There is no car I want to buy next.

[Gibbo205]

MingtheMerciless said:

I drove my Atom 4 around Wales on Thursday and to a track day on Friday. I think together with my ancient starship mileage 458 and my 530d $hitter (which feels like getting into a sponge after the Atom) I don't need to buy any more cars ever. I don't even want any. Maybe a Speciale. But that's it.

Edit. Sorry a GT3 as well. But really that's it.

How many miles on your 458?

Seems were on same train of thought, I also want a Speciale but really think I missed the boat, six months ago 250k would of easily got me into one, whereas now the nice RHD ones in bright colours seem to be all 300k plus.

I'd also not mind adding a GT3 to the collection also.

[KTMsm]

Gibbo205 said:

Porsche 987.2 Spyder easily one of the most fun road cars at legal speeds that is very rare and special.

1275kg in lightest spec, manual, carbon buckets, ceramics and a car just full of feel with steering feel that puts the newer EPAS Porsches to shame, nearly as good as Lotus. Amazing fun B road car and very capable on track.

GR Yaris also a lot of fun!

My mate had one, I think you called when I was selling it, didn't seem noticeably better than a Boxster to me- remind what are they hitting at the top of 3rd and 4th ?

The GR does seem to be a cracking little car but I couldn't justify spending £32k on one

[Gibbo205]

KTMsm said:

My mate had one, I think you called when I was selling it, didn't seem noticeably better than a Boxster to me- remind what are they hitting at the top of 3rd and 4th ?

The GR does seem to be a cracking little car but I couldn't justify spending £32k on one

GR is 33.5k, but at same time sell it 6-12 months later for what you paid or small profit, so the cost is really zero, just put fuel in and ten year warranty with Toyota.

My Spyder is around 74mph in 2nd gear, late 90's 3rd gear.

The gearing is the same as 981/718 cars, the difference is the smaller wheel/tyre combination and of course a lower rpm limit which I think it about 7500rpm in the Spyder, the other difference is the Spyder 3.4 DFI is on cam at 4000rpm and sounds incredible in the 4000-7000rpm range, as such I never feel the need to rev it beyond 7000rpm and as such I find myself doing about 65mpg in 2nd and around 90mph in 3rd.

The 981/718 cars hit like 85mph in 2nd and around 115mph in 3rd.

The regular 987.2 Boxster S drives practically as good, but as with all things if you want the super rare version you always pay double and all the little tweaks here and there add up to further driving enjoyment.

[MingtheMerciless]

Gibbo205 said:

How many miles on your 458?

Seems were on same train of thought, I also want a Speciale but really think I missed the boat, six months ago 250k would of easily got me into one, whereas now the nice RHD ones in bright colours seem to be all 300k plus.

I'd also not mind adding a GT3 to the collection also.

35k 2010 458. Only of use as a hack to drive. Which is absolutely fine.

@Bo-apex, to clarify, I would be prepared to relinquish the 458 if I had a Speciale. I'm not greedy. And if anyone has a 35k miles Speciale that is absolutely no use as an investment I'm there for you. At a price .

[Gibbo205]

MingtheMerciless said:

35k 2010 458. Only of use as a hack to drive. Which is absolutely fine.

@Bo-apex, to clarify, I would be prepared to relinquish the 458 if I had a Speciale. I'm not greedy. And if anyone has a 35k miles Speciale that is absolutely no use as an investment I'm there for you. At a price .

Haha unfortunately used Speciale's seem rare finds, I was tempted by a LHD car at 210k which was cheap in current market but the car had a few red flags so I was put off.

My 458 is just about to hit 25k miles, also gets driven often and tracked, love the damn thing, the Mrs says keep it as Speciale won't fit her suitcase or shopping lol.

[MingtheMerciless]

Being stuck with only a 458 which you are not afraid to track and drive is in fairness almost the ultimate FWP.

[MingtheMerciless]

Hmmm: the 62k klms LHD Speciale @€235k in cheap Euros (not nearly as posh as Her Majesty's Sterlings):

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id...

[hornbaek]

I have been following this thread as the topic reflected my thinking as well. After a bit of deliberation I have specced and ordered a GT3 Touring in Chalk (Kreide) with carbon roof and PCC-brakes. I have opted for the Spyder Cabon backed seats but (after a long deliberation) PDK ( as I have a 4L GT3 RS for special occasions). Delivery first week in Nov.

[Van Dessel]

j555 said:

I like a good estate and agree that it would be great if Alfa had made a QF wagon. My question is though, given that you have other practical cars/4x4s for use when needed and are also considering a GT coupe, would a fast, special saloon such as the Giulia QF not fit the bill? If you want a fast compact wagon that is a bit more special than most of the mainstream options, another option could be an Alpina B3?

While I can definitely see the appeal of loading the family into a GT coupe such as FF, 612, Granturismo, etc. and heading off to Italy, could issues of luggage space, room/visibility from the back/comfort for the kids mean that you might not use it as much for long family trips as you'd hope?

Yes you nailed the trade-off exactly. Families need some practicality (i.e. Cornwall/Scotland/euro driving trips for 4 with bikes) but want a driver's car at the same time.

As a long-time racing cyclist I'm all about weight, cars today feel less responsive because, like society, they've gained too much size, girth and weight. The Giulia's ethos absolutely nailed this but the project is now in sunset mode after the passing of Sgnr Marchionne sadly (RIP). A 4-seater Alpine would be great but would be more or less similar to the Evora which is just too small for Euro-trips unless you bought a roof box...

Being a nerd I imagined how one could spec a FF back in 2014/2015 to be as light as possible: If you got rid of any electric options like rear screens, passenger screens, vented seats, rear wipers to reduce wires and components. Then ask Ferrari to give you 100% manual seats - who needs all those servo motors you use so infrequently? Bin the high-powered hi-fi, carpet-only in the luggage area. Next, take it to your favourite indy garage and have them strip out the PTU and remap all the traction & side slip controls and driving modes to take this into account and you have basically what I want. What else could one strip from the car? (yes I know I just described the Lusso T but I don't like the design nor the engine as much as the FF).

Thanks for the shout about the B3, I was initially excited by the B5 but it's a 2000kg monstrosity.

[Shnozz]

Only stumbled across this thread this morning but its a timely one for me.

Serial previous TVR and then Lotus owner. Ended up last 5 years in an Aston Vantage that fitted the brief wonderfully; only car at that time but live central city so only used once or twice a month. Mix of long GT duties back to family 350 miles away once every 6 months or so. Shorter distance blasts for fun and the odd car fwend day out. Nice thing to also pose about it from a vanity perspective and complimented a lot and no hate.

The Aston has now been sold and I have also acquired a daily that means the second car can be more focussed if needs be. Ideally, however, would be nice still to be able to take the sporty car on longer blasts once in a while for weekends away etc and also do European trips potentially.

I still miss Lotus DNA and the V6 Exige appeals. Name is down for an Emira but that will be years down the line as wanting the AMG engine.

Boyhood dream was always a Lambo and Gallardo is in reach but an older car now. Running costs look comparable to the Aston but would be nice to have a respite from these now that I am running a few more cars and maintenance across the fleet starts to rack up. When I bought the Aston it was my only vehicle. Now it will be 1 of 3 and the intention is to expand with a few more cars (none of which have massive running costs but they will all add up).

Other option is a V6 Exige. Prices seem to have bounced significantly and its hard to justify paying Gallardo money for one but then the running costs have far less potential to sting. It would also open up the possibility of adding a Corvette C6 (also with minimal running costs) that could then fulfil European touring duties with more comfort and space. If I went down the Gallardo route I think the Vette addition would have to be shelved.

Talking to less car people they are shocked the Exige (far newer of course) could be anywhere near a Lambo in purchase price and that I would need my head examined to be considering the plastic car from Norfolk. As a serial Lotus owner, I know its far more than the sum of its parts and how superb they are to drive. However, previous ones have all been £20k - £35k to buy, so nothing like the modern day Lotus pricing that does pit it against some more exotic metal, albeit a few years older.

Heart is saying Lambo and do it before I am too old or electric cars take over. Head is saying Exige, sleep easier and get back to that direct steering and adrenalin buzz on those narrow country roads.

[KTMsm]

Shnozz said:

Heart is saying Lambo. Head is saying Exige.

If you won't be financially ruined should things go wrong - always go with your heart

[Bo_apex]

KTMsm said:

Shnozz said:

Heart is saying Lambo. Head is saying Exige.

If you won't be financially ruined should things go wrong - always go with your heart

^^this^^

There's plenty of other life zones where logic gets deployed

[murphyaj]

Shnozz said:

Ended up last 5 years in an Aston Vantage....

Boyhood dream was always a Lambo and Gallardo is in reach but an older car now. Running costs look comparable to the Aston

Having had a Vantage myself, and being a regular on the Aston forums, plus looking long and hard at a Gallardo recently, I'm not sure about this statement. My Vantage was faultless and cost comparatively little to maintain, I'd personally be allowing twice the maintainance budget for a Gallardo, especially if you are shopping at the bottom of the market. Gallardos were very, very well built by Lambo standards of the day, but we're still talking an old supercar here. Not to put you off, but the worst thing anyone can do is convince themselves that running a 15 year old supercar is cheaper than it is.

My other advice would be to go and drive all the cars you are looking for as soon as possible, then go with your gut. I spent ages deliberating between a Gallardo and a California, until I eventually went to see them both. For whatever reason they both left me a little cold, but as it happens the dealer also had an F430 which I couldn't stop staring at. My F430 is currently outside.

[Kevin Cozner]

I've changed my mind, there is now something new I'd love to buy:

https://youtu.be/P3DVUYTeOyQ

[Shnozz]

murphyaj said:

Shnozz said:

Ended up last 5 years in an Aston Vantage....

Boyhood dream was always a Lambo and Gallardo is in reach but an older car now. Running costs look comparable to the Aston

Having had a Vantage myself, and being a regular on the Aston forums, plus looking long and hard at a Gallardo recently, I'm not sure about this statement. My Vantage was faultless and cost comparatively little to maintain, I'd personally be allowing twice the maintainance budget for a Gallardo, especially if you are shopping at the bottom of the market. Gallardos were very, very well built by Lambo standards of the day, but we're still talking an old supercar here. Not to put you off, but the worst thing anyone can do is convince themselves that running a 15 year old supercar is cheaper than it is.

My other advice would be to go and drive all the cars you are looking for as soon as possible, then go with your gut. I spent ages deliberating between a Gallardo and a California, until I eventually went to see them both. For whatever reason they both left me a little cold, but as it happens the dealer also had an F430 which I couldn't stop staring at. My F430 is currently outside.

Thanks Murphy.

I would estimate most years the Aston has cost me between £1500 - £4K in maintenance and servicing.

Am I deluding myself that this is about right for a 2006 G?

[murphyaj]

Shnozz said:

Thanks Murphy.

I would estimate most years the Aston has cost me between £1500 - £4K in maintenance and servicing.

Am I deluding myself that this is about right for a 2006 G?

£1500 to £4000 is a lot more than I would have expected for a Vantage. Which flavour of Vantage was it? Perhaps I just got lucky with mine, which was an original shape V8 in manual, but I probably averaged less than £1000 a year, almost all of which was the base service cost as very little actually needed doing. I would caveat that by saying had I taken it to a main dealer and asked them to do everything they flagged it would have cost a lot more. They wanted £100 to change a cabin air filter that costs £10 and takes 5 minutes to do, just as one example, or £350+ to fix the sat nav screen lift mechanism, which is £15 of parts and 30 minutes labour at an indy.

Perhaps an owner of an early Gallardo can chip in here, but actually from the sounds of it you aren't that far off if those are the numbers you are thinking of. Like all cars I'm sure there are Gallardos out there that haven't needed anything beyond basic maintenance for years, but they certainly have the potential to sting you harder than a Vantage on average.

[f1ten]

Early boxsters and within reason 997.2s are almost fair value. Well not compared to 2008 prices where everything was cheap.
As much as I like and want to try out a few more cars before the game is over, I can't bring myself to pull the trigger on anything at the moment.
Not much of the brand new stuff interests me except sya an 812sf which I can't afford. Although other than feeling smug, how much of the performance can one use. I've driven and like the massive 599 and it struggled to put power down for example.

Of course the other factor with old stuff like 964s are that they have likely been maintained on a shoestring and need everything from seats redone to resprayed not least of which engine rebuilds coming so I personally think hey are heavily over priced. The market has really polarised or brand obsessed in porsche favour. Although I grant that most 90s stuff is feeling toppy.

I would go to my grave happy with a 458 speciale though... that would be a forever car

[Shnozz]

murphyaj said:

£1500 to £4000 is a lot more than I would have expected for a Vantage. Which flavour of Vantage was it? Perhaps I just got lucky with mine, which was an original shape V8 in manual, but I probably averaged less than £1000 a year, almost all of which was the base service cost as very little actually needed doing. I would caveat that by saying had I taken it to a main dealer and asked them to do everything they flagged it would have cost a lot more. They wanted £100 to change a cabin air filter that costs £10 and takes 5 minutes to do, just as one example, or £350+ to fix the sat nav screen lift mechanism, which is £15 of parts and 30 minutes labour at an indy.

Perhaps an owner of an early Gallardo can chip in here, but actually from the sounds of it you aren't that far off if those are the numbers you are thinking of. Like all cars I'm sure there are Gallardos out there that haven't needed anything beyond basic maintenance for years, but they certainly have the potential to sting you harder than a Vantage on average.

Think the car was just of that vintage.

Any early G owners care to comment on whether a £3k ish budget PA should cover me?

[KTMsm]

Shnozz said:

Think the car was just of that vintage.

Any early G owners care to comment on whether a £3k ish budget PA should cover me?

As the post you quoted demonstrates the costs vary considerably depending whether you take it to an Indie or Main dealer and whether you do your homework or just say "fix it"

My father deals in cars and I've seen some completely OTT service histories, some seem to consider getting ripped off for unnecessary work part of the "ownership experience"