How essential is Sports Chrono for resale of a 997 - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Hi I am torn between 2 997's. Both PDKs however 1 has Sports Chrono and the other not. I am being told that when the time comes to re-sell the car its much tougher to sell on a PDK without Sports Chrono? Any views from more experienced porsche ownership? Thanks

I was told the same by the dealership when I specified my 997. Other then thinking that this would just provide them more profit when I bought the car, I have to say that I saw two second hand 997's recently and one had and hadn't - I bought the one that had!!!

If you're considering a 997 without Sport Chrono, then it is believable that there are many people who are happy to have a 997 without Sport Chrono, so yes, you should be able to sell it to one of them. If the value will be lower than a 997 with Sport Chrono when you come to sell, pay commensurately less now for the one without, then you're in exactly the same position. If the dealer is telling you that you need to buy the one with, then sympathise with him because he must be having the same problem selling the one without, so because you're such a nice person you'll take it off his hands, as a favour to him for £x,000 less than the sticker price.

xRIEx said: If you're considering a 997 without Sport Chrono, then it is believable that there are many people who are happy to have a 997 without Sport Chrono, so yes, you should be able to sell it to one of them. If the value will be lower than a 997 with Sport Chrono when you come to sell, pay commensurately less now for the one without, then you're in exactly the same position. If the dealer is telling you that you need to buy the one with, then sympathise with him because he must be having the same problem selling the one without, so because you're such a nice person you'll take it off his hands, as a favour to him for £x,000 less than the sticker price. I had a 3.6 C2 997 without the Chrono & sold it within two weeks so unless you really want it don't buy it.

It wouldnt stop me from purchasing if the rest of the car was what i was looking for.

Chrono is overrated and over hype'd . It's a scenario that's been generated by the sharp suits in the OPC showrooms . Unless in a turbo which I understand as part of the 'sport chrono' package gives over boost on the turbo when the feature is activated . That said I had it in my 997 turbo and hardly used it. My latest RS doesn't have it.

For me Chrono is/was a must have for the 997. The improvements to the PDK shift patterns and speeds and the throttle response are really quite substantial and the car feels a lot more sporty in Sport and then even more in Sports+ modes. To me my 997 feels rather pedestrian when in normal mode - e.g. within 5 secs of leaving a traffic light it's cruising in 5th gear which is great for economy and comfort on the daily runs but blah if you're driving in a more spirited manner. Also I often drive it in manual mode and then it's just so much more fun with the sharper throttle and the quicker shifts. I would strongly recommend against getting either a 997 or a 991 without this option. these cars are way quicker with Chrono.

It's an ugly item in the dashboard. I think they look way better without. I'd investigate a discount for the 997 without it, and then re getting the Sport+ button retrofitted as it does speed the PDK shifts.

rashumon said: For me Chrono is/was a must have for the 997. The improvements to the PDK shift patterns and speeds and the throttle response are really quite substantial and the car feels a lot more sporty in Sport and then even more in Sports+ modes. To me my 997 feels rather pedestrian when in normal mode - e.g. within 5 secs of leaving a traffic light it's cruising in 5th gear which is great for economy and comfort on the daily runs but blah if you're driving in a more spirited manner. Also I often drive it in manual mode and then it's just so much more fun with the sharper throttle and the quicker shifts. I would strongly recommend against getting either a 997 or a 991 without this option. these cars are way quicker with Chrono. Way quicker? I think not you're talking tenths not whole seconds.

ZX10R NIN said: rashumon said: For me Chrono is/was a must have for the 997. The improvements to the PDK shift patterns and speeds and the throttle response are really quite substantial and the car feels a lot more sporty in Sport and then even more in Sports+ modes. To me my 997 feels rather pedestrian when in normal mode - e.g. within 5 secs of leaving a traffic light it's cruising in 5th gear which is great for economy and comfort on the daily runs but blah if you're driving in a more spirited manner. Also I often drive it in manual mode and then it's just so much more fun with the sharper throttle and the quicker shifts. I would strongly recommend against getting either a 997 or a 991 without this option. these cars are way quicker with Chrono. Way quicker? I think not you're talking tenths not whole seconds. Tenths or whole secs, it feels like quite a different car on mine (2010 C2S PDK). Like I said the biggest diff is that the PDK behaves really differently in normal vs sports in auto mode and the throttle is quite a bit sharper. I agree the timer thingie on the dash is pointless mind...

My 997.1tt seems to be one of the few without Sports Chrono and although I'm happier without the ugly clock on the dash, I am now considering the sports button retrofit to add the over boost function. I'm just not sure whether it justifies the outlay as the car isn't exactly slow without it. The consensus seems to be that it's nice to have, but is the change to the car worth spending upwards of £1000? Also is it a fixed price upgrade or should I ring a few OPC's to check prices?

Buy the car, retro-fit it.

Shewie said: My 997.1tt seems to be one of the few without Sports Chrono and although I'm happier without the ugly clock on the dash, I am now considering the sports button retrofit to add the over boost function. I'm just not sure whether it justifies the outlay as the car isn't exactly slow without it. The consensus seems to be that it's nice to have, but is the change to the car worth spending upwards of £1000? Also is it a fixed price upgrade or should I ring a few OPC's to check prices? You feel the most effect of the system on PDK, as it speeds up shift time noticeably, and when in auto it holds the lower gears for longer. I really don't think you'd feel much difference in a non PDK car. Maybe a very marginal sharpening of throttle response, but I certainly wouldn't go spending £1k for that.

Sports chrono on the turbo radically diminishes lag.

Sports chrono on the turbo radically diminishes lag.

CGJJ said: Sports chrono on the turbo radically diminishes lag. Ah OK. I stand corrected.

CGJJ said: Sports chrono on the turbo radically diminishes lag. Or just get your turbo mapped & leave the Chrono for dead, for half the price

A friend of mine had a 997 and never regretted buying it. What car have you been driving up to now? I had a much loved Ducati and Harley Davidson but am moving onto a family Porche as I have a kid on the way.

Guys, thanks for everyones comments. Drove one with Chrono & one without. I bought the one with! Just now need to wait 2 weeks to pick it up.....counting the days

It can be retrofitted, ergo whether a car has it or not is of at best marginal importance. On non-GT cars (on which it makes no difference except adding the stopwatch to the dash) you can also have the SC features (launch control, throttle map, overboost - whatever is appropriate to the model in question) retrofitted without installing the clock too. FWIW: my gt3 has it - the last time it was used was by the dealer who sold me the car over 3 years ago.

Good on you. Did you get a discount? Can you recommend a dealership?

Hi Joe, I brought from RSJ from Joel in the end. I was looking at a car at Harbour Cars in Chichester and RSJ in Slough, neither would budge on their screen price - its like a cartel! In the end Joel did a better deal on my part ex and also agreed to retro fit cruise control, that sealed the deal. Just looking forward to picking it up now.

You haven't brought it yet, you bought it.

Brought it yesterday, collect in 2 weeks

No, you bought it.

Corrected ;o)

crystalmethod said: It's an ugly item in the dashboard. I think they look way better without. I'd investigate a discount for the 997 without it, and then re getting the Sport+ button retrofitted as it does speed the PDK shifts. Ditto - did this on my last car - it's a must have option and this way (retro) its only about £700-900 to retro fit - negotiate it as part of the deal and lose the dash wart. Simmo

WHo is Joel? You have two weeks of anticipation

Joel owns RSJ sports cars in Slough. Did my research on the forum on RPM, RSJ & Harbour Cars, all really positive feedback. Gave me confidence to buy from an indi specialist. My experience of all 3 dealers was as described on the forums.

Did he give you a good discount?

Hi Joe. No discounts anywhere. I put RSJ against Harbour cars - Gary at Harbour Cars response to RSJ offering a better price on my BMW part ex was 'I guess you have a decision to make' - he didn't budge. Ultimately RSJ gave more for my part ex and also agreed to retro fit cruise control for the sale. I guess this would be the way I would look for a discount is to see what they would add to the car.

I am in no rush to find a family car and certainly will shop around. I am looking at the UK as it is cheaper for me. A friend told me to check out the Panamera GTS as it has good boot space for buggies, shopping etc and also the Cayenne GTS, it has the same four-wheel drive system, more seats, a bigger boot and better body control even though it is a heavier SUV. Anyway, I will enjoy doing my research and test driving these beauties.

Are there any good porsche dealerships in the south west?

I had the sports button retro fitted sans the wart, came to 500 quid from Bolton OPC, if you want the sports gear shift strategy it's a must have for a PDK car, but easily retro fitted.