Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Surely not... 19x8 is what's on my fwd hatch! I've seen some wider ones for sure.

Tail lights? Yeah, you're right. I was thinking of the standard ve Commodore lights, they look better IMO.

Doesn't really matter though, must be a blast to drive.

Sadly so

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They do that a lot in NZ, people getting out of cars barefoot at garages to fill up their Subarus that didn’t need insurance

Buy a Mk1 or 2 Suzuki Swift Sport, or an MX5. All the fun, but with reliability, cheapness and much less chance of losing your licence.

I’d love one but swift sport is manual only unfortch and my licence is auto only. maybe the 2024 sport will have an auto option… and the mx5 looks… impractical

Spotted this Aston Martin Valour on Saturday. I wasn’t sure what it was at the time.. I now wish I’d taken a closer look & a better photo!

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It's a Valour.

Depending on where you are, that could be my brother. He's got one on long term test at the moment.

That's a very angry looking car. Gggggrrrrrrr. Frowny face.

It looks a bit like Johnny 5 to me...

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Yeah, I realised what it was after a quick google. It was in the New Forest on Saturday afternoon.
I preferred it to the McLarens that were on the nearby forecourt:

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That's what I thought until I found a couple of auto Sports on MarketPlace. Or just AU only/rebadged?

The thought of buying a 996 has entered my head, and has not met with significant opposition. This window of opportunity will not last for too long methinks, is it as stupid as it sounds??? Can anyone share any experience/horror stories? I've already done some research so know some of the basics like IMS bearing/bore scoring etc. I think I would be looking at a Carrera 2 or maybe Targa with a manual box.

The Targa roof panel wires can slip, this can be A Bugger to correct- find out if it’s been done (and whether the associated gubbins in terms of motors and so on was looked at/serviced at the same time). Otherwise they are a coupe with a hatchback, which I like about them.

IMS is oversold as an issue- bore scoring undersold. 3.6 litre/996.2 cars will score, it’s a question of when.

They’re great cars and very underpriced for what you get, but the parts and servicing definitely is definitely not underpriced.

Yeah

I’m looking at moving on my 986 Boxster for 997 - which also have bore score issues, so specifically looking at ones that have already had a Hartech rebuild - avoid any that have a Porsche replacement engine/rebuild as they will still be susceptible. Hartech replace the liners with a different material that doesn’t score.

Can you stretch to a 997?

Pre COVID the 996 and the boxster there were bargains but they were cheap for a reason. sketchy histories and cars that had lots of stone chips and scrapes on the body work and wheels.

Thought they had fixed the issues by the 997.

997.1 is basically the same engine. 997.2 they changed to a new engine design with direct injection but there are reports of it occasionally having issues.

996 and 997 turbos are based on the Mezger used in the gt3 etc and don’t have the same soft liners.

Thanks all, very useful. I will do some more reading about bore score - it seems some higher miles cars have had the bores scoped and are ok, others not so much. I’ve heard about the targa roof issues, but I also like the idea of the hatch/extra light 👍 yeah think I’m already pushing it a bit so rules a 997 out. I’m sure there are a lot of dogs out there but seems a very much a buyers market now from what I can tell and I enjoy the pursuit. I guess they would not be the relative bargain they are if they didn’t have these issues…

I had a 996 for a few years until recently. I was always a bit worried about a big bill but nothing happened during my time with it. The cost of tyres for it was a bit upsetting...

That said, I had the receipts from the previous owner in its documents. He'd bought it from a reputable dealer, and then proceeded to have to spend c.15k on it in the next 18 months.

Good for me, as it was a very sorted example by the time I got it, but just another voice saying to try to get a good one with very few previous owners.

2 days and still no clip of the sound

So get the turbo. ;)

Tho I do know if you go from 6th to 3rd on the turbo you damage the bottom end bearings, gudgeon pins and bend lots of valves. Thankfully no cam damage.

Maybe gearbox damage too.

I've tried to take a few but on a phone clip it's hard to capture the sound from inside the car.

Got to drive today so I'll take one from outside the car.

^^ If you drive into a wall that also damages a car - indeed, any car can be damaged by doing something extremely stupid in it/to it.

is dealer warranty same as insurance but protects your no claims bonus?

No. Dealer warranty covers very little imo. If you are buying from a dealer, you are covered for inherent defects in the vehicle. But not wear and tear.

Here gives you and idea.https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/advice/running-costs/car-warranty/