[718Red27]

I'd like to go for the Atlanta delivery and make it up to tail of the Dragon afterwards... just not sure if I want to drive a new car without paint protection film 1200 miles across the country without breaking it in first. What are some of your thoughts & experiences?

 

[Semitone]

Here is my two cents. It's not exactly the same but some of it maybe applicable.

I took European delivery and here are some of my thoughts.

1.) I worried about PPF initially, however, I am not that conscientious about keeping my car clean or how I wash it... In the end, I decided I just wasn't concerned enough for it to be an issue. I drove for 4 weeks in Europe without the PPF, took my car through car washes, did everything many people wouldn't do. Had PPF applied when I got home. In the end, the whole issue for me was a non-event. I didn't worry about paint correction. I don't go over my car with a fine toothed comb looking for problems. I find all of that detracts from the ownership experience for me. It's a car, cars depreciate. Driving it is the best determinate of value to me, not polishing it.

2.) Keeping the rpms down is a nuisance. You want to just wind it out initially and have fun. Luckily I got about 3000km under my belt before I made it to the Alps. So I was pretty good to go when I got there. Prior to that it was a bit boring to drive. I also think the PDK ( which is what I bought) takes some time to do some learning. It was fluky in the beginning but after a couple thousand miles it seems to have smartened up and learned to shift more appropriately.

3.) I find that I can drive more spiritedly on my local roads. I know the curves, I know where police, bicycles and animals are more likely. All the unknowns of driving on new roads detract from my enjoyment. I've driven on the Shenandoah Skyline Drive. It is a great scenic road but I think I would need to drive on it multiple times to have as much fun as I have on my local known roads. I don't have much time to view the scenery when I am driving for fun. To much happening , too fast. I'm sure the Tail of the Dragon is great but under your constraints..new car, new road, it may not be optimally enjoyable,YMMV.

4.) I've been to PEC-Atlanta. Lot of fun. Taking a car on the track is a joy. You may also want to plan to take another type of car on the track while you are there. If you have the time and funds, I would use the opportunity to cram in another model car on the track. In addition, they have a simulator, which is fun and substantially less expensive than a real car. You might want to sign up for that too.

If my experience in Europe is anything to judge the US delivery experience, Porsche will do a great, high quality job with execution.

My gut tells me, if you are considering it, then you should do it.

 

[718Red27]

thanks for the input! I think i just might... I live in Dallas, TX and the drive home in a new car 1200 miles isnt something I normally do, but you only live once. If a few more folks pitch in their 2 cents...and say go for it, i think i will!

 

[JakiChan]

I did PEC LA delivery. It was one of the best days of my life. I've never felt that much like a rockstar. It was embarrassing. I drove home from LA to San Jose and managed to not pick up any chips.

That being said, if you're truly paranoid, you could temp wrap it with Trackwrap or similar.

 

[Viffermike]

I'd like to go for the Atlanta delivery and make it up to tail of the Dragon afterwards... just not sure if I want to drive a new car without paint protection film 1200 miles across the country without breaking it in first. What are some of your thoughts & experiences?

I did exactly what you're contemplating, temporary tags still on the car and all (except I didn't divert to the Dragon; I chose other things to hit there and on the way back).

Totally, absolutely, undeniably worth it. The only caveats I'd offer are:

• Running the Dragon wouldn't be nearly as fun pre-break-in as it would post-break-in. (Part of the reason I opted not to do it.)
• The hotel next to PEC Atlanta, the Kimpton Overland, wasn't open yet when I went. Porsche required it to be built as a condition of locating that PEC there.)
  STAY AT THAT HOTEL. That part of Atlanta is not the greatest. Thank me after the trip!

 

[craig66]

Cant talk about ATL delivery but I can talk about PEC. It was truly amazing and learned a ton about my car. I second Semitone's idea about doing two sessions but let me warn you they are exhausting and at the end of the last session you will be spent so don't even think of hitting the road at that point.

For me the 2K mile break in was torture and so any way that I had of getting miles under the belt would have been good and the drive to NJ would have knocked 800 miles off of that although granted I would have had to do a lot of speed and acceleration varying.

I am not a PPF person. I bought the car to have fun in and to be driven and so paint chips would not have been an issue. Ironically after 6K miles I have no paint chips that I can see.

 

[ArchiProf]

Based on recommendations on here and from friends, we really wanted to do the Atlanta PEC delivery but it would have delayed actually getting the car and we could not make it work with our schedules. So we opted to make the commitment to do it in the future. You might be able to do some advance planning and get at least a partial (hood and bumper) PPF done in Atlanta, especially as @craig66 noted you might want to do some R+R after driving the PEC track!

Another thing to consider is to mix interstate highways with "back roads" and non-interstate US highways back home so you are able to vary the engine speed more easily.

 

[craig66]

There is a you tube video of someone taking delivery of a 911 GT3 RS IIRC and Porsche slapped on a very makeshift plastic covering for his trip home. Granted it looked a little weird but it did the job until he got home. You could certainly address it with them.

 

[aeronca65tl]

We collected our new 2018 Cayman in late 2017 at the PEC in Atlanta, and drove it home to New Jersey.
We did this as sort of an excuse to drive up the east coast and visit some old southern towns such as Savannah, Beaufort, Myrtle Beach etc.
So we felt the delivery was really worth it, since we enjoyed the PEC but also got a short driving vacation thrown in.
We skipped the Dragon this time. From my point of view it's not that great in a car.....much better on a bike.
I knew from previous drives that the car would probably get peppered in "no-see-ums". But they polished the car up nicely during pre-delivery at PEC so all the dead bugs washed off with no issue. I was a bit worried about public parking but we had no issues.
The one calamity that did happen was that my wife slipped and broke her arm on our last day at OBX. But it was a clean break and she healed quickly.
Here's a link to some photos:

http://vintageracer.tripod.com/trip.html

 

[BudgetPlan1]

We collected our new 2018 Cayman in late 2017 at the PEC in Atlanta, and drove it home to New Jersey.
We did this as sort of an excuse to drive up the east coast and visit some old southern towns such as Savannah, Beaufort, Myrtle Beach etc.
So we felt the delivery was really worth it, since we enjoyed the PEC but also got a short driving vacation thrown in.
We skipped the Dragon this time. From my point of view it's not that great in a car.....much better on a bike.
I knew from previous drives that the car would probably get peppered in "no-see-ums". But they polished the car up nicely during pre-delivery at PEC so all the dead bugs washed off with no issue. I was a bit worried about public parking but we had no issues.
The one calamity that did happen was that my wife slipped and broke her arm on our last day at OBX. But it was a clean break and she healed quickly.
Here's a link to some photos:

http://vintageracer.tripod.com/trip.html

That's a pretty cool rundown of the trip...sounds like something worth doing :Savannah, GA, Beaufort, SC, Charleston, SC, Myrtle Beach, SC, Wilmington, NC, Wrightsville Beach, NC and various areas on the NC Outer Banks including Kill Devil Hill, Nags Head and Kitty Hawk...all neat towns I'd like to roll thru sometime!

Well done.

 

[DriveInHouston]

I took the Nashville through Cherohalla Skyway to Blue Ridge Parkway to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and my 718 CS was already broken in!

Woohoo! It was a great ride!

I wish we did the Eastern Seaboard on the way back from NYC, but we were in a hurry... Some other time.

 

[Grozk17]

The best free (in 2017) accessory I ordered! I cannot recommend enough. The entire experience was first class. There are a number of PPF installers in the metro area (and a range of prices). We took delivery and drove to an installer who worked until 4am so the car could be ready for our drive the following afternoon.

 

[PKB]

Is there any difference in the 'experience' if you do it as part of your order/build or schedule it some time after delivery. I heard you can also go do it before taking delivery or as a non-porsche owner.

 

[Barryng]

I did PEC LA delivery. It was one of the best days of my life. I've never felt that much like a rockstar. ... I drove home from LA to San Jose and managed to not pick up any chips. ...

... Totally, absolutely, undeniably worth it. ...

• The hotel next to PEC Atlanta, the Kimpton Overland, ...

"Is the Porsche Delivery Experience Worth it?"
Absolutely, positively worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We took delivery at the Atlanta PEC on April 3, 2019. Ours was the 798th delivered by that facility (there is a sticker on the windshield documenting that).

Porsche has the art of making one feel like they are their most important customer ever perfectly nailed. Even the menus in the restaurant, where they provided lunch, were customized with our names. Not anything earth shattering but a real nice attention to fine detail that was typical of everything they did. The driver that gave us our track time was outstanding and was able to instantly read our abilities/inabilities and give us a truly fun and memorable experience. The "Unveiling", where they pull the silk cover off the car, was also a very nice touch. None of it was essential but the memories of an absolutely wonderful trip were well worth it.

I would also suggest staying at the Kimpton, mostly because it is so convenient. The restaurant was great for a late night sandwich after arriving, a drink, excellent service, and some nice atmosphere. However, we went elsewhere for dinner as it is more of a really nice large hotel coffee shop than a top notch dinner restaurant. The rooms were certainly fine but they were small and spartan, more like a European standard than what we are used to at even the "economy" Marriotts. It was surprising that our room first defaulted to two single beds and we checked in as a couple but they did quickly change the room when we indicated single beds were not acceptable. They require a large refundable deposit when checking in. I have run into that before but rarely in upscale hotels in the US and I find it very offensive. I perceive this is more of a European thing but were not in Europe but in Atlanta, Ga.

We did drive the car 600 miles home and did get a couple very small chips on the hood. These chips were quickly touched up by the shop that installed the PPF & ceramic coating and are very difficult, if not impossible, to find. My opinion from the start, for me, and still is, I spent a lot of money for the car to enjoy it and not driving home and enjoying that first special long drive would be stupid.

You will not regret taking delivery at the PEC.

 

[Grozk17]

Is there any difference in the 'experience' if you do it as part of your order/build or schedule it some time after delivery. I heard you can also go do it before taking delivery or as a non-porsche owner

The PEC tour, track time, etc are the same but the delivery experience is the real deal. As mentioned several times above, you are catered to at the level of a celebrity-I was a bit embarrassed actually (and I’m an ED doc, so used to being in the middle of the ”show”). It is an indulgence that you really should consider. Another is the Porsche Driving School in Birmingham-expensive, but again one that leaves no regrets

 

[sobiloff]

Just a quick love note to the LA PEC: Absolutely an outstanding experience that was well worth every penny. It's a shame every Porsche can't be delivered this way, as it really does make you feel like a rock star. (Or, a movie star—Will Smith's son Jayden was there the same day we were.) Charles, who's head of the experience, does a superb job with the reveal and the small touches. I won't go into too much detail as there's an element of surprise I don't want to spoil for folks.

I opted to add the GT4 Accelerated half-day class as well. It was great to flog a GT4 around their road course, as I got to explore all the higher RPMs and handling characteristics in their car before getting into my own car. They use the Porsche Track Precision app on the instructor's phone to data log your laps, and then you come back in and analyze your performance, identifying where you could improve, and go out and try it again. The app is a lot easier to use than an AIM Solo 2 DL + SmartyCam, but still gives you all the information you need to know to improve.

But even better than their road course, IMHO, are their low-friction courses. You start out learning how to drift, tail-out, around a circle and then you take those skills to the low-friction circuit to drift through the course, linking slides through lefts and rights together. Simply an amazing, and safe, way to explore the car's handling. Then top it off with the kick plate, that kicks the rear end of the car in a random direction as you drive over it. Can you save it or will you spin it? (28 MPH was my best save.)

As for the drive home, I brought some Track Armor with me, so the wife and I spent some time in the parking lot applying it before we left for the day. (PECLA won't install this for you, but doesn't mind if you do so in their parking lot.) I was planning on spending the following day driving in the mountains to break-in the car—and have some fun!—but a snow storm moved-in earlier than forecast so we had to immediately blast up I-5 for home instead. Fortunately traffic was pretty light once we got out of LA and was averaging 90 MPH, so it was easy to keep the rev's varied and still get a good ring seal in the new engine. The Track Armor seems to have done its job well, so if you're fussy about the paint then it's a pretty good option to keep things protected as you drive home. (Yeah, it's a bit ugly, but I'd rather my car be ugly for a little bit before I get the paint properly protected forever.)

 

[PKB]

The PEC tour, track time, etc are the same but the delivery experience is the real deal. As mentioned several times above, you are catered to at the level of a celebrity-I was a bit embarrassed actually (and I’m an ED doc, so used to being in the middle of the ”show”). It is an indulgence that you really should consider. Another is the Porsche Driving School in Birmingham-expensive, but again one that leaves no regrets

Thanks Grotz17! I will keep it in as part of my build.

 

[Las Vegas DC]

Absolutely! I picked up my 2021 Porsche 718 Spyder in Atlanta PEC in December 2020 and would highly recommend it! I even drove my Spyder back to the West Coast in December. You have PPF options before you accept your car. Great experience, I would definitely do it again for my next Porsche.

 

[PKB]

Absolutely! I picked up my 2021 Porsche 718 Spyder in Atlanta PEC in December 2020 and would highly recommend it! I even drove my Spyder back to the West Coast in December. You have PPF options before you accept your car. Great experience, I would definitely do it again for my next Porsche.

It's definitely on the 'to do' list. Do they let your wife drive also? We will both be tracking it over the long haul. And what 'PPF options' are you referring to? Thanks.

 

[Las Vegas DC]

It's definitely on the 'to do' list. Do they let your wife drive also? We will both be tracking it over the long haul. And what 'PPF options' are you referring to? Thanks.

I split the time w/ my guest, actually gave him 70% of the track time as I had a long ways home. They will offer two (2) PPF options (25% and 50% of your car), talk to your dealership about these options. They will eventually have a representative at PEC who will contact you to make this "contract" with them down in Atlanta for the PPF. Additionally, I jokingly asked the folks there if they knew anyone who could neatly install my radar detector and dash cam wires and they gave me a contact, a professional and former Porsche technician who popped of panels to my disbelief and hid my wires from the fuse box. He arrived at short notice since I was departing very early the next morning. I had a room at the hotel right next door to PEC and I was allowed to leave my Spyder in the garage over night, and enter/exit at my leisure, which I didn't drive locally due to my long trip home. This contact even installed the wires in the PEC parking garage, which was cool and convenient. Obviously, I paid for that out of my pocket and gave him a nice tip. I also had my headlights wrapped when I returned to San Diego, thought that it would be a good idea too. Not to bore you but, details of my PEC day... arrived at 0900, did a tour of the museum, refurbish garage was under-construction and no tours were taken in December. From there, we went to the private car reveal and one on one time going over the entire car, which was very helpful. We had our track experience, which was awesome and a nice snack bar w/ free everything was available to you while the other party was on the track. After the track, we went to the nice gift shop to look around and they present you with a very nice "swag" bag full of gifts. From there, we had lunch at the 5 star restaurant "356" that I believe was staffed w/ a Michelin star chef. The lunch consisted of 4 main entree choices and it was well worth the price however, free to you and your wife. They leave your car in a VIP spot for several hours and you're free to go from there. They even presented me w/ a memory stick full of professional grade photos of my car around their campus. I'm very satisfied w/ that delivery experience and would do it again. Good luck to you and let me know if you have any further questions.