Tacet-Conundrum

I hate Porsche, oh I so hate Porsche with an Effing Passion. The hate arises from all the confusion, madness, even Delirium Tremmens I have acquired from figuring out what options I want on my next car.

Does anyone else suffer from this as badly as I do?

The inner commentary is to purchase a new 991 and have fun with it before the Turbos come out. Since I have this in mind I'm thinking about keeping the purchase on the "lighter-side" of the wallet if you would. Wait a year or two after the Turbos come out and trade it in then.

I go nuts with the Options sometimes because I have this image of a car I've had in my head since seeing that new 993 Arena Red Turbo right out of high school.

By the time I've optioned everything the cost is a little more than I'm willing to pay at this time. But who knows?

Another thing I hate is I have this image of a perfect Porsche in my head, I log onto the Porsche website and build one of my dream Porsches; again with all the options and I'm happy with it. If I build say a car on the website and it barely has any options then I think I've done something wrong. BUT then I will go by the Porsche dealer and they will have some new and new//used cars come in that barely have any options on them. And you know what? I still fall in love with those low optioned cars. Which makes me Beg to Question is do I need all these options to be happy driving my Dream Porsche?

Does anyone else feel that way, if you have hung on long enough to read this entire post?

Thank you

Yousef10

i was on the same boat

at the end, i order what i wanted - my dream C2S loaded with exclusive options.
order whatever options make you happy, its your money, you worked hard for it, you deserve your dream Porsche more than anyone else.

Jon70

I agree with you. I've been considering a 991, but when I option out a C4S to my specs it comes to about $130K. So, I figure I'd rather wait for the 991 turbo and get no options instead.

Mike in CA

Just my opinion, but the cost of a few additional options pales in comparison to the depreciation hit one takes when selling a 2 or 3 year old car. If cost is really a major consideration, then waiting for the Turbo seems like a more sensible option than buying a 991, regardless of how many options it has, then selling it in 36 months.

If it's not about cost, then what the heck, don't worry about the price of the extra goodies and knock yourself out. FWIW, I tend to wait for the right time, and then order exactly what I want. I've found that increases my satisfaction and ends up being cheaper in the long run because I'm not wishing for something I didn't get and wanting to trade in early.

Like I said, just my $.02.

chuck911

So you've been dreaming for years, know what you want, and know from seeing cars on the lot that you'll fall in love with just about any 991. So what is the conundrum? Order the car of your dreams. You clearly can afford it. As Mike points out, the short term depreciation is greater than any options list. Have you asked yourself, if I wait for the Turbo, will I be able to afford to option it out as fully as my dream? If so then what's a little longer to wait? But if not, then go for it now and live the dream today.

John 996 TT Cab

I had the same issue. However, we are keeping our existing Turbo ('04 996 TT Cab with many many upgrades) and the plan is the 991S will be a driver for a couple of years. While another Turbo would be nice the insurance cost for a new Turbo in Vancouver will be in the $10k per year range! My 991S cab I expect will be about $2,600 for business use. Going to be a 2 Porche Cab garage at home.

I went the long yard in options. About 1/3 the total price is options including the Powerkit and Sport design front and rear. In Canada this car is now will have well over $60k in options on a C2S Cab! However, once the car is retired from being DD it will be a keeper so ordered what I wanted in the long run.

rpilot

I think it's perspective. Are you used to buying cars costing 100K or more frequently?. If so, this is easy. You buy either fully loaded or what you find immediately on the dealers lot, knowing full well that you will get something else not too far into the future (in the OP's case.. the 991 turbo)

On the other hand, if this is a long contemplated purchase and one you intend to keep around for a long time, the decision becomes trickier. The best suggestion I can make (albeit it will drive you nuts, as it has me) is to consider each option as a gotta have, should have and will be fine without if I dont and then get as many as you can and forget about the resale value.

If you are in neither camp, re-evalute the purchase. ie: drive what you have now and wait for the turbo making it option 2 above.

solomonschris

I agree with all the advice you have been given. My take is not so much different as just from a different perspective. What is your stereo at home like? Is it the very cutting edge? To have the very cutting edge stereo is really costly, and it is always really hard to tell the difference from the previous very best. The appeal of the 911, in any of its various forms, is that it doesn't look like, sound like, or drive like any other car on the road. The fact that it cost a bunch of money has always added to its appeal. The wonderful 911 experience can be enjoyed for way less money than a 991 will cost you. If you must have the very best 911, the 991 is your choice, but there are many previous iterations that are just incredible, dependable cars to have.
If you can pay the freight for a 991, then you should get the one you love, otherwise you will have spent a ton of money on a car that is less than you want.....what a bummer! Having said all this, I need to say that you have asked a bunch of comfortable millionaires how to spend your money. Just say'en.......Chris

cmb13

That's funny!

gjnockie

All of those options are great if you don't care what they cost and you intend to keep the car forever.

When it's time to trade however you will get nothing for all of those fancy options. Best value is the 991 Base with a few options. It will hold a greater percentage of it's value than the S three years down the road.

Edgy01

Don't even worry about it. You're buying a new Porsche. You're lucky to be in that position. When I ordered my new Carrera S I checked off far too many blocks, winding up way up there price wise. But, at the end of the day, I'm still extremely happy with all my decisions. I wouldn't change a thing! Just do it. Benefit from the others on the 991 forum on what is worth it and what to pass on.

Michael T

I think Dan is correct, it depends in large part for how long you will hold the vehicle. Think of a three year old 997. The base car would lose about 45% of it's value, but the options lose between 70% and 90% at three years. While I had full leather and Slate Grey in my 997, I bought it three years old with 14k miles. Those two options were approximately $6,500 new, but they maybe only had $500 of value used. So it becomes a game of diminishing marginal returns with a shorter hold.

Tacet-Conundrum

As with most of us here, by the time we confront our desires to purchase a 911 we can more than afford them.

One thing I don't like about me and my personality is I have to over analyze everything when it comes to money issues. I get that from when I was an accounting major and just being a math person in general.

Reading Michael T's post sealed it up for me though. I think I will just go low option, and the options I do check will be from the Performance Category.

Slightly off topic here, does Porsche offer the Ducktail by itself for the new 911? The option on their website includes a new front end?

Michael T

I went low option, base coupe, Agate, PDK, sport wheel, sunroof and phone package. Should have done the no cost smokers package and the Carrera badge delete to have it show Porsche 911 on the tail.

carcommander

Get the sport exhaust, sport chrono and Bose. My car has more junk than that but that will give you most of the fun stuff. I am trading mine for a turbo as soon as available so I just concentrated on a fun car. Get the seats you want. The rest doesn't matter that much.