997 v 997 S

[Guest]

I agree, with the Speed Yellow comment, it did look really good, and so too the Guards Red, it is my particular favourite. But that Carmen Red looks fab, love to have a look at that in the flesh
I use my 997S every day (up to 7500 miles in 7 months) I find it a lot harder ride than my previous 996. Something I might be brave enough to sell it for in due course.

My essential kit stated with:-
Tiptronic
Sunroof
Sat Nav"¦a MUST have for resale use it all the time (the other options are worthless)
Phone kit (even though it is not that good)
Bose
And a budget of about £1k for nice bits and bobs for tailoring (I overspent the budget! well the mats were £180, tracker was £800!!)[]
The ones I like most of all out of the odds and s*ds are the Multi Functional wheel, heated sports seats[]

The standard wheels on the S are more difficult to clean, but I like spending time doing them, keeps me out of the house when the kids are kicking off. So these are therapeutic in my view.[]

Wouldn't have the PCCB's too costly and IMO not as tolerant for everyday runner.

Hope you have fun"¦

 

[pwebb]

Spizz
My experience after six months is simple. Go with the S. You get some of the extras thrown in: Xenons, turbo brakes, bigger wheels, and after the 996 (admittedly the 3.4) the difference in performance is very noticeable. I'm happy with the manual and saved a bit by going with Guards Red which really suits this car (ask Nick above!).

I wouldn't bother with the auto dip/auto wiper option
Usual buffeting from the sunroof so wouldn't spec again
Didn't order the rear wiper which was a good decision, put rainex on the glass and no need and looks sleeker
Hardly ever use the cruise

On the plus side:
SatNav and phone because people will expect it at resale
I love the Bose system
Multifunction steering wheel is neat
Sports seats are a must IMO (can't abide heated ones though)
Carrera Classic wheels are so easy to clean and look the business

Still not convinced by the sport chrono package, but then I'm not using it for trackdays.

Let us know what you decide.

Peter

 

[Guest]

Guys,

Very helpful.

Jury seems to be out as between 997 and S.

Colours:

I was in Milan last year on a bright day. I saw a Speed Yellow C4S drive past and in the moment it looked perfect. I love SY - but worry about what it would look like on a wet Glasgow morning.

Carmon red - Peter Robinson of Autocar ran a 996 in Carmon. Looked fab in pics. Have never seen one in the flesh.

Cobalt Blue - a great shade - but my dealer said that I was too old for it.

Options:

Sat Nav - can you retrofit the Porsche unit?
Sunroof, rear wipers seem no nos.
Sport seats - I like them.

PCCB.

Does anyone hve experience of them. Like the idea of the weight saving where it counts.

Wheels:

Consensus seems to be that 18" ride and handle better - but 19" better looking.

Bits and bobs:

Sports exhaust seems to be out of fashion.
Shortshift?
Coloured belts?
Sport chrono - not the universal approval I expected.

Will reflect further and let you know how I go once I have driven back to back.

In the meantime, all comments very greatly received.

Spizz

 

[pvernham]

I drive a 997S cabriolet - and have had nearly 2 months of wonderful top down motoring. Despite comments about posing etc. elsewhere on the forum, would not swap the engine noise and wind in the hair (whilst I still have it) for the marginally better handling of the coupe.

My comments for what they are worth:

No-body seems to have mentioned interior colour. I have grey leather as I do not like dark interiors, and think it looks excellent. External colour is Lapis Blue which matches the grey well and is quite rare. On collection in April, OPC Guildford said they had not seen a 997 in Lapis Blue, so its also a bit different without being susceptible to changes in fashion.

As for options:
19" carrera classics (easier to keep clean as mentioned above and IMO better looking)
BOSE - awsome sound, better than the Logic 7 system in my X5 that cost much more
SatNav - IMO a must have for resale (as I found out when part exchanging my previous X5 that didn't have it) although the BMW system is better which is discussed elsewhere
Electric memory seats - for when the boss drives the car and I need to find my settings again
Heated seats - a must for a cabriolet in colder weather
Cruise control - licence saver
Parkassist - works OK but personal choice
Homelink - for me excellent, avoided the need/hassle to get two extra controllers from different suppliers for a third car and worked first time (but see comments elsewhere on the forum)
Tracker Horizon

Enjoy the car!

 

[sotoole]

I reckon avoid the standard 997 as my guess is that sales of this will reduce significantly when people start buying the similar performance of a high spec Cayman S which will hit the standard 997 resale values.
Parking sensors are cheaper than a paint job on the back bumper.
The built-in phone is a waste of time - buy a jabra bluetooth headset instead and a speed camera detector with the change!
Chrome tailpipes - as the standard pipes corrode too easily.
And a manual gearbox ....

 

[Guest]

does sat nav realy add any value to the vehicle??
The sat nav on the cayenne costs £2k, and I was told that at 2 yrs old as a trade in it would add £1.5K and less as the vehicle gets older. Surely to add value sat nav has to increase the value of the vehicle by MORE than it cost as an option, or else is simply becomes a slower depreciating accessory.

 

[oliver]

I think that certain 'options' are regarded as 'must haves' to ensure ease of re-sale.

Years ago 911s had to have a sunroof, even though it was completely useless, to be re-sellable.

Nowadays, cars must have climate control and few people bother with a sunroof.

Sat Nav is becoming increasingly important on any luxury car. On BMWs, for example, the Comms Pack is essential on the prestige models and the difference in value between an M3 or X5 without it is quite significant.

Once people become accustomed to something, and they get to the point where they can't live with out it, then they would not buy a car that isn't appropriately equipped.

 

[robert997]

Technically you're dead right, but I think the main problem is that the trade is so fickle that they'll offer 3k less for one without sat-nav...

 

[Sunil]

ORIGINAL: camcayenne
Surely to add value sat nav has to increase the value of the vehicle by MORE than it cost as an option, or else is simply becomes a slower depreciating accessory.

That's why a retro-fit costs more than the factory fitted option.

 

[Ronnie C]

San Nav is no way going to be a deal breaker for future resale of 911.

Porsche love to say it will be cause this option has huge profit margins and year on year subs. I was told the same thing about the Phone option.

Personally, for nav, I much prefer my tomtom which I can use in all my cars, not just the P - and it cost less than £300. Also, personal satnav systems alert me to speed cameras, etc and are much easier and cheaper to keep up to date.

For the phone, bluetooth is much much more user friendly than fiddling with transfering your SIM card back and forth and back and forth....

 

[Guest]

car salesmen...
when I purchased my cayenne I was told by the sales that pasm was a must have.. when I came to get it valued the then said, no one really wants it unless they tow, adds nothing. I guess they just 'adjust' things to suit them. I personally don't think any option is a deal breaker as there will always be people out there who aren't that fussed by a particular option. If the sat nav in the 997 were as good as that in my LR3 I might be tempted, but my own personal experience of the porsche sat nav in the cayenne, the boxster and the 997 (on a testdrive) was that it was slow, with poor out of date mapping and generally pretty useless.... therefore no sat nav for me with my 997 cab.

 

[Guest]

Sorry to throw a googly. I have been offered a 996 Turbo, 03 on a 52, 19k miles, 450 bhp upgrade loaded for £67k

Is this worth looking at - or go for the 997?

Spizz

 

[tallmat]

Go for the turbo!

And blitz past all those 997s weighed down with the options that have consumed this thread!

Seriously the 997 is a fine car and 'Car' magazine (which I think is still the best, most objective) ran a great story shortly after launch saying the plain vanilla 997 was in many ways better. The journo (Bremner, I think) drove it across Germany and said it was a better drive, nicer handling.

Try both, welly the turbo down the M8 and see which you prefer. As a 996tt owner I'm a little biased but either way you'll have a fine car.

 

[Guest]

996 turbo...v...997S

IMHO the only thing I would say is the servicing costs..
I had considered the very same issue (nice issue to have) AND MY CONSIDERED view was the considerbly higher servicing costs. But I was put off by my local OPC salesman, and you know what they're like[]

 

[oliver]

I see that, in the latest issue, Autocar have repeated their long held opinion that the 997 is a better car than the 997'S'.

It's a convincing case, suggesting that, even if money is no object, the standard 997 is apparently the better buy.

 

[mbrands]

I have the short shift option and like it, but it does have a down side in that it can be difficult to get the car into first, especially on cold days.

If you go for the 19" wheels, the classic ones look better than the standard ones (IMHO, obviously)

I never use the rear wiper.

I think the rain sensor / autodim is useful. Rain sensor (tho not perfect) is good if you drive in city traffic a lot, saves you switching the wipers on and off all the time when you go from being in a queue to moving again and back to being in a que. Autodimming mirrors is useful only really because you can dim the side mirrors, which is useful if you drive on motorways at night.

I also opted for leather on the centre console, which really lifts up the interior.

 

[mbrands]

Re 996 Turbo vs 997. I find my 997S to be one of the best handling cars I have ever owned/ driven, and a quantum leap better than the 996 I once had.

Altho' the Turbo has the power, I'd be surprised if it could match the feel of the 997S in the handling department. And if (according to the media - who are prone to changing their minds about things over time) the 997 is supposed to be even better than the 997S in this respect, then I don't think the answer is that obvious in the Turbo's favor.

Although I have never driven a 996 turbo, I would not be tempted to swap my 997S for a 996 Turbo (maybe a 997 Turbo). If you get the sport chrono, you can push the sport button and that will create the illusion of more torque, especially if you also get the more powerful 997S.

I guess you'll need to drive all three of them. But handling and balance are quite subtle and not easy (at my level of driving at least) to fully appreciate on a test drive, which are always too short.

 

[oliver]

Point is, though, several leading journalists, (Steve Sutcliffe, Chris Harris, Richard Bremner etc) have been saying that the 997 actually drives and handles better than the 997'S'. So, why spend more for less?

 

[graham m]

If you notice though the 997 that they are comparing the S version to has the ceramic brakes. One of the biggest difference that I noticed when I test drove both cars back to back just after the launch was the braking ability between the two models. Spend £6.5k on the ceramics and you've lost the financial gain. Will ceramics make a differance at trade in time? I'm sure the S will! The 19" wheels may well 'knobble' the ride, but I didn't buy mine as a boulevard cruiser!
Graham

 

[dpoynton]

I know that this is the 997 forum and not 996 but here's a picture of my 'Zymoled' 996 in Carmon Red which I am due to collect on Saturday.

Definitely the puppy's parts for me!