driver my car will do 0-60 in 3.4 sec and that's plenty quick.

TheVazha

Thanks Mclaren997!

No steering wheel controls: so this was a “sport” option similar to how the GT3’s are stripped of things to make them lighter? I’ve had steering wheel controls in all my cars but never pressed a single button, so it sounds like something I can live without.

Two pipes close together: so this is a sport exhaust option, I’m assuming there are loud controls inside the car in form of a valve open/close button or just all time loud/sport?

Drive mode selector is “sports chrono option”? What is that exactly? If the drive mode selector is not on the steering wheel, is there any other way to select the drive modes? Did this little dingleberry just make it more convenient? Do you get anything else with this sports chrono option or just the convenience of selecting drive mode on the steering wheel?

3.4 is impressive!

McLaren997

Sport exhaust is either on or off, there is a button on the center console. The drive mode selector that you get with Sport Chrono is a wheel with a button in the middle. If the wheel is at 12 o"clock you are in normal mode with all 7 PDK forward gears in play, if you turn the wheel to 3 o'clock you are in sport mode which turns on sport exhaust and locks out gear 7 and turns off auto stop start. If you turn to 6 o'clock you are in sport Plus mode which is like sport except it locks out gear 6 and 7 and turns on sport suspension. 9 o'clock is personal mode which can be programmed. The center button when pushed gives you 20 seconds of maximum turbo boost for fast acceleration. I run in sport mode all the time, the car runs cooler in sport mode and I think gear 7 was put in just for cafe mileage. I think normal mode was just for that and Porsche intended these cars to be run in sport mode. I don't like sport + but others do. If you do not have sport chrono there is a button on the consloe to select the mode you want.

TheVazha

Ok all this makes perfect sense now. So it is possible to have two 2017 Carerra 4S’s side by side and one may have the Sport Exhaust or the Sport Chrono options while the other doesn’t.

My current rig (BMW M) has a sport and sport + and I agree with you, Sport is perfect, nice balance of performance and comfort.

What are the best warranty options for these cars?

And please don’t kill me, what about tuning? I know most P guys are purists and don’t touch them. But what about just a nice shelf tune? My understanding is that all 17’s have the same engine just some are up tuned. Aren’t there reputable tuners that have conservative tunes?

in theory, could one buy a Carerra and have it tuned to a Carerra S? How does the “Turbo” engine compare to a Carrera S engine? Is it the same thing just tuned differently?

McLaren997

My car is optioned perfectly imo, see my signature. A Carrera S has larger turbos than the base I believe but I'd bet it doesn't cost Porsche much more to produce than a base. There are several tunes available, but I know nothing about them since I don't touch my cars. BTW, I have owned something like 15 BMWs starting with a 1980 633CSI which cost an astounding $32,500. Where I lived at that time no one had ever heard of BMW. This is my 2nd 911, I had a 2012 997. The thing that changed everything was the turbos added in 2017 for the 991.2 which they hated to do but CAFE laws compelled it. To me now the "Turbo and Turbo S" are stupid cars way overpowered and even the S model is questionable. Your average dentist in a Turbo or Turbo S is dangerous.

Pb Pedis

I’m a CPA but no less dangerous than a dentist. I took my overpowered Turbo S and went bananas with mods!

Pakman996-991.2

I have a 2017 base carrera and got an APR stage 1 tune. They are a big outfit and have a good reputation and even offer a limited warranty for their tune. According to their site I picked up an additional 125 HP/133 FT-LBS. In terms of power that puts you in GTS territory. I absolutely love it and in my opinion it’s the best bang for your buck power wise. Search APR on rennlist and there is a massive thread with a lot of good info on it. Biggest negative is that you cannot flash it yourself.

Others seem to be happy with Softronic and canned COBB tunes. I believe you can flash both in your driveway.

Turbo engines are different than Carrera S engines. You can’t tune a Carrrera S to Turbo level of power without hardware mods. If you really want Turbo or Turbo S power with a C2 or C4S you will have to pair the tune with bolt on mods like bigger turbos, intercoolers and other hardware. That’s the beauty of the 991.2 platform. You have a lot of options.

Fidelity Platinum seems to be a popular choice for warranty. I’m still on CPO but not for long.

Another thing to consider is RWD vs AWD when picking different models. Sport Chrono & PSE exhaust are very popular options and will add value on a re-sale if you care about that stuff.

Good luck on your search/journey. It’s a lot of fun!

737gdog

What do you call someone who did not get accepted to medical school? A dentist.🤣🤣 Just kidding dentists! Have an Uncle who is a dentist. Smart man.👍

TheVazha

Wow that’s great intel. So base Carerra can tune to about Carrera S, and Carrera S can tune to better but not Turbo S territory?

125/133 is a **** ton of power btw. Even close to that would be giant.

As far as warranty, is it basically like any other manufacturer? Keep under the radar and be very cool with your SA?

I think a newer base Carrera with tune is super interesting if it’s just a matter of software to get he same power as a Carrera S.

Speed2k

Check out the brochures, it will answer some of your questions.

https://www.auto-brochures.com/porsche.html

Alc

TheVazha,
I’m excited for you and the journey it seems to be on finding the 911 that fits your wants. I’d suggest getting on the Porsche website and configure 992s. The reason I say this is it will answer and organize your thoughts about each model. most of the trim levels are passed into the 992s and again this will help organize your decision. Porsche does a good job pictorially lining up all the models from most expensive to least expensive based on
1. horsepower
2. AWD (denoted as a 4 in each trim title)
3. Style (coupe, cabriolet, targa)

as for tuning/modding. Honestly, this should be a very low priority because, specifically tuning, is very easy to do on the turbo cars. People have taken the base Carrera engine into the 700hp range with the proper bolt-ons. The only difference in engine across the entire Carrera lineup is the turbo size. The base has the smallest turbos, the S has slightly larger turbos, and the GTS has the largest of the Carrera trim levels…that’s it. The turbo and turbo s models use a different engine 3.8L vs the Carrera 3.0L. That is a huge difference. The Turbo and Turbo S also ONLY come in AWD and PDK (auto transmission).

in the 991.2 all Carrera trim levels had an optional manual transmission if that’s something you want.

after reading your posts it appears you want a cruising car but I could be wrong. The last point of reference you will need to decide is weight, if you want a cruising car then it doesn’t matter. The targa 4s/GTS and cabriolets 4/GTS are heavier than other models. AWD adds a bit of weight and so do the open tops. This drastically affects driving dynamics/characteristics. If you just want to cruising car, this really doesn’t matter.

and then there’s the widebody vs narrow body…you’re welcome for that little nugget.

pjazz

Have you checked out autotrader.com ? They,ve been around before the internet. They have filters that will search a wide variety of what you're looking for.

Bud Taylor

I would go for a 991.2 vert base. It does not sound like you are interested in handling or speed. Your price range will get you a nice low mileage example. Personally i would not own a porsche with even a sunroof as any kind of hole in the roof seems to have premature failure issues. You can and should offset this with a waranty. Warranty cost is normally based on mileage. Getting a targa is really rolling the dice the top mechanisms are way complicated.

HkPlinker

Your budget will allow for everything you desire. If you're patient, you could possibly purchase new.
But, with what you have stated, you want a 2017 Targa GTS

Here is one that would pit the bill.

https://www.champion-porsche.com/veh...fl-id-48129774


Here is one in manual.
https://www.champion-porsche.com/veh...fl-id-48131558