Car Talk 2: Un-American Motor Company.

[max225]

Hmm P cars are a good idea However they are priced close to a 570s which is better in every way.

Also getting rid of the other cars makes perfect sense why keep the old shit around while you’re about to have better cars. ?!

You should take a couple out for a spin.

We have a Guards Red 991 here, 2013, non-S, 2500 miles with an exhaust and Sport Chrono.

Took it out with a client this week for a test drive. Man does it make fantastic noises.

The P-cars make great all-around cars. Good performance, good drivability, good reliability. The 570S may have a bigger wow factor but I think you'd appreciate the Porsche more.

I dunno I’d think I’d want more of a wow factor at 200k, the turbo s looks exactly like a 91k Carrera. The McLaren ... now that’s something that at least looks like it’s worth the price tag, it also has a far better purpose built chassis etc. But hey I’m just a dude on the internet

[max225]

Might have my answer about the miles right here...

37K miles on a 2014 and a dealer is trying to sell it for $122,500

https://livermore.porschedealer.com/inv ... ic+1700311

Would hate to lose 50%+ of the value of an overpriced car in 18 months.

Did you ever own a 4 year old car in the last 10 years ?!
That’s a fair amount of age and miles on a P car. And that’s still 60% of msrp

[max225]

I dunno I’d think I’d want more of a wow factor at 200k, the turbo s looks exactly like a 91k Carrera. The McLaren ... now that’s something that at least looks like it’s worth the price tag, it also has a far better purpose built chassis etc. But hey I’m just a dude on the internet

I just think it'd be such a pain in the ass to drive a Mac on the street. I also like flying under the radar. To each their own.

P cars in bright colors as posted above aren’t exactly flying under the radar either...
From what it sounds like the Macdonalds is actually quite a great DD

[Johnny_P]

I am puzzled why you bought and are now selling the MR2... isn't it exactly what you want?
Cheap to run?
Winning class?
Mid engine?

It's not worth the compromise of having a LOUD car with floppy chassis that takes up my only garage space all year and prevents me from having cash to have a more interesting "real" car vs. driving a Pontiac Vibe on a regular basis. If I had a 3+ car garage and a Cayman to DD, then sure it would be worth having an Elise/MR2 for autox.

I thought that I would "get used to" the convertible thing, but I still hate it. Wearing sunscreen and ear plugs to drive your car is

I think you made the right call with the RX8, man. Fun car, handles great, cheap entry price, already bottomed out on cost. It's got a lot of the MR2 pluses without the major drawbacks of zero space, floppy chassis, and a tent over your head. Hope it works out for you for a while.

[CorvetteWaxer]

It's not worth the compromise of having a LOUD car with floppy chassis that takes up my only garage space all year and prevents me from having cash to have a more interesting "real" car vs. driving a Pontiac Vibe on a regular basis. If I had a 3+ car garage and a Cayman to DD, then sure it would be worth having an Elise/MR2 for autox.

I thought that I would "get used to" the convertible thing, but I still hate it. Wearing sunscreen and ear plugs to drive your car is

I think you made the right call with the RX8, man. Fun car, handles great, cheap entry price, already bottomed out on cost. It's got a lot of the MR2 pluses without the major drawbacks of zero space, floppy chassis, and a tent over your head. Hope it works out for you for a while.

Yeah, I've had a convertible... once.

When I was a kid I loved it and it was fun, except for the noise, constantly being ripped by some a-hole that wanted in the car or just to be a dick and everything that goes with that... and as mentioned, it's almost always too warm or to cold.

[CorvetteWaxer]

Might have my answer about the miles right here...

37K miles on a 2014 and a dealer is trying to sell it for $122,500

https://livermore.porschedealer.com/inv ... ic+1700311

Would hate to lose 50%+ of the value of an overpriced car in 18 months.

Did you ever own a 4 year old car in the last 10 years ?!
That’s a fair amount of age and miles on a P car. And that’s still 60% of msrp

No, I have not.

My main point is I would probably put 30k miles a year on it, so....not a good idea in reality. Maybe after I buy these houses and actually retire and don't have a commute.

[NeonJonny]

It's not worth the compromise of having a LOUD car with floppy chassis that takes up my only garage space all year and prevents me from having cash to have a more interesting "real" car vs. driving a Pontiac Vibe on a regular basis. If I had a 3+ car garage and a Cayman to DD, then sure it would be worth having an Elise/MR2 for autox.

I thought that I would "get used to" the convertible thing, but I still hate it. Wearing sunscreen and ear plugs to drive your car is

I think you made the right call with the RX8, man. Fun car, handles great, cheap entry price, already bottomed out on cost. It's got a lot of the MR2 pluses without the major drawbacks of zero space, floppy chassis, and a tent over your head. Hope it works out for you for a while.

Are they expensive to rebuild them?

[CorvetteWaxer]

I think you made the right call with the RX8, man. Fun car, handles great, cheap entry price, already bottomed out on cost. It's got a lot of the MR2 pluses without the major drawbacks of zero space, floppy chassis, and a tent over your head. Hope it works out for you for a while.

Are they expensive to rebuild them?

I've seen some LSX conversions that didn't cost and arm and a leg...

[NeonJonny]

Are they expensive to rebuild them?

I've seen some LSX conversions that didn't cost and arm and a leg...

Ah the kitchen sink mod! I'm on board!

[max225]

Did you ever own a 4 year old car in the last 10 years ?!
That’s a fair amount of age and miles on a P car. And that’s still 60% of msrp

No, I have not.

My main point is I would probably put 30k miles a year on it, so....not a good idea in reality. Maybe after I buy these houses and actually retire and don't have a commute.

Would make some sense... you also have quite a few cars to split the miles on and I don’t think you actually drive that much do you ? It makes sense to have a daily and a McDonalds vehicle, scraping the ground gets tired real quick

[CorvetteWaxer]

No, I have not.

My main point is I would probably put 30k miles a year on it, so....not a good idea in reality. Maybe after I buy these houses and actually retire and don't have a commute.

Would make some sense... you also have quite a few cars to split the miles on and I don’t think you actually drive that much do you ? It makes sense to have a daily and a McDonalds vehicle, scraping the ground gets tired real quick

If I average 1 day a week working at home my commute is still 150 miles * 4 days * 4 weeks = 2,400 a month without going anywhere else. The wife is saying she doesn't want $1M worth of cars parked at a house that isn't $5M. I see her point on this. I've already got about $250K MSRP in vehicles at a "starter home".

[NeonJonny]

Would make some sense... you also have quite a few cars to split the miles on and I don’t think you actually drive that much do you ? It makes sense to have a daily and a McDonalds vehicle, scraping the ground gets tired real quick

If I average 1 day a week working at home my commute is still 150 miles * 4 days * 4 weeks = 2,400 a month without going anywhere else. The wife is saying she doesn't want $1M worth of cars parked at a house that isn't $5M. I see her point on this. I've already got about $250K MSRP in vehicles at a "starter home".

Jesus... I work 34 miles away but only work 14 days a month. 11,088 miles a year. i'll drive to the grocery store once a week and use the dirt bike for everything else to go see friends/girlfriend. I do my best to "spread the love" with mileage.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I want a 991.

[max225]

Would make some sense... you also have quite a few cars to split the miles on and I don’t think you actually drive that much do you ? It makes sense to have a daily and a McDonalds vehicle, scraping the ground gets tired real quick

If I average 1 day a week working at home my commute is still 150 miles * 4 days * 4 weeks = 2,400 a month without going anywhere else. The wife is saying she doesn't want $1M worth of cars parked at a house that isn't $5M. I see her point on this. I've already got about $250K MSRP in vehicles at a "starter home".

Bay Area is usually wayyyyy different. Prius in front of a 4m dollar house, way to buck the trend

[NeonJonny]

If I average 1 day a week working at home my commute is still 150 miles * 4 days * 4 weeks = 2,400 a month without going anywhere else. The wife is saying she doesn't want $1M worth of cars parked at a house that isn't $5M. I see her point on this. I've already got about $250K MSRP in vehicles at a "starter home".

Bay Area is usually wayyyyy different. Prius in front of a 4m dollar house, way to buck the trend

housing is crazy there!! Housing here: 400-450k gets you a good 4 bedroom 2000 square foot house with small backyard, medium backyard, 3 car garage if you shop carefully. The trick is to get a gate that allows you to pull a car into your backyard so you can put a car lift back there. At least that's what my plans are. Then build a car shed east coast style....

[Johnny_P]

Hmm P cars are a good idea However they are priced close to a 570s which is better in every way.

Also getting rid of the other cars makes perfect sense why keep the old shit around while you’re about to have better cars. ?!

You should take a couple out for a spin.

We have a Guards Red 991 here, 2013, non-S, 2500 miles with an exhaust and Sport Chrono.

Took it out with a client this week for a test drive. Man does it make fantastic noises.

The P-cars make great all-around cars. Good performance, good drivability, good reliability. The 570S may have a bigger wow factor but I think you'd appreciate the Porsche more.

The 2015? That's an incredible vehicle that's perfectly optioned. I really wonder about the trans though, if the PDK is the better pick. Obvi for resale the 7MT is the way to go but is it the best? My experience with Pcar manual boxes is they kind of suck.

[max225]

Bay Area is usually wayyyyy different. Prius in front of a 4m dollar house, way to buck the trend

housing is crazy there!! Housing here: 400-450k gets you a good 4 bedroom 2000 square foot house with small backyard, medium backyard, 3 car garage if you shop carefully. The trick is to get a gate that allows you to pull a car into your backyard so you can put a car lift back there. At least that's what my plans are. Then build a car shed east coast style....

400 is the down payment I am aiming for my next place if this hyper inflation continues and I don’t get fired

[troyguitar]

I think you made the right call with the RX8, man. Fun car, handles great, cheap entry price, already bottomed out on cost. It's got a lot of the MR2 pluses without the major drawbacks of zero space, floppy chassis, and a tent over your head. Hope it works out for you for a while.

Are they expensive to rebuild them?

Not expensive or tough to rebuild the renesis engines, assuming you do it before it actually blows up instead of driving it for years with low compression until it finally blows. IIRC it's under a grand in parts, could be under $2k at a shop.

[max225]

Are they expensive to rebuild them?

Not expensive or tough to rebuild the renesis engines, assuming you do it before it actually blows up instead of driving it for years with low compression until it finally blows. IIRC it's under a grand in parts, could be under $2k at a shop.

That’s cheap ! 1/4 of the cost of an engine out service on a p car

[NeonJonny]

No wizzbang modulator required? I was under the impression that the thing required a special mechanic like boxer engine guys. Subaru guys usually pop their motor and then can't afford to get it fixed because there's only 1 guy that rebuilds them the "right way" at a reputable shop. On the side he'll build them cheaper but you're basically on a waiting list. Then subaru guy buys a miata as a daily while their subaru sits in the driveway with a tarp over it.

[troyguitar]

Not expensive or tough to rebuild the renesis engines, assuming you do it before it actually blows up instead of driving it for years with low compression until it finally blows. IIRC it's under a grand in parts, could be under $2k at a shop.

That’s cheap ! 1/4 of the cost of an engine out service on a p car

Or about the same as doing head gaskets on a Subaru. It's really not a big deal as long as you're proactive about it. Nowhere near as complicated as a rebuild on a piston engine.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I think it would be fun to rebuild a rotary engine. Just for the learning alone.

[troyguitar]

I think it would be fun to rebuild a rotary engine. Just for the learning alone.

The big question for me if/when that time comes will be how many special tools are needed - and what the cost is on the tools vs paying a shop to do the rebuild.

I might even just buy a used engine and rebuild it myself, then sell mine at some point while it's still good but after the warranty has expired (end of 2019). That way it could be done with minimal downtime and no hurry to get the work done.

[Davestr]

I want a 991.

Life's short - live hard!!!

[Davestr]

So, I think I might have something wrong with me.

I've always had a weird feeling about 911's. I've wanted one, but can't see ever buying one due to the !/$ factor. They seem like such a waste of money when other cars outperform them on many levels for much less cash.

All that ignored, I find myself wanting a new Turbo S.



The only things really keeping me away from it right now is my current plan to buy a couple properties out of state and early retire, and the small fact that the wife says if I buy a $200k car it should be my daily driver and I should get rid of the Z06 and the Camaro, and not keep the JKU.

Pretty sure 30k miles a year on a Turbo S is a bad idea.... but I've still been thinking about it.

You live once and have the means. Given the resale and name why not. At least find a way to get a good test and assess further...........