Steve Theodore

Meaningful update. My wife and I have our plane tickets to go buy the car on April 26th, which coincidentally is my birthday!

ILLCOMM

Just saw this thread. It's great!

Some thoughts / data points:

1) Auction prices are where the truth in market lies (mostly of the time, ha!) and there was recently a no reserve (!!!) GT2 on BringATrailer: link. Sold for $176k with far more DME drama than this example. (It does have buckets and PCCBs)
2) There is absolutely nothing to worry about with the DME report on this car. As I have said in other threads on rennlist, my GT2 has R4 revs from upshift on track straights when my foot doesn't come off the gas before my other foot hits the clutch and the engine revs up into R4 briefly. Verified with the CAN bus data, video, et cetera. So R1 and R2 are nothing-burgers and can easily happen and aren't surefire signs the car was "abused".
3) The absence of buckets is no problem, they were an option. If you're not tracking the car you might not want them anyway, so make sure you sit in both before you buy the sport buckets.
4) The absence of PCCBs is confusing if the car has no track history. Why??? You would not need to replace PCCBs from 40k miles of street driving. Hmm....
5) "Stereo head unit is 'aftermarket'", trunk light inoperable, "Low tone horn inoperative" - I am purely guessing but this sounds to me like someone was messing with the electrical system in the past. Maybe for an aftermarket sound system w/ subs, amps, etc?
6) Did I read somewhere in this thread that the car was on non-OEM suspension and now is back to OEM? Another head scratcher w/r/t no track time. Might fit with #5 as someone was building a more aggressive stance look to go with sound system etc.
7) In my teenage years having done #5 and #6 I can tell you that you sure can put a car back to stock but there are absolutely broken plastic interior panel tabs, perhaps some wiring left under carpets, sometimes holes drilled in firewalls. I am not sure any of it is problematic, but it might be there just under the "skin". Worth poking your head around when you see the car in person. Do they provide the OEM head unit so you could go back to stock if you want?
8) Seconding some of other's comments on what might need to be done on the car. I've had my: coolant lines welded, water pump replaced (proflyatically). coolant tank replaced (proflyatically), spark plugs and ignition coils, clutch, engine mounts, and diff all taken care of. Some of this was done when the coolant lines were welded because the engine was dropped and it just made sense. Regarding the diff, you can tell if it's toast by spinning the rear wheels when it's on a lift. When you spin one does the other spin too?

I bought my car in 2010ish for ~$130k. I just bought a new track car and was going to sell my GT2 but ended up not doing it for two reasons:
1) I love the car. I sincerely believe now that it's a "lifer" and as cars get more automated and complex the highly analog feeling of rowing the GT2 will be sublime in decades to come. It is absolutely near the top of the list of ICE cars worthy of that feeling and nostalgia. I love my DD, a Tesla, but getting in the GT2 post Tesla is just wonderful. BTW, I DD'd the GT2 for years and it was great!
2) I also sensed the market was *slow* for GT2s and given #1 just didn't feel it was worth the slog. Before I went McLaren I had a Porsche dealer with whom I was talking about a 991.2 3RS unsolicited offer me $92k for the GT2 on trade. So... yeah. Dealers being dealers. That said I have no idea what the car is worth but I would suspect closer to the auction mentioned above.

Hope some of this helps and if you have more questions happy to answer based on my experience owning one for 8ish years.

GOOD LUCK!

EDIT: Steve I see you're in WA. If you want to see around my GT2 before you head to Canada we can try to schedule a meet up in Private Messages.

ILLCOMM

Steve Theodore

ILLCOMM,

I will send you a private message but thank you so much for writing with your detailed thoughts. At some point I have to be a bit forgiving about this car as it's a 'forever keeper' for me too, and the mileage and use doesn't really bug me too much as I know these cars are really stout if well maintained. I have heard that the current owner has poured about $30k CAD into it just on small details over the past few years so I know it hasn't really wanted for anything. I'm comfortable and already paying for things like a fresh alignment on the car, and am looking forward to picking it up on April 26th in Toronto. I have a set of GT2 carbon sport buckets in my garage ready to replace the 'sofas' as soon as we get it home from a cross country trip!

Igooz

This thread makes me want to get home tonight and drive my GT2!! I have been on a world tour for 2 weeks, plus we have had a ton of snow.

ILLCOMM's white GT2 reminds of my '08. I bought it new and put ~6K track miles on it and sold it in the recession to be more liquid. Big mistake, quickly picked up 2 other ones in the recession; but none of them are white. I prefer the White GT2.

While I am at it, let me make a pitch for the 996GT2. That car is an absolute thrill and even more grossly under appreciated. IMO it is the real widow-maker.

f50nut

Also just saw this and read the entire thread. From another fellow GT2 owner, you're absolutely doing the right thing. Buy it, don't look back. I paid high a little over 2 years ago at around 8k miles, but zero regrets as it's the most highly optioned GT2 I've seen since I started looking - even more than the car that sold at Gooding. Despite that, I can't resist racking up the miles. It's firmly in the "never sell" category for me, unless it was for another GT2. From what I've seen, most people regret selling theirs. These are truly special cars...last of their kind that I don't think we'll see again from Porsche.

Mine's currently in the shop with engine out for coolant pipe service, fresh diff and clutch and a few other odds and ends. Maybe some of the experts in here can recommend a clutch setup. Debating the single mass 2RS / 4.0 setup, but I've just started research on that front.

Steve Theodore

Thank you for your feedback, as it makes me feel even better about my purchase. All the funds have been assembled and we fly out on the 25th of April, will buy the GT2 on the morning of the 26th before taking an epic cross country road trip home.

I would think that the 2RS setup is the way to go, but this is coming from having zero GT2 seat time. I have the RS 4.0 single mass setup on my RS 3.8 and love it...have never had any issues with it whatsoever and I think it's a no brainer for any GT car that will accept it. I'll obviously clarify these statements later if needed...hahaha!

Turbo Racer

Just read your entire thread. It’s a great story and very happy for you. Will look forward to hearing all about your road trip and first impressions..

Steve Theodore

Thank you, means a lot to me! I pick up the car in one week from today so am getting a bit more nervous and excited as the day draws closer.

Steve Theodore

I didn't want to leave anyone hanging who helped me out on my journey so here is the super quick update:

My wife and I took delivery of the GT2 on Friday morning in Toronto, passed across the US border into Michigan that afternoon (paid $0 for import duties as it was a Colorado car originally).

We traveled through 1 Canadian province and 11 US states to get home over 3.5 days and covered 2680 miles in the process. The GT2 is a dream and, although not the most comfortable road trip car, never gave us any issues and was a true rocket that got thumbs up and admiration everywhere we went. We toured Mount Rushmore while in South Dakota and had a great time together, sharing driving duties several times on the trip. We pulled into home garage last night with no issues (other than stereo speaker issues, but it's aftermarket) and today cleaned the car for the first time. This GT2 will live a better life now and I'm so glad I made the huge decision to go through with this crazy purchase. It's a really special machine, and so very different than my GT3 RS. I'm a very proud new owner for sure and look forward to creating more memories in this car over the years to come.

My sincere thanks to those here on RennList who both cheered me on and put my mind at ease about this big purchase. I am one very happy camper!

GM.RS

Bringing it to RTC on Saturday?

Steve Theodore

Yes! I'm absolutely thrilled I did not miss opening day this year and can bring the GT2. I did not think I'd be that lucky.

Steve Theodore

Also, and this is really important for everyone who wants to buy a US car in Canada, do your research and stick to your guns. When I got to the US border they said I'd have to pay the 2.5% duty and I presented all my paperwork (from them) showing that I shouldn't have to, including the original US registration. The case was escalated to a senior official who did his diligence and then told me I owed them $0. I passed the border for free, as I should have. It's a shame there is so much misinformation spread about this, but if the car is from the USA and has had it's import duties paid at the time of original sale, you DO NOT need to pay them again to bring it back. It's so obvious that this isn't well known as they disagreed even among the officials at CBP.

Funny aside, I am now a registered vehicle importer!

osu s2k

Congrats. This is good information. Im going to call andntrynand get my 2.5% back!

Steve Theodore

I hope you can get it. Have proof of the original title or registration if you can get it, as that is ultimately what they wanted to see. I was fortunate to have that even though I believe I'm the fourth owner now. The guy at the gate said I'd have to pay the full 2.5% initially but that quickly unraveled once we got inside and the senior official investigated the car and my paperwork. Although I was very happy to dodge the duty, it was only right that I did and I would have been very upset to have paid it...although I'm sure this does happen. I do believe if I didn't take the car over the border in person that I would have had to pay it 100%. Me being there armed with information was the key to avoiding it, at least for this particular border crossing.

I triumphantly removed the Canadian door sticker last night as it won't be going back. I just need to figure out how to disable their ridiculous DRL (uses the HID headlights). If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!