christallon

I am actually considering the sale of my 04 GT3 in order to purchase another more track prepped/ready GT3. The Silver car I bought this March is just too nice, too beautiful to convert. It is bone stock save the dealer added Fab Speed exhaust. It's in beautiful shape and should probably be left stock for someone who will appreciate how clean and unmolested it is. It's never been on track. I love the car and what it is capable of doing. I have regularly tracked my 73 E/RS and truly love the experience. I can easily see how amazingly well engineered the GT3 is and what a wonderful track machine it can be.

datax

This thread makes me wanna sell the GT3 too. And, go back to something cheaper. 964 RS or M3.

iLLM3

Me too, but something along the lines of a cheap beater of a GTR :P

DrJupeman

I'm not sure if you meant "964 RS" or "964 RSA", but a 964 RS here in the U.S. is not going to be any cheaper than your GT3 to buy. That said, depending on your tastes, it very well may be the equal to your GT3 in driving satisfaction and not that far behind in lap times. At least not as far behind as you might think given the hp difference between the two cars.

I have not read all the pages in this thread, but folks seem to be looking at this in a binary fashion: walk away from the car accident vs. no accident at all. If you play the percentages, MOST accidents are not total write-offs. There are some crazy expensive parts on the GT3, but I think front fenders are $250. Front fenders on those "cheaper 964s" that I've read a bit about here are $1500.

For most, I think you should be judging whether you can afford to track your car if you can absorb a, say, $20k repair (+ resulting loss in car value from accident repair), not a complete $80k write-off.

roberga

Louis: call JR at Chris German Auto in Bellevue. They have info n a number of cars. Chris is great: built the Bayside winning 935s.
Although, if you are thinking about it... do not drive the GT3. They do not cost much to run if you stay on the track.

Wilder

Rob: Thanks for the input. I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve by contemplating my next move early on but the reality is that I'm probably six months away from making a final decision and starting to shop around. I've been a passenger in a 7GT3 and 7GT2 so I have a little preview of coming attractions, though being in the driver's seat is a different story I'm sure. You're right, I don't want to taste the crack because I may just get hooked. Better to stay the course right now, store the GT3 card and collect $200 after some seat time in an older car.

Charlie: Agreed but I keep hearing and witnessing the need to be prepared to leave the car at the track. Obviously any car will have a salvage/parts value but I think it's conservative to take that out of the equation and assume the car could be a total write-off. Good point about deciding what kind of hit one can absorb...for me, anything above $40k would be painful so that's my threshold right now. A well sorted PCA stock class 964 or 993 should come in under that.

Bob Rouleau

Louis - Charlie made a very sound comment. My perspective is that I bought my GT3 to track. I also feel that the risk at DE is low. Driving an expensive car injects a bit of extra caution into the exercise. Some mistake DE for racing. there is no prize or payout at DE why take risks?

Best,

Leigh2

I've been an instructor for quite a while and involved with organizing DE events for both the PCA and BMW clubs in this region. Since 1997 we've done about 80 event days and have had three incidents in total with no injuries. DE days are very safe and the skills learned on the track have surely prevented far more than the three incidents at the track.

Wilder

Thanks for the input guys. As per my previous posts, the idea is to buy a car for PCA Club Racing not just DE.

Leigh: Great stable! Can you comment on the idea of a relatively new guy to motorsports starting out with a 964 or 993 as opposed to jumping straight into a GT3? You may want to reference posts #175 and #180. BTW, I did Allan Berg's formula racing school last year at Race City...great experience.

datax

I meant RSA, Charlie. May be I should even say tracked out 964 C2s. Thinking of RSA might be better at resale.

Crazy Canuck

Bob, where were you today? Calabogie was absolutely beautiful and a great turnout ... GT3, 2x Cupcars, Z06, 4x Radicals, 2x 968s etc. As usual a fast, safe group.

No major incidents despite a lot of miles driven. I did lightly rub my front fascia against the tire rack in the trailer though.

As for driving something cheaper ... life is short. Dead is a long time. I'd regret not tracking the car more than having a wallet-reducing incident.

Rceron

Also, pick your tracks wisely (assuming you have choices) and your percentages for a major write-off diminish.

Leigh2

Thanks. The orange 2002 gets rear disc brakes soon so maybe it will stop as well as a Honda Civic :>)
Tough to go wrong with a 964 or a 993 but personally I vastly prefer the ergonomics of a 996 over the earlier cars. The water cooled engines also have much better torque curves and the 996 is equiped with wider tires and better suspension. The 996 GT3 is built for the track with the turbo based motorsport engine that has a far wider working range of RPM. A limited slip differential, stronger transmission and a host of other track related improvements. On the down side it's a bit heavy but the brakes are spectacular and with a proper allignment the handling is very predictable. It is one of the faster sports cars on the planet though and demands respect; it can and will bite if provoked. You have some experience and sound like you're not going to try for the lap record the first time out. All of the 911s have the weight distribution of a lollipop and the resultant driving challenges. It's just as difficult to learn to drive a 964 at speed as it is a GT3....the GT3 is just faster. The advantages the GT3 has over the "regular" street 911s are significant and if the track is the intended destination, it's probably better to jump in with both feet.

blake

I hear all of the comments regarding the GT3 being an expensive DE car - BUT - here are few thoughts to argue its merits:

1) GT3s can be had in the $60k/$70k range. This is a very fair price for such a fine track car.
2) Engine rebuilds run around $12K w/labor as long as the core is in tact. Now if you ruin the core, one can expect to pay $25K+. I can live with those price points & risks.
3) the cost of ownership as a "Porsche" track car are not that extreme if maintenance is routine. Sure, Exiges & M3s will be cheaper - but they are not Porsches.
4) This isn't a 997 GT3/RS! Looking at those price points, I might as well buy 2 996 GT3s - one for the track, and one for the DD (believe me - it is tempting!)

Am I afraid of wadding up my "3"? Of course - but I'd rather do it in this car with a huge grin on my face than any other. It is really quite economical when compared to the value/performance of other Porsches!

My $0.02,
-Blake

Crazy Canuck

That's why I kept my Carrera S.

I had a deposit placed for a 997 GT3 but figured I could keep the S and pick up a 996 GT3 for approx. the same $$$.