It's been a fun trip, but time to move on...

[New2Roundel]

To start, this is probably the second thread I've started in the 5 or so years I've been here. The first was probably my introduction. And here, I'm not necessarily saying good bye, but that I've sold the M3. One of the lighter and more popular topics around here seems to revolve around what does one replace the e9X M3 with? To that point, this is my story.

For me, I've never been a huge BMW guy. I never owned one before my e92 and I never really lusted after them growing up. I was way more of a VW-Audi-Porsche guy. I have owned like 8 VWs (still have a corrado), though never an Audi. BMWs were always cars that were appealing and I respected them from afar, but other than the M coupes, I never really lusted to own one. So why in the world would you buy an M3 or any BMW? For me, the answer was simple. I had a mustang GT which I liked, but the poor quality of it bothered me over time. The engine was great, but everything else was clearly done the cheapest way possible.

Time to go back to the Germans. But I wanted something nicer than a GTI or R. More interesting and special as well. I suppose I could have looked at Audis, but as I've gotten older and their cars have progressed, my interest in the brand took a nose dive. I don't see ever owning an Audi unless it's for my wife--particularly a modern Audi. That left me with the C63, the e9x M3, and the 997 carrera. Loved the C63 that I rented for a week in Norcal. But it also seemed like it was trying a little too hard. I drove two 997s and they left me underwhelmed. The m3 was felt "just right". It drove superbly and about as good as any FR designed performance car can/should. And I really liked the s65. What a characterful engine.

As it turns out, I ended up owning the car for 5.5 yrs, which is longer than I expected. I got it with 27k miles and offloaded it with 49k miles. In that time, the car was very good. I had a couple of small issues with sensors and a rear diff seal, but that's really it. Why sell then? This will sound weird, but a switch flipped. It was time. I was starting to think that maybe I was on borrowed time with the RBs, TAs, and any other bit of bad luck that could come my way. For the record however, the car still runs great and has no dash lights.

As noted above, I'm a VW-Audi-Porsche guy at heart. I also noted that Audis generally don't do much for me these days. So that leaves Porsche. My VW was my affordable dream car and a 911 was my reach dream car. Was it time to pull the trigger on a 911? I had serious thoughts of buying a new Cayman GTS 4.0. And then the 997.1 turbo came into focus. I went back and forth mentally about this. My basic conclusion is that if nothing else, after the hype dies down on the GTS 4.0, I'm left with a cayman. My dream however has been a 911. So I drove two 997 turbos. I loved them. They felt a lot tighter than the carreras I drove years earlier. I liked the steering and gearbox better than that of my e92. And then there's the torque. The 997 is now old enough to feel it's age, which in typical porsche fashion (and IMO) is more charming than it is annoying. The turbo has some lag for sure. But once it gets going, it's pretty fun. With the 997 turbo I'm getting more than frankly I would have thought I would ever be able to purchase (as in, I always thought that if I got a 911, it would be a crusty, low spec/level car).

Hopefully the obligatory photos show up!

[bvrider1]

Love the 997.1 !!

[wyatth]

Worthy successor! Congrats and enjoy!

[timothy2001]

Wow beautiful move.....love it and best of luck to you. Let us know if you miss it!

[AC/DC]

I'm mulling the exact same move. Congrats, she's a beauty!

[Longboarder]

Congrats!

[jayzbird]

Great choice! Similar mind here, only I decided to keep both! Can’t think of a better couple cars for the $. Hope to see you over on rennlist.

[torrque]

Excellent choice, well done!

[Lito335]

Wow, congrats. That’s probably my next move lol

[fs34]

One day I hope to move up to a P-car. Gotta get 3 kids through college first.

Congrats on the upgrade, I bet there’s a never ending grin on your face.

[pbonsalb]

I would give up my 08 E90M3 for a 991.1 or 991.2 Turbo. Will have to wait another couple of years so I might look for a used supercharger kit to make the M3 more entertaining in the meantime. Porsche does make nice driving cars — we just bought a 21 Cayenne S after a couple of X5 test drives.

[spiderspider]

Just picked up a 991.1 C4S myself. Decent car. But definitely keeping the M as well.

[New2Roundel]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. I am jealous of the people who can keep both cars. In some ways, the M3 is a bit more civilized and quiet, so if you're using your car as a fun commuter, you may be better off. I've not traditionally been a turbo guy and throttle response/boost can be a little unpredictable, but once into boost the feeling of acceleration is impressive. Though the S65 is properly special in it's own right. I read an older comparo article from C&D where they compared an e9x M3 with a GTR and 997 turbo. It was a good read and they spoke quite highly about the quality of the driving experience in the M3, which I don't disagree with at all.

Enjoy your cars, they're truly excellent!

[ChiTownM]

Borrowed time, great analogy. I own my 2009 with 34K miles since new and I am also having that doubt in the back of my head....but I am enjoying the V8 setup. Just drove my buddy's new Vette and NA engines are my thing it son why I never bought an M2. That's why I
Ike the Porsche GT cars I'd I were to go Porsche.

[94jedi]

Definitely a good move! Personally, only a p-car can take the place of my M3.

[GotV8?]

Wow!!! Nice upgrade!!! Enjoy the new drive and definitely come back when you can.

[Helmsman]

Congrats Roundel, to 5.5y enjoyable M3V8 driving, and your next voyage. Never had a Porsche but one day maybe!

[MVEED3]

Life's too short to drive "crusty" cars. Always plan for unexpected costs so any used buy at your upper limit can set up a failure mode.

I've learned over the years that I'm just a car guy and the blinders are removed. Driving the Carrera GT told me I needed a MR 6spd manual Porsche GT product whenever the opportunity popped.

[cooler2442]

Good choice, but I would have gone GT4

[sharkbite]

Originally Posted by cooler2442

Good choice, but I would have gone GT4

Agreed !

I got my GT4 in 2017 with 1800 miles on it, done a few track days and its easily on top of my Never-Sell list. For almost a year I owned my M4 alongside the GT4, but ultimately, there was a bit of overlap and the M4 was sold.

Before the M4 I had an E90 M3 6spd and that's a car I miss dearly, so I'm actually in the process of getting into a E92 M3 DCT which is why I clicked on this thread.

To the OP...congrats on the 997TT ! You're going to love it. Had a 996TT for a while and have had plenty of seat time in my friends 08 997TT . Amazing cars.

The only thing I would recommend you consider is to have the coolant pipes pinned or better yet, get the Sharkwerks upgrade. This is the achilles heel of this particular Mezger motor. I've known of owners have them go at both the track on a hwy pull. Kind of its a matter of when -not if.

One of my closest friends is the owner of EPL Tuning. Tony has a Stage1 that will turn that into something that will annoy a MacLaren.

[cooler2442]

Originally Posted by sharkbite

Agreed !

I got my GT4 in 2017 with 1800 miles on it, done a few track days and its easily on top of my Never-Sell list. For almost a year I owned my M4 alongside the GT4, but ultimately, there was a bit of overlap and the M4 was sold.

Before the M4 I had an E90 M3 6spd and that's a car I miss dearly, so I'm actually in the process of getting into a E92 M3 DCT which is why I clicked on this thread.

To the OP...congrats on the 997TT ! You're going to love it. Had a 996TT for a while and have had plenty of seat time in my friends 08 997TT . Amazing cars.

The only thing I would recommend you consider is to have the coolant pipes pinned or better yet, get the Sharkwerks upgrade. This is the achilles heel of this particular Mezger motor. I've known of owners have them go at both the track on a hwy pull. Kind of its a matter of when -not if.

One of my closest friends is the owner of EPL Tuning. Tony has a Stage1 that will turn that into something that will annoy a MacLaren.

I had the choice of selling my GT4 and picking up something better such as a GT3RS/458/991.2 GT3 Touring but ultimately decided to keep the GT4(hard for me to part with it since its also a PTS 1 of 2 in America in that color) but also wasn't sure everything else on my list would be double as fun for double the money. The E92 I picked up recently is already very well setup(BBK, Ohlins, ESS625, BBS FI) which makes the car so much fun and I honestly don't miss the GT4 when I'm doing canyons in it like I would other cars I owned along with the GT4(ND Miata, 996 911 Aero Kit, M2 Comp). I'd say the E92 M3 is 85% as fun as the GT4 the way mine is currently setup.

[94jedi]

Originally Posted by cooler2442

I had the choice of selling my GT4 and picking up something better such as a GT3RS/458/991.2 GT3 Touring but ultimately decided to keep the GT4(hard for me to part with it since its also a PTS 1 of 2 in America in that color) but also wasn't sure everything else on my list would be double as fun for double the money. The E92 I picked up recently is already very well setup(BBK, Ohlins, ESS625, BBS FI) which makes the car so much fun and I honestly don't miss the GT4 when I'm doing canyons in it like I would other cars I owned along with the GT4(ND Miata, 996 911 Aero Kit, M2 Comp). I'd say the E92 M3 is 85% as fun as the GT4 the way mine is currently setup.

This is interesting; I feel like my next car is either a GT4 (718 or 981, likely the latter due to price) but the GT3 and GT3RS are very enticing. Spending $150k on a car is not something I take lightly and I'm not even sure I can do it (purely from a principle perspective) but my question for you is this - is the GT4 that good that you don't think the GT3RS is enough of a jump?