Glaze88

Haha I was wondering where this was going :P

deilenberger

One consideration - the '03 Turbo was a beta car. Lots of flaws specific to that year that don't exist on later years.

thesteve

I remembered.
A few years after buying that expensive 95 740iL, the timing chain guide fell apart and I ended up having the dealer replace the short block for about what I later paid for that much nicer and less expensive 740i sport with twice the initial miles of the 95.
So years are relevant, but what you're actually getting in the way of specs, engineering and probability of failure are more important.
To further complicate matters, I ended up totaling the nice 2001 sport (not my fault that time).
So that adds the insurance issue to the equation. Lots of factors to weigh, as you know.

Petza914

The manual transmission in the GTS is more of a novelty item than something your probably want long term - I say novelty in that it's not something you can normally find in a vehicle like this (medium to large SUV with decent power and handling), but the throws are long, the shifting a bit bulky and probably why they sold very few of them. I'm a huge Manual Transmission guy and why I was originally drawn to the GTS with that option, but after driving a couple GTSs, to me trading the turbo power and torque for the manual transmission became a no-brainer and why I ended up buying what I did, then modifying it further.

The Tiptronic is a decent transmission, but not super well suited to the sporty nature of the higher performance and higher end vehicles, even when driven in manual mode. What would be awesome is if there was a way to retrfofit a PDK into a 957 Turbo so you'd have the fast shifting to accompany the powerplant. That would be awesone al least until you went to tow something and your $14,000 transmission went into emergency run mode requiring replacement. The reason Porsche doesn't use the PDK in the Cayenne is because of the vehicle weight and towing capacity as the PDK won't hold up to some of the stresses those two things can create.

Personally, I'd suggest you focus on the 09 Turbo of those 3 or 4 vehicles you listed.

Dave Waldo

Most are auto but manuals are out there, most common in the GTS. I am sure I remember a couple on car sales and gumtree, but I wasn't really paying attention because I was after a turbo. I was after a locking rear diff and a few owners claimed to have them but none did, eventually I rang a couple of dealers who all told me they didn't believe that option came into Australia.

It may be worth calling them to see how many manuals there are. They had good information on PDCC, with 1 in 15 turbo cars having it.

Ask them to take a photo of the sticker, there is a copy of the sticker in the log book, sometimes the sticker gets torn up in the spare compartment. Most sellers were happy to do it.

Glaze88

This is going to be tough!! I have 4 great options, 2 private sellers with immaculate service history and change of all fluids every 7500-10000kms and I have 2 Dealer cars with Full Porsche Service history at both 150,000kms and 177,000kms. The GTS models are all between $25K-$27K and the 03 Turbo is $15K. The 03 Turbo with a great 70+yr old owner is very very enticing. The car is in new condition and leaves me with $10K of any maintenance that might be needed. The 200,000kms Major service was done 2000kms ago and I am finding it hard to say No to this car.

Obviously all my options are great, Poor Me :P

Dave Waldo

Its easy, buy the one that makes you smile.

Libast

I had forgotten you were not pricing in USD and nearly typed up a reply on why these weren't great deals

Glaze88

Haha, yeh with the AUD now, $15K is about $9K USD

Glaze88

Well after weeks of looking and thinking I have put a deposit down on an 04 Gunmetal Turbo with 202,000kms and immaculate service history. The owner has babied this thing for the last 6 years and the car hardly has a mark on it. Going in for a PPI and Roadworthy Certificate this week sometime. Coolant Pipes have been done, I am just wanting inspection to look at Cardan Shaft as well as some of the electrical elements. Excited to get the car in the collection and have sights on keeping this for many years. Next up, adding a nice 911

thesteve

Pics or it never happened.

Glaze88

This is the car, not in my possession yet but already planning some nice 21" Wheels. Present in Immaculate condition with paintwork seemingly untouched

Glaze88

Also looking at these Genuine Porsche Wheels, tough decision. Thoughts?

957GT-YES

@Glaze, Congrats! Looking forward to more pics. Looks amazing! Regarding the wheels, I have the same color 09GTS with the first set of wheels. I absolutely love the look. One thing I do like about them is that they are period correct with the car. To each his own but good looking wheels that came from the factory on the original design are always better in my book. Take the E39 M5. There are no better wheels that those on that car. Same goes with the 03 540 M-sport. Perfect for the car. One thing I would recommend is to add some ceramic pads. I HATE dust and always change immediately to Akebono pads. However, they don't make them for the GTS, so I got another brand. I cleaned the wheels and they look great.

Best of luck!

Travis

Glaze88

Thanks Travis, yeh I would love to keep the look as close to original as possible, but I'm not a fan of the original wheels on the car. The GTS wheels I love, even though not period correct for the car, I love the look. They add a little updated look and thinking I might get them redone in Gunmetal or Black. But I also like the wheels in the 3rd pic, a little more period correct I believe as they come on the later 955 Turbos.