Can I take a Noble to where there's no Nobles?

[boomerkk]

Hello, sort of a silly question...please bear with me.

I'm moving permanently to the Far East soon, I'm allowed 1 car to bring with me (budget 10-20k, less preferably) . Previously considered Maseratis but then found out about Nobles and their insane performance.

Big drawback with Masers is their high maintenance costs (have met some owners over there, they've got a main F'rari/Maser dealer and a brand spanking new service centre - but probably will still cost me a kidney).

Another drawback is the roadtax over there, it's goes up hugely as the engine size goes up...4.2L is £1400 per year (insane considering that's the avg salary for 6 months). 2.OL and below it's £30 per year.

Had a look at the wiki, seems quite a no. of Noble parts are Ford and other general manufacturers.

Are there many bespoke parts? Would they really need a specialist or can a good performance car mechanic look after them?

Thanks in advance

[Adrian W]

If you have to consider the costs, don't do it, it will end up being a very bad experiance.

[boomerkk]

Adrian W said:

If you have to consider the costs, don't do it, it will end up being a very bad experiance.

Wouldn't mind if it's worth it, or at least cheaper than a temperamental italian.

Had cars that were expensive when they weren't supposed to be, that's worse I reckon.

[Adrian W]

Good as you've already said, a lot of the bits are ford, a lot of parts are cross referenced on www.nobleparts.co.uk obviously you will be able to get stuff sent from home or the UK. I think a Noble will be cheaper to run and much more fun than an Italian sports car. Only problem I can see is that the aircon isn't that good.

Edited by Adrian W on Tuesday 17th February 14:35

[boomerkk]

Adrian W said:

Good as you've already said, a lot of the bits are ford, a lot of parts are cross referenced on www.nobleparts.co.uk obviously you will be able to get stuff sent from home or the UK. I think a Noble will be cheaper to run and much more fun than an Italian sports car. Only problem I can see is that the aircon isn't that good.

Edited by Adrian W on Tuesday 17th February 14:35

Thanks!

Are they complicated cars? Mindful of the fact there's zero Nobles where I'm going...

[Adrian W]

I would say no, but it depends how good you are with cars, there was one out there used to pop up on here every now and again.

[node]

I dont see why you couldn't take it to a Ford garage and get them to work on the car.

[boomerkk]

node said:

I dont see why you couldn't take it to a Ford garage and get them to work on the car.

Seriously or kidding? There are several performance garages that i've looked at and they seem up to scratch.but they work mostly on jap rockets and some race porks.

that's the dilemma,would u reckon nobles to be beyond them or manageable with a bit of patience?

[sean_goodman]

i am in germany, i use a local motorsport company who are very good and have had no problems working on mine. i source most of the parts myself, if a ford part normally from ford if not mail order from the uk.

ok so delivery would take a bit longer for you but i cant see it being a problem

[node]

boomerkk said:

node said:

I dont see why you couldn't take it to a Ford garage and get them to work on the car.

Seriously or kidding? There are several performance garages that i've looked at and they seem up to scratch.but they work mostly on jap rockets and some race porks.

that's the dilemma,would u reckon nobles to be beyond them or manageable with a bit of patience?

Sure im serious, contact your local Ford gargae and explain to them your situation. You say you've found some garages that have experience with working on high performance cars, so perhaps you shoud take the car to these guys first and use the ford garage as a place for picking up spare parts etc. As you know the car is not totally made up of Ford parts so if you need to replace anything, post a message here on PH first and we'll help you find what you need.

[M3144]

its sounds a good idea, but becareful as it is very difficult
to get parts in the UK, & find a local garage who can repair it.
So whats it like in the Far East ??????

All Noble parts have to come from a Noble Dealer, unless of coarse they are
Ford, but don't you just know that its always the little Noble parts
that you need.

Edited by M3144 on Wednesday 18th February 11:21

[SimonJW]

Find out which Noble parts go wrong most often. People on here will help - I'm sure. Order them as soon as you purchase the car and ship it all out with you in the same crate;)

As far as repair/tuning goes plenty on here have used non Noble franchise tuners/repairers.

You will never regret ownership no matter what the cost.

[sean_goodman]

node said:

boomerkk said:

node said:

I dont see why you couldn't take it to a Ford garage and get them to work on the car.

Seriously or kidding? There are several performance garages that i've looked at and they seem up to scratch.but they work mostly on jap rockets and some race porks.

that's the dilemma,would u reckon nobles to be beyond them or manageable with a bit of patience?

Sure im serious, contact your local Ford gargae and explain to them your situation. You say you've found some garages that have experience with working on high performance cars, so perhaps you shoud take the car to these guys first and use the ford garage as a place for picking up spare parts etc. As you know the car is not totally made up of Ford parts so if you need to replace anything, post a message here on PH first and we'll help you find what you need.

exactly how i operate, works fine for me

[boomerkk]

Awesome!
Thanks so much Sean and Node and Simon....that's what I really wanted to find out.

What a good bunch of owners here, similarly at the Maser group.
I asked similar questions over there, but Maser parts seem a lot more expensive and hard-to-source, and even with the parts obtained, the complexity of the car would probably defeat non-specialist garages. They'd need specialist diagnostic tools ie. Ferrari's SD2 system which cost a bomb etc.

Now the hunt begins in earnest, will try to get some drives from dealers soon

Yup, will follow Simon's advice too, some parts will go come with me in the shipping container definitely.

Edited by boomerkk on Wednesday 18th February 12:30

[SimonJW]

Find out which Noble parts go wrong most often. People on here will help - I'm sure. Order them as soon as you purchase the car and ship it all out with you in the same crate;)

As far as repair/tuning goes plenty on here have used non Noble franchise tuners/repairers.

You will never regret ownership no matter what the cost.

[boomerkk]

SimonJW said:

Find out which Noble parts go wrong most often. People on here will help - I'm sure. Order them as soon as you purchase the car and ship it all out with you in the same crate;)

As far as repair/tuning goes plenty on here have used non Noble franchise tuners/repairers.

You will never regret ownership no matter what the cost.

Will do, thanks so much...

already eyeing the rear lights conversion from noblemods

(I know I know, get the car first)