Why is this such a hard decision for me? Every review shows the Turbo does 99% of what the Turbo S does, so why do I want to spend $30k more for the S? This will be my first $150k+ car purchase and I'm puckering up. After projecting depreciation, I figure I'm gonna eat $90-100k after 3yr ownership - how do you guys that buy these cars swallow this pill? Does this seems like a reasonable projection? I was hoping for more around $50k.

I'm down to two new cars -one is a 2011 Turbo at $160k and the other is a 2012 Turbo S at $184k - both cars are nearly identical, except for the power increase and the S has Sport Design. I've negotiated the 2011 to $140k and the S to $173k (both seem like reasonable discounts?????). The dealer thinks the S will hold value better, but I thought the S would crash harder. I should also mention the 2011 has been on their lot since Sept 2010, and was punched May 31, 2011, leaving me without almost 8 months of warranty. That being said, he says he'll split the cost of a CPO with me to extend it.

Any advice and input is much appreciated? Thanks

 

Expect the worst for depreciation and be happy if its not that bad. Its to hard to predict, and the .2 model will be out next year, I think. So that will make depreciation a little worse.
I understand your desire to get the S, but for 140k, I would get the turbo and put a tune, bypass pipes, and maybe exhaust for under 8k.

 

I have a 12' PTS and was facing a similar decision. I ended up wanting the car that was more scarcely produced, and I knew going in that I was going to do a body kit and wheels. Some tuning also.. My car is almost finished and regardless of a new facelift or whatever the media is jabbering about I know the car will hold excellent resale. Money is made to be spent and cars come and go, if your going to spend 150k why not spend 180k its all relative at that level. The images that have surfaced of the update make the car go back in time rather than forward imho. I'm not a fan of the VW Beetle headlight concept there tooling with currently.

 

I went car shopping last summer, most expensive car I'd ever owned was in the low $30k range. Planned on looking at Audi A7, BMW 550ix, and Porsche Panameras from 4S all the way to Turbo S. Pretty obvious which one is most lust-worthy...the Turbo S of course!

BUT...

Tricked out the way I'd want it it'd be about $200k. $200k! Man, I've done well financially and can afford that, but then again a big part of doing well financially is not blowing $200k on a car! Anyway, I just loved the 4S that I test drove, it had all the main options I wanted including the Burmester stereo, they actually had one on the lot so I did not have to wait 6 months, and they dropped $20k off the price and extended the warranty (it was a 2010 that for some reason had not sold yet). So it was $110k; SOLD! Saved me about $100k (including WA sales tax), I LOVE the car, it was a no-brainer.

If I was ordering one today, I'd get either the GTS or the Turbo S. Either be somewhat reasonable and get the GTS, which I think really hits the sweet spot and is still a VERY expensive car...or go for the gold and get the Turbo S. I mean, as much as I LOVE my car, you still can't help but wonder how much more you'd like the Turbo S. At nearly half the price I'm WAY cool with what I have, but I would not be buying a regular Turbo at 80% the cost of the Turbo S.

Just sayin', there's my input! (If you're net worth is over $10 million I'd get the Turbo S for sure...under $10 million, probably not such a great idea...under $5 million, now you're being stupid...)

 

I would negotiate hard the turbo and do some mods - an ecu tune will take you to close to 600hp so it actually has more power than the S and it will save you $30K, hell if it makes you feel better order a turbo S badge and have the dealer swap it out for you. Just don't see how you can justify the extra money on this one unless you have alot to blow.

 

"Just sayin', there's my input! (If you're net worth is over $10 million I'd get the Turbo S for sure...under $10 million, probably not such a great idea...under $5 million, now you're being stupid...)[/quote]

Interesting point. Not sure I agree with that part your reply, but appreciate your response. Obviously I am disagreeing with you because I am not $10M up, but I can still easily afford the S, and am willing to take the hit to drive a fine automobile. I would love to hear other opinions on this comment. I really doubt that the majority of us car lovers use such a conservative model, but I may be wrong.

To those suggesting mods - not a big fan. Just get too worried about reliability and warranty. If I wasn't such a chicken about mods, the Turbo would definitely make more sense. However, I would never buy a Turbo S sticker for a Turbo.

 

Do the powerkit for the turbo as I did (did it on a used one). You get the same turbos, cooling systems and ecu and warranty as turbo S. You can make the turbo by powerkiting it to a turbo s, but paying less. Love the instancy of the turbos, it really feels like a N/A engine. The PTTS doesnt even have PCCB as standard! You can also buy the sports design kit if you want it (also not standard on PTTS). I didnt because on a dark colored car, you cant tell if it has a sport kit or not. But, hey I had to do it as a turbo s is about 400 000 dollars here.

 

I admit, I AM very conservative. Would not have bought a Panamera had I not been able to pay cash for it. Big money cars strike me as a foolish purchase if you cannot REALLY afford one...but that's just me...

 

Engine modifications aside, there's nothing (standard or optional) on the PTTS that you can't get on a PTT. Of course, when you start doing that, and especially when you add the powerkit, the price difference between the two is significantly less. Realistically, though, you can't appreciate the difference in engine tune in any significant way during routine daily driving (or even reasonable beyond-legal driving). If the 500HP PTT somehow isn't enough to satisfy your needs ...

If money were no object, I'd say go with the S. But it sounds to me like money is at least a concern of yours (smart) and given the massive performance, you certainly won't be disappointed with the "regular" turbo. In fact, I'd venture to say that it would exceed any of your (or our) expectations.

The real debate, for me, is between the Turbo and the GTS ... doesn't seem that close on paper but I bet in the real world, that would be some battle.

 

Power wasnt the main reason (ok it was one of the main reasons too) why I ordered the powerkit. There is almost no lag (50% faster turbo spooling than normal) in the new ti-al turbos. Really the annoying turbo lag is gone. With my 997tt I grew to hate turbo lag. Press the pedal..nothing...nothing..terrible power. I think it wasnt that bad, but after coming from an E55 AMG with instant pull, the diffrence was huge, but the powerkit makes the car really enjoyable for me.

 

Kip, are the modifications to the PTTS the same as what you'd get with the powerkit? I've always been under the impression that the "base" turbo already exhibited very little turbo lag. In that sense, then, I agree with you ... turbo lag is an issue at any speed and, potentially, even more disturbing in routine driving. I've just never really the complaint before about the standard Turbo ... many reviews I've read actually commented on the near absence of turbo lag ... but then you would certainly know better.

 

I am actually not a good person to say anything on a basic turbo, I have never driven one. Such is my hate for lag that I installed the powerkit right away. I asked before installing from other board members and what I could find in mags about the Mitsubishi turbos TD04-18T-11 with titanium aluminum rotors. In this country there were no turbos available for test drive at that time. I only drove the 4S before buying, I can only compare to my 997.1tt, which they also said in a lot of mags that the new VTG turbos have no lag, but in reality had quite a bit of it. The powerkit has the same parts as the PTTS, in the brochure here it actually stated that the turbo S has the powerkit as standard equipment . The turbos should spool up in 50% less time than the standard ones, I would think there is a difference.

 

I agree and feel the pain - I often think about getting a Turbo S butthe damn prices easily climb to 200k and with hard bargaining you can get a great deal on a PTT - I cannot seem to justifythe difference in price - but I want a PTT-S really badly and have no logical reason for it.

 

Unless your going to track or street race the car, I can't imagine needing any more power than the PTT - I have the FVD ecu tune on mine which was done by the dealer so the warranty stays in tact and they rate it at 590 hp. I feel no lag worth mentioning at any speed. If your seriously considering a PTT that's on a dealer's lot I would ask if to take it for a day and after driving it if you feel you need something more than order the Turbo S from him, I'm sure he would be happy either way!

 

Did you consider the powerkit?