The school bus driver's first 911
#1
12-29-2012, 07:27 PM
The school bus driver's first 911
Greetings 997 6ers!
Semi-lurker here. Posted this up a few weeks ago in 991 when we were deliberating, but we pulled the trigger on a 997 so here we are. If you read it over there, skip to the bottom for details & pics. A forewarning that this is quite lengthy, but since it seems folks around here tend to like stories and pictures I figured I'd oblige you.
This is my wife Mags about 15 years ago:
That's her first car, a 1972 Mach 1 Mustang that her dad brought home on a flatbed/in boxes and told her if she wanted a car she had to put it back together.
They did together, she drove it a few years and then ended up selling it to a collector.
Back in 05-07 when we were preparing to marry and for her to move here we began a long term shopping process for a car for her. We shopped the whole gamut from Scion TC & Saturn Sky to Aston Martin Vantage. Initially we weren't that interested in Porsche, both having the impression that they were status cars. I chalk this up to living in a car enthusiast wonderland like SoCal where you see so many sports/exotic cars and owners (of varied motivations). Thankfully we had a great customer service experience with a sales associate at a local dealer. He educated us on the brand, history and the entire model range, insisting that we drive everything in various permutations in order to see for ourself.
And so began a regular occurrence over a few month period, heading down to see him for a few hours on a weekend to continue our initiation. He had no qualms about doing whatever necessary to get us seat time, even if it meant moving a half dozen cars to pull something out of the showroom (as he once did, because Mags liked the color). Making the already great experience even better was the test drive loop. Unlike most of the urban LA dealerships, this dealer was situated at the foot of one of the legendary canyon run roads and so our typical route was to run to the top of the hill and turn around to head back down. Sadly, this route was eventually killed by neighbors complaints and their route became a much more typical "round the block" run. We really enjoyed what we learned there, but this was early in our shopping process and our search continued. Unfortunately, we fell out of touch with the salesman, stopping by one day further in our process we were informed he'd moved on.
Flash forward a number of months, dealers and test drives and we've settled on a choice between a Lotus Elise and a Boxster. We loved the go kart feelings of the Elise, but were ultimately swayed by getting 90% of those kicks in the Boxster which happened to be about 1000% more practical for a DD. Being a bit of a geek, I of course wanted a S with PASM, SC and any other performance option we could get. Instead, the right car would come along as a lightly used 0 option base 2005 Boxster in Speed Yellow with black Gemballa Competition wheels. Mags was in love and I dutifully went along with her.
\
The first week of ownership I drove the car on my daily 60mile RT commute and instantly fell in love. The steering and suspension communicated so much, and it was such a blast to drive! Who needs all those options! We fell deeply in love with the car (named "Betty"), joined PCA, and decided we'd never be without a Porsche for the rest of our lives. Mags has driven Betty ever since, to just a smidge over 80k miles in the 5.5yrs we've had her.
Part of the initial decision to shop for a Boxster was Mags demand for a convertible and her dislike for the lines ("bubble butt") of the 996/997 911 Cab. We both admired and appreciated the heritage of the 911 but had become adamant fans of the mid-engine platform. I sometimes flirted with 997s and became absolutely enamored with a glass roof targa, something that Mags shared as the exception 911 that she'd love to own.
Then 2011 came and 2 funny little things happened:
Some around here may recognize Mags in this picture:
A shot from when she filmed this commercial:
after being cast in response to a call for real Porsche owners. (She is not at all an actress, just did it on a whim when our friends at Beverly Hills Porsche tipped us off. But that whole crazy adventure is a thread in itself!) Key to this story is she spent all day buzzing around a closed residential neighborhood in a brand new Turbo, and quite enjoyed it.
The second is of course, the 991 release
Something about the slight update to the lines, especially on the hips & rear, changed everything for us. We were smitten by the new 991. We vowed to wait and see how the 981 Boxster and Cayman turned out. When they came to pass, we found ourselves with a tough choice.
We were in the market and position to move on from our first p-car love. Mags only requests were Bluetooth, a sunroof (glass if possible) and minor wishlists of PSE, PDK and/or ventilated seats. She tends to keep her cars (longer than me at least!) and so it will probably pull DD for 5+ years. It'd be nice if it could accomodate a dog or kid, so we ended up leaning away from the Boxsters we love towards a 911.
We eneded up torn between a *smoking* deal on a leftover 2012 Targa 4s or a 991 base in the same neighborhood. The 991 was Targa-ish, with a glass sunroof and a nice array of sport & comfort options (prem pkg plus, pdk, pasm, sc, pse)
Ultimately, we couldn't pass up the last of it's kind Targa and went with it! We decided that the 991, while great, would be there in a few years but for now we'd take what could be the last delivery of a 997 Targa.
Targa 4s:
Black on Black (Full Leather)
686 - SiriusXM(TM) Sat Radio Tuner
680 - BOSE(R) Surround Sound System
672 - Extend Navigation Mod-PCM 3.0
640 - Sport Chrono Package Plus
635 - ParkAssist System (Rear)
603 - Bi-Xenon(TM)hdlghts incl.PDLS
541 - Ventilated Seats (Front)
438 - Comfort seat (right)
437 - Comfort seat (left)
P15 - 12-Way Power Seats
267 - Self Dimming Mirrors
XXG - Clear Taillights
XSC - Porsche Crest Emboss Headrest
XMZ - Center Console in Leather
XMP - Sun Visors in Leather
XD9 - Wheels Paint in Exterior Color
P36 - Infotainment Package
P35 - Comfort Package
342 - Heated Seats (Front)
We've always wanted a Targa, and given the massive discount would go a fair way towards eliminating the depreciation lost by driving off the lot it wass very attractive. I also feel that, while not being an investment, the rareness of the Targa and impending reversion to removable roof instead of glass kinda make this a great example of the end of the 997. Great enough that we might just keep it forever, but if we don't it might hedge some of the depreciation vs any other leftover new 997 we could have bought.
We ended up letting the Boxster go. With Targa also being 6MT and so close to a convertible experience, there was too much similar to hang on to it. It wasn't easy though, Mags got a little emotional saying goodbye.
We've had it for a few weeks and are mostly in love. Mags loves the targa and all of the glass, but is still getting acquainted to the size/power/handling differences between the 997 and 987. We had a lovely morning last saturday with a PCA breakfast followed by a spirited run getting lost in the Malibu mountains, and Mags raved the whole way while driving that it's just what she needed.
It's been quite the contrast coming from a 0 option car to a fully loaded one. The richness of the full leather is intoxicating and between Suncoast, Exclusive Option and MACarbon I've kept my OCD tendancies coming up with a plan to fill out the few missing leather pieces as well as getting rid of the ugly gray plastic. But the mods are already starting to trickle in. I've got silver/black crest caps coming for the wheels so that I can switch the hood crest out for silver/black/red. Thanks to Redline, an awesome 6er, I've got a used Sharkwerks pipe on it's way to me as we speak. Huge props to Sharkwerks as well, who went above and beyond in responding to my request to buy a set of hardware/fasteners. KIStudios (thanks to SM_ATL for the tip) wins the medal for first mod to arrive, a set of headlight rings will go on soon. And of course, clears are in the cards but the dealer was out when we took delivery.
With that, I think I've babbled on enough. If you made it all the way through, I appreciate and applaud you! I'll leave you with a few more pics.
Semi-lurker here. Posted this up a few weeks ago in 991 when we were deliberating, but we pulled the trigger on a 997 so here we are. If you read it over there, skip to the bottom for details & pics. A forewarning that this is quite lengthy, but since it seems folks around here tend to like stories and pictures I figured I'd oblige you.
This is my wife Mags about 15 years ago:
That's her first car, a 1972 Mach 1 Mustang that her dad brought home on a flatbed/in boxes and told her if she wanted a car she had to put it back together.
They did together, she drove it a few years and then ended up selling it to a collector.Back in 05-07 when we were preparing to marry and for her to move here we began a long term shopping process for a car for her. We shopped the whole gamut from Scion TC & Saturn Sky to Aston Martin Vantage. Initially we weren't that interested in Porsche, both having the impression that they were status cars. I chalk this up to living in a car enthusiast wonderland like SoCal where you see so many sports/exotic cars and owners (of varied motivations). Thankfully we had a great customer service experience with a sales associate at a local dealer. He educated us on the brand, history and the entire model range, insisting that we drive everything in various permutations in order to see for ourself.
And so began a regular occurrence over a few month period, heading down to see him for a few hours on a weekend to continue our initiation. He had no qualms about doing whatever necessary to get us seat time, even if it meant moving a half dozen cars to pull something out of the showroom (as he once did, because Mags liked the color). Making the already great experience even better was the test drive loop. Unlike most of the urban LA dealerships, this dealer was situated at the foot of one of the legendary canyon run roads and so our typical route was to run to the top of the hill and turn around to head back down. Sadly, this route was eventually killed by neighbors complaints and their route became a much more typical "round the block" run. We really enjoyed what we learned there, but this was early in our shopping process and our search continued. Unfortunately, we fell out of touch with the salesman, stopping by one day further in our process we were informed he'd moved on.
Flash forward a number of months, dealers and test drives and we've settled on a choice between a Lotus Elise and a Boxster. We loved the go kart feelings of the Elise, but were ultimately swayed by getting 90% of those kicks in the Boxster which happened to be about 1000% more practical for a DD. Being a bit of a geek, I of course wanted a S with PASM, SC and any other performance option we could get. Instead, the right car would come along as a lightly used 0 option base 2005 Boxster in Speed Yellow with black Gemballa Competition wheels. Mags was in love and I dutifully went along with her.
\The first week of ownership I drove the car on my daily 60mile RT commute and instantly fell in love. The steering and suspension communicated so much, and it was such a blast to drive! Who needs all those options! We fell deeply in love with the car (named "Betty"), joined PCA, and decided we'd never be without a Porsche for the rest of our lives. Mags has driven Betty ever since, to just a smidge over 80k miles in the 5.5yrs we've had her.
Part of the initial decision to shop for a Boxster was Mags demand for a convertible and her dislike for the lines ("bubble butt") of the 996/997 911 Cab. We both admired and appreciated the heritage of the 911 but had become adamant fans of the mid-engine platform. I sometimes flirted with 997s and became absolutely enamored with a glass roof targa, something that Mags shared as the exception 911 that she'd love to own.
Then 2011 came and 2 funny little things happened:
Some around here may recognize Mags in this picture:
A shot from when she filmed this commercial:
The second is of course, the 991 release
Something about the slight update to the lines, especially on the hips & rear, changed everything for us. We were smitten by the new 991. We vowed to wait and see how the 981 Boxster and Cayman turned out. When they came to pass, we found ourselves with a tough choice.
We were in the market and position to move on from our first p-car love. Mags only requests were Bluetooth, a sunroof (glass if possible) and minor wishlists of PSE, PDK and/or ventilated seats. She tends to keep her cars (longer than me at least!) and so it will probably pull DD for 5+ years. It'd be nice if it could accomodate a dog or kid, so we ended up leaning away from the Boxsters we love towards a 911.
We eneded up torn between a *smoking* deal on a leftover 2012 Targa 4s or a 991 base in the same neighborhood. The 991 was Targa-ish, with a glass sunroof and a nice array of sport & comfort options (prem pkg plus, pdk, pasm, sc, pse)
Ultimately, we couldn't pass up the last of it's kind Targa and went with it! We decided that the 991, while great, would be there in a few years but for now we'd take what could be the last delivery of a 997 Targa.
Targa 4s:
Black on Black (Full Leather)
686 - SiriusXM(TM) Sat Radio Tuner
680 - BOSE(R) Surround Sound System
672 - Extend Navigation Mod-PCM 3.0
640 - Sport Chrono Package Plus
635 - ParkAssist System (Rear)
603 - Bi-Xenon(TM)hdlghts incl.PDLS
541 - Ventilated Seats (Front)
438 - Comfort seat (right)
437 - Comfort seat (left)
P15 - 12-Way Power Seats
267 - Self Dimming Mirrors
XXG - Clear Taillights
XSC - Porsche Crest Emboss Headrest
XMZ - Center Console in Leather
XMP - Sun Visors in Leather
XD9 - Wheels Paint in Exterior Color
P36 - Infotainment Package
P35 - Comfort Package
342 - Heated Seats (Front)
We've always wanted a Targa, and given the massive discount would go a fair way towards eliminating the depreciation lost by driving off the lot it wass very attractive. I also feel that, while not being an investment, the rareness of the Targa and impending reversion to removable roof instead of glass kinda make this a great example of the end of the 997. Great enough that we might just keep it forever, but if we don't it might hedge some of the depreciation vs any other leftover new 997 we could have bought.
We ended up letting the Boxster go. With Targa also being 6MT and so close to a convertible experience, there was too much similar to hang on to it. It wasn't easy though, Mags got a little emotional saying goodbye.
We've had it for a few weeks and are mostly in love. Mags loves the targa and all of the glass, but is still getting acquainted to the size/power/handling differences between the 997 and 987. We had a lovely morning last saturday with a PCA breakfast followed by a spirited run getting lost in the Malibu mountains, and Mags raved the whole way while driving that it's just what she needed.
It's been quite the contrast coming from a 0 option car to a fully loaded one. The richness of the full leather is intoxicating and between Suncoast, Exclusive Option and MACarbon I've kept my OCD tendancies coming up with a plan to fill out the few missing leather pieces as well as getting rid of the ugly gray plastic. But the mods are already starting to trickle in. I've got silver/black crest caps coming for the wheels so that I can switch the hood crest out for silver/black/red. Thanks to Redline, an awesome 6er, I've got a used Sharkwerks pipe on it's way to me as we speak. Huge props to Sharkwerks as well, who went above and beyond in responding to my request to buy a set of hardware/fasteners. KIStudios (thanks to SM_ATL for the tip) wins the medal for first mod to arrive, a set of headlight rings will go on soon. And of course, clears are in the cards but the dealer was out when we took delivery.
With that, I think I've babbled on enough. If you made it all the way through, I appreciate and applaud you!
I'll leave you with a few more pics.
#2
12-29-2012, 08:45 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Ramon Valley, CA
Posts: 554
Rep Power: 38 
#6
12-29-2012, 10:23 PM
Nice write up.
You'll love your Targa 4S.
Mine is an '08 white/beige and is not a DD w/only 8K miles.
Only real mod that I've done is Gundo hack (highly recommend or something similar)
You'll love your Targa 4S.
Mine is an '08 white/beige and is not a DD w/only 8K miles.
Only real mod that I've done is Gundo hack (highly recommend or something similar)
Last edited by mark12345; 12-29-2012 at 10:40 PM.
#7
12-29-2012, 10:27 PM
Congrats! I love my Targa and hope you both do too! It's classy at night, panoramic in the day and warm and comforting in the rain! I'm really glad I added 200 cell cats, racing headers, a IPD Plenum and Innotech mufflers! It made the car sound and feel much more lively!
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#8
12-29-2012, 11:14 PM
Sqweak, excellent story and well done. As an aside, I had not yet seen S wheels in exterior color and therefore didn't realize they have silver trim. Would love to see a close up pic.
Congrats!
Congrats!
#9
12-30-2012, 01:03 AM
Thanks to you both!
We have long standing relationships there with Jay Huffschmidt and Isaac Feldman. We also worked with Jeff Lamont as our sales manager to finish out the deal. All were fantastic, I can't recommend those guys enough. As I said in your thread, thanks again for the heads up on Exclusive Option. I've been creating a shopping list. You and I have similar tastes so it's nice to see your pics of some ideas I've been considering!
Likewise! We're trying to make it out to more events. I hope to be running my beater 944 in some POC and PCA events soon.
Classy combo! I looked in to the Gundo, and the commercial versions of it. For now I decided to take the Sharkwerks bypass as a first step into that world. If it's not enough, we may try Gundo before jumping into the deep end of tubi or PSE retrofit. As it's her daily and she is sensative to drone (and appearance around clients) the push button on/off of PSE does hold a special attraction for her.
It's by far our favorite thing, all that glass is amazing. As you mention, it's especially neat at night or during rain to feel like you've got the top down but without the discomfort or hassle! So far we almost never close the sunshade. 
Wow that's quite the collection of exhaust mods! The sound is definitely too sedate, but I'm hopeful we can find the right balance to liven it up!
Thanks! I'll take some close ups and post here for you soon. As I understand it the lip is a recent thing, maybe 11 or 12 on (cross generation/platform). Prior to that black (and exterior color?) painted wheels left no silver lip.
Likewise! We're trying to make it out to more events. I hope to be running my beater 944 in some POC and PCA events soon.
Congrats! I love my Targa and hope you both do too! It's classy at night, panoramic in the day and warm and comforting in the rain! I'm really glad I added 200 cell cats, racing headers, a IPD Plenum and Innotech mufflers! It made the car sound and feel much more lively!
Wow that's quite the collection of exhaust mods! The sound is definitely too sedate, but I'm hopeful we can find the right balance to liven it up!
Thanks! I'll take some close ups and post here for you soon. As I understand it the lip is a recent thing, maybe 11 or 12 on (cross generation/platform). Prior to that black (and exterior color?) painted wheels left no silver lip.
#10
12-30-2012, 01:50 AM
Registered User
Man, that commercial was amazing & the way your wife presented the "everydayness" of the 911 had always left an impression in my mind- her & the older guy who gets in the GTS & revs it!
Congrats!
Congrats!
#11
12-30-2012, 02:16 AM
The GTS guy was another actual owner, and similar circumstances. Not much direction other than to behave as he would after a long day. Several of the other vignettes were also owners, by far the minority were the pro actors. It's a really neat footnote to the campaign that I wish they would have been more vocal about.
Goes to show that there's value that money can't buy in capturing real enthusiasts passion and emotion.
