Carrera2RS

What about the non S ? I love my manual C2 with a few tweaks, I haven't driven the S since I've had mine, but have no issues with performance, especially with the X-pipe removing the rear silencer so it sounds like it should

GT3twenty10

3.6’s hold their value as good as the 3.8’s. The 3.8’s
seem to be around 8-12k more depending on miles, color etc…

Petza914

My post was not meant to insult anyone, their car, or any configuration. I simply picked the highest value, most desired combination for regular Carreras that brings the highest sale prices, which is coupe, 6-speed, and S trim. They're all great cars and Porsche made and sold all these different varieties because every buyer has a different idea of their ideal spec - if they didn't, all these combos wouldn't exist in the second hand market - someone bought every car that's available used as a new car from a dealership, so it was perfect for someone once, and odds that it was only perfect for that single person are miniscule - someone else thinks it's perfect too.

Specifically left out are the GT cars (GT3, GT2), Turbos, and also I view the GTS as not a regular Carrera as well - all those cars sell for much higher $s than 997.1s or .2s whether base or S. PDKs got lumped in because they're plentiful on the used market, unlike 6-speeds, not because they're inferior or anything like that - simply an availability issue.

Carrera2RS

Sharkworks or Miltek X-pipe, BMC or K&N filters, IDP plenum and FVD flash would be very sweet. In theory this would be close and I suspect more revvy and sound great

Carrera2RS

Tks, I certainly wasn't offended. I do think the stock C2 gets over looked so is arguably better value. I had a manual Litchfield chipped M2 before (non comp) and I am not sure whether my C2 would be the same or slower in a straight line, either way they were both fun to drive, but there C2 more so !

GT3twenty10

the C2 3.6 on track will run with a 3.8. I don’t think they get over looked. In some regards the 3.6 is a better motor

Patrick3000

Where is the current market for a 997.2 Carrera Coupe non-s 6spd manual?

Petza914

Yep, the S has a bit more.low end torque so has better around town drivability. On the track, the better driver will be faster in either car.

The other reason for the S is so you get PASM, which by itself is just meh, but as the foundation to be able to install TPCs DSC suspension controller should be a significant factor in deciding between a base and S car, plus someone who originally paid the extra for the S was also more likely to tick otjer options boxes, so S cars tned to be better appointed with thjngs like full leather, PSE, aport seats, embossed creats on headrests, etc which are nice rhings to have to add to the Porsche ownership experience. Also, S cars have larger brakes and bigger wheels and wider tires.

Very few S owners wish they bought a base, but many base owners probably wished they bought the S.

GT3twenty10

my 3.6 has everything but the pasm… I did coilovers, headers/exhaust, reflash and S brakes… PTS paint and matching calipers…

Carrera2RS

In the UK I'd say a manual C2 with 50k miles is low £40K's to mid or higher and the S is something like £5k-£7.5k more. Not many base cars around in manual

ATX_Native

I drove a 997.1 C2S, 997.2 C2 and a 997.2 C2S, all coupes, manuals and all immediately back to back @ RAC Auto in Dallas when shopping.

Drove 6 hours round trip from Austin to Dallas to pull that off.

I couldn’t tell a difference in shove or acceleration at all between the three.

PASM was also underwhelming, normal and break your back for no reason. I have since learned a DSC controller does help.

Maybe it was because I was on the street or maybe it was because I was coming from a turbo torque monster (400+ lb ft) with a modern adaptive suspension with three distinct modes that were good.

I walked away from that wanting to find the best example of a 997.2 Manual Coupe I could find.

IMO the S hype is mostly fueled by people just wanting the top end trim/bragging rights and maybe some 993 nostalgia when the S model actually had a different wide-body shell.

Having said that if the 993 C2S is an indication the RWD GTS Coupe in Manual should be the most desirable 997 non-GT car moving forward IMO.

Everything will probably hold in value… which in reality is losing money. However in the car world owning a non-depreciating car is a win for sure.

When I was shopping it was $10k-$12k less than a comparable S.

I think that has held and should probably still be around the ballpark.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 193K miles

The "S" trick is as old as product marketing itself. A marketing professor told the story of some soap company in the 1800s (?) who discovered they could cut their bars in half but charge more than half the price. They marketed it as some sort of special thing. Another story about car marketing was when customer feedback was incorporated into product planning.... I think it was Ford who asked customers what they wanted, liked, and disliked. GM asked customers what kind of car their neighbor would buy. Well the neighbor was a jerk who would buy a car covered in chrome with a big engine and just wanted to show off. Well guess which car company's sales took off? It was GM who led the world in "styling".

I used to own a 2000 Boxster S.... I know the upper-turned noses from 911 owners... I used to track my car with the Ferrari club... most would go home at lunch on the first day so I would get tons of track time... and honestly, I don't think a single Ferrari owner ever acknowledged my car or asked me one darn question about it. As I've noted many times before, that way lower-powered Boxster was more fun to drive than my current C2S.

What is it you want? To show off? To feel good about yourself? Enjoy driving? Make an investment? Throttle steer a car in a sweeper? I totally miss throttle steering that Boxster... this 911's tires are so dang big and wide, you need to be going crazy speeds to get the car to move around with the throttle, you are either going to kill someone or end up in jail.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta0

850tgul

I agree with ATX_Native that there isn't much real world performance difference between the .2 base and .2 S cars. Best Motoring ran a multitude of acceleration tests with the 997.2 cars, base and S, when they first came out and there was very little difference between the two.

I also feel like as all of these performance cars age, these small "S" vs. "base" arguments mean less and less. Any ho-hum electric car with grandma behind the wheel will murder any 997, so who really cars about 40 hp on a dyno graph anymore? To me, it's about the driving experience and I would say there is next to no difference between and 997.2 base and S car in that regard.

S cars were usually bettered optioned but, outside of PASM which I would likely swap out anyway, most of the options were non-performance orientated that I couldn't care less about.

Also, Petza914, unlike the 997.1 cars, the 997.2 S does not have larger brakes than the 997.2 base cars. IIRC, the front caliper design is slightly different on the 997.2 S as it has pins for easier pad swaps, while the 997.2 base front caliper has a monoblock caliper design. The 997.2 base design should theoretically feel a bit better because the caliper is stiffer than the floating pad design on the S caliper. Same size rotors, though. The rear rotor thickness on the 997.2 S may be thicker. My point is that the braking performance delta between the base 997.2 and the S 997.2 is not as wide as it was on the 997.1. In fact, I would argue there is no real world braking performance difference between the two, other than a little more convenience with swapping pads on the S.

If I were to get another 997.2 today, I would either pay <$60k for a nice 6MT coupe base car or go full tilt and pay 2x for a 997.2 6MT GTS RWD car. A 997.2 S for $75k just doesn't make sense to me when the base car is so close for a lot less money.

kellen

Depends on miles, options, condition. Worst I’d say would be high 30s. Low to mid 50s if on the other end of the spectrum.

997.2 base seem to do well in my anecdotal research as they are similar to the S 997.1. Then add the non ims bearing concern, updated interior/exterior and options available.

850tgul

While I haven't seriously looked for a few months, I can't believe manual 997.2 base cars can be had for anything below mid-40s. Has the market softened that much? Even mid-$40k, I would imagine the car would be a high mileage car with a ding or two in its history.

One data point. I sold my 92k mile base 6MT 997.2 black on black with factory LSD and sport chrono for $50k one year ago. I realize the market has softened some since then, but please point me to any and all 997.2 manuals for $3x,000 and I'll buy one right now.