The most useful option that happened to be in in base carrera is Bluetooth. I find that indispensible. Beyond that anything else is extra.

This is the first car i drive where I do NOT listen to the stereo unless I am travelling very long distances.

 

same here, when i was looking for a used 997 , the list of options gave me a headache. For me, the most important option is to have a 6-speed gearbox , the rest doesn't really matter. 2nd is the big red brakes for me and I'll tell you why, my prev 2 cars were E36 M3 and E46 M3 and I dream of having a big red calipers on my car everyday (too frugal to install brembos).

 

The brake calipers are the biggest disappointment on my base 997.2
The design makes pad swap out a pain and now after 6500 miles they look like BUTT. Brake calipers alone might make the S model a must.

 

If you're looking at a Cab, heated seats are pretty nice to have.

 

[quote=type997;2712846]i’m in the minority of drivers on this site but i find sport seats terribly uncomfortable. However, they are very functional if you plan on seeing a lot of track time. Sport seats for a street / occasional de car not so much. Make sure you try the seats out before considering them a must.

i would also ignore bose, full leather and power seats as a must.


+1

For me the S was a must and the rest gingerbread; want more juice then ante up and get a TT

 

My car is a daily driver, hence, wanted heated seats, auto-dim mirrors. Wheels were more of a "don't want lobsters." I love this car.

 

full leather...PSE...sports chrono...power seats...NAV..non-lobster wheels.

 

I too was looking for a used S last year because of it's "value" over a base car.
I knew I wanted a 6 speed and a coupe, everything else was up for grabs.
That said I did want something out of the ordinary, say black wheels, aero kit or full leather with deviating stitching
Well I ended up in this, an '06 in Paint to Sample Maritime Blue with less than 6k miles being driven by a 70 year old man, I couldn't be happier. Ok I wish it had full leather but that's about it really.

PS I've got heated Sports seats too and love 'em.

 

The scenario goes like this -
Try and cut corners on expensive options going into the car and then you miss them when you don't have them . None of these are truly necessary but they are nice.

Important options to me are -
Full leather
Sport Adaptive seats
Bose
Sport Chrono
In your case -heated seats
Wheels -Sport Classic

 

After 6 months of looking, on 1-1-10 I purchased my 06' Carrera S. Now I really wanted another white car again, but kept searching and they are sooo rare. So my PERFECT car would be White on Red S with Adaptive seats, chrono, bose, nav, heated seats, short throw, pse, carbon all over(interior)

Wut I finally found was a 06' White on Black S with Chrono, Sport Seats, Short throw, PSE, Carbon pckg(shift ****, e-brake, trim), full carbon fiber door sills and seat belt surrounds, clear corners, debadge, black lobsters, and dension gateway, low miles, GORGEOUS, I love my baby

 

Agree with the statement that none of the options are a must. Test drive a 6-speed, tip and a PDK to decide on which drivetrain you would want on yours. You must have a good idea of how much you want to spend. Buy the best car that your budget will support.

It depends on who all you want to satisfy with your car. To me, the effortless acceleration and instantaneous PDK gear shifting on sports mode (with the sports chrono package) hits the spot. My handsfree bluetooth is indispensible as I get to answer my pages without having to stop my car. For my wife it's the full leather with deviated stitching and the snug fit of the adaptive sport seats that justifies her husband's recent splurge and for my two girls it's the I-Pod integration and the fancy stopwatch that comes with the sports chrono package (especially when it lights up in the night and they get to prove me wrong all the time when I answer ten more minutes for the "are we there yet question") that brings the smile onto their faces. These days even mazda's, kia's and hyundai's (no offense intended to these carmakers) have leather seats, deviated stitching, touch screen, voice command navi, bluetooth, BOSE stereo etc so one is justified in expecting atleast some of these options in a Porsche although the car is bought for it's performance. But if you personally don't care for these options and only want it for pure fun of driving just get a base Carrera S and you will not be disappointed.

 

Probably everybody's goal is to have a rather unique Porsche. I bought a base Carrera b/c of the lower price and am gradually tweaking to make it unique. That said, if I had more $$ I'd go for these:

the GT3 sport seats with yellow or red
sport exhaust
cold air intake (improved sound and breathing)
PASM - for the aggressive driver
some carbon fiber somewhere
wheel spacers
colored gauges and seat belts

 

One thing I miss that I have had on my previous 3 cars is the multi-funtional steering wheel. It is a PITA to constantly reach over to the touch screen...especially when it is sunny out and there is a glare.

 

That's a good point - if it's your every day car then the MF wheel is great. At first I wasn't quite so sure and only really saw the point in the phone buttons but now I find I scroll, select and generally navigate around the PCM with the MF wheel as much as the screen.

 

I would stay away from 05 if possible and try to get a late 06 with a bit of warranty on it if you buy it without CPO -

In terms of options, Navigation makes a big difference in resale value, Cab is wonderful to have, heated seats wonderful in the winter, full leather nice but pure luxury, Sport Chrono important if you take a tiptronic,