Is the Porsche 997 Carrera 'S' worth it?

Still beaming in the afterglow of my first date with the new Porsche 997, one question keeps popping in to my head.

Is the Carrera 'S' WORTH the extra dough?

I really want to buy one for the Auto Spies arsenal...so much so, I emailed the head of Marketing for Porsche to pull some strings for us, so we can get our hands on one.

I'm still waiting to hear back from him...

Of course, if we did that with ANY other manufacturer, they would have already gotten back to us and would try to help us out.

But this is PORSCHE...They're on a higher level than everyone else (I think the world doesn't revolve until they say so), so I'll be lucky to even get an acknowledgement.

After all, why would you want ME to drive one and go bragging to a quarter of a million people how great it is? :)

So if they do get back to me, I need to know the answer to 64 thousand dollar question...Is the 'S' worth it?

I need to hear from all our readers who are Porsche salespeople or owners, about your opinions on the subject.

Can't wait to read these blogs!!!

beemaze - 9/10/2004 2:07:25 PM

+1 Boost

$ for $ the 997 S is not worth it if you're simply looking for a fast ride. Decently loaded 997S's are in the high 90's. You can obtain an E55 etc. for 15k less and acheive equal acceleration and two additional seats. However, we buy Porsches because there is no other automobile that comes close in terms of driving feel, styling, and exclusiveness; not because of their practicality or affordability. Thus the premium we pay. For me, it's worth it.

yrralis1 - 9/13/2004 10:55:30 PM

+1 Boost

I traded in my 02 996 with low miles after wrestling with issue of this car purchase . After all , the 996 was running fine and outside of personal gluttony there really was no reason to buy a new car . That is , until I drove the S . I love this car . It's as if they took the brst styling cues found in the 993 and blended it with a more modern approach far exceeding the 996.
The first thing I noticed in driving it was the brakes . I never would have shelled out 8 grand for the ceramic option --yet it was the first thing I liked when test driving the vehicle that i bought. The power and overall feeling of road conectivity is just amazing with this vehicle .
I can only think of two negatives :
1) I feel that the sport mode switch ought to be located on the steering wheel for convenience .
2) I have always felt that the S model should have been the ONLY model offered with a slight increase in base price.
Thus in answer to your question --is it "worth it" ? The answer is yes --to me it is . Do I feel that I paid a higher price for the marketing hype ? Yes --I do . Do I mind ? Nope -- Too busy enjoying the car .
My car has the following :
Ceramic Brakes
Sport Chrono
Full leather -- should be "standard" (IMO)
Sport Adaptive Seats
High End Sound
Navigation -- I have always felt this option was unnecessary --it's easier to just ask directions than typing in all the nonsense ----just my opinion though .
Self Dimming mirros
Heated seats