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Porsche 911

2170 messages,  Last post on Mar 20, 2013 at 9:25 PM

You are in the Porsche 911 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Porsche 911, Porsche Carrera GT, Coupe, Convertible

Messages Page 49 of 218

#473 of 2170 Re: New 997 as a highway tourer or am I nuts? [blckislandguy] by habitat1

Jan 31, 2006 (6:28 am)

Replying to: blckislandguy (Jan 30, 2006 8:09 pm)
Actually, the MSRP for the 2006 Speed Yellow is $102,600, $220 less than my 2005 Seal Grey. My 2005 would sticker out at $105,400+/- in 2006.
 
The differences are that I am foregoing the $2,400 (now $2,500) sport exhaust. (Sounds great, but I had to draw the line somewhere). My 2005 also had $220 Headrest Crests and $415 Metal Door Sill Insignias that I'm not getting. Plus, I'm saving $825 on non-Metalic Paint. With that kitty of savings, I added a sport shifter ($765) and replaced the black leather ($1520) power seats ($1550) with adaptive sport seats ($3055). I also opted for the $390 extra 5-spoke "Classic" wheel which, if nothing else, will save me 15 minutes of washing and cleaning time every week over the standard Cab S wheel. The 2006 base price went up $2,500.
 
The "Sport Chrono" package has proven to be one of my favorite options in my 2005. The "chrono" half is somewhat frivolous - a stopwatch mounted up on the center of the dash that you can use to measure trip times (or lap times if you go to a track). But the "sport" half is a real treat. Press the sport button in the center console and the throttle response is immediately bumped up to feel like you added an instant 30 horsepower. If you recall from the video link Don provided, you can almost see the driver get tossed back when he activates it.
 
You might want to look at Porsche's website and go to the link that gives you individual dealers' inventories. Some dealers list the MSRP of their cars in stock. $102,600 for a 2006 Cab S is probably about average. Every once in awhile, you see a really loaded car - full leather interior, special wheels, etc. - for $110,000+. But you don't find too many "strippers" with much less than $5,000 worth of options.
 
My dealer would have wanted a binding commitment from me if I had wanted sport exhaust, full leather, or any "custom" options. However, he also would have wanted a binding commitment if I DIDN'T want Navigation, Bose and at least Power Seats. He indicated that a 911 without those is very tough to re-sell. You might want to consider those options, even on a "base" C4.
 
Good luck.

#474 of 2170 Re: New 997 as a highway tourer or am I nuts? [habitat1] by blckislandguy

Jan 31, 2006 (6:20 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 31, 2006 6:28 am)
Habitat1, thanks. These options can add up. The Cayenne, for example, has a "soft" look leather option (on top of regular leather) for about $800. It makes the seats look like someone wrestled on them on Prom Night. In retrospect I wish I had ordered the Bose surround sound on the Cay. I didn't, reasoning that I listened to only right wing talk radio and country music with 61 year old ears that spent a year behind a 81 mm mortor tube. I now wish I had gone for the Bose.
 
I have read in Motor Trend (I know,...) that the full leather interior is almost a necessity.

#475 of 2170 Re: New 997 as a highway tourer or am I nuts? [blckislandguy] by habitat1

Feb 01, 2006 (6:23 am)

Replying to: blckislandguy (Jan 31, 2006 6:20 pm)
"I have read in Motor Trend (I know,...) that the full leather interior is almost a necessity."
 
Full leather looks very nice, but at $3,400, it doesn't "look" as nice as the $2,500 sport exhaust "sounds" in my opinion. I wonder if Motor Trend's opinion that it is almost a necessity was rendered on the old 996 interior rather than the new 997? When I was in the dealership, they tried to tempt me with a leftover 2005 911TT Cab (996) at a very hefty discount. But even with the full leather in that car, it was two rungs down the ladder from the interior of the 997, IMO. They need to sell the 996 Turbo to someone who hasn't seen the insides of a 997.
 
Other than the Nav, Bose and Heated Seats (mandatory for a Cab), most of my other options are performance oriented. You can really get carried away on the cosmetic options if you start checking everything like custom colors, painted this and leather that, etc. When I was considering a Boxster S late last summer instead of the 911, there was a 2006 GT Silver/Terracotta Full Leather one that was loaded up with other options for an MSRP of $76,000 +/- at an Ohio dealership. Cancelled custom order. It's still sitting there 5 months later, and I suspect will have to be sold at $5k+ under invoice (I was offered $2k under last September).
 
But wait, before I correctly get called on it, the major factor for my possible trade is to go from Seal Grey to Speed Yellow (using my daughters as an excuse). So I guess I shouldn't question anyone else's choice of cosmetic upgrades.

#476 of 2170 Re: 997 Turbo [clsclass] by td2

Feb 01, 2006 (7:37 am)

Replying to: clsclass (Jan 30, 2006 8:23 am)
I owned a 2004 996 turbo, I drive it for 2 years (5000+)miles a year and I never had a mechanical problem. The interior quality was horrible though, especially compared to the 997. I am sure that a 997 turbo will be bullet proof and fast, I have one on order. TD

#477 of 2170 No Troll by blckislandguy

Feb 01, 2006 (8:21 pm)

I swear this is not a troll. I realize that this is a 911 Forum but consider this. Maserati has an ad in this morning's WSJ for their four door Maserati Quartroporte for 109K. The car looks great, you won't see 20 of them at your next dental convention, has a neat 6 speed stick shift with paddles, a somewhat peaky engine, and gets good reviews. While 109K is more than a base 997, by the time guys like habitat1 get through with their order form they are in 6 digits anyway so there isn't much difference. Just a thought.
 
Speaking of paddles, this week's Automotive News reports that Maser finds the paddle shift a hard sell at that price point because everyone (i.e., the Bentley GT buyer) wants an automatic. Incidentally, the Automotive News is THE trade journal for anyone in the industry. For car nuts like us it is like General Westmoreland being put on the North Vietnames Army publications distribution list.

#478 of 2170 Re: No Troll [blckislandguy] by habitat1

Feb 02, 2006 (4:52 am)

Replying to: blckislandguy (Feb 01, 2006 8:21 pm)
There are a lot of $100k+ alternatives to consider if you are that uncertain of what you are looking for.
 
The 911 is a sports car. That is what I wanted. That it happens to hold my kids in the dimunitive back seat helped justify $35-40k premium over the Boxster S. There really weren't that many true sports car alternatives out there. I drove the $95k Maserati Spyder. Not as quick as the 911, doesn't handle as well as my former $32k Honda S2000, no back seat for the kids, and depreciates like crazy. I do not consider the new Aston Martin V8 a sports car, but rather a sporty GT.
 
You appear to looking more for a long distance highway cruiser than a sports car. I could rattle off 10 cars you should consider, ranging from the Aston, to the SL500/SL55, to my personal super sedan favorite, the V10 BMW M5 (which will be available with a 6 speed in several months). But the Maserati Quatroporte would NOT be on my list. EVER.
 
You have me by about a dozen years, so I know you are old enough to remember the old Quatroporte. Maserati's answer to the BMW M6 with two extra doors. It was a piece of junk. You got all the fun of Italian maintenance problems without any of the real performance. One poor guy I worked with in 1982 bought one. Don't remember exactly what he paid for it, but I remember he sold it about 18 months later for well less than 50% of what he paid. You couldn't give them away. It just about broke him.
 
"While 109K is more than a base 997, by the time guys like habitat1 get through with their order form they are in 6 digits anyway so there isn't much difference. Just a thought."
 
Wrong. There is a HUGE difference. While a loaded 911 and Maseratti may cost about the same up front, I can just about guarantee you that the 911 - a perennial leader in resale value - will be worth significantly more than the Maseratti in 2,3,4,5+ years. After I went to drive the $95k Spyder last September, I was called back with an offer for a pristine one year old one with 9,000 miles for $58k. Do the math.
 
Want the cheapest alternative? Pony up $195k for a real Ferrari 430, rather than their downscale division's Q-porte. Drive it for a couple of years. Sell it for damn near what you paid for it. But don't drive it more than 4,000 miles a year. If you actually want a sports car you can drive, you'll be back looking at the 911. Alternatively, if you want 4 doors, a BMW M5 or even 550i 6-speed will get you a lot more pleasure than the pain of a Masserati.

#479 of 2170 Re: No Troll [habitat1] by blckislandguy

Feb 02, 2006 (7:56 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Feb 02, 2006 4:52 am)
Habitat1, yep, I agree with every word. You're right: initial pricing is not to be confused with life cycle cost, of which depreciation can be the largest component.

#480 of 2170 Most Exciting Day of 2006 by bhu

Feb 04, 2006 (10:55 pm)

I'm Back. After a 4.5 year hiatus from the great pleasure of owning a 911 Cabriolet, today I picked up a new Arctic Silver 997 C4 Cab from Danbury Porsche in CT. It feels like all is right with the world again. In 2001, I traded in my 1999 996 Cab for an ML500 when we had our daughter. Lived in the city, so we only needed one car. Last year, we moved to CT, and I got a GX470 for my wife and I got stuck driving the unbelievably problematic ML. I would have stayed with Mercedes for family cars and sedans if their quality-to-value ratio didn't drop 10 leaps below Lexus over the years. Before yeasterday, I had been searching for a new car for literally 4 months. I was indifferent to the whole experience as I was looking at Audi A8, A6, BMW 5-series AWD, Lexus LS430, etc...I was even looking at a 3-series convertible as recently as last week, (I know I just lost my cred with 98% of you here,) since I thought a convertible would be a lot more fun. I was so far into the deal as to have the trade-in all negotiated and my insurance sent in. Overall, a very indecisive shopping experience. Yesterday, my wife suggested that I should probably get a 4WD instead of a convertible, which made sense considering it is winter in CT/NYC. So I started driving down to the BMW dealer to pick up a 5-series AWD though I was indifferent to the prospect of buying and driving a new car, which should have been fun for any guy that loves cars. By some act of the universe, I ended up driving past the BMW dealership over to Danbury Porsche at about 3pm on Friday to revisit a 2002 996 C4 Cab (17,000 miles - $59,000)...which was from a previous non-serious visit a few weeks back. Well, after driving the pre-owned 911, I realized once again that there is no substitute. Covertible and 4WD!! And a car that has any driver grinning like a chessire cat.
 
In my state of perpetual grin after driving the pre-owned 911, I took a peak at a new 997 C4 Cab. Even though I was planning on looking at numbers on the used one and knew there was no possiblity of the $98.5k MSRP 997, I mentioned it to the sales manager. Within 20 minutes of looking at leasing scenarios, I pulled the trigger on the brand new 997 without even driving it. By noon this morning, I had my insurance set and by 2PM, I was home. I would have had the deal done within 1 hour on Friday if it were not for the close of business on Friday and if I had not had a prior engagement. And I now feel great again.
 
There are two very important lessons is this: If you're well-heeled and love cars, don't mess around, just get what you can afford. As long as you're a guy, you'll love cars that go really fast. Looking at practical automotive options in the $45-70k range is only going to bore you if you've seen the other side of the mountain. The second lesson is this: If you're feeling indecisive, you are very likely to make very poor decisions or even worse...stuck in non-decision mode. When the car fits, it will be no decision at all and you will glide through the process like butter.
 
Nothing beats a 911.

#481 of 2170 Good for you bhu by dweiser

Feb 05, 2006 (7:17 pm)

I'm loving my 997 C4 Cab. Got it in November and with the warm Winter (so far) have had the top down many days. Good luck with your new baby.
What tires did yours come with if you don't mind me asking?
Mine came with Bridgestone Potenzas.

#482 of 2170 Need Advice by bosco42

Feb 06, 2006 (5:30 pm)

hello everyone..i have been reading this board for a while but i am new to posting here. i am considering buying a 2006 C2 or C2 Cab and i am wondering how much of a discount off the MSRP would be considered a "good buy". aslo can anybody recommend a dealer in the NY area that would give the best prices and is above board to deal with. Thanks in advance.

Messages Page 49 of 218

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