If so, what are they like to drive? I imagine they're quite spiffing because I took my 'new' Mazda 323F out today for the first time and it goes round corners in quite a splendid manner. Now, I know I've driven some dull old cars in the past but if I think a 1996 323F corners well I'm thinking a 911 or a Boxster must be fecking amazing!
Si
That's one hyuuuuge question!
I've done a fair few miles in 911s. Late 70's / early 80's ones are fun if you know the road well, bloody scary if you don't and you're in a hurry. Late 80's ones aren't trying to hard to kill you. Mid 90's ones are almost tame if you drive them properly. 2006ish ones are immense.
Boxsters are a lot, lot easier to drive quickly than a 911, but they don't go as quickly as a 911 driven by someone who knows how to drive a
911 quickly.Having said that, I, somewhat stupidly, tried to keep up with a Lotus Exige on one of my favourite twisty roads in a 911 Carrera 3.2. Straight bits were dead easy, reeled in the little Lotus without much trouble. The corners on the other hand just proved to me that I'm not brave / stupid / skilled enough to take liberties with an old 911 - even on my favourite roads. The lil' Lotus was gone.
If I'd have been in an Integrale, I'd have put up a much better fight.
Not arf. I understand they range from 'It IS trying to kill me' to 'It IS trying to kill me but I'll get some warning first'.
I'd forgotten about Lotuseseseses. I saw an Elise go round a roundabout once - like a Scalextric car, it was. If you tend to drive boring cars there's a real danger that you'll stop enjoying driving and forget what it's like to be an 'idiot' teenager... like I did ;o)
If you, and by 'you' I mean the reader in general, can't afford a Porsche or a Lotus, I can heartily recommend an old Mazda 323. Good cheap fun.
Si
When I was trade plating in the early 90s I briefly drove a 911, but mostly in traffic, so no chance to discover the extent of capabilities of either the car or myself. What I did discover was that it was noisy, uncomfortable, and had weird pedals and a shit gearchange. A bitter disappointment and I was glad to get out of it.
Steve
I understand most high performance cars were something of a disappointment to drive. Lamborghini's Countach, for example, being the ultimate schoolboy dream but in reality not very nice at all.
Si
Traffic is a great leveller for cars. Anyway, IIRC Porsches are some of the least reliable cars?
Saw my first live Veyron on the road last month. Having strayed just
100m, 2 bends and 2 sleeping policemen off the A38 DC junction it was floundering so badly it had taken 2 shopping carts (Yaris and Saxo I think but it was dark) prisoner.They are quite reliable by supercar standards. Reliable enough to be a daily driver. But it's going to cost you supercar money to keep it on the road.
Good cheap fun - one word - "Mini". Especially with a 1275 engine and wide wheels.
A friend was telling me his 80,000 mile 2004 911 hasn't had a single fault in 4 years/60,000 miles, since he bought it. Servicing can be a pig, he was saying, and he's up for a new clutch at £2000 soon, but a decent specialist makes it bearable.
Rob
The 911 is probably more reliable than a VW Golf (including the old days when Golfs were reliable). There's a chap near me who's only had 911s for as long as I can remember. He had a 911 when I was in infant school (and I'm 39) and he's still got one now. Doesn't have a second "sensible" car, but his wife has a Cayman S at the moment.
Drives them in all weathers and uses them in the same way most people would use a Focus.
I had a 911 SC for a while many moons ago and that was as reliable as anything I've ever owned, as was the 911 Carrera 3.2 I ran for a while about 5 years ago. Admittedly, the Carrera did need a front wheel bearing replacing at 100,000 miles. That was shockingly expensive at £17. Took 25 minutes to fit as well. I dread to think what that might have cost if I'd not done it myself.
The main things that cost a lot to sort on earlier 911s are exhausts and heat exchangers, but most have been fitted with stainless ones for the last 20 years or so. They can need a few grand spending on cylinder head overhauls at 70 or 80k miles if they've not had the oil changed regularly or have been thrashed from cold. Most are fine.
Oil changes aren't cheap as an air cooled 911 uses something mental like
12 litres of decent oil, but try comparing 911 running costs to anything else with the same performance. I was talking to a chap today who bought a Lamborghini Gallardo last year. Clutch failed at 3000 miles. Lamborghini said "Driver error". He wasn't happy but paid Lamborghini £3400 to replace the clutch and it failed 302 miles later. Lambo said "Driver error" and he had to pay for another clutch. Lambo told him that they'd done a couple of mods, changed the gearbox oil for 'the new spec' thinner one and that his clutch would now be fine.MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.