Winter/Spring car changeover - a few expensive surprises...

[RDMcG]

As usual this time of year the winter house in Arizona was closed up for the season before it got unbearably hot, and with that the cars there had to be stored for the next six months. The garage is not air-conditioned so it is not great for the vehicles. Everyone knows that there is no rust, (true), but batteries wear our twice as fast, tires don’t last as long,interior plastics melt, crack or soften and leather can get brittle. So here goes:

2003 Mercedes R230 SL500

Had this car from new and it only has 32,000 miles on it. Bodywork is basically like new and the interior leather is in very good shape -regularly treated, and the car was detailed prior to storage. I also had the dealer put in a second charging connection for the rear battery. Last year I had some preventive maintenance by replacing the ABC suspension fluid ( notorious for failure). I have replace a certain amount of the plastic interior trim which cracked , as did the wiring harness. ( not cheap).




However, the car is 23 years old and Mercedes does not stock all the parts any more- I naively thought they did.. This year I replaced the rear struts that support the trunk lid ( available) but the rear centre brake light has cracked, ( a common fault) and OEM replacement is not available. Aftermarket parts are available but have proven to be low quality, so eBay may the the only option. Also , the driver’s side carpet is frayed and trying to find red carpet for an old Mercedes is not likely to succeed. The centre plastic for the light switch has broken and fallen out. Reasonable chance I can find a replacement there..












So, up on the tire cradles, fuel stabilizer plug in and say goodbye. Tires will probably be flat spotted when I take it down again in September.





2012 Jeep Wrangler

I have replaced many parts on this- six windshields, fuel tank, running boards rear bumper and so on, all damage caused by off-roading, Jeeps do not have a good reputation for reliability but my experience is that mine has given no trouble not caused by my own actions.

It is not a fun vehicle to drive on the highway, slow, vague, truly terrible headlights, rear seats designed by mobsters to inflict maximum pain on passengers, inadequate rear passenger space cooling or heating. It is however ideal for the level of of desert trail driving and off-roading I enjoy and an inexpensive to experience it.

At close to 65,000 miles it shows little deterioration. I do not bother with tire cradles for the Jeep.










Returning to Canada it was time to get the cars here serviced and back on the road. Three are all season, the 2005 Smart Fortwo, diesel 2018 Panamera ST Turbo and the 2022 Cayenne GTS while the rest get stored .

[RDMcG]

2005 Smart Fortwo diesel

Purchased in Dec 2004 it only has 32,000 km on it (back in Canada so back to KM). Mercedes no longer stocks parts and even small problems can be big. I cracked a key case and had to go to the UK to get a replacement this year. It has been surprisingly expensive to keep running with new brakes, turbocharger, A/C compressor, shocks etc. It is often parked outside for weeks. I am sure something major will go on it and it will be scrapped; hoping that the new announcement on the electric Smart will come to North America. It will probably get an oil change but the is about it. While not formally stored it often sits in the garage with the battery unplugged and starts on the button even after a month or two. It is currently used by OH for some political activity as she is active in Democrats Abroad to get people to vote in the upcoming election cycle, hence the stickers.

[RDMcG]

2018 Panamera ST Turbo

I love this car for long distance cruising and have driven it through Europe and the US. 85,000km on it. However, it was time for summer wheels and the dreaded 4 year major service. This is bloody expensive; the design of the car is a bit of a nightmare - to change the oil filter requires removal of the front bumper to get to it. So apart from the only actual fault being the driver’s side door seal caused by my careless rubbing against it entering the car. Nothing like new tires or the like.

Total bill; A bit over $6800.

[RDMcG]

2023 Cayenne GTS:

Full service, irritating vibration in the RH speaker which they were not able to address, annoying was it is a Burmester sound system but intermittent. The car itself is rock solid reliable however. Great for the Canadian winter........

$2200 this time.

[RDMcG]

and now into the RS cars:

2008 997.1 GT3RS

This car has been pretty bulletproof since new. One clutch replacement a few years ago. For winter all I do is unplug the battery, but in some fuel stabilizer and cover it. As always it started with a small booster ; showed the usual warning lights until it warmed up and that was that. Dropped it off for Spring inspection; tach notice a broken sway bar link and replaced both links as they come in pairs. Inspection and replacement only about $725 so not a big deal.

[RDMcG]

2016 991.1 GT3RS

Also bulletproof and just coming up on 25,000 KM. Nothing to replace but it was time for the extended warranty renewal. So, without any repairs that was another $6900 including the inspection. This is my favourite car when I just want to drive on a few country roads. I might ship it to Arizona next winter for the season. Dr. Wolfgang Porsche signed this car in Zell am See Austria when I first got it so it has a bit of heritage.

[RDMcG]

2023 992 GT3RS

Mainly warrantied but lots of work on this car since new- glass replaced; recall due to improper installation; leaking oil seal meant a full engine out job that took quite a long time.

Too long storage when it was returning from Europe after track sessions- tank almost empty for transport and fuel separated, meant an expensive job to drain and replace spark plugs etc. This was on my tab.

Cracked rear side glass which is wafer thin. Warranty replacement.

Bluetooth unreliable; known factory fault and they have a fix. No specific issues beyond that.
A lot of work for only 7,000 km.

Still, I am not too interested in hybrid or turbo GT cars so I will probably, hang onto it. No an investor or interested in values, just fun to be able to drive them. All of the RS and even the Panamera have been tracked and driven through Europe,Canada and the US at some stage so I have a sense of how they perform at a more vigorous level.










The good news it that with a bit of luck I will have the summer with no visits for service or parts assuming nothing goes sideways; tires, brakes etc are all good for the season.

[Obi Wan]

Viper green on the 997 is stunning I have 1/18 scale auto art model and in my opinion it’s the best colour with orange been a close second.

I hated the looks of the 992 GT3 RS when it came out it’s so over the top and ugly I remember thinking Porsche had done a Senna but over time I think it looks great now. How do you find it driving on the road? Is it unbearably stiff or is it firm but liveable?

[fttm]

Love your optimism, we’re under a storm warning in SK with freezing rain and 1or2 feet of snow. Enjoy

[Screenwash]

I love to see cars being pampered and maintained to perfection! But it does take time, and money!

[RDMcG]

Obi Wan said:

Viper green on the 997 is stunning I have 1/18 scale auto art model and in my opinion it s the best colour with orange been a close second.

I hated the looks of the 992 GT3 RS when it came out it s so over the top and ugly I remember thinking Porsche had done a Senna but over time I think it looks great now. How do you find it driving on the road? Is it unbearably stiff or is it firm but liveable?

In all honesty the 992 pretty impractical as a road car- the combination of fixed buckets and no trunk space means that it useless as a weekender for 2 people.. Ride is no worse than other RS cars in my view; on a track is it substantially better and also at high autobahn speeds it is very solid but the aero actually reduces Vmax- it is unquestionably slower than a variety of cars I have owned previously.. Basically pretty much track only in my estimation. The looks are never going be great, but like most people I got used to them. ( of course in the past I had some Bangle BMWs..a new E63 M5 and a 645ci and I took a lot of stick at that time as they were regarded as ugly at the time. Now they seems almost normal).

Unless obscure act is that the colour on the 997.1RS is not actually Viper Green but a specific colour called GT Green- they are subtly different). Still, generally known as Viper Green.

[RDMcG]

fttm said:

Love your optimism, we re under a storm warning in SK with freezing rain and 1or2 feet of snow. Enjoy

Yep, useless in cold weather and now I have changed the snows on the Cayenne and Pana. I use full snows in winter, not All Season and the are definitely necessary. Obviously Cup 2s on the GT cars are not just bad in snow, they are lethal. I was at a meet in Austria with the 992 on September and it unexpectedly started to snow. I had to drive the thing back to the hotel with zero grip. Maybe 10MPH and flashers. Never want to do that again...........

[RDMcG]

Screenwash said:

I love to see cars being pampered and maintained to perfection! But it does take time, and money!

Well, they are to be used rather than viewed. For me it's the experience and not the ownership and there are many people on PH who have much more expensive can rare cars and who use them properly which I find really good to see.

I do understand the collector gene and the satisfaction that people get , or the investor gene where people are in it to make money, or even the need to impress the neighbours.

They are all perfectly reasonable options as any car sales person will tell you - I just am in the drive and use them category.

[Inlineonline]

Fantastic collection.

Why the 3 GT3’s? I ca understand the 997 and the 992 but the 991 seems to be piggy in the middle.

Ever been tempted by a 997 GT2 a a fast road car? (Turbo, RWD, manual)

Or a Ferrari or Aston GT car?

[Quhet]

I love these threads of yours, OP. I'm not sure that I could face all the admin of having a winter and summer life in different countries but fair play, you've got a great collection and what looks like lovely homes

[venster70]

Wow what an interesting collection, interesting read, thanks OP

[RDMcG]

Inlineonline said:

Fantastic collection.

Why the 3 GT3 s? I ca understand the 997 and the 992 but the 991 seems to be piggy in the middle.

Ever been tempted by a 997 GT2 a a fast road car? (Turbo, RWD, manual)

Or a Ferrari or Aston GT car?

The 991 is the most comfortable- 18 way seats instead of buckets and remarkably easy to drive in traffic (I live in a busy city centre in Canada) and it also has a front lift unlike the 997 which did not offer this- I am on my fifth splitter on that car .
I tend to enjoy very edgy cars for fun rather than pure GTs . Starting into Ferrari at this age with no history would mean the usual process of qualifying for a new car and paying above list which I never do (Porsche included).Astons do not really appeal as track cars and I have a strong dislike of cars with separate iPad type screens stuck in the middle of the dash like afterthoughts. Doubtless these are great cars but not for me .I have considered an old car like a Bentley Continental T but the maintenance costs are horrific.

I did go through a long BMW period and had an E63 M6 and a rare manual 645ci . These were true GTs and the M6 had a much higher top speed than any of the Porsches. The E39 M5 was one of my best .

[RDMcG]

Quhet said:

I love these threads of yours, OP. I'm not sure that I could face all the admin of having a winter and summer life in different countries but fair play, you've got a great collection and what looks like lovely homes

When it’s -25 in winter in Canada or 120 in summer in Arizona you get energized quickly

[RDMcG]

Last car finally back from the dealer yesterday but weather here still very uncertain, so will be a week or two before it is comfortable to use the GT3s on the road..............but no problems with the 992:

[RDMcG]

That went well....or maybe not. Having just put the summer wheels on the Cayenne I hit one of the hundreds of potholes in the city....two tires, scraped wheels and a flatbed to the dealers..............didn't think I would be there until October...........