5 Years with a Porsche 718 Spyder: Addressing Your Questions & Comments

After posting my 5-year Porsche 718 Boxster Spider review, YOU had questions. Lots of them. In this podcast-style deep dive, I'm answering the most common comments and going deeper into topics you wanted to explore: the PDK vs manual debate, real ownership costs, track performance, and whether this car makes sense as your only vehicle. 

⏱️ CHAPTERS:0:00 - Welcome & Intro2:30 - PDK vs Manual Debate8:00 - C8 Corvette Comparison13:30 - True Ownership Costs19:00 - Track Performance Details25:30 - Quirks & What I'd Change31:00 - Practicality Reality36:00 - PCA Community Experience40:30 - Rapid Fire Q&A44:00 - Final Thoughts*****Disclaimer*****All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Liability Waiver and DisclaimersNo part of the content of this video or any video published under Gary the Car Nut, and other encompassed entities, shall be stored, copied, recreated, republished, or transported. Prior express written permission by Gary Beutler is required for any use of this video. The advice, guidance, and principles outlined in all content produced by Gary the Car Nut, Gary Beutler, and other encompassed entities are not guaranteed to be appropriate for your unique situation, you are responsible to do your own research, I’m not responsible for any losses you incur.We recommend that as a consumer, you exercise your due diligence and research any and all products and events recommended to you before adopting them for yourself. Gary the Car Nut, Gary Beutler, and other encompassed entities are not responsible for any damages that result from an effort to implement the information provided in this or any other video, article, blog post, social media post, and related publications.Your use and viewing of any materials and videos published by Gary the Car Nut, Gary Beutler and other encompassed entities confirms your acknowledgement and agreement that Ontario, Canada law will apply to any and all disputes related to the aforementioned entities and that Ontario, Canada will serve as the venue for any disputes, claims, and litigious activities related but not limited to the materials produced by Gary the Car Nut, Gary Beutler and other encompassed entities.Gary the Car Nut, Gary Beutler and all other associated persons including but not limited to independent contractors, employees, and affiliates, research and review all content for this site to the best of their abilities but make no guarantees, representations, or warranties as to the complete accuracy and inclusion of all relevant information for each video, including but not limited to all video streams, suggested and provided links and resources.All parties specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any and all purposes.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Performance Car Ownership with Gary. And yep, as you guessed it, I'm Gary. And if you've been following along with my YouTube channel, you've seen that recently I posted a five-year review of my Porture 718 Spider. And by the way, if you missed that video, I'll put a link to it in the show notes so you can check it out. Now the response to that video has been absolutely incredible. I've had hundreds of uh comments, lots of likes, lots of shares, and that's fantastic. Uh thank you very much. So today's episode is gonna be different. This is where I do a deep dive into the comments and questions that were posted to that video. I'm gonna share some of the behind-the-scenes stories that I didn't include in that video, and I'm gonna do a deep dive into the questions that you really want to know information about. Five years ago, I bought this 2021 Porsche 718 Spider. Now it wasn't the best track car choice out there, and it definitely wasn't the most practical convertible I could have bought. But here's the thing it's become one of the most exciting cars I've ever owned. So today, after five years and 22,000 miles, I'm going to share everything with you. I've organized this video to several different sections based on your feedback. So the most important one was PDK versus manual. That's the one that had most of the comments, and most of you were most passionate about track performance and what it's really like out there on the track in my 718 Spider, the ownership cost reality check, and of course comparing it to the other vehicles that uh you folks mentioned. So grab a coffee, settle in, and let's talk Porsche. So I opted for the PDK transmission. Yeah, I know. You're probably thinking I should have gone with the manual, right? But that tall gearing in the manual transmissions means you rarely get out of third gear on the street. But this car with the PDK is much faster on the track. So PDK is the best choice for me. So the number one most controversial topic on that video was the my choice of PDK versus the manual transmission. So uh believe me, I know how to drive a manual transmission. I've driven actually the first car I learned to drive on, which I actually still own, believe it or not, um over 50 years ago, was my uh uh three on the tree 67 Chevy 2 with three on the tree. So it's manual transmission. And that car is an absolute beast to drive. But I've owned manual cars all the way through. In fact, my daily driver today is a GR Corolla, which is a manual transmission car. I know how to heel and tow. I learned how to heel and tow in Formula Fords back in 1980. So uh, yep, I feel very comfortable with driving a manual transmission car. But the problem with the 718 Spider as well as the 718 GT4 is in the manual transmission car the gearing is very high. And uh, so because of that, you're rarely shifting gears anyway between second and third gear. Whereas in my GR Corolla, I'm shifting gears all the time. So it's really, really fun to drive on the street. So the other benefit of driving a 718 Spider or GT4, as I mentioned, on the track, is that with the PDK it is it is significantly faster. Motor Trend and Car and Driver have both tested it, and uh 0 to 60 time alone is 0.7 uh seconds faster with the um PDK than it is with the uh manual transmission car. Zero or quarter mile is a half a second faster. And uh so yeah, it's definitely faster. But what I've I noticed on track and and my previous track car was uh a Boxter S, 987 Boxster S. And uh what I noticed was when I was in the manual transmission car, because it took me longer to shift gears, is that I could actually see the other cars in my group that are of similar speed and similar power and weight uh were actually advancing ahead because there's their the shift time was that much um that much quicker with a PDK car than with a manual, which is why I made that uh decision. And you know what? I don't regret it for one bit. The gearing is slightly lower with the PDK cars than it is with the manual transmission cars. So when you are driving around the street and you're manually shifting the PDK car, it does feel um that you're you're shifting more often and you're getting more of that enjoyment than I personally believe that I would be getting if I had a manual transmission 718 spider or a manual manual transmission in my 718 spider. No, is there gonna be a resale value issue with the PDK versus the manual transmission? I don't know. It's really gonna be hard to say. It's like the Miami blue color of my car. Is that gonna be a reset resale concern? Yeah, some people love Miami blue, other people absolutely hate Miami blue. So who knows what's gonna happen when that time comes. I'm not selling anytime soon, so we'll worry about that when the time comes. Now, one of the potential concerns is reliability of both of those transmissions, the manual and the PDK. Now, I know that in the um 981 version of the GT4, there were a number of uh concerns, actually with the spider too, number of concerns and uh issues that came up with the trans the manual transmission in those cars. And I do know that over the years I have seen a number of uh my friends that do track days have had concerns with their PDK transmissions and have had them replaced, not in the 718, but uh in 981s and uh a couple of my friends in 991.1, I think it was. No, it was in uh uh 997 um car uh uh turbo with a PDK also needed the transmission replaced. So what's gonna happen? I don't really know. Cross our fingers, that's for sure. Now, some other comments that came up was that I should also be comparing um my 718 Spider to other convertibles that are out there, notably was the C8 Corvette. But there really is just one track-friendly convertible available, and that's the C8 Corvette uh convertible. Now, I rented a Corvette C8 convertible recently for a few days and did a comparison video, which I'll include a link to uh in the description down below. But due to its significantly heavier weight and larger size, you know, it really didn't appeal to me at all. Um, also, even though it had much more horsepower, its track times were similar to my spider. But that Z06C8 convertible promises far more performance at, you know, a much higher price than this car, of course. Now I have had some experience with a C8 Corvette convertible. I rented one when I was in North Carolina last year for a few days. And uh no, it's not an honest owner uh review, a multi-year review like it is with my 718 Spider. But I got a taste of it for, like I say, for a few days. I mean, my first impressions right away were how heavy that car was and uh and how low I sat in it. Um, uncomfortably low as far as I was concerned. Um you really sat low and the visibility out of that car was horrific. Now, that car had really dark tinted windows, that was part of the problem. But even with the windows down, because you sat so low, I really felt uh that the visibility wasn't that great. Now, the Corvette C8 on paper does look significantly more or higher performance than uh the 718 Spider. I'll agree with you on that. But in real world, if you actually look at both cars on uh tracks, 718 Spider and the C8 Corvette convertible um on various racetracks, and uh and it was amazing how close the numbers actually were. So although the Corvette has significantly more horsepower, the spider has significantly less weight. And uh so you know, one compensates for the other. Now the other is is the community aspect. Now that the Porsche Club is a huge club, and uh and there's so many uh aspects to the Porsche Club. So I'm a member of PCA, uh Upper Canada Region in uh Ontario, Canada, and uh and there's just so many events you can take uh part in. I don't know if the Corvette uh club has something like that or not. So what about some other convertibles out there? So at the time, the only other convertible that was available, I don't know if the C8 convertible was actually available when I purchased my or I ordered my uh 718 Spider, which was in uh I guess it was July of uh 2020. Um I know the Corvette C8 was on the market, they were impossible to get. Uh, even getting the allocation for my 718 Spider was horrible. Um, I waited years and uh I was ghosted by one dealership. It was it was awful. Um so I was really happy to get it. Corvette, even if it was available as a convertible at that time. I was just so happy with the Porsche Club and I got and the support I received and the instruction I received with the driver education that I really wanted to continue on with that. So, like I say, I didn't even consider the uh Corvette um at that time. So another option that's currently available is the BMW M3 Cabrio, and that thing has a fantastic 500 horsepower, but it's not really a track car, is it? It's just a really nice, high powerful street convertible. So some other comments were suggesting I'm just waiting for a 992 GTS Cabrio. Well, nope, I'm not. Because it's a 911, and it's still I find 911s just too big, too heavy, and you know, the engine is in the wrong spot, should be in the middle, like the 718, right? Um, I mean, often people talk about uh the 718 or the Boxter or the Cayman or the Spider, the GT4 as being a step up heading for the GT3s and uh and the Porsche 911s. Definitely isn't for me. I mean, it's it's the end game for me. I really enjoy the mid-engine design, I enjoy the lighter weight. Um, there's enough room in the car for for, like I say, myself and my wife. I'm six foot one, there's lots of space, so that's not a problem at all. And that brings up actually a pretty good point right now is that yeah, I don't think you can buy any 718 Porsches right now. Um I think they're uh they had that problem where they were talking about making the next generation all electric. And then uh about six or eight months ago, the Porsche decided, oh no, this is gonna be a dumb decision, so we better go back to start making them uh gas and electric available. So I guess that's sort of where it's heading, but they're off the market right now, which is uh too bad. So if you're looking to purchase something like a 718 spider or GT4, you gotta settle for use at this point. Some of the comments I I received were I should have really bought a GT4. Well, uh really, really there isn't all that much difference between a spider and a GT4, especially the 718 version, because uh this the 718 version of the Spider is the first version that's actually made by the GT division of uh Porsche. So it uh literally is uh GT4 convertible. Um so I I couldn't really see the benefits of it. Yeah, I could I get the rollover protection that uh could be a concern. Um but um I don't plan on rolling it over, that's for sure. And uh and I haven't seen any GT4s or uh Porsche spiders roll or ever even heard of any. Actually, if you have, I'd appreciate if you would put something in the comments if you're uh watching or listening to this on uh YouTube because I've never even uh heard of that happening. So um so and and the car's just so much more versatile as a spider than it is as a GT4, um outside of track use, obviously. And uh, you know, for for date nights with my wife or just taking a drive with my wife on the weekends or some other times, or just enjoying the beautiful summer weather. Our summers here in Canada are very short, so it's great to drop that top and enjoy the great weather uh when we can. So I'm definitely committed to the uh spider uh compared to the GT4, that's for sure. And sure, there's other cars like the uh Jaguar F-type, R, and that kind of thing. Now that's definitely not a track car. That's uh definitely uh a car of a much different character. So now this brings me to one of the most popular comment topics, and that is what's it actually cost to own this car? All right, let's talk about the elephant in the room. What does it really cost to own this uh Porsche spider? Well, although I live in Canada and most of you are in the US, all costs have been converted to US dollars to make it easier to understand. Now, I paid $103,000 for the car initially. There's been virtually no depreciation, probably because these cars are no longer available, new, but they're still very much in demand, that's for sure. Now, these costs are what the Porsche dealership charges, but you could save about 40% of the labor by having the work done by an independent Porsche specialist. Now, insurance has been about uh $525 a year. Now, I get the my car is on the road for about eight months of the year because the other four months it just snows nonstop. But uh that's what it works out to for those eight months. A minor service is required every year, assuming you drive 9,000 miles or less at $488. A medium service is required every two years or 18,000 miles at $1,188. Now they want to replace the spark plugs every $27,000 miles or four years, or twice that often if you track your car, which will add another massive $1,200 to your service. Oh yeah, and let's not forget that this car only uses premium gas, and I average about 18 miles per gallon. So my total cost of ownership for the five years is just under $24,183, or about $1.10 per mile, which in my mind is definitely a steal. But keep in mind that if the depreciation were what you'd expect, that cost per mile could easily be three or four dollars a mile. So many comments questioned my $1.10 per mile uh figure. And uh I I don't know what to say about that. Like, so I keep track of every single cost right from the beginning from when I purchased the car. Um I included gas costs in there, insurance costs, and uh depreciation. Well, I mean, one of the beauties, of course, at least right at this moment, I mean that might change at any second, but uh the depreciation of this car has basically been zero because um you know you they were only made for a very short period of time. You can't buy them, you can't uh buy any uh brand new um caymans or boxers of any sort right now. Um, and uh that may be what's holding the values up. I don't know. I know it's a great car, so the dollar ten per miles were worked out. People were questioning my insurance costs. Yeah, I mean, I have four vehicles. This is um uh it's not driven on a daily basis. Um, I drive uh about six or seven thousand miles a year. So uh because of that, the insurance is is down significantly. As I say, it's one of four vehicles, it's bundled with my house insurance and some other uh insurance policies that we have for other products. So I do get a rock bottom rate. I have zero accident history, no speeding tickets, none of that kind of stuff uh influencing my insurance rates. So because of that, it's quite low. Again, all I'm in Canada, so all my costs are calculated in Canadian dollars, but then I'm converted into US dollars because I know most of my viewers are in the United States, and uh you need to uh compare apples to apples, right? Now, one of the things I didn't include in my cost to own now that I think about it was I didn't include the the track fees. In other words, what a cost to sign up for the track events that I uh take part in. Now I do get a reduced rate because I am an instructor with the Porsche Club, um, but I have included all the other costs related to uh tracking my car, and that is having the inspections done, having the um uh brake pads changed, the the accelerated uh rate at which I have to have the tires replaced because of the wear of the track events. Um I don't include the hotel fees and things like that. And let's not forget, too, the premium fuel. I mean, these things do take premium fuel, and on a track day, it's shocking how much gas you go through on a track day. When you're revving this car out, when you're on the back straight hitting on 140 miles an hour, um they use a lot of gas. Now, the other thing I include I mentioned in the cost to own was the services being done at the Porsche dealership versus independent garage. So I visit my Porsche dealership once a year. They have they do the oil change there, and I do whatever recommended service that uh Porsche recommends. The rest of the year I go to an independent shop, and that independent that's where I buy my tires, that's why I have my alignments done, that's where I've had the brakes replaced, all that kind of work is done at those shops. And those shops are significantly cheaper. I mean the labor rates are typically about 40% less. If I want to get non-original Porsche parts, they also are available at the independent shop if I so choose. Um, although I typically don't at this stage, my my 718 Spider is still under warranty, it has an extended warranty on it. So I want to uh try to make sure I keep that warranty. Now, the other benefit, too, that you need to realize about having the car serviced at a Porsche dealership is when it comes to getting an allocation. So um Porsche dealers, when they uh they're very finicky if you've tried to buy a GT car from Porsche or a Turbo or anything like that. They're very finicky and they give preference to their customers that are buying um uh Porsches from them and that have only bought Porsches from them in the past, but are also serving their Porsches at those dealerships. So I'm keeping my uh toe in the water, if you like, at uh getting my uh Porsche serviced at the dealership uh once a year so that if and when the time comes that I am looking for another allocation, hopefully grant one to me because uh they're super hard to get. So the other thing you have to think about uh too with cost of ownership is the amount of time I've replaced my brake pads. So I've only replaced them once, so that cost is in there. But it is significant cost to replace those brake pads. I think the pads themselves are something like six or seven hundred dollars for the fronts and six or seven hundred dollars for the rears, and then of course the labor to do that. Uh and again, those are actual Porsche parts. So, you know, those are quite expensive. If I went to other uh uh aftermarket brands and things like that, yeah, the the parts uh probably would be less costly. And if I had them um, if I did have them replaced at my independent shop, it definitely would be less costly there too. All right, speaking about track days, let me do a deeper dive into what it's actually like uh using this car for a track event. CTMP, which is a very fast track. I'm hitting over 140 miles per hour on the back straight in that environment. Now on track, my driving position changes. I lower my seat, move it forward, slightly recline the back press to live space for my uh Simpson hybrid uh neck protector for my helmet. And there's lots of headroom with my helmet on, no problem. I'm running a track-oriented alignment with two and a half degrees negative camber, which works well for me, but I still get considerable wear on the outside edge of my front tires. So I tracked my 718 Spider at uh Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, also known as Mosport. Um, the Canadian Grand Prix was held here, I think, in the 70s on this track, 70s, 80s, and then they stopped because it was just too dangerous. Uh, I mean, they put a lot of safety stuff in place over the last, especially over the last uh 10 years. But like I say, it's a very, very fast track. Um on the back street, I can hit 140 miles per hour in my car, which is obviously fantastic, but it has a lot of elevation changes. So it's uh definitely a very, very cool track. And you know, a lot of my friends have traveled to other tracks, and hey, I certainly get that. Um but being so spoiled by having a track like uh Canadian Tire Motorsport Park so close to home, it's it's amazing. So yeah, I uh it's fantastic. So again, another question came up was about tire choice. So my car came uh from the factory with cup two tires, and uh I'm I I cup two tires are fantastic, Michelin Cup twos. Uh they have amazing grip, they're fantastic, but the problem is they're not that great in the wet and they're not that great in the cold. And uh and if it's wet and cold, they're really, really tough. So, and uh because again, where we are in Canada, we do get uh cooler temperatures. Uh Canadian Tires Motorsport Park is legendary for the weather changing and uh getting lots of rain. So, because of that, I went with Michelin uh Sport 4S. Uh super happy with those tires. Uh, they're not as great as the Cup 2s in the dry, admit it 100%. Um, but they're far better than the Cup 2s in the wet and in the cooler temperatures. I mean, anything below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, you shouldn't be out there with any of these high performance tires, uh, that's for sure. Uh but as long as it's uh higher than that and you warm up the car properly, um, those uh Michelin uh four S really, really uh great tire for track use. And and I've I think I only kept the Cup 2s for the first uh couple thousand kilometers, a couple thousand miles, and then I switched over to the four S's uh just because and uh and I'm not concerned. Although, you know, I do see other cars are definitely other 718 spiders or GT4s are definitely faster through the corners than I am, and some of that may be due to their uh Cup 2 tires uh compared to my four S's. I don't know. I haven't made many modifications for my car so far um for track use. I do have uh I've gone with negative uh camber, um negative 2.5 degrees camber on the front to try to minimize tire wear, but they're still the tires are still wearing out on the very outside edge. Um through turn five. Uh Um B, I suspect, is the culprit of that. But anyway, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. But um so that that has been a problem. So I've had to switch the tires back and forth to try to equalize wear the front tires. Um but uh I think that's a mod that I'm definitely looking forward to uh making for our 2026 season, uh doing something about uh getting more uh negative camber on the front to again uh keep those front tires planted uh flat and uh minimize the wear on the outside edge. So what do I notice about instructing newbies uh on the track with uh the 17 series of cars compared to the 911 series of cars? Um again, you know, you notice the extra weight, you notice the extra size of the 9-11s. So we typically uh track cars with the windows down, drivers and passengers' windows down. But the 9-11s at around 100 miles an hour, they have this weird buffeting that happens. And I know you can get little fittings to put on the car and the side windows in front of the side windows that minimize that buffeting, but I don't get it. I can't figure out why that's there. And it always uh throws me for a loop uh when I see that. So, although I'm happy to instruct uh folks in 9-11s or 718 uh uh versions of uh the uh Boxter and uh Cayman, um either one works fine, and for students, uh they're both fine. I mean, uh I don't really see a preference uh either way. If you want to track either one, you're good to go. And I mentioned a little bit earlier about uh driving in the rain and the four S's and that kind of thing. Again, a track like Mosport with lots of blind corners, lots of elevation changes, and a very distinctively different line through the corners in the wet and the dry. Um, you know, you have to be very careful on that track. And again, I find uh the um the 718 Spider or the 718 version of the Cayman and the Boxster a little safer to drive in the wet on um at uh at uh a track like that than the uh 911. Yeah, and when it comes to safety devices and that kind of thing, we talked about roll bars and that kind of thing. Um I don't see that as being a big concern, but what I do see as a big concern is something to protect your neck. So I use one of those Simpson hybrid uh devices that attaches to my uh chest and my back and my helmet is tethered to that. And that um and that just makes sure that uh if there is a situation where I spin or I crash or that kind of thing, that it minimize the chank, uh the chances of getting a neck injury um because of that. So I I I definitely recommend uh if you haven't got one of those, to definitely check that out. Something else I'm looking at uh getting into uh this year is the Garmin Catalyst. Um I think that's something that may help me a lot on track. And I'm seeing more and more uh students are getting them. So it just makes sense that um I become more conversant with a product like that so I can help students um decipher the information that they're getting from something like that. Now, if you're enjoying this deep dive format, hit that like button and subscribe. I've got lots more great information coming up, and by subscribing and clicking that bell, it's more likely that you'll be notified about my new videos and my new video podcasts as they become available. And you want to make sure you turn on those notifications because I've got some great comparison videos coming up that you definitely don't want to miss. A lot of you folks asked about annoyances and quirks. Well, the convertible top is not power operated, and there's much more involved in lowering it, especially if you compare it to something like a Miatin. But I think it looks absolutely gorgeous with the top up or with the top down. Now it does take about 30 seconds to either drop or to raise the convertible top altogether, but the good news is you don't lose any space by dropping the top. So there's uh whatever luggage space you have, such as it is, is what you'll have with the top up or with the top down. And to be honest, um the luggage space altogether is pretty decent, especially if, again, you compare it to something like a Meatta, which just has the one trunk. Just make sure that whatever luggage you have is soft. The weather sealing of the top is absolutely great. There's no leaks or wind whistles, and obviously there's no water that leaks in either with the top up. So the convertible top operation. Yeah, I saw a lot of comments saying that, yeah, I was thinking about getting the spider, but I got a GTS uh boxster instead. Hey, I totally get it. And uh and the box and the GTS version of the Boxster with that uh four-liter engine compared to the 718 spider. They're very, very, very, very close. Yeah, I get it. And the top operation on the boxster is just so much easier. I remember when I went uh from my boxster with the the fully automatic uh uh top compared to the 718. Yeah, it was quite a difference. And you know what? I still remember when um I was discussing with my wife about buying the 718 spider, and I had ordered it, and I started making some comments about what we wouldn't get on the 718 Spider that we had on our Boxster S. And she was like shocked, you know, like the memory seats. No, you can't get those on uh in a spider. Um and and so many like uh blind spot uh detection, you know, on your mirrors, um, just so many other uh uh items, luxury car items that you would expect in a car costing this much money, over $100,000 US when we purchased it, um, should be included, but just aren't. So you can get that on in a boxster, in a boxster GTS. You can get all kinds of options, make it much more luxurious. If that's what you're looking for, I certainly get it. But getting back to the top issue, yeah. Um, you know, with a boxster uh GTS or any boxer actually, you can be driving up to 30 miles an hour and loader lowering that top, you know, whereas uh with the spider, yeah, absolutely you have to pull over, it's a whole process and do that kind of thing. So, you know, and if you're just doing the car and do doing daily daily chores with the car in the summertime, which I often do with my uh spider, what happens is I want to stop and maybe I want to go into a store and kind of feel a little vulnerable leaving the top down, so I'll put the windows up, but were my boxer S, I would have you know dropped put the roof back up, and as soon as I get back in, I drop the roof and go on. So yeah, it's you definitely have to think twice about it. And you know, Portia, if you're listening, I really recommend you do something about that TPMS uh situation. I'm so tired on uh of uh being on track and uh you know the the heat of the tires and the track use of the tires totally fool it. So, you know, it it's telling me I've got a flat tire, it's it's telling me, you know, all these giving me all these warnings and that kind of thing. Hey, I'm managing those tire pressures. If I if I could only set it up to turn that off. Now I believe in the GT4 and the GT3s, you can do that, but for some strange reason in the spiders, you can't turn off that TPMS uh system when you're on track. And yeah, that's a real pain. And I guess the one of the other things that uh uh kind of pissed me off was the whole dealership thing where, you know, they just kept throwing on wiper blades every year and just it just wouldn't mention it. It would just be total on my bill. And uh yeah, I you know, I I realize, you know, part of the fault is my fault. I should have scrutinized that bill a lot more carefully before I signed for it and agreed to pay for it. And those hundred and fifty dollar wiper blades that definitely didn't need to be replaced. I mean, summer use only, my car rarely gets used in the rain unless it's at the track, and there's no way it'll go through a set of wiper blades in four or five months. And uh and during the day, my car is car is garaged all the time. So if it's not on the road, it's in the garage. So yeah, that made no sense whatsoever. So yeah, that that that wasn't great. And uh the service manager and I are gonna are gonna have a good talk about that when I take my car in this year for my service at the Porsche dealership. So the other thing I didn't go for, so this is again on me, was I didn't go for automatic climate control. And so if you're not sure what I mean by that, is where you just set the temperature in the car and it just looks after it. So in my 718 spider, I have to manually adjust the temperature and I have to manually adjust how how um how much the fan is blowing. And uh, yeah, so that was dumb. I think it was like an $800 option or something like that, and uh that I didn't go for. And uh, yeah, I should have done that. But you know, if anyone that's a respect of Porsche, that ching, cha-ching, cha-ching when you're optioning is uh very, very intimidating. So I wanted to keep my uh my option list very, very low because like I say, I want to it's a track car. So I didn't first of all didn't want to invest uh a reasonable amount of money in this car, not buy thing neat needless things, needless luxuries, and I didn't want to um uh you know, the extra weight, more options you get, more weight. So, like I say, so that was a dumb decision. The rest of the car, I feel pretty good about uh keeping the level of options low, that's for sure. Carbon ceramics, yeah. So a few people asked about that. Yeah, carbon ceramics are an option. But you know what? In the real world, in the real track day situation, I'm shocked at how many of my friends have cars that originally were purchased with carbon ceramics and they swapped them out to steel wheels just because of the maintenance costs. And you know, carbon ceramics, yeah, they give you a higher um higher performance, that's for sure. But again, the guys that had carbon ceramics and went to steel wheels, they said the difference really wasn't all that much, but the money difference was huge. I remember doing a track day a while ago, uh 15 years ago or more, and uh there was a guy there with an Enzo, brand new Ferrari Enzo, so it would be the early 2000s, I guess. And uh and we were just casually sitting there talking, he was talking about the carbon ceramics. And back then to replace the brakes was 40 grand. So I can't imagine what it would be now. I'm sure it's well over $100,000, but uh wow, that's just crazy. Paint protection film, yeah. You know, I definitely uh went with that, and it's something I would definitely recommend. So mine is on the front of the car, the hood, the front fenders, and then along the rockers and up on the flares just before the rear wheels. And I think there's a small patch right behind each of the rear wheels. Definitely would uh go for that uh if you're thinking about getting these cars. So Miami Blue, yeah. So when I was optioning out the car, I was uh going for red. Um actually I first wanted yellow, but I didn't like the yellow. I think it's called, I forget what they call the the yellow they have or they had available in 2020, in the 2021 model when I was optioning my car. Um, but uh it was I didn't like it. It was more of a lemon yellow. I like more of an orangey yellow, like I had on my uh 987 uh Boxter S. Um, but that wasn't available. So I was leaning toward red. For me to pay extra money for a paint color, it just doesn't make sense to me. But then my wife got involved, and uh, so uh I think it was a $5,500 option for Miami Blue. And uh so my wife said, nope, if we're you're doing this, I want that color. And to be honest, I'm really happy I got Miami blue. It's a really, really cool color. Yeah, it's expensive. But again, some people like it, some people absolutely hate it. So it really depends. I like it. So let me address some of the lifestyle and practicality questions that that were asked. My wife Cheryl and I drove our spider from our home 500 miles to Hershey, Pennsylvania, in early 2024. And you know what? It was great uh on the freeways and even better on the twisty mountain roads. A fantastic road trip car, to be sure. So last year, uh my wife and I drove our car from um where we live to uh Hershey, Pennsylvania, and uh the Porsche Club, we were having a swap meet. It was early spring, and uh they were having a swap meet, and I was really looking forward to attending that. I attended it years ago and I wanted to check it out again. And uh so it was a great trip. We um crossed the border and we went through the some of the mountain areas or hill areas, whatever you like, of uh Pennsylvania and New York State. And it was it was a great road trip. Um it's been a I think it's probably one of the longest road trips my wife and I have taken in the car, but it worked out great. We had more than enough space for a weekend away. Um the car was easy to drive, and uh one of the things I noticed on that trip more than I've noticed other things is that uh although you can't always see the cars in your blind spot, you can always hear the cars in your blind spot on the highway. So that was uh kind of cool. But uh car got great gas mileage, and uh and it was a great trip trip. And uh, like I said, there's more than enough space uh for situations like that for a weekend away. Now, if you're using the car for grocery runs, Costco runs, things like that, it's not too bad. You're not gonna get one of those great big blocks of toilet paper or paper towels. Um if you do, that's probably the only thing you're gonna get into the front trunk and the back trunk. Forget it. You wouldn't get it in there. Now, there are um there are other uh concerns that I've had that I have a small tent that I set up, but it's one of those that you have to piece together all the pieces, and that fits in the car no problem. But I want to get one of those tents that you just twist and it just kind of pops up. Well, the problem was the smallest one I could get was, I believe it was 32 or 34 inches in diameter. Well, there's no place in the car, other than I guess the passenger seat, where I can put something that's 34 inches long. So that's that's a pain. Uh that's for sure. My wife has mobility concerns. So um my wife and I are uh heading to uh Porsche Parade this year in uh Lake Placid in June, I guess it is. Uh anyway, so we're uh so her walkers don't fit in the car. And uh so I was searching and searching and searching for um uh a folding wheelchair or something like that, a folding transport chair, uh, which is like a wheelchair, but you have to someone has to push it, and to find that would fit in the car. I finally found one on Amazon. I checked the dimensions, the dimensions made sense, it'll fit in the back trunk, no problem. The product arrived, the dimensions were wrong. It's Amazon, right? So the width was wrong, and it wouldn't fit in the back trunk. However, I found that I could maneuver it and I could fit it into the front trunk. So it's gonna take up most of the front trunk, but luckily, you know, we're used to uh cars with limited space. So we've got some uh luggage that's uh kind of soft and cushy that we can put it in in and around the uh the folding wheelchair, and the rest of our stuff will fit into the back trunk. Uh for a week, it's gonna be no problem at all. But I'm very, very happy that I found this wheelchair. So if any of you are in a similar situation, I'll put a link to the wheelchair that we purchased in the show notes. Now, as I mentioned, I do live in Canada, so because of that, yeah, you're right. Um, you know, I can't drive the car in the wintertime. In fact, right now, if I look outside, we have lots of snow. We've got mountains of snow actually everywhere. So uh so I have to store my car in the wintertime, and uh, but that's fine. You accept that when you live up here, if you want to have a nice car, you have to store it in the winter. And the thing you have to keep in mind, it has to be stored in a heated area. Why? It's because of the tires. The tires need to be 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and uh, so you have to have a heated spot. So uh if you're thinking about storage, you got to keep that in mind. But if you live somewhere like Texas or California or Florida or things like that, could you have it as your daily driver? You could, but you know, you'd be compromising a lot. Like I say, it is only a two-seater, you know that. Okay, but space, I just talked about that. There isn't a whole lot of space. And uh so I think for most people, I think it would be a second car. I I'd be interesting to know. You know, if if it's your only car, if you have a Porsche 718 Spider or GT4 as your only car, I'd really like to if you'd add a comment if you're listening to or watching this on YouTube, because I'd really like I'd be interested to know how many people have it as their only car. So, what would be the perfect pairing? Well, I'm happy with mine, to be honest. I have uh uh GR Corolla in addition to my 718 Spider. So the GR Corolla is all wheel drive, and it works out well in the wintertime here. Uh although we live in the country, our roads are plowed pretty regularly, and uh so I have no worried uh for it to be high-centered because the snow is so deep to get through. So I've been fortunate that way. So I find it a good compromise, uh, those two cars. Um and uh the GR Corolla has enough room in it. I guess the other uh thing you could go to the extreme, you could go to like a Ford F-150 all-wheel drive or something like that to be the other vehicle. I just couldn't live with a vehicle like that on a daily basis, uh, trying to park it and deal with all fun to drive and all that kind of stuff. So yeah. Now Cheryl rarely drives my car. She has driven it in the past. She does know how to drive a manual. She did drive my 987 uh Boxter S, uh, no problem, that kind of thing. Um she she enjoys uh the car and she enjoys everything about it. But uh from her perspective, what's her favorite? She likes being seen in it. That's the thing. Uh I think um I think people often consider um clothing, uh car your most expensive outfit, you know, that uh that you wear. And uh so, you know, the 718 Spider in Miami Blue, she really enjoys being seen in that car, that's for sure. She was very intimidated about driving the 718 Spider the first time she tried it, but she was uh she was downright shocked at how easy it was to drive um compared to um other vehicles we've owned, the GR Corolla and uh the um 987 uh Boxster S that we owned before. And you know, a lot of that's due to the PDK. Yeah, I certainly get it. But uh she just found uh everything was easy to find, uh, the controls and that kind of thing. And although she was very intimidated at first, she became comfortable very, very quickly in the car. So this brings me to the community aspect, which a lot of you talked about too. Especially PCA, Porsche Club of America. You know, whether you're into cars and coffee, driving tours, social get-togeth, or track days, there are events just about every week that you can participate in. PCA's driver education program is fantastic with excellent instruction included. Now, Porsche has by far the largest and most diverse uh car community, especially for older car enthusiasts like myself. Now, the Porsche brand definitely carries a huge amount of prestige and a mostly positive perception by enthusiasts and you know the general public alike. People uh react very positively to this car uh when I'm at a Porsche event or just uh the general public when I'm getting gas. That Miami blue color, uh the speedster humps and that low stance always gets a reaction, even after the car is five years old. And you know, at any cars and coffee, that Miami blue color really commands a presence. One of the best things about owning a Porsche is the Porsche Club of America. I believe that it's the biggest club in uh in the world, uh car club in the world. And uh so it's very cool. I mean, there's so many things you can do and so many interests you have. I mean, they have cars and coffee events all the time, they have uh group drives all the time, they have um all kinds of events. Um I mean, there's sort of even tangential, if you like, uh events between the whole thing. I mean, last two years ago, uh my wife and I went on a river cruise in Germany, and uh, and it was uh it was organized by a member of the club. It wasn't an official club event, but it was organized by a member of the club, and most of the people on that cruise, uh over 20 couples, were um from the Porsche Club, and it was great. We went on a river cruise, and uh so a lot of like-minded people we went to the Porsche Museum, we went to um the Nürburg Ring, uh, we rented Porsche's for a day and uh and had did some group drives there and that kind of thing. So that was great. But in terms of official events, I mean they have concourse, and like I say, my wife and I are this year planning to attend Porsche Parade. We've attended uh three or four of them in the past, and uh this year it's at Lake Placid, which is relatively close to us, about four or five hundred miles, I guess. Probably four hundred, I think. Anyway, and uh so we can get there, we can take our car. Now that I got this um travel wheelchair that I can fit in my uh spider, uh it's not going to be a concern for us uh going there. But the club offers so many events and so many things that you can take part in, and uh socials and that kind of thing. So it it's a real it, you know, like I say, you think twice about buying a different brand of vehicle just so that you know that you wouldn't be able to take part in so many of these events. It's very cool. So the track day community, yeah, that again is a whole community within the Porsche Club. And uh and I've been member of the Porsche Club since 2008, I guess. So it's that uh you know, 18 years now? Wow. And um, so it's great. I mean, a lot of the folks that um were in the the part of the driver education when I first started are still there. Uh a lot of the instructors are still there, and uh so it's it's a really good community. So it's a community within a community, as I mentioned, and I've got some great friends that uh that I look forward to seeing every summer and spend uh 15 or 16 days with uh at the at the track. And uh it's it's it's really great. And one of the advantages of having a track day group that's 90% Porsches, uh, it's optional for instructors, but 90% Porsches is that you can do so many comparisons. You know, there's there's the likelihood of uh another 718 spider being there or another five 718 spiders being there is really, really high. So you can kind of you know share notes and things like that. But you can also talk to the GT4 guys, 718 GT4 guys, and just kind of see. What they're doing with their cars and things like that. So it it I really like it. You know, I mean some people complain they'd like to see more diversity, like to see Corvettes and BMWs and cars like that uh being invited to the events. But to be honest, I really like that it's primarily Porsche. I think that uh really helps the community aspect of it. Now the age demographic uh in the Porsche Club, yeah, that's uh kind of interesting. It's mostly older guys, that's uh that's for sure. Um there aren't very many uh women and uh and like I say, uh definitely the age is older. Um I'd say the average age is it's gotta be 60 or something like that. It's uh now we are getting younger uh guys into the group, and uh but the younger guys uh seem to be very, very affluent, and uh so it's not unusual to see the beginner run groups, GT3s, even GT3RSs, uh cars like that in the group, and uh which is definitely kind of different, that's for sure. And let's not forget online uh groups, you know, online forums in that. There's lots of Porsche forums. I mean, RenList is probably the biggest one out there, uh, but they have so many sub forums in in that, and uh so there's so much information you can get, and so many uh people you can uh meet up with online and uh discuss what they're doing, what you're doing, and uh, and if you have concerns or problems or troubleshooting and that kind of thing, there's lots of information. And again, YouTube, there's lots of YouTube videos on how to fix, how to modify, how to improve, how to do things with your Porsche that you may have never even thought of. Now, before we wrap up, let me answer some rapid fire questions. Here we go. What's the biggest surprise after five years? Well, really, how well the car's uh stood up and how well, you know what, it still looks and drives like new. One thing I tell someone that's thinking about buying a used one, definitely get a pre-purchased inspection by someone that knows those cars. Will you tune or modify it? Right now I'm looking at um uh modifying the suspension in my car, but until now, my car is a hundred percent stock. So buy it stock, drive it stock until you definitely want to do something about it, but you don't have to modify it, that's for sure. What about track day frequency? I track my car about 16 days a year. Scariest moment on a track day? Well, coming into turn eight, that's at the end of the long straight at fairly high speed, uh, and a whole pack of cars, um, two cars ahead, I think it was, um, blew his engine, and there was just this mountain of white smoke, and literally you couldn't see a thing. You drove into this mountain of white smoke, and you you were you were because I was in a pack of cars, I didn't know if the cars ahead of me would be slowing down more quickly than I was, and I wasn't sure about the cars behind me, whether they would be slowing down more quickly than I was. So I wasn't sure if I was gonna ram into someone or someone behind me was gonna ram into me. So the smoke was there through turns eight, nine, and ten, and then luckily cleared. Unfortunately, other people weren't as lucky as I was. I didn't hit anything and no one hit me, but there were other cars that went into the wall. Best compliment I've received for my 718 Spider. I love that color. Weirdest question someone asked me about this car. Do you drive it daily? In Ontario, people ask me if I drive this car daily, really? Like in the wintertime? Dream modification with a $10,000 budget. Yeah, I think I'll be spending it on my suspension. And I don't know if it's going to cost $10,000. I certainly hope not, but it may very well. Advice for someone on an allocation list right now be very careful about the options you choose. Do a lot of research, choose as few options as possible to keep the cost and the weight down, but choose wisely. And do yourself a favor and get a bright color. But hey, here's what I need from you. Drop a comment or a question in the comments down below. And uh, I'm thinking about doing a part two of all of this, and I would definitely uh appreciate any engagement you have, and I definitely appreciate your questions and comments because I read and answer every one of them. What other car reviews would you like to see in this video podcast forum? I've got some ideas coming up, but I really appreciate your ideas. And if you enjoyed this deeper dive format, hit that like button and that subscribe button clicking the bell too. That way you'll be notified of all the new stuff that comes up, and I've got some great comparison videos coming up that you'll definitely enjoy. Click here for my honest owner review of Abe's Lotus, and I'll see you there. Any questions or comments, like I said before, add them down below. I read and answer every single one.