991.1 C2S buying advice - Page 1 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Looking to join the Porsche club. Never owned/ driven a Porsche before. I have decided on the 991.1 C2S (despite all the debate of 991 Vs the 997). Car will be a 3rd car and mainly for weekends with occasional commute (that’s why I might consider a cabriolet). Budget is £40k-£45k which will buy 12/13 plate car with 60-80k miles on the clock. I have few in my watchlist with full Porsche service history. So, what are the things I need to look at when checking the service/ preventive issues. The forums are flooded with issues which makes it challenging to figure out what to look for. I will consider to add the Porsche Extended Warranty but want to ensure car had been well looked after. Interestingly entered the registration of a car from my watchlist (listed for £44k) into WBAC and got a quote of £25k. I understand that WBAC is not the best platform for these cars BUT almost 20k is eye watering. So, do these cars have a long way to depreciate?

Are you planning to buy from an OPC, a specialist dealer, a non-specialist dealer, or an individual?

The margins at OPC’s are big!

DangerDoom said: Are you planning to buy from an OPC, a specialist dealer, a non-specialist dealer, or an individual? Currently there are no OPC within my budget. So will be a specialist.

A specialist should reduce the likelihood of anything service related or preventable. For the most part they'll know the usual issues with each model and will have identified it in their own pre-purchase inspection and then covered it in their pre-sale preparation work. The dealer is also on the hook for any issues which arise in the first 6 months so you would hope that's an incentive to be proactive. Is the "Porsche Extended Warranty" you mention the one offered by Porsche themselves or do you have another product in mind? Worth bearing in mind that a specialist may include a warranty anyway or may offer a bespoke warranty that you can purchase through them... and it might , emphasis on might , be better value.

DangerDoom said: A specialist should reduce the likelihood of anything service related or preventable. For the most part they'll know the usual issues with each model and will have identified it in their own pre-purchase inspection and then covered it in their pre-sale preparation work. The dealer is also on the hook for any issues which arise in the first 6 months so you would hope that's an incentive to be proactive. Is the "Porsche Extended Warranty" you mention the one offered by Porsche themselves or do you have another product in mind? Worth bearing in mind that a specialist may include a warranty anyway or may offer a bespoke warranty that you can purchase through them... and it might , emphasis on might , be better value. That’s right, the Extended Warranty I am considering is Porsche Extended Warranty, but needs the car to be owned for minimum of 3 months and the car has to undergo the 111 checkpoints before the warranty can be purchased.

Be careful, buying a non-OPC car and then wanting to put it through the program for warranty can be costly. That 111 point check insists on you having Porsche OE tyres and a Porsche battery et cetera et cetera and if the car doesn’t have any of that the bill can run into thousands to get back into the warranty. I would buy from a specialist and just have a slush fund for repairs personally, or buy an opc car.

interstellar said: Be careful, buying a non-OPC car and then wanting to put it through the program for warranty can be costly. That 111 point check insists on you having Porsche OE tyres and a Porsche battery et cetera et cetera and if the car doesn’t have any of that the bill can run into thousands to get back into the warranty. I would buy from a specialist and just have a slush fund for repairs personally, or buy an opc car. True, but also some standard checks you can do yourself prior to purchase. I bought mine from a specialist but negotiated on the price to get the OPC warranty and service (was a full Porsche history car, but would have needed a service 5 months after purchase). In my case the extended warranty had just lapsed (wouldn't have been transferable with a trade sale anyway). I seem to recall reading recently that N rated tyres may not be a requirement any longer, but I'd still check for N rated tyres, Porsche battery and the date on the tyre foam kit etc. All the best to the OP in their search.

Thanks guys. I am aware the Porsche warranty needs N rated tyres/ battery as well as the last service should have been carried out by a Porsche dealer. Looking at the Porsche warranty, it costs in circa of £2K for 2 years or £3k for 3 years (which I should budge for). Is the PDK service at around 80k miles a recommended by Porsche? Or is it just a preventative measure?

ABMA said: Thanks guys. I am aware the Porsche warranty needs N rated tyres/ battery as well as the last service should have been carried out by a Porsche dealer. Looking at the Porsche warranty, it costs in circa of £2K for 2 years or £3k for 3 years (which I should budge for). Is the PDK service at around 80k miles a recommended by Porsche? Or is it just a preventative measure? No idea about the PDK service I'm afraid. I went for the 2 year warranty as the saving for paying for the 3rd year upfront was minimal. You can continue to renew without further inspections whilst the warranty is in place so I couldn't see the benefit in taking the hit for all 3 years.

C320 said: No idea about the PDK service I'm afraid. I went for the 2 year warranty as the saving for paying for the 3rd year upfront was minimal. You can continue to renew without further inspections whilst the warranty is in place so I couldn't see the benefit in taking the hit for all 3 years. I have just bought a 2012 C2S. The PDK service is due at the 12 year mark. Most people seem to be unaware of this (I assume because most 991s are just approaching the 12 year mark).

FrancisA said: I have just bought a 2012 C2S. The PDK service is due at the 12 year mark. Most people seem to be unaware of this (I assume because most 991s are just approaching the 12 year mark). Thanks, good to know! Wow, feels strange that the earliest 991's are turning 12 - how time flies...

Apologies if the rules have changed, but in 2015 when I bought my 981 you could... If buying privately you could ask the seller to put it through the 111 point check and the seller adds the warranty, both at your cost. This gets around the 90 day rule as the car comes to you with the new warranty transferred from the seller on purchase. That way, if it fails the 111 check you have only to pay for this and walk away or make a decision to pay for whatever it needs doing to pass. Of course you then have extra leverage on the seller's price. If they don't agree to do this avenue, what are they hiding? I did this with my Cayman, except it was within its original warranty period so I just had the 111 point check done for reassurance, before purchase, via the seller taking it to OPC Reading. I paid the OPC direct for the 111 point check. Mind you... the 111 point check is a rudimentary tick box exercise. I'm now not even sure if they're with the car when they do it! The above won't work with a trader sale of course. As you say you need to keep it 90 days before adding a warranty. So which is best... a carefully considered private buy with a cursory check from an OPC but which comes with a new Porsche warranty to cover most ailments, or a trader purchase where you have to wait 90 days with baited breath to see if it can have a new warranty? Edited by DJMC on Tuesday 14th November 16:38

DJMC said: Apologies if the rules have changed, but in 2015 when I bought my 981 you could... If buying privately you could ask the seller to put it through the 111 point check and the seller adds the warranty, both at your cost. This gets around the 90 day rule as the car comes to you with the new warranty transferred from the seller on purchase. That way, if it fails the 111 check you have only to pay for this and walk away or make a decision to pay for whatever it needs doing to pass. Of course you then have extra leverage on the seller's price. If they don't agree to do this avenue, what are they hiding? I did this with my Cayman, except it was within its original warranty period so I just had the 111 point check done for reassurance, before purchase, via the seller taking it to OPC Reading. I paid the OPC direct for the 111 point check. Mind you... the 111 point check is a rudimentary tick box exercise. I'm now not even sure if they're with the car when they do it! The above won't work with a trader sale of course. As you say you need to keep it 90 days before adding a warranty. So which is best... a carefully considered private buy with a cursory check from an OPC but which comes with a new Porsche warranty to cover most ailments, or a trader purchase where you have to wait 90 days with baited breath to see if it can have a new warranty? Brilliant plan! I did 111 point check before I sold my 718 and I gave it to the buyer, who greatly appreciated it.