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West coast (ports) shipping takes longer.
anyone have any feedback on this.
Sure glad my other vehicle is Japanese and so 100% trouble free!
At 2,000 miles, I got a rough idle and "do not drive" check engine / service light warning. The car was flatbedded by Porsche Roadside assistance from my house to my original dealership (60 miles away). A spark plug coil was cracked and was replaced. The service manager did not think it was anything I did or caused, rather probably a defective coil from the factory that gave out after a couple months of driving. I had the car back the next day and no related trouble since.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a less serious "visit workshop" warning light and drove it to a local dealer, 8 miles away. After checking the control module, they concluded that somehow my aftermarket XM Commander unit was the cause - sending interference. They reset everything, I've kept the XM unit installed and nothing has happened since. Sounds a little fishy - I think the XM was a conveninet excuse for a false warning.
I've gone through about 2 quarts of oil in 6,200 miles, which I'm told is low to average. A slight intermittent rattle in the convertible roof has dissapeared with the warmer weather, but the nearby dealership said they would be happy to check it out if it ever returns.
Other than that, the car is running perfectly and is a joy to drive. I may take it in for an early unscheduled oil change in the next couple of weeks. The local dealer seems interested in getting my service business and they offered to give the car a complete check out of brakes, alignment, tire wear, etc. while it's up on the rack. I have absolutely no reason to suspect anything, but for the price of an oil change, I wouldn't mind a full report. If I do, I'll pass it on.
I have been advised that oil consumption of 1 quart per 1,500 to 3,000 miles is considered average for a 911 "boxster" style engine. A little more during the break-in period. I've been assured that this is not a design flaw or problem.
And I agree, the problems I've had are not serious. But I can see your concern being 200 miles away from the nearest dealership. Even a minor issue or two could be a pain to resolve. I'd just make sure that Porsche is willing to flatbed the car back to the dealer in the event anything occurs. My car was perfectly driveable for the "visit workshop" warning, but I wouldn't have been happy with that light and beep coming on every time I started the car until I could take an entire day off to take it in. If I were you, I would want the car to be picked up.
Also, one dealer that wanted my business that was 150+ miles away volunteered that anytime the car needed routine service, they would drive a Cayenne to meet me halfway and exchange cars. Not a bad option for you to ask about.
1. Is it much of a time consuming pain to put on/take off a cover for a C4S coupe (I may need a cover for overnight 3-4 months per year)?
2. My dealer has spoken in circles a bit about passenger side airbag deactivation. Is it something that comes with the vehicle, or would I need to purchase and install it? Does anyone know whether such a device deactivates both the passenger side and front airbag, or only the side?
Thank you.
2. I have the 2006 (should be the same as 2005), the passenger side airbad will deactivate itself once a young kid sits on it. Would be interested to find out (probably in the manual) what is the excact weight when the airbag deactivates/ activates itself.
Passenger side airbag deactivation was a new feature for the 2006's and not on the 2005's. It is my understanding that the magic weight is 80 lbs.
1) When does the 2006 model year end and the 2007 year start?
2) Will there be any changes on the 2007 model that I should hold off on ordering the 06' model? (maybe new options or different standard options)
3) Is there any expectation of the prices changing for 07'?
I know these are boring questions, but I'm getting ready to order my first C4S and would like to know what to expect if I wait until the 07' comes out. Thanks much.
You might not have much of a choice. According to my dealer, he doesn't have any allocation spots left for 2006 911 coupes for the 2006 model year and if you ordered today, you would be getting a 2007 delivered in September/October.
I haven't heard of any significant changes for 2007. The price went up approximately 2.7% from 2005 to 2006, so that's probably a good ballpark for another increase.
Thanks for you reply, I just hope they don't move the Arctic Silver to the $3,000 option list.
On a side note, is there anyone out there that has ordered their 997 with black rims? I'm having trouble selecting that option while "building" my carrera on the Porsche website. I've brought this issue up to my dealer, he really didn't seem to have much if any info on how to order that option or how much the option would be.
Regarding the black rim option, have you seen them on an Artic Silver car? I saw them for the first time recently on a white coupe and was turned off. Strictly personal preference, I know, but not the kind of option I'd want to order without at least seeing a picture first.
Also, Don, are you sure that Seal Grey is being sold as a $3k option or has it been simply replaced in name by Meteor Grey? If you look at the 2007 911 Turbo color choices, Seal Grey is gone completely. But I'm willing to bet Meteor Grey is pretty close in color.
$0 = non-metallic (White, Black, Red ,Speed yellow)
$825 = standard metallic (Artic Silver, Seal Grey, Basalt Black, etc.)
$3,070 = "special" Porsche colors (Slate Grey, Olive Green, etc.)
$4,315 = "custom made to sample" colors (just in case you really like Aquamarine or Deep Chocolate Trouffle)
I have seen the Slate Grey and it looks fantastic. That said, I doubt I would ever pay $2,245 more for it than Seal Grey, or, if I did, would do it without any expectation of getting that money back upon resale.
The "made to sample colors" are for the real zealots. I heard of a surgeon that had his 911 custom painted a deep "blood red". Hopefully, his kids went to med school so that he could pass it down to them.
How am I to know what options I want if I can't go to the Porsche site and build the car that I want? I don't want every option in the book, however I do want certain things that will set my car apart from others. For example, When I visited my dealer for a test drive of the C4s I noticed a 996 on the floor that had the center console painted GT Silver (the exterior color). The car looked great, it added a sporty look and made it unique. So the questions is, does Porsche still offer that option? Or did they do away with it for the 997 model? I see on the website that getting the rear console painted the exterior color is an option, but I did not see the entire console painted as an option.
Short of wasting all day in a Porsche dealership (if such a thing could ever happen) how do I know the options that are out there and a description of each?
One last thing, I'm looking for an opinion from anyone who has one - thats everyone on this forum, it's the reason we all love the Porsche name. What is your thought on Arctic Silver w/ black rims? The rims would have the polished lip. I just think that any sports car with black rims looks really sharp. Let the opinions fly.
What you have to really look at is the ground clearance. If the bottom of the car is dragging in the snow you can forget about going anywhere.
One possible solution is to just call in sick on those couple of snowy days that we have. I live near Milwaukee, I'm not sure about you - the amount of snow that we have on the roads is minimal. Most snow is cleared off within hours, leaving you able to drive all you want.
If I were you I would be more concerned with the amount of salt that is used on the roads here. The damage from salt is a far greater factor than driving in the snow.
You should buy the 911, but then find a way to get a winter car. Cheers.
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I had been considering sport sedans or coupes as a replacement for the Boxster - along the lines of 3 series (330i, 335ic, M3), the G35, etc. Absolute price is not as much of an object as is getting a car that meets my needs, will hold it's value well, and be enjoyable to drive on the weekends. I am looking at a 2003 M5 tomorrow that has been offered to me by one of our clients. It's bigger than I want/need, but a great car in pristine condition.
When I was at lunch yesterday with one of our senior partners, he suggested the 911 (997) C4. He had a 911 (993) Turbo and will be getting a new 997 Turbo next year. For him, it is strictly a weekend / fun car (he drives a BMW 7 series as his daily driver).
Comments, please, on the suitability of a 997 C4 (or C4S), preferably Cabriolet, for 12k miles a year in the Boston area, 80% which would not be commuting, as I can walk to our main office. I have one indoor heated garage space with my condo. This would be my only car. The practical side of me is hesitant, but the Porsche side of me would be very happy to stay in the "family".
I took delivery of my 2006 911 997 C4 Cab last November 12th. I live in the mountains of western NC and have pics of the P-car in the snow with regular tires that came with it. We don't get as much snow here as you do so you may want to look into winter tires. Also, snow depth (due to the car's hanging up on deep snow) is a consideration. I've had many AWD vehicles and the P-car did as well or better than any in the snow last Winter; car felt very safe & secure. Get heated seats of course (and the windscreen if you get a Cab). Hope this helped.
You may have already solved the dilemma re- building your car, but in case not I'll relay to you what I did when I similarly was unable to build via the porsche website, but wanted to "see" how colors and options looked that were not on cars at my dealership. I spent some time trolling thru different dealers websites looking at relevant pictures, looked at the cars at my dealer, and then sat down at the dealer's sales desk with my guy for about 1.5 hours one afternoon and he and I experimented with a few different variations and ultimately built the car on his computer.
Hope this helps.
Ross
Also, I was told that adding a Porsche CD changer at the dealership (vs. factory) would run more than the $650 from the factory. One dealership quoted me $1,100, another said they could do it for $750 if it was one of a couple of cars they were trying to get rid of.
Ross
Or Bose stereo, or leather seats, or xenon lights, or power/memory seats, or heated seats, or self dimming mirrors, or metallic paint, or bluetooth phone...
All of the above items, plus some were standard on my 2004 Acura TL 6-speed. And the $2,000 navigation system is two rungs up in features (POI) and ease of use from the Porsche nav system. If Acura made these extra cost options and charged the same amount as Porsche, they could offer a "base" TL for about $19,000.
I guess the lesson is when you are as good as Porsche at making a world class sports car, customers will reward you by letting you get away with robbery on the options. And, frankly, that's fine by me. The best Honda/Acura product I ever owned was the gimmick-less S2000. The engineers focused on what was important, and it was hands down the best sports car to come out of Japan in decades - perhaps ever.
Dweiser has a good suggestion that I might try - or rather, get my pre-teen daughters to try. It will be interesting to see how long it is before all CD's /DVD's go by the way of the 8-track tape and we just have a slot to plug in an I-Pod. My guess is that Acura will beat Porsche to that punch by about a decade. And Porsche will continue to be the most profitable car company in the world. As it should be.
How's your Atlas Grey look in the various lights? As good as or better than you thought it would be?
On options, you need to check things out carefully, as a lot of items that are optional on the 911/911S are standard on the Turbo: Navigation, Bose, Self Dimming Mirrors, Full Leather Seats, etc. The options that I think are a must:
Sport chrono package - $1,840. I think this is a $920 must on the 911/911S. with the Turbo, the more expensive version allows the engine to be "overboosted" for a short period of time, increasing horsepower and torque to 500+. Not getting the sport chrono option should be grounds for the death penalty.
Adaptive sport seats - $1,145. Only suggestion is try them first to make sure they fit your body type.
Sport shifter - $765.
Sport exhaust - ?. Assuming it doesn't come standard on the Turbo, definitely go for the Porsche sport exhaust ($2,400 on the 911/911S).
Remote 6 CD changer - $650.
(Possibly) Heated seats - $480. I use them all the time on our Cab; may not be necessary on the coupe.
Black Mats - Porsche lettering - $115.
There are a lot of trim options for leather this and carbon that. Have at it if you are so inclined. but I would get the above options, splurge on Slate Grey for an extra $2,380 and have a spectacular car for about $131,000. A downright bargain, compared to what the 996 Turbo S sold for.
my 2cents.... (expect my Atlas Grey / Black Standard leather "911 S" on or about 25 June).
Now, now, you have to retain the "compared to the 996 Turbo S" for the proper context.
If I'm reading my old Kelly Blue Book correctly, 10 years ago, a 1997 911 Turbo S Coupe had an MSRP of $153,365. :surprise: :surprise:
So, it may be relative, but in the past 10 years, the 911 Turbo has actually come down in price, whereas the Ferrari 348/355 to 430 evolution has increased by at least 50%, I believe. We can leave "bargain" as a term that is in the eyes of the beholder.
P.S. Perhaps I should invite Ben Bernacke out for a ride and provide a nice analysis of the 911 Turbo "deflation" of the past 10+ years. I doubt it will be a significant influence at the next Fed meeting, but if I convinced him to forego another fed rate hike, I would be the hero of Wall Street.