Used, non-bank-breaking Porsche or similar - what are you experiences?

stickyfiddle

I still want an MX5. Just the perfect little sports car that you can enjoy without losing your licence

Bridgehouse

guitargeek62 said:

You'd get much more fun from one of these anyway, and more bang for your buck too:

Bikes are getting pricey now tho - that’s £10.5k for a street triple rs... and you need a full license and some decent experience to enjoy it properly..

guitargeek62

Bridgehouse said:

guitargeek62 said:

You'd get much more fun from one of these anyway, and more bang for your buck too:

Bikes are getting pricey now tho - that’s £10.5k for a street triple rs... and you need a full license and some decent experience to enjoy it properly..

True, but you wouldn't have to pay new prices by any means - £5k will easily get you a bike that's as enjoyable on the road as any sports car! Factor in another £1.5-2k for training, tests, and gear to get yourself started, and away you go.

goldtop

stickyfiddle said:

I still want an MX5. Just the perfect little sports car that you can enjoy without losing your licence

This is true. Open flowing B roads and it's fantastic (mine was a Mk1, haven't tried a newer model). But unless you get up at 6am on Sundays, you don't often get those journeys.

stickyfiddle

goldtop said:

stickyfiddle said:

I still want an MX5. Just the perfect little sports car that you can enjoy without losing your licence

This is true. Open flowing B roads and it's fantastic (mine was a Mk1, haven't tried a newer model). But unless you get up at 6am on Sundays, you don't often get those journeys.

We've done 2 roadtrips in Japan in rental MX5s (ND, soft top). There is nothing better than Japanese twisties on a sunny autumn day with the roof off and the sun just starting to go down. 

strtdv

It's as well you didn't get the 911 then!


I bought a MK1 MX5 a few months ago, I've been using it as a daily driver since. It only cost a couple of grand, and I've spent about another grand getting it really mechanically sorted and rustproofed, but in terms of smiles per £ I don't think it can be beat.

It's not ideal on motorways as you're sitting at about 3300rpm, but on a nice twisty road or even just cruising around on a sunny day it's lovely.
It's happiest on a twisty B road where you can keep it working between 2nd and 4th (ie 35-70mph).

I'd love either a late model NC 2.0 Venture edition, or an ND, but both would cost over 3X what I've spent on the MK1.
The NC probably wouldn't be noticeably quicker either.

I've nothing more planned for it this year (after getting all the major servicing done and a clutch change, and repainting the hardtop and a bit of lacquer repair), but next year I might have a look at a turbo kit if the insurance isn't extortionate. 180WHP in a 950kg car would be nippy to say the least

PhilKing

suspiciousminds said:

I’ve had the customary poormans porsche jibes, but that never bothered me.

I've never liked the 911's, having known too many people who had them rear end something years ago.  I started with a 924Turbo back in 1982, then went through a lot of 944's. including Turbo, S and S2, all of which I loved (though I wouldn't recommend an S as the gearing and engine rev range really don't work in the UK).  I've had Boxsters since they came out (my first was ordered before I'd seen one in the flesh).   I've had a Boxster S since 2001, I used to drive it a lot, but then didn't for years, as I was working in NYC and used public transportation.  Now I'm in Raleigh, I use it a lot more and we have the weather here to really enjoy it.  I think they are great cars and if you look after them, they don't cost a lot to maintain.  I use a local mechanic and keep up with the service and oil changes.  The worst issue I have had is with the windows and window sensors, which, if you have the right tools, can be done yourself, but I've always let someone else do it.

My 944's were used for daily commuting, as were my Boxsters for a while.  I always think Porsches are really reliable for that.  My brother had and Audi TT and the engine went on it, which also happened to me on an Audi A4, so I've been a bit put off Audis.

Dominic

There is a technique relevant to driving a traditional old school 911 to control the rear........the 993 had passive rear wheel steer but that took the fun out of it.
In a similar vein to the MX5 I've had a lot of fun in an Alfa GTV 3.0 from about 20 years ago......really rorty little thing and cheap as chips now

designerseye88

Just stumbled across this thread, thought id give you my two cents as I was in a similar situation....

I owned a 2007 Cayman S (Gen 1) About 4 years ago. Owned the car for about a year. I didn't have much money but I fancied trying one out before life got serious with a mortgage and kids so decided to go for it. A friend helped me find the right one as he was also an owner. For what you get it's not bad value and when i sold it i think i lost about £500 but in that year i probably spent £1k on just stuff that it needed (one tyre was about £200). These cars are nice but you cant really run them on a tight budget and even though it might not have cost anywhere near what it did new the parts still cost a lot in comparison. 
It was a lovely car to drive and i enjoyed it a lot but every creak and odd sound had me a little worried. Main thing with these cars is to do your research and if you don't know enough go out and get familiar with your local Porsche club. IMO the best place to find used Porsche's is when these people upgrade and want to sell off their old car, these guys usually look after their cars.
My word of warning though would be to stay away from Boxster & Cayman 'S' from the Gen 1 period as they suffer from bore score. Theirs loads of threads elsewhere about this and its a pretty big problem with certain Porsche's although i forget the exact engine types. 
Don't let that put you off though. If it's an itch that needs scratching then scratch it. 

strtdv

This is a good point, the running costs on a car don't decrease as the car depreciates, quite the opposite in fact, so a Porsche that had high running costs when new will have the same/higher running costs now.

The bore score is generally the 986 S and Gen 1 987 S. 
IMS failure on the other hand can happen in all 986, Gen1 987, 996 and Gen 1 997 cars excluding Turbo and above.
It basically happened because Porsche decided to use the same cylinder head for both banks rather than one being a mirror image of the other.
A definitive fix will cost a couple of grand, which I'd add into my budget for peace of mind if I were buying one.

Don't buy one with lots of owners who seem to have only kept it for a year or two, it's likely they've not bothered doing any major servicing.



MX5s on the other hand, other than suffering from rust, are generally reliable and cheap to maintain. The engines are pretty bulletproof up past 180k miles even with a turbo fitted (you need new conrods to go past 240bhp but the block is good for >400bhp), spares are plentiful, and there are plenty of specialists around who aren't hard to pay.
Even good early examples are fairly cheap and plentiful, and there's lots of scope for customising it to your liking (though they drive very nicely stock)

The only ones to avoid are later MK1 1.6s which were restricted to 94bhp, although if you plan on sticking a turbo on they'll work fine as you'll be buying an aftermarket ECU anyway, and the models with power steering have a tighter steering rack than the non-power steering, which is generally seen as desirable.
Mk2s rust the worst, but are priced to reflect this (I wouldn't pay much more than £2k for a MK2)

GuyR

guitargeek62 said:

Bridgehouse said:

guitargeek62 said:

You'd get much more fun from one of these anyway, and more bang for your buck too:

Bikes are getting pricey now tho - that’s £10.5k for a street triple rs... and you need a full license and some decent experience to enjoy it properly..

True, but you wouldn't have to pay new prices by any means - £5k will easily get you a bike that's as enjoyable on the road as any sports car! Factor in another £1.5-2k for training, tests, and gear to get yourself started, and away you go.

Plus the cost of a funeral.

Snap

Fiat Coupe Turbo. reasonable price, bags of fun, very cool and surprisingly reliable. Sort of a cheap Ferrari. 

the_jaffa

Snap said:

Fiat Coupe Turbo. reasonable price, bags of fun, very cool and surprisingly reliable. Sort of a cheap Ferrari. 

Wrong wheel drive wheel spin machine 

goldtop

If you're going for a Fiat, go for the gorgeous little Barchetta. (LHD only though)

Tex Mexico

Leftfield, but Audi S5?

I have a 7-year-old 2.0TDI A5 (quattro coupe, black edition S-Line) and it's about as exciting a luxury diesel as you can get, but the S and RS versions are monster, cost less than Porsches and are a bit more discreet when you're just driving.

strtdv

S5 is lovely, more of a cruiser than a sports car though. 
The old V8 would be my pick of them, the problem is you don't want to own one when the timing chains need replaced, it's an engine out job, and that requires removal of most of the front of the car.
On an older car that could easily cost 60%+ of the value of the car.

Haven't heard much about the newer supercharged ones, although I'd imagine in the real world it's probably even less economical than the V8 due to supercharger leeching.

Snap

Vauxhall VX220 turbo - bags of fun and raw driving pleasure.

Snap

the_jaffa said:

Snap said:

Fiat Coupe Turbo. reasonable price, bags of fun, very cool and surprisingly reliable. Sort of a cheap Ferrari. 

Wrong wheel drive wheel spin machine 

I could live with that. A bit of a classic car IMO. 
Similarly classic, the X1/9 - lovely, but you'd have to be an enthusiast.
Or if you really like a challenge with the welding kit, get a TR7, or even better a TR8. 

mbe

If you want a truly non-bank-breaking experience just rent a 911 for a day or two. That'll scratch the itch.

WiresDreamDisasters

Does anyone know if Tim is okay?