BrianJ

Let's all enjoy our heated jets. 718 doesn't have them!

Don't think there is any right answer to this. All depends on the buyer. I'm convinced that the vast majority of buyers of any sort of car haven't a clue what they are buying and wouldn't know what a service history is either. These days most people don't seem to know where to find their windscreen washer bottle or how to inflate the tyres, never mind what pressure they are supposed to be. It's only on forums like this that you find the minority of people who care about such things.  

Been a member since 2004. Had its ups and downs but have made loads of friends and been on some fantastic events, drives, holidays etc with them which I wouldn't otherwise have contemplated. Met and chatted with luminaries like Walter Rohrl, John Fitzpatrick, Richard Attwood etc. The so-called "factory tours" organised by PCGB HQ are pretty amazing, with access to all sorts of Porsche and non-Porsche people and places that aren't generally accessible, with lots of driving including the range of current Porsche models on its Leipzig track. Much more to PCGB than a magazine and discount off parts, but not everyone wants the same and as PaulP said, you get out what you put in.    

Depending on progress don’t disregard the clutch switch. I had two fail on my 2009 Gen 2 987 Cayman, first under warranty and second about a year later, just outside warranty. 99% of the time there was no “depress the clutch” message and OPC claimed can’t possibly be the switch because it is not generating that message nor showing any faults. After a heated row on the second occasion they changed the switch again and bingo.

I have the original 128 page hardback brochure for the 2003 MY facelift 986 published Aug 2002 but sorry, it isn’t for sale. I used it to spec my first ever Porsche. It describes all the aspects and systems in the car in some detail, including all the options, which are spread over about 30 pages. It also describes the enhancements introduced in the facelift. It doesn’t have prices. Its reference is WVK 300 220 03E/WW (on last page). If you find one for sale somewhere I think this should help you check it is the correct one. Happy to help if there is something specific that you would like from it. Good luck!

And of course if the colour isn’t the same as/complementary with your car you have the decision about painting it….or not.

Depends also on whether you keep the car inside or outside, whether you have storage space when the hardtop is not fitted and whether you can easily obtain and install the fitting kit which I assume your car will need. I had one from new on my 986 but that was an all weather daily driver and I had space to store it in summer. I wouldn’t bother on a 987 at this stage of its life.

Having owned an PDK S for about 8 years I went out looking for a PDK GTS about this time last year. I was surprised and disappointed that so many GTSs were poorly specified. Most didn’t have dual zone climate, electrically folding mirrors, etc and none I could find had reversing camera (vital for where I live). A 2016 GTS was typically £8-10k more than a similarly spec’d S of similar miles, condition and age. After a few GTS test drives over representative roads I couldn’t detect much difference compared to my S. After several months of looking I found a stonking lowish mileage 2016 S with everything I wanted and more (incl PASM, PSE, PDLS, fancy stitching etc) being sold with 2.5 years of Porsche warranty by an OPC for £10k less than a privately-owned GTS with more miles and much less warranty which appeared shortly afterwards. I couldn’t justify a GTS with that differential and have never regretted choosing this particular S. But everyone is different!

13 minutes ago, Carmine said:

With some irony you can have your Porsche serviced by any VAT registered garage that uses genuine parts *while* the car is under the 3 year new car warranty but continuing to do so under the extended warranty would invalidate the extended warranty.

It was the EU that forced car manufacturer to allow independent garages to service cars still under their new car warranty so long as they used the correct parts. 

The extended warranty is actually an insurance policy and this allows the seller of the policy to set their own rules - one of which is that the car must be serviced by an OPC.

Thanks for the explanation!

Yes, I get that.

I don't get how indie's and non-specialist sellers sell cars "with Porsche extended warranty" (or similar wording) when the terms of Porsche's extended warranty specifically says transfer isn't possible if you sell the car to a "commercial dealer or reseller that is not a Porsche Centre/Porsche Service Centre".  I can only assume this isn't rigorously checked or can be easily circumvented if the owning seller doesn't report it.  Transfer is possible if you sell to a private buyer or to an OPC. 

Similarly, "a claim for the repair or replacement of a defective system or component shall be invalid to the extent that the defect results from any of the following"... a list which includes...."Service, repair or maintenance has previously been performed on the vehicle by you or a third party who is not an authorised Porsche Centre/Porsche Service Centre". Again, some indie's buy their parts from a local OPC and seem to be able to wobble their way around this, but it doesn't line up with the strict wording of the contract.

I bought my current 981 from Porsche Centre Solihull (a Sytner-owned OPC) which had about 6 months remaining from the previous owner's Porsche extended warranty onto which another 2 years was added as an approved used car.  To contrast with the OP, my Sytner experience has been excellent, both for my used Porsche and for the purchase of new BMW 3 years ago in Sheffield. But the rules on Porsche extended warranty claims certainly don't seem to be consistently applied by Porsche or by OPCs which leaves the whole area a bit of a minefield. I didn't have any extended warranty on my previous 981, which worked out generally about even, but a £3k power steering failure on the last car and concern about PADM failure make me much more comfortable that I now have one.            

Possibly small stone lodged down the back of a brake caliper. They can make very odd noises and being a wedge shape can have that slight braking effect as the slowly rotating disk causes them to act like a clamp, then release. Had this several times on my 987. If it is that, sometimes they ping out when you go into reverse. One defeated my service guy and several weeks later I found it by taking the wheel off and peering down the back of the caliper from above - a tiny, ground down stone was lodged in a groove in the back of the caliper, resting against the back of the disk. Poked it out with a wire, end of months of intermittent weird noises and strange slight braking effects. 

On 8/12/2022 at 10:58 AM, GTSMarky said:

No brake hold on the 981

Puzzled by that. Thought it was standard. Both mine have had it. Release footbrake on hill and car stays put until you pull away, “hold” lights on dash. But I accept different manufacturers call it different things.
 

And I hate coasting, turn off stop/start to prevent it.

Yes, ripe for update based on map content in that area. No Porsche Centre I have asked has ever had a clue about which maps were installed if and when any map updates had been done. Both who attempted it made a dogs breakfast of it anyway, for entirely different reasons. Having done it myself (see above) that’s the way I will go in future. I suspect the only way an OPC could tell is if the PCM failed with a map update disc stuck in it!

Many thanks for posting. Web site doesn't mention doing maps which is strange. Wonder why. Might try them next time a  map update is released.

2 hours ago, Driyage said:

 All done via USB so no messing around with DVD’s!

I can post link if required, was a very reasonable price too.

Yes please!

I always find it takes me 6 months to sort the driving position in most cars. I was about 6'1" when I had my 986 (seem to have shrunk a bit since 😂). Once I got it right, it was one of the most comfy cars I have had, as have been its successors (987, 981). Did 80,000 miles in it in 6 years so I sat in those seats for quite a while! Funnily enough I found the instructions in the driver's manual about the seating position were a very good place to start - I ended up sitting nearer to the wheel with more bent arms than I expected. I had the standard-shaped seats with the multiple electric adjustments which included the seat base tilt, which helped a lot.  

Not sure which bits you are looking for, is it these? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182640576075?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nYQiueamT--&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=z8wJs5YZSJu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Whatever the insurer, you need to specifically check whether they cover drivers without a UK driving licence if that is the situation with your Barbadian visitor. Most will not. It will be in their T’s and C’s or details of the additional driver questions which most people don’t read. I have a relative who happily drove around uninsured for several visits unaware of this. They now hire a car because they couldn’t find any other way of getting insurance.

10 hours ago, Buzzfox said:

I know these units aren't cheap. The car is under warranty but I thought once they find out what's jammed in there I don't think they'll be overly keen to honour the warranty!

Glad you sorted it. As I had never used the DVD drive in my car that's exactly why I tested it with a music CD before loading the map DVDs, just to check that there was nothing mechanically wrong with it. 

Yes, that’s the road!

Nobody has mentioned whether they are using regular unleaded (95) or something better. My 986 (2.7), 987 (Gen 2 3.4) and 981 (3.4) all did/do noticeably more mpg on 98/99 fuel, especially since 95 became E10. 

Just googled "classic car european breakdown cover". Lots come up including https://www.gocompare.com/breakdown-cover/classic-car/. Not tried any but might give some options. Good luck.

Great write-up, good idea re GoPro! Lots of knowledge on here now about doing this which is excellent use of BoXa.net.

I get the impression from discussion with OPCs that Greenman's experience is similar to what often happens in OPCs too. But because they go away to do something else when the process is running, they frequently don't recognise when something doesn't work properly. Which is possibly why I was told my map update had been done when in fact it hadn't completed correctly and appeared to have reverted to the previous version.