My '12 CS has 2000 miles. It is nicely equipped with 21 inch Turbo II's, PDCC, PTV, Burmester. I do not have the sport exhaust. I have an additional 2K invested in Xpel film.
I love the look of the new GTS. The difference in price to upgrade to the GTS with PDCC and PTV would be approximately 20K. The seems like a significant amount of money for this upgrade but I remain torn.
Would appreciate thoughts on this...

 

Buy the sport exhaust and turbo front fascia and save 10 grand. I had similar thoughts and after the sport exhaust, I'm very happy and haven't even thought about a gts.

 

Thanks for the input. Some suggest that the GTS will have better trade in value (as % of original cost) making the difference to trade up (20K) less...

BTW, did you install the OEM sport exhaust. If so, was it a lot of labor? I have been quoted 8 hours and significant work on the mid console to attach sport button....

 

No one can help you with this decision but end of the day, GTS is GTS. You can add all the mods you want to look like GTS/Turbo but it isn't. My next vehicle won't be an S for sure.

 

What will your next one be? GTS, Turbo, none of the above?

 

You' ll need much more than that, interior exhaust sound symposer, sport design exterior kit, sport tuned air suspension, 20+hp , faster auto gearbox, nicer sportier interior and seats, alcantara everywhere, a GTS badge, 21" are cheaper to get, etc.
The S is a great drive , but as Enilder wrote, a GTS is a GTS. I drove one and I was sold. cant wait to get my GTS in October.

 

I'm with you on the alcantara, I love that stuff and unless you ordered it already that would be pricey to duplicate. I'd argue that 20hp is noticeable on a 400hp heavy vehicle, but that could be obtained via ECU upgrade if really desired.

Your point is taken though, it clearly ups the game more than the few tweaks I made. I guess I was just pointing out the option is there to add some of the features ala-carte to make your own GTS "light" if you don't feel like, or can't shell out the 20 grand.

 

Yes, the labor was somewhat high - about $1k. It required taking out the back seats to link to the sport button. Its hard not to drive around in sport mode all the time now.

 

Thanks for the replies. If I were pricing out both vehicles now, I would go with the GTS. The main issue that I have is the hit I am taking on trading in an 11 month old CS with 2000 miles to get into a GTS.
I know that at the time of resale, I should expect a higher retained value for the GTS. The real question is whether or not it is worth it? Theoverall driving experience will be different but hard to determine how much...

 

GTS without a doubt.

I never had alcantara seats. Don't they wear out faster than leather? Not sure how "durable" it is compared to leathers.

 

A family member had a BMW with Alcantara. It is not as durable as leather and it easily shows wear. He had a steering wheel replaced under warranty because of this issue.
If I move forward with a GTS order, I will get the seats w/o alcantara inserts.
Does anyone know if seats are ordered w/o alcantara if alcantara is used elsewhere in the interior?
The only place that I want it is the headliner. Everything else will show wear.

 

Dont know about BMW, but the alcantara in the last generation GTS is quite durable. Just take a look at most high mileage 957 or 997 GTS and all have the interior intact, said that it is definetely more delicate than leather and I would never option a car with an alcantara steering wheel, but IMO it looks and feels better in the seats and headliner, it just screams GTS.
I have alcantara in my wifes 10' MB ML350 sport seats and they look as good as they were when new, even though my kids beat the crap out of them.

 

There's no alcantara unless you pick the Leather/Alcantara interior (or the GTS interior, which requires Leather/Alcantara option).

The default is leather seats and no leather dash.

 

You are correct, but thats only in America.
The alcantara / leather GTS sport seats + Alcantara covered center arm rest and doors is the default configuration in the rest of the world.

 

That's the way it should be! If and when I order my GTS it will have the GTS interior with green stitching. Why neuter the car? If I wanted a "plain" interior I'd buy a Turbo...