RE: ?100K Garage: Mark Benzie

RE: ?100K Garage: Mark Benzie

Monday 19th March 2018

£100K Garage: Mark Benzie

We haven't seen a £100K Garage in a while, but Mark has brought it back in style!



Name: Mark Benzie
Previously owned: 1991 Nissan Sunny, 1972 MG Midget 1275 RWA, 2002 VW Golf, 2004 Audi S4, 2008 BMW 125 Convertible
Currently owned: 2008 VW Touran, 2015 VW Touareg, 2015 Mini Cooper S
On the shortlist: Porsche 911 Carrera (997 Gen 1)



Germany
Porsche 911 (997 Gen 2)
Cost:
£39,995
Balance: £60,005
Why I chose it:
"A 911 is my dream car and the 997 the ultimate evolution, without incurring the risks of earlier water-cooled cars or the cost of the earlier air-cooled models. As well as being the ultimate German car, with its roots laying you know where, this one would be a keeper."


UK
Aston Martin DB9
Cost:
£34,850
Balance: £25,155
Why I chose it:
"The UK category is difficult. My £100K Garage would have a car for all occasions and therefore have to cover 4WD, a cruiser, something sporty, a city car and a classic. So while the Discovery 4 is likely to be unbeaten for a long time in terms of practicality and comfort (and a damn sight prettier than its replacement), I can't pass up the opportunity to have a full-on Aston at this price. A bargain, and plenty to choose from.


Rest of World
Citroen C6

Cost: £5,995
Balance: £19,160
Why I chose it:
"Having missed out on the Bentley as a long distance cruiser, and with the budget tightening, this category is likely to provide the best bet for a motorised armchair. Our annual continental trips through France mean I've always had a soft spot for a Peugeot 607 but they look a bit bargain basement as soon as they cross the channel. So the only choice here is the Citroen. You'll be unlikely to see another on the roads, even in France, so in it goes."


USA
Jeep Cherokee
Cost:
£4,995
Balance: £14,165
Why I chose it:
"Do I have to? Can't I get another from the Rest of the World? A classic Fiat 500? They're part American now, anyway. If I have to pick American lets tick off the 4WD. At least it'll be a rare sight at Hampshire cricket matches, and I won't mind it getting dirty going to the dump."


Japan
Toyota GT86
Cost:
£14,164
Balance: £1
Why I chose it:
"Simple, rear-drive fun, a lot like my old MG Midget. It was a close call between this and the appreciating Honda S2000, but it's the ability to have fun at lower speeds that appeals. Overall I'm very pleased with this selection. A shame I couldn't find a classic among them, but in time they all will be (apart from the Jeep). No city car either, but the GT86 is only 419mm longer than my Mini so should be able to squeeze into smaller spaces. A pound change, too!"

   
 

 

 

Author
Discussion

darkblueturbo

Original Poster:

109 posts

211 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
That's a great garage.

Not sure what I'd chose instead of the C6 though. Maybe a bit of a shed-like A6 of whatever vintage fits the money bill.

matty1980

2 posts

137 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
I have always enjoyed the £100k garage articles - this one too; but I must say this garage bears absolutely no resemblance to anything that anybody with 100k to spend on cars would buy... Well, apart from the ubiquitous 911.

anthonysjb

524 posts

135 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
Think the series has gone a bit stale with the whole different nations thing. Much better with freedom to choose anything.

Turbobanana

6,160 posts

200 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
anthonysjb said:
Think the series has gone a bit stale with the whole different nations thing. Much better with freedom to choose anything.
Agree, but everybody just ended up choosing hot Audi estates which got a bit stale too.

Bizarrely I was thinking only this morning that I hadn't seen a "Garage" for a while, and here it is! Perhaps we should try "choose from whichever country you want, but only one from each" instead. (ie one from Germany, one from Italy etc).

WCZ

10,492 posts

193 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
would rather have something with a tad more performance tbh

sparta6

3,689 posts

99 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
That's a good £100K garage !


slipstream 1985

12,125 posts

178 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
100k garage used be great back in the days of 30k ferrari 355s etc

big_rob_sydney

3,394 posts

193 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
I thought the american thing was in there just because he had to choose something. It would suck to have to buy a paperweight just for some arbitrary reason. Unfortunate.

wildatheart

160 posts

178 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
Bit sad when the only car that seems vaguely interesting enough, is the C6 - but, each to their own. Have we tried a Garage with a each car having to be from a different decade? I’d find that more interesting.

Edited by wildatheart on Tuesday 20th March 08:31

anthonysjb

524 posts

135 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
slipstream 1985 said:
100k garage used be great back in the days of 30k ferrari 355s etc
Time for £200k garage perhaps?

Grantstown

952 posts

86 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
I think to get a 911 and an Aston into a 100K garage is something to be congratulated. Beats the standard GTR and an RS6 selection any day of the week.

Small Car

877 posts

198 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
I think this is exactly what a £100k garage would look like. Good shout. The only issue is the 911 and the DB9 would end up competing and you would take the DB9 across Europe not the C6. The Cherokee would never be used. And the 911 used always instead of the GT86. In my life anyway.

2 GKC

1,884 posts

104 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
997 the ultimate evolution? Surely that would be the 991?

DoubleD

22,154 posts

107 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
wildatheart said:
Bit sad when the only car that seems vaguely interesting enough, is the C6 - but, each to their own. Hey we tried a Garage with a each car having to be from a different decade? I’d find that more interesting.
Maybe you should put together your own 100k garage? Then see if everyone agrees with your choices.

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
Small Car said:
I think this is exactly what a £100k garage would look like. Good shout. The only issue is the 911 and the DB9 would end up competing and you would take the DB9 across Europe not the C6. The Cherokee would never be used. And the 911 used always instead of the GT86. In my life anyway.
I was thinking the same. If I had that garage I would probably use the Jeep as the daily, the Porsche as the fun car and the DB9 as the "best" car. The other two wouldn't get a look in.

I think my £100k garage would consist of:-

  • Germany - Audi R8 V10 Spider £55k (best, sunny day car)
  • UK - LWB Jaguar XJ £18k (long distance / family car)
  • USA - Fiesta ST £8k (every day fun car)
  • Japan - Nissan 370z £12k (Second fun car)
  • RoW - D5 Volvo V70 £7k (Dog / Tip / beater car)
All of the above would get used a fair bit smile

Oakman

325 posts

157 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
No disrespect to the OP - just a little confused with the rationale behind the 997 gen1.

Certainly more affordable than gen2 997, reason why is the Gen1's can still have the engine reliability issues, bore scoring etc. Possibly affordable car - unaffordable repair costs !

sparta6

3,689 posts

99 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
slipstream 1985 said:
100k garage used be great back in the days of 30k ferrari 355s etc
Ah yes, that brief period when classic exotica were 1/3 of their original MRSP.

Don't worry, there are still some similar price dynamics if you know where to look smile



Edited by sparta6 on Tuesday 20th March 19:08

BimmerRossay

63 posts

107 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
If you had 100k to spend with frivolity, why would you limit yourself by forcing to buy from various countries?

I know this is to encourage garages not to be purely German etc. but this segment actually restricts imagnation......
There shouldn’t even be a limit on number of cars in garage, as some could cope with 1, 2-3 or 4+ cars and it’s then much harder to decide where to spend the budget and how. Family run-around, fun car and any budget left for track toy etc.

It would make it a bit more creative and varied - this was a much better read a couple of years ago.