Uhn2000
You make a lot of sense, but I'm an insane car addict so my opinion is ...... Unique. Haha

 

I'd probably daily drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari.... I've seen several F430s pushing 100k miles so they can take it.

 

I passed a F430 in the hard, cold rain traffic today pulling into a shopping center. Best looking car on the road in those conditions...just running errands.

 

Sounds like you would like to drive a manual yet haven't mastered it. Why not rent a Civic or a 6 cyl. mustang, find a buddy who tracks and ask him to teach you. Mastering the Heel/toe downshift is part of being a "real man" IMHO - Mastering a manual is part of being a REAL car guy.

Another point: seems like you have plenty of payments left on the GTS. Why would you wanna take a depreciation hit twice? Would changing the tires help with the road noise?

Finally(just to torture you some): A good buddy of mine just bought a 2012 991S manual for $95K. MSRP $118K.

 

I rent cars 2-3 times a month and have never seen a stick as an option. While might be a good idea, I'm not aware of a place that actually rents manual cars.

And I don't think that 'mastering' the heel/toe process has anything to do with being a real man...just a skill that adds a ton of value if you're tracking a car. But as far as street driving is concerned, I don't think it's as of much value when the new generation of manual cars can do it for you, and be much more efficient that a human can be in terms of matching revs more accurately. These new throttle-blip features on cars like the 991 and 370Z allow those of us that still enjoy driving a manual transmission car but help us do it more effectively while delivering a much smoother ride for ourselves (and passengers). It's a win-win in my mind.

As for depreciation...I'm trying to sell the car myself to limit that impact (find a happy medium between trade value, payoff and retail price). This way I can sell a great car to a happy buyer at a price that is less than what they would buy it for at a dealer, but more than what that dealer will give me for it. All the while having the dealer manage the paperwork while giving me the tax credit for the trade. And then lease the new 991 to remove depreciation concerns while also acknowledging that I'm going to change cars every 2-3 years...so no need to buy it.

The car has new tires on it...moving from Pirelli to Michelin helped this, but the 997 has long been known to generate a fair amount of road noise because of the massive rear tires sitting just behind the driver with very little sound insulation to manage that noise. The tire noise isn't really all that bad until you hit the wrong type of pavement for extended distances...then it wears on you.