Long term reliability 991.1 Vs .2 - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

If you were going to buy a car for the next five years, would you get a 991.1 or 991.2? 991.1 - no turbos to go wrong/ relatively bullet proof NA engine -first gen electric steering is so so - older ICE -older car in general when it comes to maintenance etc 991.2 - risk of turbos going - newer on all fronts The cheapest 991.2s now overlap the .1s and I'm only looking for a base Carrera so it's an interesting choice to make. I'm leaning to 991.1 and then adding car play and the .2 steering wheel.

Very small sample, but of the two people I know personally who have had 991.2 GTSs, both have had to have the turbos replaced. If I was in the market for one, it wouldn’t necessarily put me off but, given the extremely high cost of repair, it would certainly make me think more than twice. Probably would lean towards the .1 ETA: last of the N/A cars too but I’m not sure how much “last of the” actually matters. Last of the hydraulic steering, last of ICE. Might only matter when you’re long gone. I wonder if PH was about in 60s they’d be talking about the last of the non-seatbelt cars?! Edited by b8575 on Monday 6th November 13:46

991.2 will still be under Pork warranty in the next 5 years if you wanted it to and bought sensibly, so reliability not really a concern in your timeframe. If sound isn't your main thing, I'd err towards the Gen 2 especially as you're only looking at base cars. The .2 is a better car in terms of steering, gearbox, tech, it only falls over on noise - and if one day you decided to take it out of warranty the aftermarket upgrades are massive given how tunable it is for such little outlay. Neither is a bad choice anyway, but the only issue with the base car is finding one with the key options added - this is subjective but many people want upgraded seats, chrono, pan roof, etc. and not many base cars tick all of those boxes. You could get a bargain car though.

Anecdotally, I would expect the 991.2 to be the more reliable. Partly because it would be newer, but mainly because the 991.2 will have been refined and upgraded by Porsche with the benefit of the 4-5 years of operational experience with the 991.1. Either way, I would maintain the Extended Porsche Warranty for peace of mind.

My first 991.1 was a bit of a Friday car - lots of electrical issues - never resolved by OPC so eventually sold the problem on - 2nd was faultless but only ran for 5,000 miles. My 991.2 needed a water pump within the first few months over ownership but fine after that. (this was apparently a common fault)

Niggly things acumúlate over time in general. If reliability is the decision maker then I’d opt for the newer car.

I’ve had a 997.2 for 3 years and a 991.1 for 4 years. 991.1 more reliable for 997. If I had a 991.2 I’d constantly be worried about the turbos going. In my sample size of 1 (friends T) they’ve had both turbos replaced

I had pretty good reliability on my 991.2 over 7 years of ownership. I had the water pump go too but no turbo issues. I had a few electrical gremlins but this was due to the battery going and they were sorted with a new battery. 2 batteries in 7yrs BTW. The 991.2 seems a fairly reliable car IMO. Although I owned mine from new and always took it easy until the engine was warmed up and cooled it down after driving which may be one of the turbo issues.

My 991.1C2S PDK was reliable in every way and ferociously fast. The sound, particularly with PSE is utterly delicious! Could anyone please give a very broad brush cost estimate for turbo replacement, per side on a 991.2 Carrera S? Many thanks

Thanks all. It looks like if you want to run a 991 out of warranty the best bet is a late model 991.1 to minimise the turbo risk.

And get a manual, thereby avoiding PDK issues! (and enhance enjoyment when playing tunes with that engine!)

Sukh13 said: Thanks all. It looks like if you want to run a 991 out of warranty the best bet is a late model 991.1 to minimise the turbo risk. Running any 991 ‘out of warranty’ is the risk.

With the lack of turbos I think potential borkage is limited in .1 so could just put the money aside

Was it just the GT3 engines for 991.1 that were blowing up ?

The problem isn’t the turbos, but the oil feed. Litchfield motors have a preventative fix, for relatively little. Another option is to have them exchange the turbos for their rebuilt ones, which are effectively OEM GTS, but with better quality internals.

Grantstown said: The problem isn’t the turbos, but the oil feed. Litchfield motors have a preventative fix, for relatively little. Another option is to have them exchange the turbos for their rebuilt ones, which are effectively OEM GTS, but with better quality internals. Exactly this. My old 991.2 S had the offside turbo failure back in 2019 and the cause was the oil feed pipe, nothing else. At the time it took my OPC a long time to diagnose but now everyone is much more aware of the problem. Litchfield's reputation is superb, so i'd trust them with a preventative fix. If the car is out of warranty then a GTS turbo upgrade is well worth it.

Grantstown said: The problem isn’t the turbos, but the oil feed. Litchfield motors have a preventative fix, for relatively little. Another option is to have them exchange the turbos for their rebuilt ones, which are effectively OEM GTS, but with better quality internals. Any indication of cost? Many thanks

I think around 500 for oil feed work, or 3K to fit upgraded turbos. With the later you can up the ante on the tuning if desired. Obviously you’d need to give them a call for an accurate quote. My turbos are fine at 6 years, but the car stays in the garage over the winter so the exposed bits (including the turbos) don’t get covered in salt and debris. Still, I’m considering upgrading them, but do I really need more than the current 506bhp is the question I’m asking myself.

Nuttbelle said: Was it just the GT3 engines for 991.1 that were blowing up ? Yes. Wasn’t aware of Litchfield having a preventative solution in place. If I had a .2 I’d be getting that done.

Grantstown said: I think around 500 for oil feed work, or 3K to fit upgraded turbos. With the later you can up the ante on the tuning if desired. Obviously you’d need to give them a call for an accurate quote. My turbos are fine at 6 years, but the car stays in the garage over the winter so the exposed bits (including the turbos) don’t get covered in salt and debris. Still, I’m considering upgrading them, but do I really need more than the current 506bhp is the question I’m asking myself. Sounds like a no brainer to do!

Tempting. If one of the turbos starts smoking then I’ll probably take the car down and get the upgraded ones. I’d want them to slope up the torque rather than the flat curve, as there is already plenty of punch to manage low down.

My turbos went twice within 19k miles. I think there is an updated design now when they get replaced but I won’t run a .2 without a warranty. I would just factor it into the cost of the car over 5 years.

Did you have the oil feed upgrade done?