justicepool

Hello,

I recently purchased my first 911 and have fell in love with the car. I purchased a base level 2007 Carrera Cabriolet with a 6 speed manual. I am ready to move up the line so to speak to get more power and was initially looking at 2012-2014 Carrera S models in the sub 70K price range. My requirements are Cabriolet with a manual transmission and light colored interior. I found a 2008 Turbo Cabriolet in the low 60K price range.

Anyone have any direct experience with the two models?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

John

captainbaker

Both are solid cars and both are very different animals. Gonna have to test drive them back to back to see what you like. In my opinion, the 997 is the last of the smallish 911 as the 991 steps into the GT realm.

Petza914

Hands down, turbo any day of the week and twice on Sunday. 997 Turbo values will be very stable moving forward and may appreciate. 991 exactly the opposite - there are tons of 991s for sale. Well spec'd and maintained 997 turbos are getting harder to find, not to mention the 997 still feels and drives like a proper sports car, whereas the 991 is like a fast GT. If you love your 997 and just want more, the turbo is the one, but drive both and decide fit yourself, but I wouldn't wait too long as a $60k turbo cab MT won't stay for sale for long.

Have the coolant pipe issue corrected, if not done already, and you're good to go.

alexb76

1. What do you use the car for?
2. How much do you like 997?
3. Do you prefer more sports or GT car dynamics?
4. Do you enjoy NA or Turbo?
5. Have you driven both to notice any difference in drive or feel?

I think you need to answer all of the above to pick between the two. 991 gets a bad rep around here and I agree with most criticism, BUT, it's actually a better daily car if one uses it like that. It's also newer and the exhaust note of a NA engine is better than Turbo... SO, it all depends on how you'd be using the car, what's important to you and which one feels more fun to you?

onsickm

Turbo any day!

Cream

I'm debating the same, and here are my thoughts.

Came from a 997.2 S PDK
New car must be a manual. Realistically I am looking at $80k to find the right one.

Pros of Turbo vs 991 S: power (obviously), wide body, easy to find a loaded one (they all have full leather, Bose, etc), AWD handling and grip
Cons of Turbo: weight (~3600 lbs vs ~3200 for a 997S or 991S), does not sound as good under throttle, if its 07-08 - dated center console, I don't like the handling of an AWD vs a RWD car

I think the $70-90k 991s have some way to drop, I think a 20-40k example should be 60-70, and might be a year.
A Turbo is going to be a smart buy, even 996 turbos have held strong for a clean car. I don't see a $65-85k Turbo depreciating much.

Drive them both back to back!

alexb76

What he said!

captainbaker

At this point in my life...the driving factor is how well a car can retain its value. With that said, the Turbo is king.

gotgolf52

I've been there and done that and the answer is in my avatar. Test drove the 991S but lack of torque and feel bigger and sluggish after driven 997TT. It was an easy answer for, once you addicted to the boost, it really hard to find a replacement.
As for values, my car has more miles than when I bought it, but it is absolutely more expensive than 3 years ago. Can't argue the fact that I drove this Turbo for free. Good luck hunting and 991S is still on the depreciation curve.

pfbz

Even if the 'driving factor' is the 'DRIVING factor', Turbo still wins...

Low $60's is cheap for any decent 997.1 MT Turbo. Usually tiptronics at that price point.

Ynot

2008 Turbo Cabriolet in the low 60K price range with manual transmission is a no brainer. I've seen tiptronics for low 60's, I have never seen a MT turbo that low unless it has a lot of miles or an accident. 991 has actually appreciated in value that's probably bc of the 991 HFS thread causing all the hype, which I think is no longer a HFS (Hot For Sale) thread. 2012 991 S were going for mid 60's a year or two ago, now it's low to mid 70's and two years older.

alexb76

Hmm, could you elaborate on 991 prices going up?

captainbaker

Seasonal uptick as normal. Nov to early March is when you get the best deals on sports cars and convertibles.

Ynot

Not much to elaborate, I thought about getting one two years ago b/c they were so reasonable, mid 60's for a low mileage 2012-2013 models. I was seriously considered getting a C2S with low miles, MT, SC, aerokit, listed on ebay for $67K, he would probably took $65K if I offered him that. Now if you go to the HFS 991 thread, the same car is going for low to mid 70's. That's a 10K increase from when I was just browsing. I just couldn't get rid of my 997, still feels and smells new. I don't have enough garage space for 3 sports cars and 2 DD's. One of them would have to be parked outside, I can't do that with my Porsches.

pfbz

Used 991's definitely took a big price uptick this Spring. Some of it is seasonal. Some speculate the 'all turbo' .2's helped drive the .1 price increase. Some speculate it was the significant increase in .2 pricing...

Personally, I think its driven almost exclusively by big gains in the financial market, and a resultant increase in purchases by 'New-to-Porsche' folks looking to treat themselves piled on top of the normal enthusiasts looking for 991's. 997's are too old for non-enthusiasts looking for turn-key, CPO warranty, prestige cars so the 991.1's got most of the benefit.

It will definitely be interesting to see how 991.1 pricing adjusts come Fall/Winter and if the current bubble flattens out a bit.

PS: My experience is identical to Ynot's... Nice first year 991.1 S's could be had for mid to low $60's a year ago. They are that much or more now a year later. Still lots of depreciation left in the 991's, so I opted to pick up a 996TT (flat or appreciating) for a year or two and see if some nice 977.1 TT or 991.1 S opportunities come up. Poor me, have to suffer with a pristine first gen manual transmission Turbo! ;-)