981s v GTS

[Kaiser981]

I was wondering the same in December, just before the lockdown. Looked at all the reviews, took forum comments onboard and ended up looking for a 981S over a GTS. My reasons were:

• No way I would feel the minimal power hike in GTS over an S
• Not that interested in adjustable suspension if the passive version is set up well (which it is, superbly, even with 20" alloys!)
• Can't really stand Alcantara. Reminds me of velour coverings on 1980's Vauxhall Cavaliers for some weird reason. Sorry. A nice all-leather interior is a good thing in a Porsche. (And I know customers could spec all leather in GTS', but I didn't see many of those.)
• I couldn't justify the extra £10k for the bits I didn't want. I'm sure it will remain a more expensive car, but I feel that the gap will narrow as it's all relative when they continue to drop in price.

I was lucky to find a low mileage Boxster S 981 with PDK. I wanted a manual originally, the but the other spec items won me over; Sport Chrono (yet to try it in the dry or above 3ºC to see what true difference it makes), two-tone leather, Bose (OK, but not great). Xenons, etc. It's also the first car where I look to use the heated seats. Don't know why!

Love the ride quality and steering feel. Heretic, I know.

Saving a small portion of the money I would have had to spend extra on a GTS on a new set of Michelin PS4S' (really don't trust the P Zeros in the cold and wet even though there's good tread left on them) and Apple CarPlay upgrade by www.nmautomotive.co.uk. That'll give me a nice project to do when the weather's warmer!

Good luck in your search... and more importantly, convincing SWMBO! []

Luckily we got to 5 Degrees before trying the Sport Plus button with the PDK, it makes a HUGE difference to the car.

 

[agnick]

Luckily we got to 5 Degrees before trying the Sport Plus button with the PDK, it makes a HUGE difference to the car.

Looking forward to it! []

 

[Adrian Thompson]

A relevant question to ask is wether it is prudent to upgrade a car to a higher specification. I did a few upgrades to my Cayman 987S but was soundly chastised by my local Porsche dealer who insisted that the car be brought back to original spec at my cost before a trade-in valuation was agreed. Most of us like the opportunity to indulge in some upgrades. Mine was a double din satnav/car apple play unit, which replaced a very poor radio and cassette player. Whatever you do, keep all the original bits so that the fastidious can retro-fit. I also changed the steering wheel and that had to go back to standard. The lesson for me was to buy a car with all the bits as I want, and not think about changing them over time - unless, of course that process provides sufficient pleasure to offset the costs.

 

[agnick]

A relevant question to ask is wether it is prudent to upgrade a car to a higher specification. I did a few upgrades to my Cayman 987S but was soundly chastised by my local Porsche dealer who insisted that the car be brought back to original spec at my cost before a trade-in valuation was agreed. Most of us like the opportunity to indulge in some upgrades. Mine was a double din satnav/car apple play unit, which replaced a very poor radio and cassette player. Whatever you do, keep all the original bits so that the fastidious can retro-fit. I also changed the steering wheel and that had to go back to standard. The lesson for me was to buy a car with all the bits as I want, and not think about changing them over time - unless, of course that process provides sufficient pleasure to offset the costs.

Good point. I bought mine from an non-OPC (but had the local OPC do a small service to check things over before collection). I decided to not take it to an OPC for servicing, rather use a local specialist. It's a near-6 year old car and I'll save the warranty cost to pay for fixes as and when.

I stepped out of a nice 2016 Vantage S (simply wasn't getting used enough) and was fastidious about main dealer servicing and originality in that. But Boxsters are different beasts and in much higher volumes I feel they can be tweaked a bit. I don't know how to justify that statement, but there you go!

It's probably unlikely to be sold-on through an OPC.

 

[Adrian Thompson]

I would agree completely. I did ask why they were so insistent, and was told that their onward two year warranty that they offer with a sale was conditional on the car being standard - which seems fare enough. We all know that there is a substantial additional cost of buying through an OPC and in my particular case they were very open about this. They would offer me £20k (after mods) and retail it at £26K. Perhaps for those that like to fettle a little, selling through the PCGB is the best solution.

 

[Kaiser981]

I wonder would the same apply if you upgraded your original specification using Porsche only parts such as the X73 suspension pack or the various aero and interior options? I would imagine that wouldn't be such a problem, but your advice to keep anything that you take off is certainly something I have always followed, just in case the next owner would like the parts or they need to go back on. Quite easy to take an aftermarket exhaust off the car and put a standard one back on, then you can sell the aftermarket exhaust privately and get some much needed funds back.

In your case, with the audio upgrade, I would have thought that was a positive feature for the next buyer, especially if the old unit was supplied with the option to retrofit. Porsche certainly seem keen to upgrade the old PCM's in house, even for much older models than your car.

 

[agnick]

I wonder would the same apply if you upgraded your original specification using Porsche only parts such as the X73 suspension pack or the various aero and interior options? I would imagine that wouldn't be such a problem, but your advice to keep anything that you take off is certainly something I have always followed, just in case the next owner would like the parts or they need to go back on. Quite easy to take an aftermarket exhaust off the car and put a standard one back on, then you can sell the aftermarket exhaust privately and get some much needed funds back.

In your case, with the audio upgrade, I would have thought that was a positive feature for the next buyer, especially if the old unit was supplied with the option to retrofit. Porsche certainly seem keen to upgrade the old PCM's in house, even for much older models than your car.

The CarPay kit I'm looking at is completely invisible apart from a new USB port in the glovebox. It would be hard to tell it's installed, even with a nominal inspection. It takes around 4 hours to fit (and there's a risk to damaging the PCM system if you are heavy-handed). Not something I'd want to remove. And who wouldn't want CarPlay, given the choice? [8|]

You can take these things to the nth degree. Officially the car should be riding on Pirelli P Zeros. So would an OPC complain about PS4P being fitted? Not sure.

 

[Davidbf1.com]

It’s been said many times before, but a GTS is more than simply the sum of its parts.
I’m biased of course, my 42 year wait to get my first Porsche saw me dive into my Boxster GTS and I absolutely love it.
it is a real sense of occasion every time I drive it. The interior feels like a really special place to be.
Would I notice 15bhp extra over an "s”, really doubt it, but then on our [crap, overcrowded] roads, it could be argued a non-S is all the mid-engined sports car we’d ever need....
would I take a 718GTS 4.0? If the keys were handed, possibly, but cost to change for me (to a huge-spec’d 4.0 GTS) is insane, for what, I’d be paying another £35-£40k more for perhaps just 5-10% "more” than I currently have.

when I was searching for my 981 PDK Boxster, I was looking for a well-spec’d "S” - slim pickings at the time, I gave up looking for a bit, and then 2 BGTS’ came along same OPC same mileage same price, BOTH with a red roof (my main "want”), one manual with few options, the other PDK and high Spec. My other main want was PDK.
the budget I’d set for the search for an "S” was well and truly surpassed, but the previous year much had been put well and truly into context with a young family member’s health turned upside down: budget-smudgett - my view then was fcuk-it, life really is too short.

 

[agnick]

the budget I’d set for the search for an "S” was well and truly surpassed, but the previous year much had been put well and truly into context with a young family member’s health turned upside down: budget-smudgett - my view then was fcuk-it, life really is too short.

Above all, this!

Continue to enjoy your GTS. Let's face it, many humans would think we're all spoilt kids anyway []

 

[Davidbf1.com]

The whole UK Porsche warranty thing - be it original manufacturer product or the subsequent extended warranty which is an insurance product (though, technically isn’t any warranty a form of insurance anyway?), is pretty ridiculous in it’s intent and its application - the latter which is very subjectively applied and differs from OPC to OPC.
Contrast that with PCNA view where the US dealers seem to really actively engage and support owners with many, though not all, modifications.

As at GTS owner, I’m only too aware of the huge gaping intakes on the front bumper, and exposed condenser / rads. Porsche do not produce a protective mesh grille set for my car (but other 3rd party sets are available), and whilst these would seem like a jolly good idea to help protect and prolong the working life of said rads & condensers, they are regarded as non-standard fitment and thus to Porsche Cars GB, and some OPCs, would void any warranty claim related I’m guessing to cooling issues etc. However, Porsche do fit mesh grilles as standard to GT cars - Spyder, GT4, GT2RS etc etc. I don’t think the mesh on those is a superior design and thus does not affect airflow & thus cooling performance, whereas the recognised 3rd party products will....
I read of one instance where an owner had actually purchased a used Boxster from OPC with full warranty, and mesh intake grilles were already fitted - the OPC mustn’t have noticed/cared. It came up 2 years later when the owner wanted to renew the extended warranty, the grilles were spotted!! Owner hadn’t touched them since buying the car from the very same OPC, where in the 2 years it had been MOTd and serviced by them too!

Another example is a professionally hard-wired (for power-feed) dash-cam, also deemed non-standard, so void any warranty claims for electrical gremlins....

You only have to look on the US forums to read examples of US main dealers assisting customers with coding-in steering wheel swaps (from non heated, non multifunction, to the full-toys versions), as well as other non-electronic mods - brakes, suspension and the like.

To add insult to injury, many UK owners have had a sympathetic OPC support a question about grilles and other items technically deemed non-standard but realistically not going to impair the vehicle or it’s function in any way, only to find a year or two down the line, change of personnel at the OPC and "that person has left and shouldn’t have told you that, it’s void” etc.....

Don’t get me wrong, if I somehow want to try and install Cayenne Turbo drivetrain underneath my Boxster, I can completely understand that Porsche UK would have a problem with warranty application, but most instances it’s not major surgery that is untried/tested, it‘S stuff that is simple, easy, and not going to affect the operation of the vehicle or its systems.
I’d dearly love to change the Sport Design steering wheel on my car to the 918/718/Macan etc style - a VERY simple, if somewhat costly, mod which has been done loads of times, but not only would it void my warranty, but Porsche won’t do the coding for me even if I wanted, as officially it isn’t compatible....

I guess most know the "price of entry” to playing the Porsche game in respect of warranty etc, but it is immensely frustrating nevertheless, and certainly lacking in consistency from country to country.

My own car will be 7 at the end of this year, and I’ll be seriously thinking about not renewing with Porsche extended warranty - probably just as well, might find my A-pillars and sun visors retrimmed in Alcantara would void it anyway!

 

[Kaiser981]

I have never enquired about the cost of an extended Porsche Warranty from my OPC. What are people paying for these extenddd insurance/ vehicle warranties? How do they compare to non Porsche extended warranties in terms of cost ?

 

[Davidbf1.com]

Depends on the car of course, but from memory Dec 2019 cost for mine was around £1,100 for another two years....
PLUS the absolute rip-off of an inspection £200-ish first for the car to be check and accepted for warranty extension.
lots of people are able to get that inspection charge waived if the car is in for other work at the same time - a service for example, but my warranty and service are not aligned so it was pay-up.
And then......warranty cover will likely mean you’d keep servicing work with OPC - not legally necessary of course, but it potentially puts yo to a possible situation where you’re arguing with the warranty underwriter that service/repairs by an Indy we’re done to the exact standards of an OPC (yes, in many cases the standards at the Indy would be better than some OPCs given the threads on various forums, but that’s a different topic again!).
plus, although 981 are generally known to be robust, common failure items on mine would be air on blower (the only warranty claim I’ve had to make) active engine mounts, PSE valve activators. Some of those are very costly jobs, so I’ve been prepar to take out the extended warranty on two occasions, but may not bother at the end of this year.

to be fair, I have 2 OPCs in my area, one of the doorstep - 8 mile round trip, the other 90 mile round trip, both are pretty good but the Boxster goes to the one furthest away, and I need to decide soon about the Macan as it is service time next month, and warranty expires June....

 

[Wollemi]

And then......warranty cover will likely mean you’d keep servicing work with OPC - not legally necessary of course, but it potentially puts yo to a possible situation where you’re arguing with the warranty underwriter that service/repairs by an Indy we’re done to the exact standards of an OPC

That’s not actually true, it is legally necessary. The Porsche extended warranty expressly stipulates that all work on the car must be done by an OPC. Since the extended warranty is a contract between you and the insurance company you are agreeing to its terms by taking it out, so by having work done by someone else, or even doing it yourself, you have broken the terms of the contract which is therefore void.
This is very different to the situation with a new car warranty, when under EU law they cannot insist on an OPC doing the work. It only has to be done to correct specification.

 

[Davidbf1.com]

Graham, thanks for clarifying, I wasn’t aware of that. I must have been assuming the manufacturer warranty and the extended warranty were the same in that aspect, but as you correctly point out, the extended warranty is actually a contract with the insurance-based warranty....

 

[Adrian Thompson]

The extended warranty must be a good revenue stream for Porsche UK, particularly when we are in lockdown with a restricted mileage. Fewer miles driven must equal fewer claims. A more reasonable solution might be a charge per mile for an extended warranty contract.