Hi,

I decided to join this forum to start some early research on a potential P-car in the future. Growing up in Europe, I always wanted to own one some day and I'm hoping to pick up a used one at some point.

Now, I wanted to hear some opinions on the comparison 997 Turbo vs. 997 GT3 ? Any major advantages/disadvantages in owning either one of them? This would just be a fun street car and I'm hoping to get the most reliable one of the two. I'm used to VW, Mercedes and BMW but I'm sure parts are in a whole different league on Porsches. Is the maintenance really that outrageous or just a myth? And how well do they hold up with higher miles? My neighbor is a Ferrari mechanic and at least on those cars, the purchase price is the cheap part.

I currently have a supercharged BMW Z3, which is a lot of fun to drive and it will be hard to ever get rid of it, so that's why it needs an adequate replacement of I ever do

Thanks!!

 

Boils down to intended use. I went through the same debate two months back and purchased the 997TT. It came down to this:

Primarily Track Use: GT3, no debate. Naturally Aspirated, suspension, controls, etc,. all on the mark for track use.

Primarily Fast Street Use, the 997TT. Not as high strung. Great torque. A daily driver supercar.

I understand that the GT3 is designed to require more maintanance, given its tweaked nature. There are plenty of folks on the forums with higher mileage TT who claim it is highly reliable and "reasonable" to maintain.

I split the different, and put the Bilstein B16 Damptronics, adn H&R swaybars, so I had the grunt of the TT, and the handling nearly that of the GT3.

Good luck on your search.

 

Thanks so much for your reply! The turbo is indeed what I would be leaning towards since I don't need a track missile. Just something fast and fun and that looks good of course. Both cars are one of the best looking on the market IMO

Is basic maintenance pretty easy to do (oil changes etc.) ? I'm not a mechanic but I'm a little handy with a wrench.

 

It depends what you want in a sports car. If you want effortless speed, good looks and comfort, the Turbo is your car. If you want more of a motor-sport type experience - awesome sound, firm suspension, good feedback, quick responses, etc. - the GT3 is the one.

The Turbo's an all-around sports car, the GT3's pure sports car.

FWIW, when I had my 997 GT3, I didn't miss my 996TT one bit (neither was daily driven, though, just fun cars).

 

Most important is probably a car that is "fun" to drive. It's hard to describe, power is obviously fun but road feel and handling are important as well. I do have a GTI for example and while that car doesn't have much power, it is a very fun vehicle to drive, especially after I lowered it.

I feel like there are a lot of new cars on the road that are 'sports' cars but they have a very disconnected feel to them, which takes away from the experience if you know what I mean.

Since I would drive the car to work 1 or 2 days a week, being streetable and decently reliable are somewhat important. Then again, my main daily driver is a sport bike, so I'm definitely not that much of a comfort guy.

 

I too went through the same mental masturbation of trying to decide between the GT3 and TT.

What swung me toward the TT was the ease of driving it on the street and the built in piece of mind with AWD in a rear engined car.

This is the first P-car I have owned but I drove several over the past decades ('67 911S was the first) and they were always too tail happy for me until recently.

If I had more experience driving P-car's I might have gone for the GT3, but those old experiences told me to go AWD.

Plus, you can probably mod a TT more than a GT3...if that becomes your thing.

 

I also think it is a shame to see GT3's being used to go out to dinner. A TT is more of a day to day car but if you spring for the GT3 you need to at least do a few track days a year to avoid being called a puss.

 

I definitely know what you mean by tail happy. The Z3 has a short wheelbase and old school rear suspension. It won't slide like an M3 would for example but just flip you around (I'm embarrassed to admit I did it once), probably much like the old 911s. I can only imagine this being far worse in the rear engined 911 cars.

 

LOL Yeah, you see a lot of abused (as in not used) high end cars in Socal. I live next to Newport Beach where high end exotics are very common.

From reading all this, I think the turbo might fit my profile better. I don't race on a track, like the AWD and do tend to mod my cars a bit.

 

Are there any model years that I should stay away from because of issues etc.? I'm also not opposed to the 996 Turbo btw.

Or are there any other common issues with the turbo cars in general?

 

Turbo is better for everyday usability, lighter clutch feel, not a high-strung engine, etc.

Its easier to mod and overall you can get the same performance as a GT3 with suspension work and have more power. You will understeer a bit more because of the weight up front and AWD but only on slow sharp corners, on the faster ones you can get on the power sooner.

As for maintenance, just passed 52,000 on mine and these things are as bullet proof.

The costs of maintenance are higher, especially after coming from BMW where everything was paid for. But overall its not a deal breaker considering the entry price of the vehicle.

Dealer service is usually a rip off so if you can find a trusted mechanic that works on Porsches you can save yourself a good amount of cash on labor, and have someone who want ding, scrape, and otherwise mess up your car when its being worked on.

 

Yeah, do the TT. It sounds like you would enjoy the mod friendly nature and you could still track the car if you get a wild hair. The guys around here don't even get their GT3 brakes to operating temperature going up to Captain D's for senior citizen night!

 

Thanks for all the great feedback!!

As far as dealers go, I have never set foot in a stealership. I buy all my cars used and have a great local mechanic who is specialized in a few European car makes. Not necessarily Porsche but I have no doubt in my mind, he'd be able to work on them. The guy is very knowledgeable. If not too involved, I can do some routine maintenance myself as well. I'm definitely not a mechanic by any means but changing the oil or some brakes is something I can handle.

 

I thought through the same options. I went with the Turbo because of it's daily survivability in an urban environment. I barely clear the entrances to parking lots now, and I can't imagine having a car like the GT3 where it is even lower. I hardly have the opportunity to track the car, so a Turbo made more sense.

I think reliability is a non-issue. These cars are like tanks. I couldn't say that about my previous car, a BMW E60 M5.

'Rocket

 

I have a Turbo and a PDK 997S . If I could afford all three you would not hear a peep out of me but i long for the Gt3.

In a straight line , rolling start , in terms of comfort, in terms of creature comforts --a modified Turbo will eat a Gt3 for a snack. That's why all the Texas mile and fast straight runs are Turbo cars.

BUT -- place both car's into a tight corner the lighter more nimble Gt3 will pull a Turbo's doors off.

Both cars are reliable although the newest Turbo is somewhat unknown. The 2007-2009 Turbo is amazingly reliable and curent pricing makes those quite a value.

There is a mid point not mentioned and that's the PDK 997S . For the dollar with some type of discount and equally optioned it can be had 40 grand less than a Gt3 and 70 grand less than a Turbo and it;s a great street car with a lot less attention and worry.

Park a Turbo or a gt3 at the supermarket or movies and face all types of ding worry .
A 997S is more understated .

If I had to pick one .. it would be a used low mile Turbo but it will never have the raw seamless throttle control and precise roadholding fun of a Gt3 .

If you must buy NEW .. then value woild go to either a discounted 997S or gt3. A new Turbo at MSRP will depreciate faster than a falling rock but the other two will not.