DesmoSD

This is a bit off topic but I was about this close to buying the car that you own now. The P.O drove it from CA to FL at one point and lived in CO for a bit. We've talked on and off and even exchanged multiple texts about the car, scheduling a flight and PPI. The seller really sold me on the car but the color would be something that I'd regret since silver wasn't in my color palette. The Carfax owners was a bit confusing until he explained it more in detail but you are essentially the 3rd owner.

TheBruce

I do like the look of the black center stack on the 997.2 but there really isn't anything more the PCM 3 gives you once you install a bluetooth module on the PCM2.1. Its got better maps but who cares. Its still Stone Age compared to CarPlay or Google maps.

I made this my default and have come to like it. Funny enough it took me like 3 months to figure out what this setting was. Its listed as a trip computer option "since hh:mm" and I had no idea what that meant. What it does is tell stats and fuel milage for your current drive but will continue tracking even if you stop for lunch or gas.

Once you install the LaPower bluetooth unit it pairs instantly and adds the iPhone name and signal strength on the screen and activates the "Tel" menu. You can skip songs and answer calls using factory controls.



Im in design and absolutely HATED this being the default screen. I obsessed about it until I figured out how to change to the trip computer. It was literally the first thing I did when I got in the car :-)


The other "must-do" mods on the 997.1 are:

1. Respray the soft touch pain on the center console, or just buy a new center console for $650. The old soft touch paint wears badly on Porsches and Ferraris. It needs to be sanded down to bare plastic and resprayed. I did mine in a few hours with $15 in rattle cans and it looks perfect.

2. Replace the AC buttons and PCM *****. These are also soft touch paint and I think hand lotions or sunscreen reacted with them. If they haven't been replaced already it looks like a gerbil chewed on them. The PCM ***** are $20 and you can get replacement AC ***** from MACarbon for $150. Dont use climarepair.com. That guy is incompetent.


This post I did recapping my first year costs and experiences may also be helpful.
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...e-numbers.html

TheBruce

@Swingwing - thats a great deal on the 997.2 base! Well done. I was seeing some in that range last year but this year they seem to be mostly listed around $47k. The problem is so few of those were made you will only see 1-2 listed at any time.

After you install the Fisters I would highly recommend getting Eibach springs on it and 15mm spacers all around. It totally transforms the look of the base model. It drops it by about an inch, slightly lower than the S, but not slammed like H&Rs. I think its perfect and improved my ride quality as well.

DesmoSD

What's really odd, I'm know for sure that would not happen now but that 997.2 Base was on AT for a long very long time (more than 6 months) since he had it listed in the 50's. When he dropped the price to 49k, that's when I started to pay attention and track his listing. He reduced it several times and thats when I decided to contact him.

HiAperture

I am definitely familiar with the climate control peeling issue. Good to know the center console can be re-finished as well, I have seen a few of them peeling pretty badly.

As far as the PCM, I have seen a very small number of cars with natural leather and a matching leather PCM, that is a really nice setup if you can find it!

Meursault88

Bruce - thanks again I read that entire first year - very interesting. I am getting a little dismayed from the forums and trying to keep all of this in perspective (IMS/RMS/bore scoring/failed PDKs and death by a 1000 cuts).

In the last 48 hours, I've opened up to a manual as being more future proof than a PDK. By future proof I mean total lifetime cost of ownership and for the long run.

I'm looking at cars in the 50k range in both miles and cost and intend to keep the car for life. The way that I drive and the places I drive, clutches should last a good long time. I even came to the conclusion that 325hp is adequate enough because really I am not going to go over 140 or 150 on abandoned roads, not going to track and not going to stoplight race the Mustang next to me. So throw out PDK, Sport Chrono, PASM and all that stuff..

I just want to drive the car long term and enjoy it. With that in mind, I moved to make an offer on this 997.1 after seeing that I could do a 2 step PPI (the first to get over revs and error codes for $150) and based on go/no go of the over rev a full PPI (+$300) more. I was all ready to go but the dealer said that less than $1000 price flexibility if the PPI went badly (at 67k clutch is soon or sooner and the last thing I want is to break down in Missisippi and have some characters from Deliverance working on my car while I am being chased around the woods). Then there was a final straw - a $699 dealer prep fee. Add in another $1000 to fly and hotel or same to trailer and it's just too much hassle and waste.

PS - this car disproves my theory that the .1 and .2 difference is less than $15k. In fact it maintains it and the pricing mechanisms on CarGurus lag or don't take in account all sales information IMHO.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=&newSearchFro mOverviewPage=true&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&entitySelectingHelper. selectedEntity=c7735&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity2=c22961&zip=75 075&distance=50000&searchChanged=true&transmission=M&showNegotiable=fals e&hideFrameDamaged=true&hideSalvage=true&bodyTypeGroupIds=0&maxPrice=520 00&maxMileage=80000&modelChanged=false&filtersModified=true&sortType=PRI CE&sortDirection=ASC#listing=203261888

HiAperture

I would suspect finding a brick and mortar dealership that doesn't have any fees will be a hard task ($699 is Florida is cheap for dealer fees, some dealers try to tack on thousands is BS fees), ultimately though if the bottom line total cost didn't work, that is what counts.

Fined

This whole buying experience can be a lot of fun (mine was). Having some perspective on the whole thing can help with that. You are buying a toy. Literally, its a large toy car. Have some fun! You're not selecting a surgeon to perform open heart surgery here. You will indeed live past whatever these choices are..

Drive some, buy one and see how ya feel. At this point even if you bought the wrong one you aren't going to lose money on it if you turn around and pick something else. I'd imagine the pool of cars that fit requirements gets smaller over time. That's a factor too. I went ahead with my GTS purchase ahead of schedule and that was one of the reasons. Over the year I was shopping I watched the supply dwindle from about 15 of the model I wanted down to 6 (this was in 2016). In the time since then I haven't seen the number of cars for sale in that model ever go back up to what it was 2 years ago.. there are still very few for sale at the once. Food for thought.

Meursault88

HI Ap - that's nuts. When I've noticed it the fee has been ~$200. Maybe it's a Florida thing or maybe I am still learning. IMHO - they should run the error code and over rev report and include in the cost of selling. It's BS that each buyer has to and cars that have been on the market 3 months haven't at least had one person get to that stage. I understand is that 2 copies are typically produced - 1 to the prospective buyer and 1 to the seller.

A quick google search shows the fees between $55 and 700 with some states capping it at $75. Florida is grifting. Just like Texas custom plates that cost $196 annually, while in Kansas it's $45 for 5 years. That's ~ 20X !

HiAperture

I am not saying to pay them, but they will try! I agree, $2-300 to handle the registration papers is fine by me. That said, I just try and negotiate based on the bottom line. They can sell me the car for $1 and make the rest fees if that makes them feel good, as long as I am happy with the out of pocket.

Honestly I don't know how I feel about accepting inspection data from the selling dealer, done ahead of time or part of the purchase, big time conflict of interest. Computer diagnostic data maybe, but I want to be paying the guy who tells me whether the car is worth buying or not.

Meursault88

Apologies for not being clearer - the PPI would be done from Porsche of Tampa

TheBruce

Good taste. I have the same car except black interior. But I bought mine with 40k miles and paid well under what that car is listed for. I bought it from an indy in Texas who sold a couple customer cars on the side. I don't know if he is still doing it because he couldn't have made any money. His web guy made a mistake and listed a much lower price on their website than the original Autotrader listing. I called him out on it and he honored it. Great guy.

If you like the red interior then you have a lot of negotiating room. I saw a similar looking 997.1 C4S with <40k miles sit on the market for 6 months because of the red interior. So give him a lowball price and tell him to call you when he's ready to talk.

And to @Fined's point, yea I enjoyed the buying process. The seller gave me a PPI checklist which helped but I still didnt trust it. We agreed on the price subject to me flying down and getting an independent PPI. I flew down for the night, took a quick spin in the car the next morning with him and he gave me the keys to bring it over to RAC Performance for the PPI. It was good to spend a few hours with the car alone. The PPI came out clean, I got some good Texas BBQ, haggled a couple minor issues, shook hands on it and mailed him a check the next day. Uship had the car picked up a few days later and it was at my house a week after that. Super easy. Shipping from Texas to SF cost $800 and they upgraded me to an enclosed trailer for free when they saw it was a Porsche.

As for 325 HP, ive never said "I wish I had more power". Its got all I want. Anything more and I would get myself into trouble.

You can see how a base model looks like with Eibachs on it: my car on the left, vs the stock S suspension height on the right.

Big Swole

My vote is .2
For the money, the nicer interior, performance, lighting, etc. is worth it.

Wpgb

Meursault88

I was there but after my visit to RAC, more research and considering what I really want the car for I am evolving my choices. I don't see myself racing, tracking, going over 140 or stop light drag racing.