OK Folks well yes I do have a hard decision to make on the choice of a car, but when you have waited so long and considering the investment I thought I would ask around and get some of your views.

I am planning to purchase a 2010 (so I can drive next summer) Carrera 4S Cabriolet in January. Dealer has assured me I can get the paddle shifter option instead of the dog ears if I go the PDK way. If you consider I live in Montreal, do I wait for the 998 available in late fall 2011 which I will only get to drive in 2012 spring/summer or do I go for the 2010 997 Series II.

My thought is yes it will bother me to know that the 998 will have a bit more juice (possibly 405 bhp) and a possibly good new design. But my view is that there will always be a faster car anyway and hell that is simple evolution; 993 is still fascinating.

So what is it folks wait or buy..I know it sounds trivial or even infantile but when you have the bug you want one now!!! I personally think that although Porsche will always evolve for the better (except for the 996 which I thought was blahhh..sorry folks), the 997 Series II is one serious automobile that is probably at the peak of performance. Views welcome please! Thanks for letting me ramble. Peace/Out

 

Have you thought about a third option, buy a good used 996 now (they don't cost that much and, like you said, there is always a faster car, but they are good) and enjoy it for a bit, then trade up to a 998 later?

 

nice option..thanks

 

While it definitely isn't an investment (or a good one at least financially), you will have a ton of fun with whatever you choose.

I haven't followed the development of the 998, but first year model changes always scare me in terms of "working out the bugs." The 996, boxster, and Cayenne suffered from them, the 997 was much better and didn't really have those major 1st year model change issues, so who knows what the 998 line will be like in it's first years of production. The 997 series II is even better than the series I was, they improved an already great platform IMHO. I think it is really hard to go wrong with the 997 line, whether it be the series I or II. The series I's are really coming down in price and becoming quite affordable as a used high end car.

I am not a huge fan of paddle shifters. They are cool for awhile, then they loose their luster after awhile. Kind of like driving an italian sportscar with a gated shifter. I use to install quite a few paddle shifter steering wheels on tip cars, and they just didn't do it for me after a bit of driving. Kind of a cool option, but definitely wouldn't put myself out to have them.

I am still waiting to see how the PDK holds up over the next 5-10 years. The manual trans, and the tiptronic trans have been pretty bullet proof. A few of them had some issues, but overall the design is proven. If PDK problems start popping up, I can't imagine what the repair bills are going to be on that technology.

Good luck in your hunt!