Turbo S Test Drive
- Thread starter blueSL
- Start date
garyw
Moderator
Well I completed my evaluation form for Porsche about the event, I think it'll be one unhappy sales rep.... Amazing car but just not for me at this time... I'm sure you've all seen this and joined in one the reasoning..[
] [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agq4je0XICA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agq4je0XICA[/link]
] [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agq4je0XICA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agq4je0XICA[/link]
Not sure about having taken a bath but one guy who I did not manage to speak with at Silverstone Goldtrack day Sunday, had both his 991 Turbo S and his 991 GT3 on track, although not simultaneously...
My car back from service, dealer has quoted £59k p/ex for it, 4 years old, 17k miles and pristine. Exactly 50% depreciation. That works out at £1250/month, £3.50 a mile. The salesman of course was sailing a thin line by rubbishing the car and spec he was so enthusiastic about when selling it to me... It's clear that I might have appreciated the 991 turbo more had it been in sport mode, one other reason being the sound symposer kicking in to add more aural entertainment. I can just about accept it - converting pressure changes in the air intake into sound and channelling into the cabin - compared to the "absolutely not" use of digital sound samples through the car stereo that BMW use. I had a 991 Carrera S loaner and quite liked it but it didn't look and feel like the £95k car it was. I must have been asleep because I realise Porsche prices have leapt with the arrival of the 991. The GT3 continues to look a real bargain with more focus and sense of purpose, lower depreciation though the salesman worked hard to steer me back to the turbo with stories of high GT3 running costs, skittishness in the rain etc etc. Fortunately I had my BS detector tuned to maximum... Turns out the dealer has two "frustrated sale" turbos which I could drive away tomorrow if I wanted to and there was some sort of deal to be done to close the funding gap.
I had hoped that someone else would answer this but in the absence of anything better here is my view. These days I generally plan to keep new cars for three years because after that things often start to go wrong. This is somewhat at odds with my approach when I started buying cars in 1967 when a £10 ex Post Office A35 van was kept until it failed its MOT. Then I could do the work myself but couldn’t afford the cost of the parts. Now there is so much electrickery involved I wouldn’t know where to start. Extended warranty is of course an option but is to an extent reliant on a sympathetic Service Manager. So on the basis that it was 3 years old my 2010 turbo S came up for replacement this year. I think there may have been new 997 turbo S available at the time and according to the interweb deals were there to be had. Who knows if it were true; I didn’t pursue it myself. What I did do was trade across to a £94k 991 C2S for my car and a small consideration. Not quite cost neutral but no great pain. And now I have moved towards the 991 turbo S with trade in on the C2S at probably a bit more than I would have got for the 997 turbo S had I hung on to it. Still with me! But in principle I guess I have gone from 997 to 991 turbo S. Why? Because that was what was on offer. But before looking at that I think it instructive to check out the base 991 turbo. I can’t remember what the base 997 turbo cost but say £100K. (Someone who knows please correct this). I think that PDK, PTV,TPM,PDLS, Paddle wheel, and no doubt other stuff were additional cost options on the 997. All are now standard on 991 and you also get a 520bhp motor as well as rear wheel steer and active aero so at £118k that seems not a bad deal. However for reasons I don’t fully understand turbo S has come out ahead of base turbo and in terms of availability in my preferred time frame the S is the only viable option. If the base turbo were available would I have taken it? Good question. I probably know the answer but it is purely hypothetical as the option didn’t arise and in any case my car is already at stage 8 at the factory. Unlike the favoured ones on the register I haven’t had a chance to drive the new car but to be honest expect it to be similar to but better than my outgoing 997 turbo S. From the reports I read, those who have the necessary skills can extract performance on a par with 458 and 12C and at a somewhat lower cost than those two options. Not an issue in my case but I guess a nice to have. So there you have it. It makes sense to me though no doubt others may take a different view. Roll on 1 March 2014.
garyw
Moderator
Nice report Nick, I get the thinking behind what you're doing- along with the man maths equation [] The base Turbo was £96K, so were pretty much on the money... The more forums I read the more I hear of dealer stock...! mind you I seem to always end up purchasing my motors over the winter [&:]
] The base Turbo was £96K, so were pretty much on the money... The more forums I read the more I hear of dealer stock...! mind you I seem to always end up purchasing my motors over the winter [&:]
Thanks Gary. Of course with your current motor you have set the bar at Olympian heights thereby making the next move a special challenge. [] I did look at a couple of "opportunities" on "cancelled orders" but none were to my preferred spec so, as I don't do that much motoring in Jan/Feb except diesel thro Europe, I was happy enough to wait for a 14 plate and decline the overtures. [8|]
] I did look at a couple of "opportunities" on "cancelled orders" but none were to my preferred spec so, as I don't do that much motoring in Jan/Feb except diesel thro Europe, I was happy enough to wait for a 14 plate and decline the overtures. [8|]
garyw
Moderator
I obviously didn't give it enough sarcasm in my post first time then... [ORIGINAL: tscaptainI have now and, in this instance, I suspect my concept of fun doesn't match yours....[ORIGINAL: garyw Ah, have you not seen the thread on PH? have a look- its fun!! [
] and in case have another []
rholyoake
New member
Thanks Nick for being the only one to respond to my question. An interesting story and certainly be looking out for your updates post 1st March. I am sure it will be great. For me, I conclude that there's just not enough there to tempt me into a new one, either today, next month or at anytime. Its got more to do with the new turbo not being "different enough", rather than change for the sake of change because the car is 3 years old. For now, the turbo will remain in the garage (depreciating rapidly no doubt!) whilst I delight myself with my new Cayenne (which I find a quite extraordinary car). I might have a look at the GT3 in the New Year as I don't see the same amount of post-sale discussion going on there!
Just because you can buy a turbo doesn't mean you should of course. I asked my dealer about ordering a GT3. He told me he would need a £10k deposit and would only be able to tell me if they can actually supply a car by the end of next year. If nothing else, the extraordinary demand for the GT3 should tell Porsche all they need to know about the cars they should be producing and the price point they should be producing them at.
A quick check on the configurator suggests that: GT3 specified to base 991 turbo S level £121k. Basic 991 turbo plus sport chrono £121k Not too sure what that proves except that comparing a base GT3 at £100k with a "base" turbo S at £141 isn't exactly apples with apples
Interesting chat with my Centre's service manager today. He tells me that the Turbo 'S' needs a hydraulic pump for the PDCC system, so it's also used for power steering as well and doesn't therefore suffer the electric steering characteristics of other models.[] Regards, Clive.
] Regards, Clive.I wonder if this applies to other 991 models optioned with PDCC.ORIGINAL: Lancerlot Interesting chat with my Centre's service manager today. He tells me that the Turbo 'S' needs a hydraulic pump for the PDCC system, so it's also used for power steering as well and doesn't therefore suffer the electric steering characteristics of other models.[
And if not , why not? If it is the case with other 991 models then surely someone would have mentioned it by now! Anyway, according to the Porsche website the Turbo S has "Electromechanical power steering with variable steering ratio" http://www.porsche.com/uk/models/911/911-turbo-s/featuresandspecs/
Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members
Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions
