Gen 2 997 C4S Order Placed

robertc@okw.co.uk · Dec 5, 2008

Swindon OPC seduced me with a free track experience at Silverstone last week, in a new speed yellow C4S PDK.[

]

What an awesome car, I loved the PDK having had 1.5 hours with it rather than the 30 minutes I had at the launch drive..

Before going to Silverstone I had convined myself that I would enjoy the day, but there was no way in hell I was going to buy a new one!!

However, with a big balloon payment looming in September 2009 on the current car, and the current rate of depeciation on it, I started to reconsider what to do...

So, after some hard bargaining with the OPC, I got a good p/x for the current car (taking full advantage of the £5k from Porsche) and have placed an order for a new C4S PDK to be delivered in March 2009. Interestingly, the OPC were far more keen to take in a guards red car than a silver one.... So going for the colour you want does not mean you have to loose out!

All I have to do is decide on the colour and spec of the new one by Dec 17th.

Current colour shortlist
( Exterior/Interior/Wheels):
Cream/Carrera Red/Black
Carrera White/Carrera Red/Black
Speed Yellow/Black/Black
Meteor Grey/Natural Brown/Meteor Grey

Has anyone seen the new cream colour yet?

Definates for the spec:
Sport Chrono
PCCB Brakes
PSE (if available)
Bog Standard Seats (To save my poor back, and wallet, from those aweful Adaptive Seats)
Tyre Pressure Monitor

Does anyone know what the situation is on the Sports Exhaust? It does not appear on the Porsche configurator..

I'll post the final spec. later. [

]

Rotorhead · Dec 5, 2008

PCCBs -

pwebb · Dec 5, 2008

Seems a familiar story - found myself in the same frame of mind prior to a visit to Chobham for a couple of hours hooning round in a C2S pdk and then putting in an order after the opc offered the obligatory sharp trade in price was offered.

One point on your spec - having had a dodgy back for years, I find the sports seats better than standard as they give extra lumbar support imo. Haven't tried the adaptive ones, they just sound a lot heavier ( and expensive).

Will you keep your car until March with a guaranteed trade in price or, like me, give the car back early and have a gap in the garage for a few weeks?

Peter

Don Henshall · Dec 5, 2008

Robert

Congrats on your new purchase [

]. I am currently 'looking'!! Is purchasing with a balloon payment a cost effective way of financing? Would be genuinely interestest in an independent view (sorry no intention of highjacking your thread)

Don

robertc@okw.co.uk · Dec 5, 2008

Hi Peter,

Congrats on the order too! Will you be going for guards red again?

Thanks for the info on the seats. My back problem is actually on my upper back/neck and the wings on the upper part of the adaptive seats causes the problem.. I think the sports seats have the same design in this area.. I am going to Silverstone to spec the car on their extended configuator, so I will try the Sports Seats if they have them there..

Car goes back to the OPC tomorrow, I will be sorry to see her go... so empty slot to put the E-Class in the garage until March

ORIGINAL: pwebb

Seems a familiar story - found myself in the same frame of mind prior to a visit to Chobham for a couple of hours hooning round in a C2S pdk and then putting in an order after the opc offered the obligatory sharp trade in price was offered.

One point on your spec - having had a dodgy back for years, I find the sports seats better than standard as they give extra lumbar support imo. Haven't tried the adaptive ones, they just sound a lot heavier ( and expensive).

Will you keep your car until March with a guaranteed trade in price or, like me, give the car back early and have a gap in the garage for a few weeks?

Peter

Jamie Garside · Dec 5, 2008

Financing with a balloon helps you get into the car for a reduced monthly payment however in todays market you run the risk of negative equity if you go too aggressive. Also, as the balloon is a lump of deferred capital which you aren't paying off it pushes up the interest charges. I always advise customers to pay as much per month as they can comfortably afford to reduce the balloon - build up more equity and save interest charges. I would say the vast majority of my Porsche finance clients use a balloon payment of varying degrees.

Hope this helps. My web site is in my profile if anyone wanted to have a friendly chat for advice, no obligation. I am a forum type and happy to help.

robertc@okw.co.uk · Dec 5, 2008

Hi Don

Porsche no longer do this sort of finance as far as I understand, now they have PCP which means you put down a deposit, with fixed payments for 2, 3, 4 years, and then get a guaranteed value at the end, based upon your estimated mileage.

For me, I am happy to know that I get a guaranteed price for the car at the end, and have an affordable monthly payment. It may cost more than other methods of financing tho...

ORIGINAL: Don Henshall

Robert

Congrats on your new purchase []. I am currently 'looking'!! Is purchasing with a balloon payment a cost effective way of financing? Would be genuinely interestest in an independent view (sorry no intention of highjacking your thread)

Don

pwebb · Dec 5, 2008

ORIGINAL: robertc@okw.co.uk

Hi Peter,

Congrats on the order too! Will you be going for guards red again?

Car goes back to the OPC tomorrow, I will be sorry to see her go... so empty slot to put the E-Class in the garage until March

Yup! Looked at all the options and .... Guards Red it is (with matching seat belts!).

Peter

Don Henshall · Dec 5, 2008

Thanks guys - I go through this painful process of, shall I shouldn't I, every now and again. Tend to keep my cars for a long while but when the 'itch' comes......................................... Thought about doing it via the company but was informed this would be - very expensive.........[

]

Thanks again

Don

Jamie Garside · Dec 5, 2008

ORIGINAL: robertc@okw.co.uk

Hi Don

Porsche no longer do this sort of finance as far as I understand, now they have PCP which means you put down a deposit, with fixed payments for 2, 3, 4 years, and then get a guaranteed value at the end, based upon your estimated mileage.

For me, I am happy to know that I get a guaranteed price for the car at the end, and have an affordable monthly payment. It may cost more than other methods of financing tho...

ORIGINAL: Don Henshall

Robert

Congrats on your new purchase []. I am currently 'looking'!! Is purchasing with a balloon payment a cost effective way of financing? Would be genuinely interestest in an independent view (sorry no intention of highjacking your thread)

Don

Click to expand...

With the dealer offered PCP you can normally expect a high APR in return for the g'teed value. What I offer to customers is for me to quote the same payment as the dealers PCP but at a cheaper rate which gives a much lower (but not g'teed) balloon figure. The client can then make a judgement as to whether the car will be worth more or less in the future. If their APR is say 2% higher then the reduced balloon I offer can be say £5K difference. Also, you only get the benefit of the g'teed future value if you keep the car for the full term.

Also, PCP comes with mileage restrictions and excess mileage charge.

chrisH · Dec 5, 2008

ORIGINAL: robertc@okw.co.uk

Interestingly, the OPC were far more keen to take in a guards red car than a silver one.... So going for the colour you want does not mean you have to loose out!

All I have to do is decide on the colour and spec of the new one by Dec 17th.

Current colour shortlist
( Exterior/Interior/Wheels):
Cream/Carrera Red/Black
Carrera White/Carrera Red/Black
Speed Yellow/Black/Black
Meteor Grey/Natural Brown/Meteor Grey

Has anyone seen the new cream colour yet?

Definates for the spec:
Sport Chrono
PCCB Brakes
PSE (if available)
Bog Standard Seats (To save my poor back, and wallet, from those aweful Adaptive Seats)
Tyre Pressure Monitor

Does anyone know what the situation is on the Sports Exhaust? It does not appear on the Porsche configurator..

I'll post the final spec. later. []

Interesting comment about the OPC's attitude to the colour. I am speccing a facelift Boxster and selected silver as the safe option but then the dealer said why not white and spend the £602 on other options. Does it really effect trade in value that much as mileage and condition are the only important factors, I'm not conviced spec is that much of a factor either as long as you ahve leather and 18ins. Having seen a Guards Red boxster in their showroom it looked so much better than all those silver cars surrounding it.

dereksharpuk · Dec 5, 2008

Hi Robert,

I'm still waiting for PSE after collecting my Gen 2 months ago. Swindon now tell me PSE not available until May 09 [

]

You might like to read my article in PP reference options (June 08). I was put off PCCB due to the high cost of replacement and thus lower residuals.

I hope they sort out PCM by the time you get your car.

robertc@okw.co.uk · Dec 5, 2008

Thanks for all the useful info Derek

Whats wrong with the PCM?

dereksharpuk · Dec 5, 2008

ORIGINAL: robertc@okw.co.uk

Thanks for all the useful info Derek

Whats wrong with the PCM?

See other threads on this forum.

But in short it is not fit for purpose. Simple as that. One buys Sat Nav so that it will guide you to a chosen destination. Despite a bigger screen and being HD based, PCM 3 is a backward step. One still cannot insert a full postcode. Moreover, some streets will not accept any house numbers, unlike PCM 2. I nearly put a brick through the screen last Sunday for the Porsche Club visit to the RAF Museum when I attempted to set my destination. It took me 10 minutes and still could not find a museum near Hendon, but when I inserted the abbreviated postcode it found it. Additionally, the logic software for shorter route selection is also suspect; take a detour and the mileage often decreases! Work that one out! There are other minor problems that were not there in PCM 2. Tom Tom and Garmin at £150 are much better!!

robertc@okw.co.uk · Dec 5, 2008

Thanks Derek

I was always underwhelmed by the PCM in my current car, however, I think you have to spec it on a car of this value...

By contrast, the command system in my new Merc is excellent. However, I appreciate that at £150 you cannot beat a Tom Tom.[

]

ORIGINAL: dereksharpuk

ORIGINAL: robertc@okw.co.uk

Thanks for all the useful info Derek

Whats wrong with the PCM?

Click to expand...

See other threads on this forum.

But in short it is not fit for purpose. Simple as that. One buys Sat Nav so that it will guide you to a chosen destination. Despite a bigger screen and being HD based, PCM 3 is a backward step. One still cannot insert a full postcode. Moreover, some streets will not accept any house numbers, unlike PCM 2. I nearly put a brick through the screen last Sunday for the Porsche Club visit to the RAF Museum when I attempted to set my destination. It took me 10 minutes and still could not find a museum near Hendon, but when I inserted the abbreviated postcode it found it. Additionally, the logic software for shorter route selection is also suspect; take a detour and the mileage often decreases! Work that one out! There are other minor problems that were not there in PCM 2. Tom Tom and Garmin at £150 are much better!!

dereksharpuk · Dec 5, 2008

Yes, I have always specced PCM for a number of reasons.

Firstly it does affect the resale value.
Secondly, I do really like the traffic info, better than my Garmin (about the only feature that is!).
Thirdly, I don't like wires all over the dash, though my Road Angel Professional in my Mini has a 7 hr battery so no wires.

However, I did forget to mention that, unlike Tom Tom etc, updating the PCM maps is not easy nor cheap! Maybe now that PCM is HD based, Porsche will become just a little more buyer friendly.

garyw · Dec 5, 2008

Some good advice here so far..... [

]

I think its great news that the OPC's are really interested in other colours than Silver on Black..

I too am shocked by the seat issues, I have friends whom still say the adaptive seats are the best they have ever sat in, but I do hear that if its an issue to a certain persons comfort then the choice is down to them (but I love them [

] )

Whats wrong with PCM... Derek can't use it . []

I actually prefer the routing and operation of the PCM than my Tom Tom, I can see its shortfall like the non full postcodes (which work perfect for Europe, just not the UK) I do however use it alot which makes it very easy to me..

garyw

Jamie Garside · Dec 5, 2008

I would always spec with PCM Nav just for the convenience, I hate those portable devices for being portable - the software however is supreme compared to PCM. It does also have an affect on re-sale.

Why don't Porsche just use someone elses software under licence? I used to have a Garmin and it was faultless.

Very surprised to hear that PCM3 isn't quite the upgrade we expected.

dereksharpuk · Dec 6, 2008

ORIGINAL: Jamie Garside

Very surprised to hear that PCM3 isn't quite the upgrade we expected.

Yup, so am I and so very disappointed. I was really looking forward to both PDK and PCM3. Well, I suppose I got one Christmas wish [

]

tscaptain · Dec 6, 2008

Would agree with Derek in the sense that for £80k+ you would expect the state of the art, best a man/woman can get sat nav, and the latest PCM 3 satnav is certainly not that. However, in my humble opinion, I don't agree that it's a step back from the PCM 2 - there's more to it than just the nav. I like the touchscreen (which does make it quicker to input destination, always assuming it's in the database!), less buttons, bigger screen with 3d display. I like the audio interface and the bluetooth SAP too. All addresses/POI's so far have been in there and like all satnavs it has to be used with a tad of commom sense but the sharp end stuff, i.e near destination, seems fine. But it's shortcomings, whether mildly annoying or very disappointing, pale into insignificance once I set off down the road[

] As Clarkson might say, if you love the PDK after 1.5 hours you will want to marry it after a few months. (Well he wouldn't say it about a Porsche, but you know what I mean) BTW Robert while you're waiting for yours there's an interesting vid on You Tube of the C4S Gen 2 v the Audi R8 (if you don't speak German you'll still get the gist!)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DjIQRxsUsrA