I've got to imagine there are two basic school's of thought when it comes to buying a new 991:

1. Porsche is constantly evolving as evidenced by the new 991... New chassis, new engine, new innovations such as sound composer, etc. They supposedly put over 2M miles on the test mules so they say these cars are ready for prime time.Their daily R&D budget is probably larger than some countries GDP so there's little doubt that this car will be rock solid.

2. "I never buy a first year car". Look at the HPFP recall, issues with the 996 when it hit the market. Same goes for the new Cayenne, etc. I'll let the market "beta" test the 991 and buy it in year two or three.

So clearly we have early adopters here but I'd love to see a balanced discussion on why people are buying now and why others are choosing to wait. I'm leaning heavily towards to buying one now vs. waiting but if I'm honest it's because I'm letting emotion override the risk of buying a year one car. I'm guessing that's the rationale that most early adopters would admit to if pressed.

Thoughts?

 

four year warranty...buy when you want

 

A warranty doesn't take away the aggravation of owning a problematic car. I've owned first year models in the past and while most issues were simply annoying (rattles and the like) it's still no fun taking your car to the dealer for service.

 

If it gets fixed right and promptly when you take it in, you'll forget about the inconvenience.

Most modifications are fixed when the car is in for something else and you probably would never have known about the problem.

Now, if you live a long way from your servicing dealer or have a bad dealer, any service or repair is dreadful.

Even though some cars are problematic, the problem is way overblown on the internet. Unhappy people make more noise than satisfied people.

 

Personally I've been yearning for a 911 ever since I sold my previous one. In the interim I purchased a Cayenne GTS, however, the need for an SUV was just not there. Then came my dilemma, buy a 997 or wait for the new 991. For me I felt if I bought a 997, I would always wonder what I was missing in the new model. If I waited for the 991's to arrive to figure this out etc, my Cayenne would depreciate even further (traded it to dealer 4 months ago when I pre ordered). I decided to stop going back and forth in my mind and pre order the 991. Now all I have to fear is the first model year woes. Fingers crossed. Not sure if this makes sense, but as of this moment it does to me.

 

No issues with my 2005 97.1 and then no issues with my 2009 997.2. I do not anticipate the 991 experience wil be different. If it is, well the factory will fix it and the dealer gives me great loaner cars!

 

My 991S is rock-solid so far. no problems, leaks, rattles, whatsoever. Glad I bought it when I did.

 

I'd go for it now. I beleive there is always something to look forward to with each model year improvement...so the longer you wait you may be tempted to wait for the next and so on. As most stated, warranty covers the vehicle so low risk IMO.

 

Life's too short to worry. Buy what you want when you want when you can afford it.

Personally, I had the option of build to order 2012 997 GTS or waiting for a 991. Opted for the 2012 997 GTS with a plan of looking at what 991 variant is available in about 3 years or so. The 2012 997 GTS is PLENTY enough car for me to handle. I'm sure the 991 S is fantastic as well.

 

I think there is always a possibility of a few niggly issues with any new model particularly in the first few batches made. I experienced my fair share of problems with my 997S which was one of the last of the 04 builds delivered 05, however for all of that it was an awsome car. Looking back on the deal i have absolutely no regrets tipping out of my 996 given the direction the prices quickly took. Maybe if it had not been such a greatly improved car to drive i would be thinking differently about the inconveniences but as spikep pointed out sometimes time is not on your side when you weigh up the costs of holding onto a rapidly depreciating earlier car vs paying the premium. So you make your move and take your chances. And it's not as if Porsche doesn't go all out to satisfy you if any problems do surface. Funny thing was my bro got one of the first 05 builds and never had an ounce of trouble and, he never spared the welly (boot). Not that i was a lightfoot either.

My philosophy is Lifes too short so why wait if you can swing it....

 

Always wait 1 MY. There are incremental changes with each MY, especially after the initial launch. Many improvements go unannounced and there is always the possibility of new options (eg. X51 was not available on MY2009 997.2)

 

No worries whatsoever. I had a 1st year 986 and a 1st year 987 with no major issues. A warranty will take care of any that come up with the 991.

 

You did hear stories of 997.2's with HPFP failures where the cars were in the shop for 30+ days. Now if you are on a lease you are still making big payments and losing a portion of the lease term while the car sits in the shop. So there would definitely be some loss of use/value. Also the techs are still not very familiar with the cars. The lack of experience on the part of the techs caused problems when the 996's came out and when the 997.2 DFI engines came out.

If it was me I would wait for a year or so. Bugs will get worked out, techs will get more experience and prices will drop, both for used 991's and for new ones as the discounts will increase. This happened with the 996's and the 997's.

You will also have the option for Cabs, 7 speeds, C4's, etc.

 

My first 911 was a first year 996 and I was anxious too. I loved that car, one of the reasons being, it gave me zero problems in the five years I had it. Like nothing but regular maintenance.

 

Ok...then wait...you have your answer.