The 991.1 is an excellent choice - though I'm biased
Specification is always such a personal thing, so it's totally your choice but FWIW from my own experience:
*Glass roof: Some will argue that it places the weight too high for a sportscar and raises the CofG - all true but cobblers for a predominantly road oriented car. So enjoy the sunshine whenever you want and don't worry about it. The internal blind helps keep the sun off and makes it feel like a solid roofed car but the fact the roof sweeps up on top, makes the opening much larger than early 911s.
*Chrono Pack: Is useful for resale and personally I like the clock on the dash but I'm not sure how often I've seen it as a tangible benefit, in terms of the technical additions that it offers - maybe in extremis on the track but not so much on the road.
*PSE: Definitely worth it, for the grin-inducing experience alone, whether it comes with it, or you have it retrofitted.
*14 Way Seats (with memory): For me personally, this was a massive box ticked when I found my own car. They are so comfortable, that I can drive for hours (indeed to Scotland and back) and I have spinal issues, so comfort is a pre-requisite. The overall adjustability, lumbar support and ability to retain my own settings is a boon. Finding a car with them though, was another matter, as a lot of 991s were specced from the factory with the basic 4 way manual seats, because most owners favoured spending their money elsewhere. My advice is, if you need them then hold out for them (or the 18 way), if not then they're a nice bonus but not a deal breaker, as for the vast majority of the populace, Porsche's basic seats are very well designed. If you haven't already then go try the standard, 14 and 18 way seats, for a while on a test drive and just see how you feel.
Anything else is personal choice and I know some will disagree with my view:
*Bose is of debatable benefit, when the ambient tyre roar is so prevalent.
*PDCC isn't for me, though technically amazing, I like to feel the weight transition and the tyres load up.
*PCCB are incredible but you have to hope they never get chipped due to stray stones, or service damage, as they're a fortune to replace. Surface Transforms discs would be a better option (and can be resurfaced), if you really wanted carbon ceramic.
Sounds like you've done your homework in terms of what to look out for and have a reasonable budget for a 2012/2014 car, though you may need to stretch a bit further, if you want a low mileage example (less than 30k) but we've just been discussing the merits of higher mileage cars recently and provided it's been properly serviced and cared for, one with a higher mileage could make a very sensible purchase - especially if you intend to use it as a second vehicle, or for weekends/holidays and won't be adding significantly to the mileage.
Most folks in the UK, only cover 3-4,000 a year in their 991s but those that were leased at the start of their life, may have been used daily and show evidence, both in mileage and general condition. With mileage in mind, scuffs to the plastic door entry guards and upper seat side bolster are a good indicator of how a car has been cared for (or not) but the former can be cheaply replaced and the latter connolised, provided everything else is ok.
I would suggest looking for a 2013 onward model as they had a few tweaks over the earliest cars and I feel production had gotten into its stride by then.
As always, condition, maintenance history and spec are the primary considerations and as I said earlier, a higher mileage 991 could be the right one, subject to it meeting the other requirements.
Most 911s tend to pick up stone chips to the front bumper & bonnet, but with its wider rear arches, the 4/4S models are susceptible to them in front of the rear arches, so look there too. A good OPC should be willing to respray the front (to Porsche standards) and attend to any chips on the arches, as part of the supply, but an independent may not - depending on what margin they have in the car. Some of us have fitted PPF to protect those areas, whilst others feel that's an unnecessary expense and prefer to just touch-up and respray when needed.
The Porsche extended warranty, is certainly a good idea for peace of mind and unless you can dedicate a slush fund, is probably worth keeping from then on: Big ticket items like engine/box are very expensive, in the unlikely event that they let go but being complex vehicles, there can occasionally be times when parts are fitted just 'to see'. As with all vehicles, some garages have talented Technicians (we are fortunate to have our own here - DeMort) but whilst some are very good Techs, not everyone is as skilled in the art of diagnosing complex issues.
That said, the 991 has been exceptionally reliable overall and save for a few niggles with rattles on early cars, quality of fasteners (rusty) and occasional 'minor' problems with the vacuum controlled COV valves (of which a lot more is known about now), Variocam valve lift solenoid faults, blocked sill-drain grommets, alarm/VTS and early heater fan faults - most of which will have been attended to along the way, there haven't really been any major problems, so reliability shouldn't be any more a cause for concern, than any other vehicle.
Good cars don't hang about, so be prepared to move quickly to view/place a holding deposit, then assess it and get it checked with a Porsche 111 point check (if at an independent). I physically viewed about 10 cars (C2S & C4S) over the space of 6 months, before finding my own beauty but you might happen on the 'right one' tomorrow.
Hope that's been some help and good luck with your search :thumb:
