Ekona

Good man, it's the sensible thing even if it's not the cheapest. Either flog the other, or keep it handy in case you get another puncture at some point.

2mm difference is a lot. I wouldn't chance that, not worth risking the car for the sake of a few quid.

No, IS no better. Look at the Westboro lot, or how gays are still not allowed, or abortions, or whatever. There's a whole load of crap in there that's ridiculous.

Christianity is no better. In truth it's religion that's the problem, doesn't matter who's name is at the top of the page. I get what you're saying though.

Good shout! More fragile than the cars mentioned, but surely going to put a smile on your face every time?

I'd have expected you to know better, then. Why on earth would you write that it's "best to stick to same make and model", when actually it's bloody critical you do? That's just about the most ridiculous thing you could possibly have said. Maybe you just didn't think before writing so you phrased it badly, but you can be damn sure I'm going to jump on it and make it absolutely clear that mixing tyres on an axle is a no-no just in case the person who asked the question literally has no idea you can't do that. Not everyone is an expert, and I'd rather someone thought I was being condescending than give misleading advice.

Beetles for the win!

Here's the rub: People are desperate to leave Syria because of the war that's going on there right now. I get that, perfectly understandable. Instead of just letting in as many people as can get here to the EU, we really need to tackle the cause of the problem, i.e. get involved in the war, pick the good side and make sure that they win. However, we can't do that because all the tree hugging hippies will keep bringing up Afghanistan and Iraq as examples of 'wasted money' and 'our troops died for nothing'. Political suicide, never mind that we'd have to make cuts to other services to pay for a new war. It's like buying more and more plasters, instead of just sewing the wound shut. We (the EU) cannot take all these refugees and give them the care they deserve, it's as simple as that. We NEED to sort out their homeland so they can return, it's the most cost-effective and efficient way to make this right. But we won't. So they'll keep coming. And they'll keep dying.

I would.

I have a quote from one of the top designers at Ford Australia (number 1 son) 'Nice, matching the shape to the lines of the car makes it sit really well aesthetically speaking ... this is what our designers would say - " loving the design language"' so up yours Dan ... He's wrong. It looks like sh*t.

@Juggalo: Good god man, how misleading do you want to be?! You can replace a single tyre IF the tread difference isn't too great. Anything more than 1mm or a few thousand miles and I'd be changing both. What's the wear like on your rears right now? Always, always, ALWAYS match tyres across an axle! It's not a case of 'best to', it's a case of MUST.

Much better than the previous colour, good choice sir!

I'd rather be touring Italy in a Maser, and suspect it would be a better experience, but tbh that's just splitting hairs. I'd rather do everything in an old 964 instead! You'd be surprised at how good the Maser is on track though: I benchmarked on a corporate jolly the entire range a few years back, so the Maser slushbox vs Maser automated manual in a direct comparison. Both cars were incredibly handy, and whilst neither would see which way a Caterham went on track, who cares? As long as it's fun enough, that's enough. You'll know exactly what I mean when I say that you'll have more fun on track in your slower MX5 than you do in your GT-R, I know my old mk1 was soooo much more entertaining than the 911 on track, despite taking an age to complete a lap! I think the biggest reason to not pick a GT-R (or a cooking 911, for that matter) over the V8 options is the noise alone. The sound of an Aston V8 at tick over or the Maser V8 at 8K RPM just rapes the face off any six cylinder option. In terms of experiences, i can't think of much better for £35K.

I see more McLaren 12Cs on the road than I do GT-Rs, but I know which is the car I'd prefer on my driveway Track day yes, if you like winning on track days a GT-R is the easy choice. Not sure what you mean by driving events though? Something like a long tour of Europe would be infinitely more preferable in something like a V8V or the Maser, I think. Even somewhere like Wales or the IoM, where power is meaningless really, could be more fun in something like the Maser. But yeah, we'll never agree that the 911 is better than everything mentioned anyway. ;)

I wouldn't even look at a GT-R over an Aston or a Maser GT. I agree that it's not a leap in running costs at all, but in terms of specialness I just can't see it over either of the two main options, much less over an M6 or 911. Or even an Evora.

Warranty is a must-have I think, unless you can keep a £10K slush fund (or borrow it at short notice, credit card etc). That said, even the best warranty will only go so far with regards to costs, and you'll find that you'll end up topping it up regardless if you get a big bill. No love for the Evora then? Or a C6 Corvette?

I really enjoy your OCD... I mean, attention to detail in these write ups, y'know. Seriously though, this is one of the most enjoyable threads to read on here, not just because I have an interest in the subject matter but also your writing is both entertaining and informative. Good work sir, I probably don't say that often enough.

Sorry for your loss, what a little cutie he was

A world full of Porsches? Sounds okay to me Maser is much better looking to my eyes than the Aston. I've never found that styling to suit the V8 that well, I always preferred it on the DB9.

Sounds about right to me. Aston the better choice in that regard as you can get a manual 'box, but then there's other silly stuff that requires the entire dash removing to repair a £2 part IIRC, or something equally daft.

Running costs on anything like this will be about the same, it's the breakdown costs you have to watch out for. Is there a decent indy near by, as I wouldn't want to be paying main dealer rates on an older car?

I think it does, yeah. I'll give it a go tonight probably! Been playing MGSV last night, it's a bit weird. Okay, I've never played* any of the MGS games and I'm aware the back story is huge and complex and I don't intend to understand it all, but so far it's more like F.E.A.R. than what I expected. I didn't realise there was supernatural elements to it, as I'm pretty sure that a giant flaming whale attacking me from the sky isn't actually a real thing! That's not really a spoiler at all in case you're worried, it happens in the prologue which still took me 90 mins to get through and I didn't do anything really apart from hold forward on the stick. Done the first mission proper, which wasn't too bad and cleared it with a B rating which is better than I'd hoped for. Tricky though, as guard movements and especially guard changes are hard to track, along with the day/night cycle meaning you have limited time to actually do things. *I played MGS on PS1 for about 20 mins before getting stuck and giving up.

I'd have the Maser over the Aston too, but only if I could find one with the automated manual 'box as the slusher just isn't sharp enough for me.

If you want the noise, then the Aston. If you want the looks, then the Maser. If you want the drive, then the 911. Neither the Aston nor the Maser are as good to drive as a 911, but the interiors are a nicer place to be and stock for stock, make a much better noise. It's a toss up between the occasion and having something that handles as well as it looks. No right or wrong answer, really. M6 definitely worth a shout, you'll never get an NA V10 in a sensibly priced car again.

He really wasn't though: Look at his competition when he won. Best of a bad bunch.