first wanted to thank everyone who posts in the forum. In the market for my first p-car (actually my first car in over 10 years) and have found others' q&a extremely helpful. Have come down to the following build and would welcome any thoughts. Also, in particular i was wondering if someone gets the leather interior (two-tone, though i don't think that matters) option, then what remains in the interior to be covered in leather? i.e. is getting a steering column in leather overkill if you have the full leather interior? also depating deviated carpets in black (vs. black floormats)

this would be for a MY13 911 carrera. i will not be tracking the car, so although the carrera S seems to be the popular choice, i don't know that the S + power kit makes sense for me.

z4 basalt black metallic
BL two-tone luxor beige / black interior
250 PDK
176 Sport exhaust
475 PASM
640 sport chrono (this was the one i was the most on the fence on but it seems to be overwhelmingly recommended)
xrt sport techno wheels (will try to get painted entirely in black)
p06 power sport seat (14 way)
p3e premium package plus
p3a burmeister
636 park assist front/back
653 glass sunroof
748 external folding mirrors
911 model designation "911"
xex headlights in black
xub headlight cleaning system painted black
345 heated steering wheel
456 adaptive cruise
583 smoking package
CGJ chrono clock dial in white
XFJ instrucment dials in white
844 multifunction steering wheel
cfx personalized floor mat
clu decorative stitching on steering wheel
xns steering column in leather
un1 online services


thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions!

 

Check resale $...

S seems more popular w/most in pre-owned

 

hm, i didn't think about that. i'd be able to stretch for the S; but part of me just says the fact that i'm optioning up the interior means i'm basically screwing myself on re-sale $ re-capture anyways; unless the view is that the non-S loses more value...?

 

DELETE:

1) White Dials
2) Sunroof (Sunroof Delete)
3) Park Assist
4) Burmeister (Bose is adequate)
5) Steering column leather

ADD:

Carrera S

If you can buy without a sunroof, which I think you can, I would do so. I have never been a sunroof fan and never use it anyway. The 991 sunroof is much different from its predecessors and I am not a fan per se.

Definitely get the S. if price is not an issue and you want that other stuff fine, but the S is always worth it to me. Just my thoughts and in no way intended to be critical. I just returned from Brumos Porsche with a friend who purchased a 2012 CPO Carrera S in Basalt Black with Black and Silver interior full leather. What a fantastic car. I am now a fan of the PDK as well. Have fun and best of luck.

 

Many Porsche options will have value only to the original owner.

Nothing wrong with that of course, but something to think about if you ever
want to sell.

 

thanks for the thoughts. yeah, i'm fine losing the value on the options; i don't expect to churn a lot of cars and for a first car just want to go ahead and get what i want option-wise.

Desirability on resale aside, though, for purely road-use, is there an appreciable difference b/w the S and regular? also, if one gets the S is the powerkit upgrade a must have option? (are there any other must have options if one were to go the S-route?)

 

I think if we test drove both of these models not knowing which was which, we'd probably have a hard time telling one from the other.

Most will never achieve the limits that these cars are capable of anyway.....Get the S.

In other words:

 

drgiggles, keep in mind that there are many who have posted incredible satisfaction with the base carrera performance. it is still way more car than most of us will ever be able to handle.

yes, it is always nice to have "more" with the s, and the points raised above are all good ones. but keep in mind that there are 3 main reasons to own a 911: 1. sport (racing/tracking), 2. luxury/exotic car experience, and 3. brand culture (porsche and 911 history, lore, and experience). each of us buys one for varying combinations of those 3. be honest in what yours are, and that will help determine whether the additional cost for the s is worth it to you. absolutely nothing wrong with the base carrera.

other notes: given that you selected a black/beige 2tone, the dash and steering will be in black, which means that the plastic steering column in black is much less noticeable than if the interior choice were say all beige. so the steering column in leather is nice, but not mandatory.

i'm a fan of the deviated carpets in the 2 tones or lighter colored interiors, especially those that are clean freaks!

overall great build!

 

Voice control.

 

-I would definitely go for the S if you can.
-Lose the Burmester...Bose sounds good, but the 991 is not the best audio environment given the porting of engine sound into the cabin, etc. I would rather see the extra $2500 or so go toward the bigger motor.
-X51 is cool, but I don't think you need to spend the money to get 5mph of top speed and .1 second faster to 60.
-sport chrono is a must
-i agree with Oldman on the deviating carpets
-I happen to be very happy with the PDCC.
-I like the paddle shifters on the SportDesign steering wheel, certainly if you get the "S"

Basically I think you will get value back some day for the sport chrono, sunroof (although I never use them either), pasm, pdcc. The cosmetics...not so much.

Good luck with whatever you decide...order what will make you happy...great part about these cars is they are awesome in any configuration!

 

I like your choices. As for the discussion points, I favor building a car for myself, not some hypothetical second owner. It isn't a matter of finding your car hard to sell in the distant future. Porsches move easily, even modified ones -- which are notoriously hard to sell in other brands. Your choices all work fine in the re-sale market. Thinking you'll get more for the car some day if you choose popular options is wishful thinking and rather silly for people spending $80k to $200k for a fine automobile. Either you can afford it or you can't. Planning to "get well" on the resale is just naive. Nobody does. It's a toy. Buy the one you want. Mine cost $150k after Calif taxes. The resale market won't care. I doubt it would sell for more than $20k above your own build after a year.

Buy what pleases you.

Specific items:

• Burmester is great. I don't do 'adequate' honestly. My eight-track tape in my old commuter was 'adequate' because I never used it. It filled the hole so mice couldn't wander into my dashboard. A Porsche with no stereo at all is adequate when I'm on track. The rest of the time, the new 991 is great acoustically and if you like music, the Burmester is well worth its $2500 above the Bose. Brilliant stereo well integrated with the 991. Good decision.
• S engine and powerkit. I track my car, though only mildly. I used to race and I enjoy driving fast without worrying about innocent bystanders and motorhomes coming round the next corner. I bought the S for that reason, but honestly I can post a better time with a 3.4 coupe than most owners of an S can manage. You definitely will be thrilled with the performance of a 3.4 and the S package is a waste if you don't want to track it. You've already specified the important parts of the S package for a car limited to road use.
• Extra leather. Darned if I know, but I can provide a data point. I have 'natural' leather which is the full leather option with a higher grade of leather used. No other leather options were specified and I'm darned if I even know where they would go. In other words,all the parts that are not already covered by "full leather" are unobtrusive enough that I haven't noticed them.
• Adaptive cruise control, parking assist, folding mirrors, et al. These fall under the category of buying what pleases you. In my experience, Porsche options are well done and will be worth their cost if it's an item you use. I don't personally use either of these and the only negative comments I've read have been foolish ones from people saying: "I don't use such things. Why would they include that?" Because some people do, that's why. Jeez. They will work well if you buy them, so order the car to fit your personal usage.

Gary

 

On the track the 991S will be faster than the Carrera but only if you are an experienced driver. On the street it makes NO difference whether you own a plain Carrera or a Carrera S; 99.9% of the population will not know, not care or envy you!
As for resale value, if you have PDK your eventual group that would be interested in your car would be non-track folks. Then some of your options MAY add some value. If you bought a 991S then your future group would be track junkies who would want an MT and not care one hoot about all the non-performance options.
I have ordered a 991S with an MT and Sport Chrono package. BUT I am also ordering a PTS exterior color and a LTS two tone for the interior.
I am a National PCA Instructor and track my cars (current 996 C4 heavily modified). One might call me a track junkie.

When all is said and done: Buy the car that you want!

 

Ha! i'd at least would have pointed out the red brakes. that might sway the decision.

thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. now to read up on voice control...

 

Okay, here's the Litmus test: consider an S model with the brakes painted black. Do you still want it?

Gary

 

I have a similar build on order. I think the Burmester is a good option to keep especially because the car is loud - I find that turning up the Bose in my 997 on the freeway or with the top down is not great.

I went with deviating black carpets but did not want the two-tone Luxor/Black with a black exterior because then there is not a lot of beige left in my opinion and I didn't love the look. The deviating carpets-only was perfect for me.

The S versus non-S depends on your needs. I don't track the car but when I floor it in 2nd or 3rd (e.g., on ramps, freeway acceleration) I feel like even my 997S could use more power but if that isn't a need for you then I could see saving that extra cost.

I love the glass sunroof but I'm about to get my 3rd Cab in a row so I may be biased about an open feeling cabin!