Selling GT350R for new Porsche 718 Spyder?

[CoolHandLuke]

Hello all,

I am considering taking the plunge for the new Porsche 718 Spyder and was hoping someone could talk me out of the purchase. Yes, I realize our cars are mega special and it's comparing an apple to an orange but I've owned a few Porsches in the past and they're very special cars as well.

To be honest, I just don't have a lot of faith in the motor running/ performing well past the 30,000 mile mark. It's such a special engine and to that point, race engines require a lot of TLC along the way. With that said, I have never tracked her (just 1600 miles) nor will I ever track her but I can never truly enjoy driving her on the street due to the carbon fiber wheels getting damaged etc.

I also have chassis #LR001 which is a great blessing but also a curse since I refuse to put many miles on her. So I have a fantastic vehicle sitting in my garage not truly being driven or appreciated the way she should be.

I thought about just purchasing an extended powertrain warranty for 8/125k and driving the piss out of her but then figured in 7 or 8 eight years, their probably won't be any more new Vodoo engines available to swap out.

Please refrain from peppering me. This is such a hard decision folks. She is the best car I've ever owned...

Sponsored

 

[stanglife]

The Porsche want is strong....but I'd only replace this with a GT3 really. The problems will be different with the Porsche. The running costs will probably add up with the Porsche...especially if you are accustomed to doing any of your own work...that's about all I can say there ;)

 

[matthewr87]

My personal opinion is that if you are not going to drive the car then it is pointless to keep it, unless keeping it in the garage and ensuring it is in perfect condition makes you happy (which I acknowledge it does for some people). I used to be in that camp actually but then I started feeling bad for my car not being used as intended (not that I can come close to maxing it at the track).

Will you drive the 718 Spyder? Because if not then I say keep the 350. At least you have the exhaust note to listen to if you want.

 

[Rusherific]

If the car value is your concern it doesn't seem like you will be able to enjoy it much. Honestly there's no indication these aren't long term motors--some blew up, you got the most updated and recent one, I've read a few people on here saying there's no reason to worry longer term with the voodoo, either they have one of the issues that are well known or they don't. I also, having driven mine about the same miles as you, don't really find the CF wheels that much of an issue. I bought a second set thinking I would use those for the street but since I'm going to be going to the track, honestly the street is the safer place to have them vs making the aftermarkets my street wheels. I mean, unless you're atrocious at parking, what's going to happen to them on a low-mile car? They're not any less strong than most other wheels, and scratches can be fixed like any other. You'd have to absolutely demolish a wheel to be out the cost of a replacement. Which I feel like any modern sports car that wouldn't be cheap exactly either.

In short, if your primary concern is protecting the resale value of your chassis number car then you can't keep it, if you have to choose between that and a fun car you might actually drive. But the rest of your concerns RE: reliability or the wheels or whatever, I don't think should let that stop you having fun with the car, life is too short!

 

[JR369]

Hello all,

I am considering taking the plunge for the new Porsche 718 Spyder and was hoping someone could talk me out of the purchase. Yes, I realize our cars are mega special and it's comparing an apple to an orange but I've owned a few Porsches in the past and they're very special cars as well.

To be honest, I just don't have a lot of faith in the motor running/ performing well past the 30,000 mile mark. It's such a special engine and to that point, race engines require a lot of TLC along the way. With that said, I have never tracked her (just 1600 miles) nor will I ever track her but I can never truly enjoy driving her on the street due to the carbon fiber wheels getting damaged etc.

I also have chassis #LR001 which is a great blessing but also a curse since I refuse to put many miles on her. So I have a fantastic vehicle sitting in my garage not truly being driven or appreciated the way she should be.

I thought about just purchasing an extended powertrain warranty for 8/125k and driving the piss out of her but then figured in 7 or 8 eight years, their probably won't be any more new Vodoo engines available to swap out.

Please refrain from peppering me. This is such a hard decision folks. She is the best car I've ever owned...

Nope. No refraining.

Get over what you describe as the numeric "curse" of your car. It's not the very first R and it isn't the very last R. It is still a piece of metal produced somewhere in between iyam. I doubt being the first chassis R tag of 2020 is going to net a huge profit or warrant a special designation of any kind other than it being a 2020 R. Seriously, I wouldn't pay one cent over used car market value for it. But I guess there is a sucker born every minute.

People worry to much about the Voodoo. Ludicrous to not drive it. Get the extended warranty and enjoy it. If you can't enjoy it then go for the other. Life is too short.

 

[stanglife]

Nope. No refraining.

Get over what you describe as the numeric "curse" of your car. It's not the very first R and it isn't the very last R. It is still a piece of metal produced somewhere in between iyam. I doubt being the first chassis R tag of 2020 is going to net a huge profit or warrant a special designation of any kind other than it being a 2020 R. Seriously, I wouldn't pay one cent over used car market value for it. But I guess there is a sucker born every minute.

People worry to much about the Voodoo. Ludicrous to not drive it. Get the extended warranty and enjoy it. If you can't enjoy it then go for the other. Life it too short.

I can see it being slightly more desirable in the future because people like stuff that is interesting...like being the first...even if it's only of 2020. I don't see it going like 10-100k more though! So, is the 4-5k that you "might" see as 001 worth it to you to stare at it and not drive it? It will probably depreciate faster than that....and inflation will outpace any value you'll ever achieve from it almost no matter how long you wait.

 

[JR369]

I can see it being slightly more desirable in the future because people like stuff that is interesting...like being the first...even if it's only of 2020. I don't see it going like 10-100k more though! So, is the 4-5k that you "might" see as 001 worth it to you to stare at it and not drive it? It will probably depreciate faster than that....and inflation will outpace any value you'll ever achieve from it almost no matter how long you wait.

If it was going to be special it wouldn't have been sitting on a dealer lot. It would be in a Ford Execs or a dealership owners stable. Its max money it was gonna bring being a 2020 001 was brought into the equation when it was new. It's been depreciating since. But the caveat is there is a sucker born every minute. An 001 car might appeal to a certain kind and bring a little extra over used market value for it like you said but I doubt that much. To me, the OP's quandary seems more related to the qualities of the R in general. CF this. CF that.

 

[dpAtlanta]

I am considering taking the plunge for the new Porsche 718 Spyder and was hoping someone could talk me out of the purchase.

I own at GT350 & a 718... if you do it, you REALLY need to get the manual in the Porsche...!!!
The Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) is glorious, but it gets boring not rowing gears.
I bought the 718 before I bought the Shelby... I was never bored with the 718 until I purchased the Shelby. I am looking at getting a GTS or GT4 in manual in the future, but I will NOT get rid of the GT350.
I will never get rid of the Shelby due to the exhaust note.
Handling in the 718 is a whole different experience. The GT350 handles great, but the 718 steps it up a notch on the "seat-o-the-pants meter!
Good luck on your quandary my friend.

 

[Rapid Red]

A production ## is/would be the last thing on my mind. Throwing in the obvious a 001 production of any product, has its warts..

 

[Alain]

Not to be a naysayer but the fact that your car is 001 for 2020 will not bring much more money than any other 2020 R. If it brings any at all it will be minimal, not enough in my opinion, to keep you from enjoying the car now.

I've been considering selling all three of my cars and getting into a Porsche myself so I can relate to how you are feeling. Porsches are special cars, but so are these, in a different way.

you say you've owned Porsches before so you know better than me what you'd be getting into by making the jump.

Give it a year of ownership and force yourself to drive the R, it may make the decision easier.

 

[JR369]

I'm probably not on board with the 718 Spyder manual. I'd probably look forward to paddling the C8 Z06 before it.

 

[Rusherific]

It will probably depreciate faster than that....and inflation will outpace any value you'll ever achieve from it almost no matter how long you wait.

I think that's the thing. I wrote a whole long thing breaking it down, but it really shouldn't be necessary--at the end of the day, an average R owner should expect to break even or even lose money in comparison to investing that money in other ways in that timeframe. There's a lot of if's and but's going either way, but even a low mile well taken care of R is not doubling anyone's money anywhere close to 10-20 years from now. How many are going to be keeping theirs longer than that? Through family changes, jobs, houses? Through years of maintenance and insurance and registration costs? So at the end of the day, either people seem to be lying to themselves in terms of what *their* particular car will be worth at any reasonable point in time in the future, or else you're talking about a pretty average-to-crappy financial investment compared to not-car things like the stock market.

That's how it needs to be viewed. You buy a special, expensive-ish car, and you have two options: drive it and use the value of what you paid, or you don't drive it and you basically get to own a garage decoration more or less for free for a few years. That's the conundrum we all face. But I think for me precisely because of that conundrum that I don't view cars from a financial perspective. If you can't afford the depreciation on it don't buy it, or get something that's not even a car. I bought an R because I fully intend to keep it and hopefully pass it on someday. And if for some reason I ever have to sell it at least hopefully it will have *some* value as any R should compared to like, a 10 year old beat-to-hell M3 lets say. That's all really I expect to hope for and I think is a reasonable return on something that also brings so much joy in the meantime since I'm actually going to drive mine. If something horrible happens, I bust all 4 CF wheels, or the engine twists itself into a pretzel, oh well I'll turn it into a Honeybadger-type track monster special or something. I own this thing now and am going down with it. That's the fun of it for me, at least!

 

[CoolHandLuke]

My personal opinion is that if you are not going to drive the car then it is pointless to keep it, unless keeping it in the garage and ensuring it is in perfect condition makes you happy (which I acknowledge it does for some people). I used to be in that camp actually but then I started feeling bad for my car not being used as intended (not that I can come close to maxing it at the track).

Will you drive the 718 Spyder? Because if not then I say keep the 350. At least you have the exhaust note to listen to if you want.

Yes, I will probably drive the Spyder about 5k miles per year- maybe more. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Tomster]

Ask @honeybadger how much it costs to do a refresh. Im prepared to do exactly that. The warranty is for a catastrophic failire.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

If the car value is your concern it doesn't seem like you will be able to enjoy it much. Honestly there's no indication these aren't long term motors--some blew up, you got the most updated and recent one, I've read a few people on here saying there's no reason to worry longer term with the voodoo, either they have one of the issues that are well known or they don't. I also, having driven mine about the same miles as you, don't really find the CF wheels that much of an issue. I bought a second set thinking I would use those for the street but since I'm going to be going to the track, honestly the street is the safer place to have them vs making the aftermarkets my street wheels. I mean, unless you're atrocious at parking, what's going to happen to them on a low-mile car? They're not any less strong than most other wheels, and scratches can be fixed like any other. You'd have to absolutely demolish a wheel to be out the cost of a replacement. Which I feel like any modern sports car that wouldn't be cheap exactly either.

In short, if your primary concern is protecting the resale value of your chassis number car then you can't keep it, if you have to choose between that and a fun car you might actually drive. But the rest of your concerns RE: reliability or the wheels or whatever, I don't think should let that stop you having fun with the car, life is too short!

Thanks for the feedback, you've made some good points. I frequently drive two lane country roads and mountain roads at a rapid pace where I will occasionally (just barely) spot and maneuver around rogue pot holes deep enough to cause serious damage. To other people's points, I'm very spoiled w/ the carbons wheels and would definitely notice the difference if I bought a cheaper set of alloys.

The optimistic side of my brain says that a lot of blown engine issues were self induced due to people not checking oil level frequently and/or pounding on the engine before proper warm-up. My best friend's engine blew with just over 400 miles and he bought a 2020 as well, so that does make me wonder about the 2nd gen. motor as well.

TBC...

Sponsored