Hi,

What sould I be lookinf for in a 997S???? I know I want sport seats, but other must have options??????

Like Sport Chrono??????? Adjustabe supension. I a 2005 a decent year and car????

Mike

 

I will be in the market for a 997S in about a year and full leather is a must for me. I will shy away from 2005 models, unless it has had the engine replaced.

 

Why?, these cars have been very reliable.

 

All 997S have PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), Sport Chrono is on most cars and a lot of buyers want these on preowned cars, but I haven't used mine, and I track a lot.

The S comes well equipped from the factory, and options are a matter of personal choice and what is available. Personally there isn't any option that I have on my car that I couldn't imagine missing if it wasn't there. The 997S is an awesome car out of the box, and feels at home on the track and/or as a DD.

 

I find the Bose Sound System to be one of the better designed systems when compared to Bose systems in other vehicles (The Bose system in my C6 was very disappointing) if you like listening to music. The XM radio is also a great addition. The S comes very well equipped as others have already pointed out. I was lucky to find a well optioned edition off of the showroom floor.

 

I originally had a check list of all of the things I "must have" and to make a long story short, I ended up with a base Carrera with little extras after convincing myself I "needed" to get the S and I couldn't not be happier. In my opinion, these cars are all about the driving experience and not having your door locks wrapped in Ostritch ball leather. All of the bells and whistles are nice but I wonder if they take away from the pure 911 driving experience.

 

I went with the bells, not the whistles.



Mike, what are you planning to do with the car? Daily Driver, going to the track?

As Northvan said - either way a carrera will do.

I recommend full leather and sports chrono is nice, but not a must. Other than that....

 

I agree with NorthVan. Non of the options are "musts". I purchased my leftover 2008S at a very good price. It has sport chron, CD changer , power seats, upgraded wheels, Nav and Bose. I would not have ordered any of those for a car built for me. The only things I would have ordered are heated seats, painted wheel crests and self dimming mirrors. Luckily, my car has those also.

 

Being from New Hampshire, I'd think the Heated Adaptive Sport Seats would be a must for you. I have them and they're fantastic.

The factory short shift kit seems to be love or hate around here and PSE ( Porsche Sport Exhaust ) is definitely a bonus if you can find a car with it optioned.

If you like black, keep your eye out for an '05 Launch Car. All the goodies mentioned as well as Yellow Calipers. Nice.

Is this your first P-Car ? The search can be a lot of fun. Good Luck !

 

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.

Enjoy your search and good luck

 

I would echo Sizquik's sentiments. I've been looking for over a year with my 'must have' list (Blue/Tan S, Sport Chrono, Full Leather, PSE, Sport Seats), and honestly I'm starting to question my sanity.

 

I made myself nuts for 3 years.. M3 vs 911 vs EvoX vs S4 yada yada yada. Then when I finally decided on the 911, the option list wackiness filled my head. I "HAD" to have the S, sport seats, thick steering wheel, full leather etc. I can't imagine how many hours/days/weeks I wasted thinking about the perfect 911.

Then along came a clean base Carrera that stole my heart.

 

I think it depends on your use-case as others have mentioned. For me, it's my only car, but I don't have to commute to work as I live 1/2 mile from my office. In my circumstance, I like having NAV and the stereo upgrade and all of the bells and whistles that aren't necessary (e.g., illuminated doors sills and ***). If I had this just for speed only or for the Sunday drive or only the track, I would buy a base model to save weight. The one thing I love having on a convertible though is the heated seats. My dates seem to appreciate it as well as women are always cold.

 

I went with a base Carrera as well...and its all I need as I'm adding aftermarket wheels and suspension to get the look and stance I wanted.

 

I'm with North and others who say the base car is good on it's own, especially an S. Sports seats? A lot of us don't have them from what I can tell and you don't see a lot of discussion about the merits of them one way or another.

If you asked me what I would miss that I have on mine, definitely the phone and ipod integration followed by the updated PCM in the .2 models.