Manual991

Here is my expert opinion after 11 1/2 days of ownership. I've had air cooled 911s (87 and 97) and also had a 2013 C2 MT. My 2013 991 had Sport PASM, sport exhaust, and PTV. When I had the 991, I couldn't get back to an air cooled 911 fast enough. I thought the 991 drove so big if that makes sense. Mine also has 20" S wheels and was a rough riding car.
I'm over the moon with the Cayman GTS and I haven't taken it over 4500 rpm yet. The ride is night and day compared with the 991. It has tons of power and has amazing handling. I can't wait to get on track and really see what it can do.
My only complaint is Apple Carplay sucks and doesn't recognize my iphone all of the time.

4k ADM is pretty good. My dealer is 10k adm. As someone mentioned above, if you're not going to do a lot of track time, LWB could be skipped. Not sure you can get them anyway but the 2 way seats are pretty nice. If I could have spec'd my car, I might have done 18 ways but I've read they add a little height to the seat and not sure I'd want the seat higher. I'd actually prefer a little lower.
If you pull the trigger, I'd save the LWB money and get GTS interior or leather with deviated stitching. Mine has GTS with chalk stitching and I think it's really nice and gives it a very sports car look and feel.

usctrojanGT3

Must have been the same SA who thinks they won't build any GT4RSs in 2024.

BDonaher

I'm 29 and just bought a CPO 718 GT4. I think the age argument isn't really applicable unless you know someones individual circumstances...

sin911

That is not a bad deal considering you will be able to spec your own car. Considering ICE’s are going extinct, it’s a great opportunity to build what you want. While I understand you’re trying to keep to a certain budget, you may not get a chance to spec another ICE any time soon.

Personally I’m in the camp of ‘do it once, do it right’. Not saying go bananas and add $30k in options, but adding a few options should not be a deal breaker. Leather interior is one that I love and would not want to be without on such a luxury sports car at this price point. LWB’s are a personal choice, I have injured back so not an option for me. Went with 2 ways SS+ and really happy with them as I don’t really track my cars anymore. On the canyons they hold me in place quite good, and after 3-4 hours of driving I get out of the car without back pain.

EXFIB

Just a thought for you, instead of paying the dealer the 4k ADM, ask if you can get the 5 year Porsche Wheel and Tire and maybe a plus 2 on the service plan. Might be a win/win.

manifold danger

This is exactly it, right here- and speaking to the OP's question. To me it just makes no sense why you'd pay $4k ADM just for the privilege of selecting your own options to... not select any options. Also, I fully agree with whoever suggested against Ice Grey Metallic. It's a great color, but it makes zero sense for the color to be the only option selected when it costs almost $3k more than very similar colors. That makes up for 3/4 of the ADM right there...

There are plenty of these cars on the used market now for around the same cost of ~$106k or so that are going to be much better equipped. All you have to do is find one you like and buy it. And the best part, you don't have to go through the agonizing process of waiting 8 months or more for it.

I appear to be a in the minority on this board of people who have had the opportunity to build and wait for their cars new from the factory, but I absolutely hated it. I'm somewhat convinced I may have suffered long-term mental health deterioration from it I'm still recovering from. I spent hours every single day on this forum and staring at the damn Track Your Dream app for MONTHS, just to get the car and have impossible to meet expectations. Sure, the car mostly delivered on them, but my ownership experience now is tainted by this process, and I've considered multiple times moving on from it already. A lot of that has to do with the fact that there's this gaping hole in my life where the obsession used to be. I can't imagine ever putting myself through this again- and I can't guarantee it will happen like this for anyone else, but I can guarantee it's happened to somebody.

I also realize that I bought a convertible sports car and it was delivered in October, and I haven't been able to truly enjoy it but for about 2 weeks since I've owned it... but end of the day, it's just a car. It doesn't enhance the quality of your life once you have it- especially relevant to other good sports car options that are out there. I could wake up tomorrow with a M2, Supra, C8 or even a Civic Type R in the garage where my 718 used to be and not really have my overall happiness impacted. Let alone whether I've got bucket seats or Bose vs Burmester...

991.7mt

You all make very good points. Especially when it comes to not selecting the options I really want. I built one out and with the bare minimum for me, it’s was $3,800 in options.

This puts the car at $101k after ADM, pre-paid maintenance and doc fee.

It might not be a 2024, but I can find one with more options for the same or less money. As much as I want to spec my own, it’s not an unobtainable car on the secondary market. Without the ADM is makes sense.

“We will see significant price increases in the middle of the year for the new model year. That will help a lot to make sure we make strong group operating margins,”

That’s what Porsche’s CFO just said. So that could be another $1k too.

TXRubicon

2023 -> 2024 price increases are going to be pretty significant based on all the statements they've published. I'll bet the ADM is close to or lower than what the increases will be.

baege

mine was pretty much a stripper but I enjoyed making it my own

sometimes I think it might be might my keeper car since I made it mine by ordering and building it, but sometimes I think otherwise as you can tell from my recent other thread

I've had both new cars that I built and pre-owned cars I didn't build, it doesn't make much that much difference in the ownership experience, but it does make some difference

you'll never know how much ordering and builiding your own porsche matters for you until you try it.

Patrick3000

Do it, do it, do it

One lesson from Covid, tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone!

Having owned a few Porsches over the years, my poverty spec for a GTS would be LWB, Leather, Burmester, enjoy

sanderabernathy

I had a couple of $60,000 base Caymans. Nice cars but nothing special. The extra $40k for a GTS 4.0 was worth it to me. For me, the GTS 4.0 is a car built exactly the way I would build it if I could start with a blank sheet of paper. For that reason and the fact it will probably be the last non-utilitarian ICE car I ever buy I think it was worth it. But that's just one person's opinion.

manifold danger

I think this varies strongly on an individual basis, and based on circumstance. I've ordered 3 cars now, all Porsches, and my favorite one so far is the 23 Macan GTS that is actually for my wife. I didn't put together a particularly rare or unique build, but I feel like it would have been hard to replicate the exact combination of options I got in that car.

For anyone curious, I love talking about it lol. This car is a keeper, at the very least until EVs are ubiquitously better or the wheels fall off, because it does get driven pretty regularly. Here's the build, and here's what it looks like after Xpel Stealth:

https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPKK1PP8



The Boxster though? It's great, it really is. It's spec'd exactly as I wanted it. But I feel like I could find another one that would replicate the experience pretty easily. I'm not that attached to it TBH, and have even recently considered trading it in for an M2 Competition. Part of that I know is because I've owned it almost exclusively during the winter months. Also I realize that I truly miss having a manual, no matter how good the PDK is... and here's the build link for anyone curious: https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PP4EKZG7

But it is what it is. I'm sure there are many people out there who feel the same way about their 718s as I do about my Macan. But one other thing I'll add... the wait for the Macan was trivial compared to the Boxster, and it overlapped with the Boxster. I placed the order in July and it was delivered in October. The Boxster originally had a deposit placed in January and it was delivered in October. So yes, I think I may actually have a bit of residual resentment for the Boxster because of the wait, which isn't applicable to the Macan. FWIW.

Edit- also, important to note. Aside from my current Macan GTS, my favorite car of all time was a 991.2 7MT Carrera S I picked up off the lot CPO from a semi-local dealer. I think if given the opportunity I'd have to at least heavily consider trading my current 718 BGTS 4.0 for another car just like this:

triode

My GTS 4.0 just arrived last week, after getting an MSRP allocation in August '22 (I've bought several cars over the years from the dealer). It replaced a 2014 981S. Given my (advanced) age and the certainty that this would be the very last new ICE mid-engined, manual transmission car I will ever be able to order, I went all-out at $114K: Burmester, buckets, dynamic headlights, GTS interior plus extra leather with Chalk stitching (steering column, end caps of dash, etc.). So far I haven't gotten over 4,000 RPM (I'm one of those guys who observes the factory break-in recommendations, particularly in an age of black boxes capturing rev history), but am ecstatic with the car so far and doing extra driving to get the 2K miles in the logbook ASAP.

Not to the OP's point, but a few observations for the board: the long gearing issue is greatly mitigated by the added lower-end torque of the 4.0, compared to my old 3.4. The sound is far better than I expected from reading this and other boards - much better than my 3.4 in the sense of having a deeper, almost V8-ish rumble (though there is a bit of non-RPM-dependent "loose washers in a coffee can" rattling when cold at low RPMs). Having the Sport & Sport+ selector **** on the steering wheel is genius. And I know that it's about 70 pounds heavier than the 981, but the Sport PASM ride is night-and-day better - and the turn-in seems sharper and the car really wants to play. Happy camper indeed, early on.

VIC_50th

Just to set the record straight, that was my thread about the GTS availability winding down.
I mentioned the OP's allocation to my SA, and his comment was "..he must be in the US.."
He never commented on 2024 GT4RS availability to me, I did not say it was stopping, and we have had plenty of people on RL saying it IS continuing.

So we have at least one Canadian and one Brit saying no more GTS 4.0 production, and a few Americans agreeing none; a few US people saying yes, and this OP stating he has been offered an allocation for MY 2024.
Sounds to me like lucky US buyers get to continue ordering 718 GTS 4.0s for the time being, but for the ROW it may be ended.

Now back to helping OP with his build!

gallucho

https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPL986M3

https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPHRAJD6

I'd do one of those.
I have this car and I wish it was ruby:
https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPJ2HP45