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Back in early September, I took my Audi A4 in for a service. Naturally, I walked across the lot to the Porsche dealer just to look around. I ended up talking to a salesman for a while and he finally convinced me to take a 2014 911 Carrera on a test drive.
I have had a few mustangs and a 350z in my past, but It had been about four years since I've been behind the wheel of a sports car. The 911 was something else. I know I'd been used to driving an A4, but that Carrera felt so much better than any sports car I'd ever been in. The phrase "Connected to the road" comes to mind. I didn't drive it too hard, but the salesman took me on some twisty roads on a spirited drive. That's all it took. I knew it was only a matter of time before I bought one.
I had always planned to get back into a sports car, but I wasn't planning on doing it so soon. However, after driving that 911, there was no going back. I began obsessing over them. I was more familiar with the 997 models so I started doing research and looking for the perfect car. So much time was spent reading and searching the internet trying to decipher the different models and massive options lists. I bounced around from wanting a 981 Cayman, 997 or 991. Eventually, I decided that I didn't want to "settle" for a Cayman. What I really wanted was a 911. I liked the interior of the 991 much better than the 997 so I had finally narrowed it down.
As far as options, I wasn't really too picky. I wanted a coupe, the 7MT, PSE, the Premium Package with 14-way seats, and the Bose stereo. Anything else was a bonus. The initial 911 I test drove was an Agate Grey coupe w/ color matching Carrera S wheels. It also had the clear corner/tail lights. Visually, I thought it was perfect, but it didn't have the PSE. I used every pre-owned search engine I knew about and found a handful of cars I was interested in.
One white Carrera that was about 200 miles away really stuck out and I started negotiating with the dealer. They didn't want to budge on the asking price and I didn't want to budge on how much I was willing to spend. After about a week and a half, I checked their website and the car was sold. I then looked up my second favorite car. It had sold the day before as well. I was heart broken. I honestly grieved over losing both of those cars for a few weeks.
At this point, it's the middle of October. I'm spending a few hours everyday browsing the various carsales sites and a new car pops up on Porsches Pre-Owned search. No picture yet, but the options list caught my eye. It was a 2013 white Carrera and had everything I wanted and a ton more. White was my second favorite color, so I contacted the dealer the next morning. I got them down a little on the price, but they didn't want to budge much since it was new on the lot. I told them to give me a call when they were ready to negotiate more and ended the phone call. All day long, I thought about that car. Those feelings I had about missing out on the previous cars came back. By that evening, I said to myself "what's a few thousand dollars", called them back and had them e-mail me a buyers agreement.
I decided to fly up to the dealer (Porsche of the Main Line outside of Philly) and drive the car back. The 8 hour drive would a good time to get to know the car. The salesman I'd been working with (Tim Grape) arranged for them to pick me up at the airport. Once at the dealer, I spent a few hours going over the car and going for a test drive. The car looked brand new minus a few small rock chips on the front. It was perfect. I hadn't been this excited in a long time.
Here are some stats about the car:
CPO 2013 911 Carrera in White w/ 16,111 miles. Options:
0Q - White
176 - Sport Exhaust System
427 - 20-inch Carrera Classic wheel
475 - Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)
487 - 7-speed Manual Transmission
640 - Sport Chrono Package
651 - Electric sunroof
672 - Navigation Module
AG - Black standard interior
P06 - Power Sport Seats (14-way)
P38 - Premium Package
P3A - Burmester® Audio Package
UN1 - Online Services
XFJ - Instrument dials in White
XSX - Seat belts in Guards Red
Here it is the day I got it.
Filling it up for the first time after driving half-way home.
So far, I've added the clear LED side markers and tail lights.
The tail lights are Euro spec which have the yellow turn signal instead of the red. It's noticeable in person, but kinda difficult to pick up on an iPhone camera.
I catch myself looking out the window at work pretty often.
Here it is today at the local state park. I drove it six hours to my hometown for the holidays. High danger for forest fires today so no burnouts.
I love this car. It's an experience every time I get behind the wheel. I've put over 2k miles on it so far in a month of ownership. It always brings a smile to my face whether I'm looking at it, driving it, or washing it. Speaking of washing, I bought a ton of cleaning supplies from AmmoNYC. I'm not detailer, but if anyone wants some info about the products, I'd be glad to chime in. In short, I like the stuff pretty well and his Hydrate Paint Moisturizer is a pretty interesting product.
I don't plan on doing much more to the car besides the clear side markers & tail lights. I'd like to get an alcantara sports design steering wheel (with red stitching to match the seat belts), but I'm not in any real hurry for that. I am in more of in a hurry to find a decent radar detector. I've already been pulled over for speeding once. I didn't think white would attract police, but I was wrong...or maybe it was me going 15mph over in second gear on a country back road.
Sadly, I've had two problems. The first was a "Fault cooling system" error and a vacuum solenoid had to be replaced under warranty. Yesterday morning, a new "Fault engine control" error popped up. Both errors were yellow and the warning said it was fine to drive the car. Everything seemed/seems to be running normally so it's probably something like a sensor going out. Hopefully these are just isolated issues but time will tell.
Other than those two warning lights, the entire experience has been great. From the initial test drive to purchasing to owning, everything has been amazing! Even the warranty service was a pleasant experience. Porsche seems to be a great company that produces amazing products and goes out of their way to make sure their customers are happy. I knew I shouldn't have test drove that car back in early September, but looking back at it, I couldn't be happier that I did!
You also have the painted rear apron and front air dam. Great looking car, almost a duplicate of mine.
I agree with Michael_s . . . put the spoiler down please!
You also have the painted rear apron and front air dam. Great looking car, almost a duplicate of mine.
I agree with Michael_s . . . put the spoiler down please!
You're right! I did notice that they were painted. I wonder if the first owner had that done aftermarket since it wasn't on the options list.
Why is there so much opposition to having the spoiler up, anyway? Because it interferes with the traditional shape of the 911?
Congratulations on the beautiful 911. I enjoy reading stories such as yours. There are a lot of us on here whose stories are similar. The 911 is in a class all its own! Love the clear tail lights!
11-27-2015, 07:00 PM
I knew I shouldn't have test drove it.
+1. Don't be that guy.
