997.2: Experiences and choices

If you are ordering a new one, it's not an issue. The problem is the choices available on the used market.

 

There is a coco mats ad in the new Panorama with a 997.2 interior sporting a deviated interior with alcantara shift boot, full leather, etc. I don’t care what the spec of that car is, meant it for the interior

 

I would reconsider the color. You can take a black car and wrap it to any color you want for a reasonable amount. What you can't easily change is the interior color, though, so that is what I would focus on.

 

Yes, an interior color that works for you is what I would look for.

 

Unfortunately Porsche weren't very adventurous with interiors in this generation. LOTS of black. Some sand beige. And very few of anything else.

There's a very sweet-looking 2010 Carrera on cars.com right now, but it is red over black.

 

I find a big problem with the non-black interiors to be the way Porsche made EVERYTHING in the car the same color! With black, it's okay, but with beige, it's a lot of beige! Give me beige seats and a black steering wheel and dash, please.

I ordered my 981 Cayman with an orange two tone interior (black dash and wheel), and it looks fantastic. The salesman, who I respect, told me not to do it and they had never sold one like that... and I did it anyway. When it arrived, he couldn't believe how nice it was.

 

Porsche make beautiful cars, but the way their dealers spec them for sale is almost always disappointing. As is the factory's exceedingly limited use of its wonderful back catalog of colors. Admittedly, they've gotten better since the 997 days but compared to what could be, the usual dealer black, white, and silver cars with black interior is disappointing.

 

Sad, but true. Dealers tend to order very conservatively. I recall only about 5% of 997s are red.

 

Funny, though, I'm looking at Ferrari FFs and GTC4s and all you see are black, white, and gray.

 

They are used, of course. At least in theory, and I think reality, Ferrari only allows orders with a customer name attached, so there are no orders for "dealer inventory."

I have noticed the trend across the board, though-- dealers, BaT, Craigslist, etc.

 

I’ve been looking for a 997.1 for the better part of a year. Finding a manual, sport seats, with Sports+ is impossible now. There was one available a few months back in Arizona. A rubber stamp color, black interior with sport exhaust. 28k miles with original lobster claw wheels. Mid $50’s. Should have bought it.

What I’m learning is…

1). People hated the lobster claws. Most are now blinged out.
2). People still love making cars loud. Aftermarket exhaust is by far the rule. (These cars will never have the sound of a WWII fighter. But that doesn’t keep people from spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to make it happen).
3). They also like spending money on after market suspension.

This is what makes Sloan able to charge so much for his cars. Stock is everything where real money is the goal.

 

“Subjective” is the word Jack. I’ve owned a .1 and a .2, both with sport plus buttons. It wouldn’t surprise me if the .2 is faster in normal mode than the .1 is in the plus mode.

As soon as I got into either one, the sport plus button was immediately turned on. I didn’t drive either one in normal mode so I’m not the guy to ask. I will tell you the .2 is the faster car. Noticeably so.

Sloan usually has a couple of water-cooled. I just check there because if he were to get one in the spec I’d like, it would most likely be a low mileage car.

edit: I don’t know where you look but this guy has a lot of inventory that turns over fairly fast. He sold my .2 to me years ago. A few months ago, I tried buying a .1 from him. We couldn’t get together on price. Two reasons we couldn’t get together, 1) it had a black interior so I was cool on it to begin with and 2) he’s not as hungry as he was 7 years ago.

https://www.ryanfriedmanmotorcars.com/inventory/

 

Always like blue cars, might be Cobalt Blue.! The only quibble would be if the dash is BLACK or a continuation of the sand beige that could be subject to 'glare'. Lower mileage and known good history is a strong plus.

 

I’ve come to the realization that the spec I want is unobtainable. It just no longer exists.

997.1 S
100% stock
Sport seats
Sport button
Original lobster claw wheels
Tan interior
Low miles

I’ve looked for over a year. I still browse but unenthusiastically with no real expectation of finding one. I won’t buy one if it’s not what I already know I want. Been there, done that. I’ll go without before I do it again.

That midnight blue/tan you’ve found is a pretty car. I had a 964 wide-body that color. It’s an “in demand” color combo that’ll be easy to sell if you ever decide to do so.