Ordering 997 C2

[115_sf]

Hi,

I am just about to order a 997 C2 for delivery in June 2007.I could get one for March but personal circumstances mean I would rather wait
,I know it will kill me.I don't need to confirm my spec yet but was looking for some advice.At the minute I am going with:

1. Sports Exhaust
2. Sports Shifter
3. Sports seats
4. Heated seats
5. Turbo alloys
6. Porsche crests on headrests
7. Stainless steel door guards
8. BOSE
9. 3 spoke steering wheel

I am not really sure about a couple of other options.I have been told that I 'must have Sat nav and phone prep' but I know I won't use either and don't really want to spent £2,000 on extras for the next owner.Is this really the case or am I ok to order without both?

Other than that my other problem is colour.Like silver and black but worried that they are very common and that another colour might make the car stand out a bit more.Also thinking about getting the rear centre console painted depending on which colour I eventually go for.Does anyone have any experience with the non-metallic black?I used to have a Basalt black Boxster and found it really hard to stop the paintwork from getting swirls when I polished it.I still think the new Turbo alloys look best with a dark colour.

Any advise or experience you can offer on getting a few freebies off the dealer when I call in on Wed to sign the paperwork would also be very much appreciated.

Cheers Scott

 

[snarf]

Options by definition are personal and the bottom line has to be what is right for you. However, if you have more than half an eye on residual value then you do need to consider what prospective buyers might want (and that are difficult or expensive to rerofit) in which case I think you should include sat nav and telephone. I have these and find both very useful, this is my first car to have sat nav and it took me a while to familiarise myself with it but I would not want to be without it now. In particular (despite one bad experience in Antwerp because I was still on the learning curve) the route recalculation to avoid traffic delays has proved to be indispensable.

I would also suggest you push to get your PDE track day in before you finalise the order, as well as good fun this provides a good opportunity to check-out one or two cars which usually have a range of options. Don't wait for your OPC to arrange this otherwise you may have your car before the event, call PDE direct on 0870 413 0911, once you have paid the 10% deposit they will give you a choice of dates and the order spec can be modified up to a few weeks or so before the build date.

Other comments: of the options I have (that you have not included) I really like:

Adaptive sports seats - I traded budget for PSE (can be retrofitted) in favour of these, but no regrets as they ary very comfortable.
Sports Chrono - not for the stop watch but for the additional functionality that comes with this option.
Carrera sports wheels - look great and are not too difficult to clean.
Reverse park sensors - I have become too reliant on these to go without.
Auto dim mirrors - not only do these work well but the automatic rain sensor is also worth having.
Carrera logo on storage lid option CUV. - looks good.
GT Silver - a safe bet, not the most exciting colour but easy to keep looking good.

 

[Alex L]

I started a 'top 10' favourite options list thread on rennteam the other day, you might want to check it out...

http://www.rennteam.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=997&Number=285580&page=1&fpart=all (free to register)

 

[sawood12]

I'm not so sure Sat Nav is going to be such a sought after option in future years - maybe if you are planning on selling the car within 3 yrs (which would be daft given the depreciation) but much after that I'm sure that with the speed of development of sat nav systems the current system fitted by Porsche will be positively stone age in comparison and not very sought after. It all depends upon how much he current system can be upgraded, but I guess it's upgrade potential is limited by the physical hardware. I am of course speaking as a very likely 2nd hand (or probably 3rd hand) 997 C2S purchaser in the not too distant furture (I hope!!). Personally I think the sound system upgrade, Xenon headlights (not sure if they are std or not), fully automatic climate control and things like auto dimming rear view mirros and rain sensors are much nicer gadgets to have. If you want and need sat nav then go for it, but I doubt very much you would get your money back if you were to spec it purely as an option to try to maintain the cars resale value.

 

[Rob Edwards]

Hi Scott
Here's my ha'peth worth:
Bose - try before you buy - the upgraded sound package is pretty good and for the extra money, I'm not sure I would spec Bose again.
Heated seats - once you've had them, you'll wonder how you lived without them - heavenly on a frosty mornings![]
Short shifter - gives more resistance when cold (can be a bit 'baulky') but is a very satisfying change, and for the money worth it (IMHO).
Sports exhaust - Yes![8D]
Sat-Nav - I use mine a fair bit, especially in France, where it has proved a boon. Personally, it's a must for me!
Stainless sills - Personally, I actually prefer the standard black with Carrera script on it. You can always retro-fit these in future.
Turbo alloys - I know some folk loathe them, but I personally think they look fab - just don't kerb them, as they are very troublesome to put right once the top colour paint/lacquer has been taken off.[&:]
I have arctic silver with Ocean leather and it looks very nice, if a bit predictable. Mind you, it's a cinch to keep looking clean![]
My next one - it's going to be blood orange with black wheels and black interior - very 70's (and no, I don't give a hoot about the next owner and whether they approve or not!).
How about white? It's creeping back in and looks esp good with red wheels - very Club Sport!!
The next 6 months will be one big anticipatory dream - enjoy every second of it on the run up to that magical moment when you drive off.
I blagged free of charge - CD changer unit/mats/free 'life-shine' Autoglym treatment - don't let them fob you off, you should be looking to get about 1k in extras FOC. I have done this with each car I have had from my OPC and they seem to expect it now! You won't get cash off , but you can squeeze them for goodies, esp. ones they fit/carry out at the garage. Try 2 OPC's and pitch the salesmen against each other - they live for their commission!![][]
Good luck!![]
Rob

 

[115_sf]

Thanks for all the help so far.Think I might be about to spend even more on options now!

snarf-I have DVD Sat nav in my current Audi and to be honest I don't use the nav very much.I have to admit that the Audi system is miles better than the current Porsche one,probably why I am reluctant to spec it.The one feature I do use loads in the Audi system is the SD card slots behind the screen.Can't belive Porsche don't do something similar,very handy, 2x 1gb Sd cards and you have 20 albums to choose from with track listing etc.

I am going to see my OPC on Thurs and will push him to organise my PDE track day ASAP,I didn't even realise this was an option,thanks for that.

Alex L-Thanks for the rennteam link,I am now registered and working my way through a fantastic source of info.

sawwood 12-I agree with your views on the speed of development we will see in Nav systems by the time I sell this car.Can't justify this much money for the 2nd owner,will spend it on options that I want the car to have!!

Rob Edwards-Have decided not to go with the stainless steel sills,I can retro fit them if I change my mind unlike a lot of options.
I am off to the OPC on Thurs and will push hard for a few freebies.I am looking to get mats £110(of course),Porsche golf bag and cover£220(fits behind the seats and I need a new bag anyway) and some sort of Autoglym/Zymol treatment£???.Do you think I should push for anymore and if so what do they actually carry out at OPC that I can ask for.I am not really interested in the 6CD changer,I will just use mp3 files in the PCM drive.

Thanks again for all your advice,no doubt I will be asking more questions in the coming months.I will let you know how I get on with the negotiations on Thurs.

Cheers Scott

 

[Rob Edwards]

Good for you Scott!
I would push the salesman for as much as you can (the Golf Bag is a very realistic clincher) as is a paint treatment.
I had Autoglym LifeShine applied to my car (and our audi S4) free of charge, (although for darker coloured cars the Zymol treatment is a deeper shine) just make sure they leave you the bag of goodies that comes with the Lifeshine treatment if you go for that. It's said to be worth £150 but in reality you could buy all the items for far less.
There has been a thread on Autoglym/Zymol treatments before, but to recap the Autoglym is good but the Zymol better. Depends how you twist the salesman's arm. The Lifeshine treatment is £350 (approx) depending on OPC.
The Sat Nav is not a bad system, but I agree it's not as good as the Audi MMI system (although on the Porsche system you can choose male or female voices unlike the 'schoolmarmy' audi - mind you, depends if you like that sort of thing![]) but if you aren't going to use it then it's not worth it.
I would push for as much as you can - I even walked off with a solid silver 911 keyring off the demonstrator plus the salemans Porsche pen after wrote the cheque - I just said to him that after writing a cheque for that size it would seem churlish to return such a nice pen.....and he agreed! You'll know when you've hit rock bottom when he starts pulling a face and squirming in his seat - that's the moment to thank him for all his help and that the freebies have made your car buying experience complete. Going in towards the end of (especially a winter) the month can also help as if it's been a bad month they can do with the commission on that months cheque!
happy hunting!![]
Rob

 

[Dapster]

You don't ever "get your money back" on options of course. Say you spend £2k on sat nav - you won't get £2k more than a non sat navved car come trade in time, or sell it for £2k more if you sell privately. You will sell it more quickly though, but you will never see your money again.

A Tom Tom (either stand alone or loaded onto a smart phone) is considerably cheaper and makes the Porsche system seem primitive. The PCM application is very neat and user friendly though, and is so well integrated into the facia. You pays your money......