catbeasy

Hello, new to the forum! Never owned a Porsche, but now am interested in buying a used one as I cannot afford new. Looking at the 2010-2012 range in either the base Carrera or Carrera S. So, couple of things I wanted to ask advice on some things. I realize some (all?) of this may be subjective, but nonetheless figure if I get enough replies I can sort it out.

Note 1: I have only test driven one automatic tranny Porsche, so I have very little experience to go by and it wasn't for very long- 15 minutes so difficult to get a guage on it being a daily driver etc..Was a wonderful 15 mins though, sold me on wanting one!
Note 2: Per the question about comfort, I do get what kind of car this is, I have no illusions about a Porsche 911 being a limo. However, it is a consideration for me, if, after driving for an hour, my back is jacked..

1) Does the comfort package substantially increase comfort over Porsche's sans this?
2) Is the road noise bad? (bad = its hard to hear conversation on your cell phone)?
3) For a manual shift, does the manual shift super smooth? Assuming no mechanical issues and the car is newer, is there any delay or lag in acceleration when you 'gas it'. The one I test drove was automatic and shifted smoothly and awesomly!
4) Any issues with water coming through the driver/passenger side windows when it rains?
5) Any general considerations from owning a 2011; for example: Mechanically sound? Reliability? Problem areas (mechanical and interior for example)

Thanks for any advice, input, opinions, facts etc..! And feel free to add pet peeves, issues etc.I am looking for more critical aspects as I am mostly familiar with what people do like about this car..!

-Martin

bhvrdr

1. No as it probably should have been named the "convenience package" because this it DOES do. You get the memory seats which is a "must have" IMO if you give your car to detailing people or valets or another person in your family. The auto dimming mirrors are nice as well.
2. Compared to a mid level or entry level luxury sedan yes these cars are very noisy. People who have owned alot of 911 cars are probably used to it but these things make a lot of racket. I have a few luxury cars but I also have a 700hp supercharged Camaro SS and this car is louder than the SS (at cruising speed only) and my 911s is bone stock.
3. For this you have to get some seat time on it yourself. Manual transmission/clutch is so very subjective. Its like asking people to comment on steering feel. People just prefer different setups. I actually have owned 4 porsches now and kept wanting to like their manual transmissions because they are generally praised but I just dont. I find the clutches to be unnecessarily heavy and the shif throws to be unnecessarily long and a tad notchy. I happen to much prefer miata, S2000, and even the light Audi manual transmissions and clutches that are nice and light and precise and can be quickly popped into place with the flick of a wrist or even the tip of your pinky (not that you should do that).... BUT, thats just my preference. You may LOVE them.
4. only if theyre down
5. you're looking at a 2009 MY and up so the reliability is excellent!

Good luck and enjoy.

Mike

catbeasy

4. only if theyre down - LOL!

Thanks for your input Mike, much appreciated..

Did have one clarification on the manual transmission thing. Again, assuming nothing wrong with the car and the driver is using the clutch 'correctly', does the car have any lag? All the clutch cars I've owned and the automatics as well often have a bit of a lag, or perhaps drag when gassing it. The 2011 Porsche (38k miles) auto I drove was super smooth and didn't have any lag at all..was wondering if the Porsche manual has that same lack of drag/lag..?

bhvrdr

You bet.

As far as "lag" ... from your description it sound like you are describing some of the DBW (drive by wire) sensitivity that is programmed differently into different cars. For example, in my E-class, the DBW sensitivity is set for maximum comfort so you feel like you have to pin the throttle to the floor to get the car to move. Its the only car i've owned that I wanted a sprint booster for and it actually really helped. Its just programmed that way.

With porsche, it is much more responsive in the throttle mapping. You can put it in sport mode as well and its very sharp. I couldnt ask for any more. You do still want to retain the ability to have good throttle modulation too so you dont want it too twitchy either... I think porsche has done a very good job at balancing those characteristics but thats preference as well so get as much seat time as you can...really. Thats key to seeing if you'll like to live with the car or not.

Mike

Flat_Six_

Some 997.2 owners had issues with their PDK. Check out this thread and do some research: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...re-survey.html

Ben Z

1. Memory seats are nice but there is an easy workaround: set the seat how you want it, then unplug the harness. Added bonus is it gives you an easy out to not let anyone else drive it "Oh, gee, I'd love to you let you take it for a drive but the power seat is broken and you won't be able to reach the pedals"
2. Road noise in a .2 is far less than a .1, and I can have a phone convo fine in my .1. I'm talking BT handsfree through the stereo.
3. I find it a pleasure, wouldn't even dream of owning a sports car without a 3-pedal manual. Very occasionally it's balky going into 1st at a light, but that was an issue with all the BMW's I owned too. My other car is a manual C6 Corvette, which has a tighter, shorter throw and a less-stiff clutch and I find it easier to get into the wrong gate and harder to modulate the clutch for smooth shifts. The 997 is what I like better of the two. A lot depends on how you drive a manual though. Passengers often tell me with some surprise they can't feel my shifts at all. And no, I don't ride the clutch just to smooth out the shifts
4. Um, no. And mine is 13 yrs old.
5. You're talking 7-8 year-old cars. By now, individual history is likely to be the biggest factor.

catbeasy

Regarding the seat trick, I'm actually on the shorter end, but probably would work well at either extreme!
Manuals are hard to find, but will have to try to find one to test drive to see for myself what its like. I get what folks are saying about clutches varying so much..depending on what you like, having a clutch not fit you can seriously mitigate the enjoyment of driving a manual..

Thanks for your input! Cheers!

catbeasy

Thanks for the link, will check it out..

catbeasy

So, something else that had me curious..the 997.2 range of Porsche apparently includes the 2008-2012 (although according to what i read, apparently some 2012's are 991's)..I read 2009 starts with PDK and from what I can see, this innovation is superior to prior transmissions and probably worth going with..so with that in mind..

Other than the obvious issue of age/mileage/wear..is there a reason to buy a 2011 over a 2010 over a 2009 etc..Do they all have the same PDK transmission (i.e. with respect to something like: some improvements of the PDK were made from the 2009 to the 2010), features, suspensions, mechanics etc..?

I guess the end goal is to figure out if its worth buying one particular year over another, or, for example, if buying a 2009 is the exact same thing as buying a 2010/11/12 997.2 with only wear/tear/mileage considerations..?

Thanks for any continued help!

Mark Salvetti

Martin, check out this amazing thread. This should give you about a month's worth of reading material:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...reviews-2.html

Mark

catbeasy

Thanks Mark, I breezed thru some stuff. One article mentioned one of the questions I had, it said that the PDK changed from 2009. But it didn't say what year or years it changed. And yeah, that's a lot of material! Hard to go thru as a lot of it is superfluous to what I need to know and it seems much easier to coagulate my specific questions onto one thread..otherwise find myself slogging thru a bunch of hay to find that needle..(ok, not the best metaphor! but you get the gist). Still, a lot of it does appear useful and again, appreciate you posting it; i'll try to pick some more stuff out that looks relevant..