Bemo

Looking good! Let’s go for a drive before the weather craps out for good.

bluehorseshoe

Early morning ride before the snow. Alex, looks like we missed our drive.

My GTS is officially for sale. Listed in the classified section. I will dearly miss this car.

Having withdrawals now because I'm considering a color other than black.
Porsche non-metallic black is my favorite paint ever.

Bemo

Next time bud. Ok I have to ask what are you up to with the backhoe? Garage expansion?

Love the PTS green/yellow combo.

Good luck with the sale of the GTS and the acquisition of the new ride.

bluehorseshoe

Let me tell you, this JD subcompact tractor is one of the best things I ever bought. Love it! Just no space. I use it for everything. Fired landscapers and do everything myself. It's a lot of fun (so far).
Plow, front-end loader, mower, tiller, aerator, spreader, box blade, forks and plow. LOL went in to buy a simple lawn tractor... Break-even is now 6 years and counting, if I'm lucky.

Clearing/leveling an acre, digging out dozens of stumps, bed for shed, planting trees.

bluehorseshoe

bluehorseshoe

I cannot believe this car hasn't sold yet!

Granted I'm biased but... Market is messed up. Can't see who would buy a new manual GTS over 991.1.

I have two "real" potential buyers, and the rest were just pikers. No real offer. One low ball offer, and one offer at my ask but buyer turned out to be too shady for my taste. Insisted on using PayPal. LOL

This car has all the right options and is ready to go to new home. I have my GT3 coming in a month, and I'm really hoping it's sold before I have to turn in to stealer as trade.

Backed out of garage today to switch bays. This car has never seen snow or salty roads. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have another set of wheels with dedicated winter shoes.

There may be no better daily driver than this .1 GTS. Heated sofas, back seats and two high end sound systems!

bluehorseshoe

My 'hoe' is one of the most useful tools in the world! Haha, my wife insisted on a living Christmas tree this year... now she had move move it outside and plant it! I hope it lives. I leave it on all winter to balance out the snow plow on the front of my John Deere. Love it! I only wish that I had more land and a bigger driveway to plow. It's a fun toy.

Bemo, I've become a Porsche PTS expert over the past few months. Love the non-metallic Porsche greens and blues. Getting uncircumcised version soon (GT Silver, manual), and will build my perfect Touring version late in the year for the long haul!!! Secured November PTS allocation. The new GT3 and Porsche's **** show of an allocation process has driven me to pure insane mode.

Now Alex, do yourself a favor, and get yourself a second set of wheels for dedicated snow tires. There are too many days throughout the winter when the roads are dry and clean to leave your yellow beauty tucked away in the garage. Trust me, speaking from experience.

cajerseyboy

Blue - I've had a great time following your GTS Journal over the year. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Nice build, great color, care, looks like some good kids that can fit in the back. Dog probably not in a year. I know from experience with the GS breed. Great dogs but they get BIG!

I use my Cab GTS PDK for running the kids around, occasional track day, some fun runs, date night etc. so it looks like we have similar uses. Out here in CA we drive it year round. It's an all around great car.

Like you, I've tried to secure a GT3 allocation. Had one for 12.5k adm configurable early on and rolled the dice and canceled hoping more would be come available. Kicking myself for that decision...now I'm left with looking at a higher ADM but a stronger personal desire to have one. 500hp NA manual. Doesn't get much better. But like you there are some drawbacks to the GT3.

Seems like you had some debates about getting rid of the GTS for the sunroof and back seat utility and comfort in exchange for the GT3.

I'm in the same boat with the drop top and back seats if I moved to a GT3 Touring.

Curious about your thoughts on letting those features go for a GT3 Touring? I love my GTS for the drop top and back seats and I'm not sure if moving to a GT3 Touring would make me regret my choice. Since you already went through the decision process I hoped you could share?

bluehorseshoe

^^^^^
Thanks for the kind words. That picture was when we first got our black German Shepherd puppy. We took him for a ride to the grocery store (used to bring him everywhere) and he fit right on my daughter's lap. The back seats are great, and this is my biggest regret because my kids (8 and 10) would get to use them for another few years.
We'll still go for rides, just not all together as a family. My kids are tall for their age, and the seatbelt rests about where it should (on collarbone) so I'm not overly concerned about driving them safely in the front seat. When they ride in the front I just always make sure that the seat is as far back as possible.

I'll miss the overall compliance of the GTS (I believe PDCC has a lot to do with this), sunroof (use that just about every time I'm driving the car), heated seats and Burmester too. And I will miss the design of the rear decklid (much preferred over GT3 Touring). I'm in love with the way Porsche designed it on the 991 GTS (sans Aerokit or SportDesign Package). If I will miss my dinky little sunroof, I'll bet you'll really miss your droptop!

Since I have another vehicle (full-sized Range Rover), I'm not overly concerned about giving up the functionality. The majority of the time it's just me in the car, and the tradeoff is just worth it for me right now. However, if my children were younger I wouldn't likely sell this car because of the rear seats.

My ultimate plan is to order a 2019 Touring, and try to enjoy it more. I'll have two sets of wheels with one dedicated for snow shoes. You are so lucky to be able to drive all year round. I only put a few thousand miles on my GTS, and always felt like I had to baby it for some reason. I won't make this mistake again. A Porsche, or any expensive car for that matter, is a waste of money sitting in the garage unless you're a collector.

If they didn't make a NA GT3 with a manual I wouldn't be selling my GTS...

How much do you use the rear seats and open top? If much more than 50% of the time, I'd think twice about switching. Your GTS Cab sounds like a hard combination to beat! My gut tells me that the GT3 will be total overkill for road only use, but I enjoy the process of rowing through the gears. And I must have Porsche's potentially last great NA engine.

My last thought for you would be to hold off until the summer/fall and see if Porsche comes out with a Speedster. I've hear rumors of this over the past year but know nothing for sure. And if they don't, I believe the GT3s should be a little easier to come by. All indications point to increased production.

cajerseyboy

Thanks for the comments Blue! Very helpful.

I can relate. The more my kids get older the less excited they are to drive in the GTS. Blows me away but, we just got a model X so they are all about that car now. Never thought the P car would take 2nd place but that day has come and more and more drives are with just me and the wife sans kids. The other factor making me consider the GT3 is the back seat limitations. As you can see from the picture their heads are almost to the wind deflector bar and very soon I won't feel comfortable with them back there. The back seats will serve more as a storage area in the next few years.

We are certainly a lucky group in CA. Lots of rennlisters to get to know and do fun runs year round without any salt on the roads to trigger my OCD. My two sets of wheels are summer and winter but my winter shoes are Michelin Super Sports. Summer are for the cup 2's. This May I'm heading to Germany with a rennlist buddy to pick up his PTS voodo blue GT3 then do some private track days at the ring. Bucket list and feel very lucky to be able to take such a trip.

Without a doubt! I'm leaning towards keeping the GTS after your comments and waiting it out for a blue bird allocation to configure or just waiting on used. If I keep the GTS then I would go with a wing on the GT3.

Man, great question, I drop the top 80-90% of the time I drive it. no joke. If it's not raining which it rarely does the top is down. Temps don't usually get lower than 50 so the seat heater and HVAC can make it comfortable 90% of the time. The only time I don't put it down is on the really sunny days that I know I'm going to sit in traffic or be on the highway for a long period of time. Just more reason to keep it.

Good call. I'm going to take your advice and play the wait and see game. Speedster is almost going to be impossible to source outside of the VIP program since production numbers are sure to be very low. There should be more info on the GT4 and who knows maybe they will increase production on the GT3 and a configurable allocation will present itself. What I've realized with this GTS cab, my first Porsche, is that I'm addicted to NA engines. The GTS is awesome all the way around but I would like a little more umph with a manual gear box and the new 4.0l fits that bill. These engines will not be around much longer. But like you said if the top is down more than 50% of the time I don't think the added HP would warrant a swap JUST NOW so the plan would be to keep them both if I can swing it.

Thanks again for taking the time to write out a response, Blue. Always good to hear thoughts from another GTS owner and fellow rennlister. Good luck with the GT3...man that thing will be a BEAST!

bluehorseshoe

Wow! Great picture!! Worth a lot more than some GT car or 911R or whatever.

Once your kids outgrow the space, no seats equals more room in the back, and the seats become 100% unnecessary.

Enjoy your trip to Germany. I keep threatening my 8 year-old (soon to be 9) that I'm taking him to the Porsche factory and to Nurburgring.

One of my top dozen or so colors for my Nov PTS spec is Arrow Blue, very close to your friends color of choice for his GT3. Awesome color, but fell to the bottom of my list because I'm looking for a more subtle color for the Touring.

I'd be hard-pressed to give up the cab if used so often. You would totally miss the experience. That .1 engine w/ Powerkit (i.e., GTS) is superb. Must be amazing topless on those windy Cali coastline roads. That's a large reason why I like the sunroof so much. To think I tired for months to find one without a sunroof, and it became one of my favorite features.

Yeh, the Speedster, if it ever materializes, will be hard to get for a reasonable price. However, I'm of the opinion that if you try hard enough, through enough large non-California dealers there's a good chance that you might get lucky. I'd be hard-pressed to give up the convertible if it could be enjoyed year round. Porsche makes you work to get their cars.

Peace brother man, and I'll let you know if I come across a buildable GT3 slot at or near MSRP. They're out there!

Bemo

Why a subtle color for the GT3T? Go bold, have fun and live a little. Any shade of yellow or green will look great next to the JD.
As for the 'Ring, you'll have a blast...anxiously awaiting reading your next journal.

cajerseyboy

TRUTH! I just got a "yes" response to my proposition tonight at the dinner table. Heading out now for some ice cream in the GTS with all 3. Top down of course.

Gotta love that CA weather in January!

bluehorseshoe

Chip repaired to like new condition thanks to minor damage and non-metallic black paint!

Learned something through my experience with Paint Protection Film (PPF) that I'd like to share...

If you baby your car and don't drive much on highways and don't track it... I definitely think that the cost and hassle* of PPF outweighs the benefits. (*I hate the idea of taking the car apart to properly install film.)
I also think that it's complete overkill to wrap the entire car. However, these cars are so low and wide that the hood, headlights and hips are essential, and perhaps the front quarter-panels if you want to go nuts.
Anything more is probably wasteful.

On the other hand, if you don't baby your car, and plan on keeping it for a long, long time, wrapping the entire car may be worthwhile. But get one thing straight... this is not a financial decision, as you'll probably never recoup the cost. Stripping film and re-installing film will usually cost more than any required minor paint repairs. The decision to wrap your car is an emotional one. Wrap the car if it makes you feel better. Everyone wants to keep their cars perfect! But the reality is that it's nearly impossible (and highly stressful) to do so. (They don't even come perfect direct from the factory!!)

I personally much prefer old school paint techniques like waxing and proper care of paintwork versus the full condom method. Just one enthusiasts opinion.

Papa Fittig

Completely agree on PPF view. Even on my DD I kept for 6+years I decided against the film. Learn how to live with roadrush. Hey, this is just a car anyway and supposed to be used