Yes. But it could be the difference between getting a loaner vehicle or not when you take it in for service. It's quite convenient to drive in, drop off, and usually drive out with a Macan for the day!

 

Ahh, I was hoping to get a GT4 as a loaner. lol

It would stink to drive an hour for every service call. (or maybe it wouldn't)

I took a look at the maintenance schedule/cost and the cost of 4 tires to get a feel for total ownership.

It's getting hard to stay patient. I've been looking online all day log.

On the 981, would you say sports chrono over sport exhaust if I could only get one?

 

I wouldn't drive an hour for maintenance. It doesn't happen that often. Oil changes and safety inspections are usually quick.

Tires aren't bad, especially if you have a winter set. Where you live it's advisable to buy a used set of wheels with winter tires and you'll save your summer tires for summer use. Summer tires won't work in PA over winter. All seasons wouldn't be very fun over summer and aren't going to get the job done in the white stuff.

It's a toss up between SC and PSE. My car is smoother in normal mode versus sport or sport plus. In sport or sport plus PSE comes on automatically. The pops and burbles are nice, but can be OTT at times. But in sport and sport plus (w/SC) you get a definite increase in throttle response. My '14 Cayman S had PSE but not SC and I liked it fine. I didn't have the car long as a Cayman R caught my eye! That one had PSE, SC, PCCB, nav, sat radio, and Bose which was very uncommon for a Cayman R!

 

Would I need winter tires if I don't drive it in the snow? I have another vehicle I would use for snow.

i would still want to drive it over the winter though.

 

Summer tires don't work well in temps below 40F. The colder the pavement the less they grip. You'll just have to judge for yourself, but for sure they won't work with any frozen moisture on the pavement. So you have be very careful. Winter tires aren't just for snow. They provide a lot of grip in freezing or near freezing temps regardless of how wet or dry are the roads.

 

Few more questions and thanks for helping!

Where do you keep your extra set of tires or do you have a set of wheels too. Who changes them out or do you do that too?

The dealer suggested maybe they could get a car in from another dealership. What's the typical comment from the customer to do that? I think I would want to see and drive it before I committed or negotiated a price.

If I go with a CPO, should I be worried there could be anything wrong the car? I don't have a mechanic to come look at it.

Thank you.

 

CPO is a great thing. No different from you being the first owner. It'll be fresh at that point w/zero issues, and Porsche will fix anything that becomes as issue. Cosmetically could be a little different, but not too likely to have issues (small) unless over 25k miles. You need to well inspect what you buy. The car is most apt to perhaps have some scrapes under the nose from parking or steep pavement transitions. If you find dings and signs that someone didn't care for it like their first born then you might want to seek another. The key is to find a car with super low miles. Being a Porsche, that's not hard to find. Many if not most Porsche owners (less the SUVs and Panameras) don't drive their cars daily. I have commuted here and there, but stopped as my commute is just a waste of miles. One reason my Spyder is still under 3,000 miles.

 

Back in 2002 when I was shopping for a new VW Golf TDi -- after having just bought a new Boxster -- I was at the nearby (across the freeway from the Porsche dealer) VW dealer and the dealer didn't have the car I wanted in stock. The saleswoman checked and found a suitable car at some distant site, in TX I think. (The dealer was located in Merriam KS.) She said could have the car brought to the dealership.

I told her my interest in the car was not even a verbal agreement to buy the car as I would still want to road test the car -- this was my first diesel and with only 90hp I wondered if the car had enough get up and go to well, get up and go. Also, there was the question of price. I made it clear if the car showed up I'd only buy it if the road test went well *and* we could agree upon a price.

The saleswoman agreed to those conditions and a few days (less than a week? I can't remember now) was at the dealer. I test drove the car and it was just fine. But we couldn't agree on a price. I started at less than MSRP -- this was in early March 2002 and there were inches of snow on the ground (same conditions as when I bought my new Boxster in Jan.) -- and was not able to make a deal. The sales manager/GM made a refernence that the car had been brought up just for me. I reminded him of the conditions I had stated to the saleswoman at the time and he let that drop.

Anyhow, I left the dealer with no deal and the GM telling me he'd have the car sold that weekend. Two weeks later I checked and the car was still there parked where I had parked it with no signs of having even been entered for any reason, let alone driven. I asked for the keys and checked and the odometer read the same as it had when I parked it. Went back inside and I ended up buying the car for around $600 under MSRP.

For a CPO car things should not be wrong but you should still give the car a thorough used car check out. This starts with a road test, a test *ride* followed by a test drive. The route should be around 15 miles long and give the driver a chance to demo the car as you intend to use the car. IOWs, you want to experience the car in city stop/go driving, boulevard cruising, and on the freeway -- and freeway on ramps, if you know what I mean and I think you do -- to ensure the engine, the entire car, behaves and doesn't manifest any signs of any trouble.

After the test ride back at the starting place swap seats and you drive the car over the same 15 mile route and drive it the same way.

If a manual best sure you test for clutch slippage. In 4th or 5th gear at around 2K RPMs floor the gas pedal and hold down as long as you can, as long as it is safe. The engine RPMs should go up on sync with the increase in vehicle speed. If RPMs soar while the vehicle speed doesn't change the clutch is slipping. It needs to be replaced.

With a Tip/PDK, have the driver do a k-turn with the transmission cold. You want to verify the transmission can handle changes in direction with no signs of any issues: Hesitation, jerkiness, etc.

During your test drive with everything fully up to temperature do a 2nd k-turn to be sure "hot" the transmission can handle the changes in direction with no signs of any issues.

Check the brakes. If you see a 1mm lip around the rotors this is a sign the brakes are near needing replacement. The CPO might not have these done unless a brake warning light is on.

Check tires for wear and age. Porche considers tires past their use by date after 6 years from date of manufacturer. If you buy the car with 5 year old tires you may have to replace them on time rather than on miles/wear.

After the road test it would be nice to get the car in the air and carefully inspect the underneath side of the car for any leak sign. The car would have been on the road for around 1 hour and this is time enough for any leaks to show up. Check the RMS area, water pump, in fact every gasket, seal, o-ring, hose, hose connection, hydraulic line, line fitting for any leak sign. Check CV boots and other rubber dust boots for any signs of cracking or splitting. Check the radiator areas for any signs of coolant leak. If you smell antifreeze there's a leak.

Check tire condition. Wear across the tread should be even, front and back. If the rear tires are wearing faster on their inside edges this is the sign of a bad alignment. (With both my cars I can get 20K+ miles from the rear tires and tire wear is very even. A proper alignment is key.)

 

John, I see the Black Edition sold. Hopefully to you!

 

I wish! I went to the dealer website today to schedule a visit and saw that it was already sold.

You have a good eye because that one went before the other black one just as you thought it should.

My Z was black and my car after that was white, That's why I'm leaning towards sapphire blue - but they are hard to come by. Still considering that blue one I sent.

I'm still confused on the winter/summer tires. Do you just buy the tires and store the ones you're not using and who changes them? The dealer or can you trust that to someone else?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for posting your experience and for all the great tips. Unfortunately, I don't know too much about cars/repairs - I just like to drive them - but I can certainly do most of what you suggest.

 

That base was loaded. Rear view camera. Not many base 981s are going to have what it does. But, keep looking. They come along. I like colors too, and the blue is nice. That particular one wasn't well featured, and when you're buying used, you're buying those options for a fraction of what the original owner paid. My Cayman R was black, and my '11 Boxster Spyder was metallic black, which is gorgeous in the flesh.