Nobbie Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I've currently got a 2.5 986 and was looking ahead to what to replace it with in a few years time. It got me thinking about the 718 once the PCP agreements start coming to an end in 2019. I'm assuming a fair number will have been bought using this method and owners might sell ahead of the final payment being due. I only use mine for weekend fun, it's not transport, so I was wondering about getting an absolute base level 718 and maybe even strip it out a bit to make it a bit more raw. Are there any options that are considered almost essential in a 'drivers' car. It strikes me that a lot of driver aids like PASM, may make the car faster to drive, but reduce the driver involvement. Great if you just want to get home fast on a cold wet night in December, but irrelevant if you want to go out on a Sunday Andy enjoy the act of driving. Am I missing something here? For £42k it's almost worth buying one new if it's a drivable car without any options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason986S Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Options generally make a car nicer not necessarily more involving/raw which is what you want. I don't really use the stereo in m 986 let alone a lot of fancy options a modern one may have. The main options I do appreciate are the heated sports seats, which make longer roof down drives at lower outside temperatures do-able (and more supported in the twisties), and the M030 suspension package which makes for a better handling car. PASM wouldn't be a 'bad' option, as it can be actively dynamic and beneficial to the handling/ride. But things like extended leather, sound packs etc... they can be left for somebody else would wants a lovely A to B and weekend car in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 As I posted in the 718 Silverstone day post the car of the day for me was the almost bog standard Manual 2L with 19inch wheels. Felt the best balanced transmission, chassis, power and torque. As you say for 40k new it makes a compelling argument. To put it into context I was loaned a 2L 718 for the last fortnight with PDK and 20k worth of options and didn't gel with it as well. Have to be a Manual box in the bog std car if you are going down that route in my humble opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Of course the advantage with the 718 is that you can actually play with the configurator to your hearts content to see what options you think you can get away with. When I was looking at the 718 I was looking at a base manual 718 with a pretty low spec and my spec came to around £46k but that was a for a daily driver so included BOSE for example, however I suspect you may struggle with no options at all. E.g. Mine included: metalic paint; rear parking sensors; heated seats. I probably wouldn't want to be without those. Plus the base spec has 18 wheels, I speced 19". So yes a poverty 718 does look good value but can you live without any options? You can go the other route and just specify performance options: PTV; PASM, Chrono, but it's all money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 The usual question is, what options would be highly desirable that can't be added later? I'd say heated seats, decent headlights (though T24 RES managed to upgrade his), rear parking sensors. 986/987 basic sound used to be considered awful, not sure what the new cars are like; personally I don't need it but wonder about a future buyer. Maybe a bit of leather interior for the same reason. Smaller wheels means cheaper tyres for the enthusiastic driver and are easily swapped later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 If you want 'raw' weekend fun (firstly I can suggest something else other than a car ) and are not hung up on new then I would question whether a 718 or even any modern era car is where it's at. Most mainstream sports cars are developing more as all rounders and easy to commute in cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 ^^^ my thoughts exactly. Get a Caterham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMA Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 As EDC says, if you want RAW a 981 or 718 or any other modern car is not raw from my experience....take a look at the kit cars for rawness. Lighter, nimble, great power to weight, direct steering, no fancy electric racks, no PSM to keep you on the road, just you, a steering wheel and 4 wheels and the connected feeling you cannot get from any main stream car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted February 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I have already got a Spitfire for the really raw experience?, but it's something to complement this which is nice to drive in winter and doesn't need much attention and can be tweaked over time. Also it would be ideal if the girlfriend could drive it as well, so the 718 ticks a lot of boxes, especially if I bought a red one?I may have a wander into my local OPC and see what their demonstrators are like. 2 hours ago, Leonard said: As I posted in the 718 Silverstone day post the car of the day for me was the almost bog standard Manual 2L with 19inch wheels. Felt the best balanced transmission, chassis, power and torque. As you say for 40k new it makes a compelling argument. To put it into context I was loaned a 2L 718 for the last fortnight with PDK and 20k worth of options and didn't gel with it as well. Have to be a Manual box in the bog std car if you are going down that route in my humble opinion I'll have a look at that, I think I read a review where someone said something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Days Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Depends what you're used to. I wouldn't buy a 718 now, for example, without heated seats or f&r parking sensors. I could live without cruise, sat nav, I definitely wouldn't choose Apple Car Play again, and having experienced the surround cameras in our Macan, I'd love those on the boxster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Joseph Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 A very low spec 718 might prove problematic to move on when the time comes. I would imagine that the vast majority of buyers would prefer a nicely optioned car. When I was looking for my 981, I quickly dismissed the poverty spec cars on the Approved Used website. One thing I particularly disliked on non-"S" Boxsters was the standard five-spoke alloys which, I thought, looked rather cheap and nasty (and were crying out to be upgraded). I take @Menoporsche's point that these could easily be upgraded after purchase, but you're looking at at least another £2k or so to do this and I'm not sure how much interest there would be if you tried your sell the standard wheels on. Incidentally, I 'm cynical enough to believe that some manufacturers deliberately design standard fit alloy wheels to be a bit "ordinary" ( to put it politely) looking, in order to coerce prospective buyers to specify an upgrade. This was certainly the case when we bought our MINI. The standard 15" alloys were very plain and looked ridiculously small within the big black plastic wheelarches, so we spent £1,100 on an upgrade to 17". The difference in manufacturing costs between the 15" and 17" wheels must be minimal, ditto the difference in the cost of the tyres, so that was almost all pure profit for MINI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Quote A very low spec 718 might prove problematic to move on when the time comes. I would imagine that the vast majority of buyers would prefer a nicely optioned car. I'm not so sure, if you are selling cheaper than anyone else you will always find a buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted February 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 29 minutes ago, Daniel Joseph said: A very low spec 718 might prove problematic to move on when the time comes. I would imagine that the vast majority of buyers would prefer a nicely optioned car. When I was looking for my 981, I quickly dismissed the poverty spec cars on the Approved Used website. One thing I particularly disliked on non-"S" Boxsters was the standard five-spoke alloys which, I thought, looked rather cheap and nasty (and were crying out to be upgraded). I take @Menoporsche's point that these could easily be upgraded after purchase, but you're looking at at least another £2k or so to do this and I'm not sure how much interest there would be if you tried your sell the standard wheels on. Incidentally, I 'm cynical enough to believe that some manufacturers deliberately design standard fit alloy wheels to be a bit "ordinary" ( to put it politely) looking, in order to coerce prospective buyers to specify an upgrade. This was certainly the case when we bought our MINI. The standard 15" alloys were very plain and looked ridiculously small within the big black plastic wheelarches, so we spent £1,100 on an upgrade to 17". The difference in manufacturing costs between the 15" and 17" wheels must be minimal, ditto the difference in the cost of the tyres, so that was almost all pure profit for MINI. If a low spec 718 would be more difficult to move on, perhaps it would be easier to negotiate on buying one at 3 years old? That's assuming there are a few low spec cars out there. I'm not really fussed about options, a CD player will do me?, ditto wheels. I may ask the OPC what the guaranteed value of the car would be after 3 years on the PCP plan. 3 minutes ago, Greenman said: I'm not so sure, if you are selling cheaper than anyone else you will always find a buyer. I think there's probably a lot of truth in this on a new model as you are not competing with older versions of the same model and some people will always want to be in the latest model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Actually I think that a base car could be a very sensible idea if you are happy with it. The base price on my car was £46K and I specified £16K of extras. If I had bought the base car it would be one of the cheapest 981's around now and may appeal to somebody who wanted a 981S but couldn't really afford one with a good spec. I suppose what I'm saying is that I will never get the value of the extras back but they may make it easier to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Joseph Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 7 minutes ago, topradio said: I suppose what I'm saying is that I will never get the value of the extras back but they may make it easier to sell. It's true that the extras depreciate as much as, if not more than, the car itself. The corollary of this is, of course, that a low spec secondhand car is relatively poor value compared with a better specced example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I was just searching cheap 718s on Autotrader to back up the poverty argument and then I saw this...... I just found a great car on Auto Trader. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611159794824?atmobcid=soc3 I think you would find the extra cash wouldn't you....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Joseph Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Leonard said: I was just searching cheap 718s on Autotrader to back up the poverty argument and then I saw this...... I just found a great car on Auto Trader. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611159794824?atmobcid=soc3 I think you would find the extra cash wouldn't you....? Of course you would...my point, exactly! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Daniel Joseph said: Of course you would...my point, exactly! ? And there i was saying I thought a Base 2L was better than a loaded 'S' Soon fickle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 If the first owner of that car in Cambridge had bought a base spec car rather than that one, I contend that he would have lost less money than the hit he will have to take on that car. In fact that particular car goes some way to proving that in cash terms a high spec car will cost you more in the short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Joseph Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 3 minutes ago, topradio said: If the first owner of that car in Cambridge had bought a base spec car rather than that one, I contend that he would have lost less money than the hit he will have to take on that car. You're absolutely right, which is precisely why it's a better secondhand buy than a base spec car. On the subject of options, are there any that are depreciation proof? I don't think so, but interested to hear what others think. When we bought our MINI, the sales guy pushed us very hard to opt for sat-nav at £1,800 IIRC. We had no need of it and my technophobic partner would never have used it. "But it will make the car easier to re-sell." the sales guy argued. "Will it increase the secondhand value by £1,800 then?" I asked. "Er, no" he replied. "So, you're suggesting we spend £1,800 on something we don't need and will never use, knowing we will only get part of our money back at resale time?" We didn't get sat-nav... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I was referring to a new car. If buying secondhand then a higher spec car is better value as the options will have depreciated more than the basic car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Someone please just buy that 718 S bargain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I have just run that car through the configurator and it comes out to at least £58K new Me thinks that the demand for the new model isn't as strong as they would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Joseph Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 3 minutes ago, topradio said: I have just run that car through the configurator and it comes out to at least £58K new Looks like a good buy. I'm not normally a fan of red interiors but it really works well with the exterior colour. Shame it doesn't have a red roof, which would look brilliant, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIkeyv60 Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Registered in June 2016 and only 1 owner so unlikely a demo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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