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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 85 of 218

#833 of 2170 Tail of the Dragon by decisions1

Jul 10, 2006 (5:07 pm)

WOW!! I imagine this magnificient 11+ mile stretch of twisting turning road - the Tail of the Dragon - has been a topic of discussion before, but I had never heard of it until I happened to find myself vacationing very close by last week along the southern border of the Smokey Mountains. Fortunately, I had my new C4S handy and had just recently topped 2000 miles on the odometer, so I was able to fully enjoy myself with several runs on a couple of different days. Dweiser, I take it you've had the opportunity to experience this thing? It's difficult for me to imagine a better stretch of road to experience the FULL handling capabilities of a 911, gotta be one of the top 5 best public road stretches in the world to test your porsche, if not THE best.
 
Also, the good word is that the car seemed to top everything on the road! It was mostly various motorcycles making the runs (aka, crotch rockets I'm told), and I initially thought there would be no way the 997 could hang with some of those boys. But, I drove behind a couple of different rocket groups, and honestly, I had to hold back 15-20% to keep from running up on them through the turns. I was pushing that much harder when I had the road to myself! 2 different beemers were not even close. Fantastic experience, it'll reinforce your original purchase decision (as if); not that I had time to look at myself in the rearview, but I do know I had a wall-to-wall grin on my face during half of each run (I also seem to recall feeling a stretched facial expression of terror the other half of the time!). Do try it if you ever get out that way (just google tail of the dragon); hopefully, will get some cool pictures to share.
 
Regards.

#834 of 2170 You lucky guy decisions1 !! by dweiser

Jul 11, 2006 (5:40 pm)

Thanks very much for posting your drives on "The Tail of the Dragon" decisions1. I must (sheepishly) confess that although I live in the area (I'm in western NC) I've not made it over to "The Dragon" yet in my C4 Cab BUT I MUST!! Here are some URLs of it including one (last URL) from a Cayman driver.
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/dragon.html
http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/0608/road_tennessee.html

#835 of 2170 Re: You lucky guy decisions1 !! [dweiser] by kying

Jul 12, 2006 (2:35 pm)

Replying to: dweiser (Jul 11, 2006 5:40 pm)
Now we have to plan a cross country vacation trip with our C4 to North Carolina and Tennessee.
 
The last time my wife and I drove through TN and NC was summer 1978 when we were junior and freshman in college. We thoroughly enjoyed our drive with a 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 with several pretty big dents and an undefined color (somewhere between silver, green, and a lot of rust).
 
By the way, has anyone driven both the "The Tail of the Dragon" and the Angeles Forest/Crest Highway in SCal? I wonder how they compare.

#836 of 2170 997 new vs. used by blckislandguy

Jul 17, 2006 (6:32 pm)

I'll fess right up that, as they say in South Boston, I still have my First Communion money. So, while I'm hot on the trail of a 997, I'd like to spend as little of it as possible. I wonder what the board thinks about the following:
 
1) New '06 or '07 997 C2 Coupe with power leather seats and little else for, say, sticker less $4500-5000.
 
2) A used 997 2005 C2 Coupe with 18 K miles for 66K (asking). The car comes in metallic paint, full leather interior, chrono clock, 19" wheels, Bose, power heated adaptive seats, zenons, PASM, sport shifter, CD changer, Porsche emblem on the back of the seats, etc. etc. from a high end, non-Porsche dealer. The original MSRP was 86K. There are other examples out there for roughly the same price.
 
My rough analysis is that a new '06 or an '07 will cost about 4K more plus have higher insurance, sales tax, and property excise tax. With the '05 I I'd be giving up 18K in miles, a year or more in warranty coverage, and lower resale down the road. However, I'd be getting 20K (at list) in desireable options for free and save a little up front.
 
Any thoughts?

#837 of 2170 Re: 997 new vs. used [blckislandguy] by habitat1

Jul 17, 2006 (9:19 pm)

Replying to: blckislandguy (Jul 17, 2006 6:32 pm)
I'm not going to suggest what would be the right choice for you, because it depends upon a lot of factors, including how long you plan on keeping the car, how much you like those extra options, etc.
 
Consider, however, that the used one will need a 20k service and full tire replacement, if those items haven't already been taken car of. Together, that could be a $2,500 +/- ticket.
 
On the other hand, the used one is already taking a pretty good depreciation hit, so it won't likely decline as much over the next two years as the brand new one would.
 
I didn't have the option of considering a used 997. And a used 996 was of no interest to me.

#838 of 2170 Re: You lucky guy decisions1 !! [kying] by dweiser

Jul 18, 2006 (4:32 pm)

Replying to: kying (Jul 12, 2006 2:35 pm)
Hi kying,
If I can help with road suggestions, things to see, etc. for your trip over here, just ask. I've never been on the Tail. You can find me at whitesquirrelart.com
Don

#839 of 2170 Re: 997 new vs. used [habitat1] by blckislandguy

Jul 18, 2006 (6:29 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Jul 17, 2006 9:19 pm)
Thanks. I hadn't thought about the 20K service and tires.
 
You know its funny but living in New England tires seem to last twice as long! What I mean by that is that like a lot of people with European cars we have two sets of wheels/tires per car. As a result tires "seem" to last longer. My Cayenne with 15K miles has a tremendous amound of tire life left in the summer tires. My wife's XC 70 at 75K miles will never wear out the 8 tires she now has. Someone should point out to people who think they are "blowing $1000 on winter tires" that they're not. Incidentally, Ebay is full of Porsche winter tire/wheel deals.

#840 of 2170 Re: You lucky guy decisions1 !! [dweiser] by kying

Jul 19, 2006 (10:09 am)

Replying to: dweiser (Jul 18, 2006 4:32 pm)
Hi Don,
 
Thanks! I definitely will.
 
Killian

#841 of 2170 997 Targa 4 by bsumner

Jul 25, 2006 (7:39 am)

See the new 997 Targa 4 "web special" at www.porscheusa.com?
 
Interesting. Many thought this wasn't coming. Particularly interesting the Targa is only in Carrera 4 format.
 
-BS

#842 of 2170 Buy the newest 911 you can afford. by harvt

Jul 25, 2006 (11:40 am)

Bruce Anderson the guy who writes the tech column in Bimmer magizine, recommends that one buy the newest 911 they can afford.

Messages Page 85 of 218

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