Simply said...

 

Get the S. No regrets.

 

Before I bought my 997, I had a base Cayman, and even though I loved the car, I regretted not spending a little extra and getting the S. Best advice I heard was to not drive the S unless you were prepared to buy it.

Regarding the two cars you are lookign at, you'll want Sport Chrono so you can get Sport and Sport Plus modes with the PDK. You can add it to the base, but it's ~$1200. And i greatly prefer the Black interior to Stone Grey. The CPO is the cherry on the deal.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

It's not a 10 grand save.

S gets you suspension management.

You get the CPO.

S resale will be better.

The dumb argument that you won't notice the extra power (it's not discernible): Then why point out the Fabspeed exhaust? News Flash: You can step down from a Carrera base to a car with 30-40 HP less and won't notice, so if you have a Carrera base, do you really need some HP you won't feel? Do you really need .92 g's of cornering force? You could get .89 G's (not discernible) in some basic sport sedans costing way less.

 

Assuming both are within your budget the S is the no-brainer (for me). But if you think there is really a 10k swing between the two then you are talking about a significant difference considering a 50-60k car. If you only had the budget for the other there is nothing wrong with it especially if you get a good deal. Get the best you can get within your budget.

 

Virtually, no one ever drove around in an upgraded model thinking, "Damn... I should have got the base model."

But littered across America's highways and byways are people thinking, "Damn... I should have gotten the >insert whatever upgrade they didn't get<.

(Including me: Damn... I should have sold a kidney to get a GT3).

.

 

We maybe talking about a dude who sounds like he is on a budget. Of course, if 7-10 grand is no big deal then get the S. The base car with the Fabspeed exhaust is definitely going to sound better than that S (I know it adds no performance).
I was on a budget when I bought my non S, could not afford an S. Still happy with my non S, nobody has made fun of me.
Lets hear from any other non S owners and see if they feel like they made a mistake.

 

I believe the big issue is do you want a manual or PDK? The S you're looking at seems to be PDK, while the base model you're looking at is not. Big Difference...

After my 2010 S4 with Audi's dual clutch DSG/S-tronic, I decided not to get another sporty car/sports car, with some sort of an automatic. PDK is probably better, but still... 911's are not about straight line speed and I like rowing my own gears. Non S owner here, though it has PASM and Sports Chrono.

 

The deal maker for me would be the warranty of the S. My daughter just bought a used truck and she followed my advice and only shopped for dealer certified vehicles with extended warranty.

 

Thanks for all the responses. Sadly the S was sold before I had a chance to drive it. I did drive the base before I posted the question and was thrilled with the experience. It was the first and only 911 I have ever driven, but have owned a few Porsches (01 Boxster S, 05 Cayenne S and my current 07 Cayman S). As you can see I usually shot for the S version but the 09 911 is 50hp more than my current car and was very noticeable. I should add the base comes with a second set of wheels and winter tires, lol.

Truth be told after lucking out and having Porsche cover a new engine in the Cayman it's mainly the CPO that has held me back thus far. The price went down another grand yesterday on the base and it's getting tougher to resist. But the fear of a new PDK or worse within the first 24 months of ownership has stopped me from buying the car. Also, to answer a previous question the S would have been a strain on the budget but was doable.

Thanks again!!!

 

I was looking for an S model when I found a great deal on a non-S model. It had everything I wanted except a 3.8 liter engine ... Manual, Sport button, sport exhaust, 19's, full PCM, CPO, right colors, etc ... Love my car! BUT, I am a DIY kind of guy, and was recently very dissapointed on how cumbersome and not track friendly changing out pads and rotors were... I am about to post a thread on this replacement. The S model caliper is night and day difference in ease of replacement. I don't regret my purchase, but all things equal, I would recommend the S model!

 

Given that you seem to like the protection of warranty, this shouldn't be a hard decision. Adding an after market warranty policy to the base car will cost between 3K and 4K. So now you're talking about a difference of maybe $3K or $4K between a base car and an S.....both with warranty.

 

Absolutely true...people just know its a Porsche other than Pcar owners.

I have a C2 with PASM and sport chrono and I use neither. If I do upgrade, I'd prefer it to be a turbo and not S. Turbo because I like the side grills and retractable wing and increased hp but in all honesty I don't know if I can ever use that much hp.

I test drove a C2, S and turbo. For me there was a big hp jump between C2 and turbo (obviously) but not between C2 and C2S.

 

Virtually everyone here says get the "S". That might say something about what others are looking for when you come to sell - most want the "S".
I had that dilemma three months ago in that I didn't really mind which I got. I had a Boxster and always regretted not getting the "S". Then the 911 C4S came along and I am flat I went for it.
I am also glad I went for AWD. Not everyone likes it but for me it was the best choice.

 

Huh?

The OP's original post clearly states that both cars have PDK.