ChristyT

Hi,

So I put feelers out with my local PCA friend, and he knows of 2 cars going up for sale soon. As they are both local, I would like to start my search here:

1) 2019 C2S, black/black full leather, manual, Sport Chrono, 2 owners. It has 19,000 miles and he will let me have it for $54,000. Nice car, but I used the VIN tool: it does not have adaptive sport seats nor upgraded suspension.

2) 2012 GTS: 39,500 miles, also a manual. No Sport Chrono, silver/black, it has the adaptive sports seats as well as LSD/sport suspension that people in the other thread said was so key. Full leather as well. He is firm at $70k, which seems high for a car with this mileage.

Both cars have the typical comfort options: Bose audio, vented seats, that sort of thing.

Which would you buy, and why? Seems like the GTS is perhaps overpriced, given the 2x mileage? Both should be great cars. Price-wise, I am willing to pay around 1/2 of the difference between dealer trade and retail. The C2S is right there, but what about the GTS?

Driving dynamics should be similar, no? Aside from sports suspension and LSD, of course. With the C2S, I lose the PSE and cool seats, as well as the wider hips of the GTS. Any other differences?

Looking at pricing, car #1 is 52% of retail, car #2 is 59% of retail. Using that graph posted awhile back (C2S/C4S) it seems that every 10k miles is worth around 2.5% of retail in value decrease, so essentially I am at 52% C2S vs 64% on the GTS if comparing apples to apples. Another way of looking at it: if the mileage were equivalent, then the GTS would be $20k more. Maybe it's worth that, I don't know....

Jack667

GTS. Hands down. Great car all around. I'm surprised it doesn't have sport chrono. You'll want the sport button, but can get that installed at the dealer.

Ynot

2012 GTS: 39,500 miles at $70K, seems a bit high, manual or not. Did the price on the GTS go up? It should be about $65K max with those miles.

Fined

I'd go with the GTS. You'll be able to drive that car reasonably (less than 10k a year) for the next couple of years and if you decided to get out of it you wouldn't lose money.

I got my GTS last march and could get out of it right now for what I paid (or more) even though I've put 20k miles on it.

I would not say that the driving dynamic is similar. I drove 991 Carrera S and 997.2 Carrera S and was not overwhelmed (still a great car, don't get me wrong). I started to look for "more" because I wasn't convinced enough to put my money out there for one. The wider track of the GTS makes a noticeable difference in feel to me, as well as the sports suspension (big time). Worth the money difference and even if you doubted it, youre not going to lose money on the GTS so it's a better buy.

Another option would be to wait for the fall and see if there is more selection of cars with better prices. I mostly see the supply of GTS cars dwindling though.

dawgcatching

I was wondering the same. On another thread, another poster just said he paid $70k for a PDK version of a GTS, with low miles and a good build, from a dealer. I understand a small premium for a manual on this car (there aren't many to be had), but with these miles, $65k seems about the top price. Here on the forums, a basalt black one sold with 43k miles, if I remember correctly, not too long ago for $62-ish.

ATSR

Out of those 2, I would go for the C2S hands down. The GTS is overpriced and the S is pretty much brand new. Suspension is not a big deal since you can make it even better than the one on the GTS with aftermarket parts and still have plenty of money left for many other mods.

The wide body vs narrow body, and the seats is a personal choice. I prefer the non sports seats and the narrow body.

Lvt19672

Easy GTS and it's a manual to boot.

WantA997

Tough call. Can you copy/paste the full build sheets of both cars?

cvtbenhogan

Get the gts so I can buy the low mile and full leather CS2. 54k seems a like a great deal.

the_buch

How did they get that many miles on a car that isn't even built yet

To your question, I'd be leaning to the GTS for the brakes and suspension.

raidersfan

That's about right for a private party, non-Porsche dealer, at least in this area. I saw 2 similar cars sell at dealers the past few weeks for high 50's. I always figure private party value as being about 1/2 of the difference between trade-in and retail, depending on the car. I also saw a one-owner 2010 C4S manual sell for $58k at an Audi dealer locally, it had 21k miles, my friend who works there said they paid $46k for it.

Porsche dealers charge more (and get it); maybe people shopping there aren't as price sensitive.

This car is basically priced at retail and has been for sale for 3 months now. Sure, PDK, but still 70% of the buyers out there are looking for PDK, so it doesn't change pricing much if any.

https://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-...997-2-c4s.html

As far as that GTS goes: expensive for the mileage. I bet trade-in would be in the high 50's.

dasams

I wouldn't buy without adaptives but YMMV. The 10 mm drop in the sport suspension is great for bench racing, tracking and bragging rights. How old are you?
This car sounds nice. Full leather?? Sport chrono was standard on the S so I don't believe it could be missing on a GTS.

No it's not.

Yes at legal speeds. Tracking you'll have small differences but track times will be driver dependent, not car dependent You have track experience?

As much as I love my C2S, the GTS begs. GL with your decision.

captainbaker

Quick cargurus nation wide snapshot:

Average price for a GTS is $75,500. Average miles are 23,000 out of 7 GTS for sale.

"I am willing to pay around 1/2 of the difference between dealer trade and retail."

Might want to get a broker. 997s are hot. Clean 997s are hotter. Speciality 997's (GTS, GT3 etc) even hotter. Dealers are getting retail and they moving fast. Out of the 7 GTS's listed 6 were sold by dealers and the 7th didnt list a VIN.

Your chances are better of getting a straight C2S from a private party in the trade in-retail ballpark. I slightly over paid for my car because it was 'the' car for me. Now its worth more than I paid 18 months ago.

ChristyT

That's the problem. I am not sure the GTS is "the" car for me. It's nice, but we are talking $16,000 for a car with slightly upgraded capabilities and 2x the mileage. That is what I am struggling with.

oh well, 1st world problems, right?

ChristyT

Thanks! GTS is sweet. I drove a GTS cab when I was shopping for my M a few years ago. At the time, it didn't resonate with me: the M was more practical and what I needed at the time. PDK might have been part of the issue, although the exhaust was memorable with the top down. Now, we have a bigger car and I can get what I want.