Rallybagger

For the last few weeks I've been working deals for GTS's available on dealer lots. I have had no luck finding ones in Silver for "good" deals. I've narrowed down to two cars but I am at an impasse with pulling the trigger.

One car is black and the other is carmine red. I've seen both in person, carmine was a cloudy rainy day. I've never owned a red or black car. I'm OCD and keeping black clean scares me. I am not a "flashy" person and red just seems like an attention color.

Either way, here are the options on both cars: Every time I lean towards one I think maybe the other is a better way to go.

I plan on having clear bra on the front half of either car and opti-coated

Carmine RED

027 - Instrument Dials in Carmine Red
030 - PASM Sport Suspension
088 - GTS Interior Package
0L - Carmine Red
250 - Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
276 - Auto-Dimming Mirrors
342 - Seat heating (front)
581 - Luggage net in passenger footwell
583 - Smoking package
638 - ParkAssist (Front and Rear) with Reversing Camera
653 - Electric Slide/Tilt Sunroof in Glass
658 - Power Steering Plus
844 - Multifunction steering wheel
GQ - Black Leather Interior incl. Alcantara® GTS Package in Carmine Red
P3H - BOSE® Audio Package
XAT - SportDesign package
ZAB - Ornamental Porsche Crest

Black

027 - Instrument Dials in Carmine Red
030 - PASM Sport Suspension
088 - GTS Interior Package
250 - Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
638 - ParkAssist (Front and Rear) with Reversing Camera
651 - Electric slide/tilt sunroof
748 - Power folding side mirrors
840 - SportDesign steering wheel
A1 - Black
GQ - Black Leather Interior incl. Alcantara® GTS Package in Carmine Red
P07 - Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way) with Memory Package
P3H - BOSE® Audio Package
P3J - Premium Package Plus i.c.w. Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way w/ Alcantara®)
XAT - SportDesign package

Those of you who have black - how awful is it to keep clean?

Those of you with carmine - is it as subtle in the sun as it seems?

Archimedes

Since colors are personal, you're going to get a lot of opinions on this one. I love black. I have a black Cayman S and I was speccing a black Carrera S when I found a great deal on a special car that I couldn't pass up. Having the car OptiCoat Pro'd goes a long way to keeping black looking nice. I don't find my black car any harder to keep clean that my silver or white cars. And it just looks so good. Honestly, unless you have PCCB brakes or use AA wheel protectant, you're going to be washing your car based on the wheels/brake dust before you even have enough dirt on the car to worry about it.

As regards builds, there again, I'd go with the black car since it has a few key options I prefer. Though I'm not a sunroof guy. Both nice cars though, so you probably can't go wrong either way.

TrappistMonk

I have 2 black cars, they look on when not cleaned, they look amazing when freshly washed. If you wax it every 3-4 months, you can keep them looking great all the time.

But I do like Carmine red.

Just get the cheapest one ;-)

jw1977

If you are OCD about keeping black clean, it's like getting a part time job. You clean it and after one drive it could use to be cleaned again.

ENCT

I have Black and swapped brake pads for Carbotech 1521 pads and the brake dust is no longer a problem. I have never had a Black car and bought this one off the lot, so far I am very pleased.
Eric

Tcc1999

Well, I can only comment on how I deal with the "flashy" aspect. My GTS (997.2) is Blue Turquoise and I'm told people look at it all the time. I say "I'm told" because I never notice but my wife or daughter when they are with me see people looking and even taking pictures When you are driving any car you really can't see too much of its color, so whatever color you have you only get to enjoy as you walk to or away from the car or when you are cleaning it. People will comment that they like the color at a gas station, etc. to which I just respond, "Thank you", or motos, when lane splitting (legal in CA) will give me a thumbs up and I just wave back. The point is that I too don't care for flashiness but I bought the PTS for me and not for others and the satisfaction I get outweighs any discomfort I may feel from the attention. Just a thought that probably won't make your decision any easier.

As you have seen both cars, if the options are equal in your mind and you are down to color, does one or the other make you sort of shake your head and think, "wow, what a beautiful car". If one does more than the other, then there's your decision. It's too much money to spend to "settle" for one color rather than another.

fastdiablo

I've learned this is 100% accurate -the brake dust drives washes more than dirty paint. I'm going to swap out my pads for ceramics or Carbotechs. That said the carmine is stunning, especially with carmine GTS interior package.

Dalema

I love the Carmine Red color - it's a little restrained if you can accept that from a flash perspective (I know the feeling there). That one looks great!

Edit: and swap the MF for a SD wheel

TorqueChap

First, get the color you really want. The impasse you're experiencing may be due to the fact that neither black nor red are 'your thing.'

Second, I like the black car more than the red one based on both color as well as specs. But that all boils down to personal opinion.

ddodds

I like the specs on the black one better. As far as cleaning goes, I don't find it to be bad at all. Cars get dirty ( if you drive them) so wash it.

St8haus

Get the color you want...period. You will keep it beautiful and that is all that matters!!

By no means rubbing it in, but washed/dried/detailed wheels/all jams & wiped interior this morning in 20 minutes...boring color, but it sure is easy

Roadcarver

I've been a longtime lurker, currently looking for a gts. This post refers maily to solid black as black with metallic fleck is an entirely different animal that conceals most minor scratches and makes paint maintenance much easier.

I'm weighing in on this as I love black and I'm truly OCD about it. To prove my point, I have a silver car and a black 2015 GL550. The silver car goes through car washes, the 550, while huge, only gets hand washed and rinsed with water from a spotless water system. It does not matter how cold outside it is, it only gets washed by hand. If it is 32.5° outside, I can wash it and I will, usually once per week.

As you know, black shows every little scratch. Even hand washing will scratch your pant. The difference between hand washing done correctly and car washes is that a hand wash will only leave correctable small scratches that can be removed periodically with proper machine polishing. Further, most of the high quality synthetic waxes have scratch concealer added that will have an affect on how the light reflects from the paint and thereby concealing the type of imperfections left from proper hand washing. If you improperly hand wash your black car or take it through car washes, no concealing synthetic wax will hide the scratches and corrective polishing will require much more effort and clear coat removal to effectively remove the damage.

So, I think you should ask yourself before buying a black car, how OCD are you really about the paint? Some people really don't mind or notice small scratches or swirls on their black paint. But if you're like me, you will see everything. So if you really are that particular, do you have the time to wash your car by hand? How often will you be driving it? Are you willing to spend the time to learn about the best methods of washing and products to use? Meguiars is one of several companies that sell good products for owners of black cars and they have all the info you need on their website to learn how to properly care for black paint.

Personally, I've decided that weekly hand washing a daily driver requires more time than I want to invest. Ideally, I would like a black gts that stays in the garage and is only driven on days with clear weather. There are plenty of products that if used properly will allow you to clean the dust off the paint without washing with water or damaging the paint. Again, you must learn to use the products properly and invest in a ton of microfiber rags. A wipe down of a 911 with a detail spray would probably take 15 min to make it look perfect. You can learn to wash the wheels and then clean any water off the fenders with the detail spray.

Having said all that, the Carmine Red is a great color and for whatever reason, I like it particularly with the black wheels. Personally, I could buy black, silver, or the carmine red. I could potentially do black metallic as well which almost becomes a very dark gray to me in certain light.

If you have never owned black, just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

LexVan

I don't know how you can do all this in 20 minutes.

freeman

I have washed, dried and detailed wheels of my former black 991 and my present agate grey GTS in 20-30 minutes also. I dry it with a "Master Blaster" (Metrovac.com).

Roadcarver

You can get away with quick washes if you're not removing a lot of road grime. If you just have a lot of dust because you live in Southern CA, you can certainly wah quickly. However, if your car has been in the rain, salt, etc, if you don't use multiple microfiber mits and thoroughly rinse, you will scratch your paint. Again, it comes down to how particular you are. If you do two year leases, and you don't see all the stuff some of us do, then you can afford to be more hasty when washing. Again, I'm only really talking about solid black.