rabbitstew Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) Well after having my lovely BMW 123d M-Sport Coupe for 4 years now and covering 60k trouble free in that time I figured it was time to get something else. I had found myself occasionally thinking about getting another high performance petrol car as I did miss the performance of my old 350Z HR Roadster which I traded in to get the beemer. Id think about it for a few days, then as the 123d is such a good car id forget all about changing it. 0-60 in 6.5 and 50mpg cant be grumbled at from a dirty diesel. One of the main reasons I sold my 350z was that it was costing me something like £1200 a month in depreciation and running costs. I do 80 miles a day and at 24mpg it was killing me. Especially when back then super unleaded was about 100quid a litre or something stupid. But then again, id remember the excitement of driving home from work each night, the noise from the engine, the revs, acceleration. All the admiring looks etc... all through rose tinted glasses and somehow forget about the running costs.. But what would I get. That was the other thing. Nothing really jumped out at me. RS4? I wasnt inspired much by the 370Z I had for a week as a loan car from Nissan. GTR? C63AMG? Maybe, but they depreciate like mad and the mpg would kill me. Corvette? New Mustang? Focus RS? Lambo Gallardo? Not a fan of Jags. Maybe an M3? 1M? M2? Clio V6? The list of stuff I considered was endless. The main steering factors for me was: 1) Has to live on the drive as I have my rusty old project car in the garage. So it needs to not stand out and call attention to it too much. (Okay so my project car is maybe worth 5k so logic might say why not keep that on the drive and park your much more expensive motor in the garage.... but I dont think like that. ) 2) Has to have 4 seats as I need to fit toddler & baby in the back. 3) Be "sensible" and reliable enough to use as a daily driver. 4) Have "reasonable" mpg. Which I figured 25mpg at todays prices might be "acceptable". 5) Be quick. Budget really wasnt an issue (as such), it was more about the deprecation factor. i.e. whats it going to cost me per year over the next 2 years. As we know, man maths is a wonderful thing and after doing a lot of research ive ended up buying this: Its a 997.1 Turbo Manual. Funny thing is, I have never really been a fan of Porsches. They all look the same... which actually turned out to be one of the reasons it ended up on my list. I figured left on my drive it wouldnt stand out as much as say a bright green Gallardo might. Especially in black which was a must have colour for me. Anyhow, once I put the Porsche on my short list I spent around 9 months looking and reading up on them before I found this one. Decent ones get snapped up pretty quick, so when this one turned up not far from where I live I was around there viewing it within a few hours of it appearing online and snapped it up straight away. I collect it at the weekend so ive not had chance to play with it much, but have to say the test drive was fun. Was a weird experience having spent so long looking at and reading about them to finally actually see one closely in the flesh and sit in it. Initial impressions was just how noisy the cabin is. I thought my 350z Roadster was noisy. This is mental, even at low speeds. And how weird is it having an engine behind you? It sounded like there was a lorry right behind me all the time. I think having phone conversations whilst driving will be a thing of the past now! Anyhow, the first time I floored it to overtake a car, I knew straight away I was going to buy it. To say its f**king quick is an understatement. I believe it was Docwra on a previous thread, when I was saying how quick my R1 is and id struggle to get a car that quick - and he said "about 500bhp would do it". He wasnt kidding. This thing is the only thing ive ever driven which actually does feel as quick as my R1. Anyhow, I collect it at the weekend and to make things a bit more "interesting" ive not told the wife yet. hahahaha! I told her ive bought a new car and that its black but thats it. Should be interesting seeing her reaction! or maybe even As a side note, my 2nd choice and it very nearly became my 1st choice was the 1M. I figured if I got the same colour (black) as my 123d Coupe then the wife might not even notice that id changed my car! Edited May 12, 2016 by rabbitstew 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus-350z Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Beautiful motor! I can completely sympathise with the logic of keeping a rusty old project car in the warm dry garage and the expensive performance car out in the elements... It's just how it works I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 tres nice. looks really slick in black, I love that model of 911. Also top man maths at work, really wasn't expecting to see a Porsche when I scrolled down after reading the criteria! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 bright green Gallardo How was there even a decision if that was on the table 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Gallardos can be a pain to live with, never mind the eye-watering servicing costs. Anyways, what a boring looking car. Engine in the wrong place, looks like a Beetle, common as muck, all the same, driven by bankers. Think that pretty much covers it mate, you should only get positive comments now 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted May 12, 2016 Author Share Posted May 12, 2016 Gallardos can be a pain to live with, never mind the eye-watering servicing costs. I did hear endless tails of reliability problems, but to be fair, had I a garage to keep it in, and could afford to keep the 123d as a daily then I might have gone for one. you should only get positive comments now I am actually waiting to see how my friends react as none of them have anything remotely like this. Whether they will think ive won the lottery, or whether they will be jealous, or think if of me differently than they did before. Will be interesting to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 You'll never get let out of a junction again, believe me True friends will be glad you're happy, and desperate for a ride out I suspect. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Loving your work here Stew, superb car and Id imagine you wont lose much, if anything if you keep the miles relatively low. I believe it was Docwra on a previous thread, when I was saying how quick my R1 is and id struggle to get a car that quick - and he said "about 500bhp would do it". He wasnt kidding. This thing is the only thing ive ever driven which actually does feel as quick as my R1. Interestingly enough my "benchmarking" was done against a 997 turbot which proved very slightly quicker than my car on one of the lower power maps, good feeling isnt it? BTW, have you sold the 123 yet? My brother is after one (and the wife but she can wait) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted May 12, 2016 Author Share Posted May 12, 2016 Loving your work here Stew, superb car and Id imagine you wont lose much, if anything if you keep the miles relatively low. I believe it was Docwra on a previous thread, when I was saying how quick my R1 is and id struggle to get a car that quick - and he said "about 500bhp would do it". He wasnt kidding. This thing is the only thing ive ever driven which actually does feel as quick as my R1. Interestingly enough my "benchmarking" was done against a 997 turbot which proved very slightly quicker than my car on one of the lower power maps, good feeling isnt it? BTW, have you sold the 123 yet? My brother is after one (and the wife but she can wait) Well i will be doing about 16k a year in it, so to be fair I will kill it mileage wise, but even so hopefully the deprecation wont be huge. We shall see when I come to sell it. I am part ex`ing the 123d for it so that will be gone tomorrow afternoon. The 123d are cracking cars, your brother will love them. Mines the M-Sport. Interestingly the suspension on it is actually harder than the 997 on standard settings. I did consider having my 123d remapped as you can get 300bhp / 400ft/lb out of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodaka Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Someone I know got one of these a couple of months ago. He took me and my friend out in it and it was absolutely bonkers. Looovely car Not surprisingly, he still goes on about it every time I see him 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Your man maths is spot on Lovely motor mate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Muxlow Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Great looking car there buddy nice choice. 🙂 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Top Marks... yer cant beat a porker.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Very jealous. Looks fantastic rabbitstew for the most part but in all honesty I don't like those alloys sorry. Do you have any plans for the Porsche then or will it be left completely as is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Well i will be doing about 16k a year in it, ......... and you'll enjoy every second ... excellent choice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeybrain1234 Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Nice car and a Manual too. Good luck with the wife 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggalo Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Very nice choice, I do love that shape. 10/10 good choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Nice looking car 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonty88 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Gallardos can be a pain to live with, never mind the eye-watering servicing costs. I did hear endless tails of reliability problems, but to be fair, had I a garage to keep it in, and could afford to keep the 123d as a daily then I might have gone for one. you should only get positive comments now I am actually waiting to see how my friends react as none of them have anything remotely like this. Whether they will think ive won the lottery, or whether they will be jealous, or think if of me differently than they did before. Will be interesting to see. Awesome car mate, im currently turning the other way with my car choice, something less powerful with great mpg that saves me money compared to the Z, most likely the new TT. I know that feeling of friends being different when getting a new car though. When I had my old Celica they would always ask 'hows your car?' Once I got the Z all but 1 of them were totally disinterested. Having non car guys friends sucks! I hope yours appreciate what youve got 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Very jealous. Looks fantastic rabbitstew for the most part but in all honesty I don't like those alloys sorry. Do you have any plans for the Porsche then or will it be left completely as is? I have to say I wasnt a fan of the alloys either, but they are better (imo) than the horrible ones on the 997.2 turbo. But they are kinda growing a bit on me now. Plan wise... ive already had cruise control retro fitted into it and ive just bought a bluetooth system which can give the horrible sat/nav/"entertainment" system a bit more modern abilities - such as streaming music from your phone & proper bluetooth hands free etc. I also want to fit the sports seats. Basically those are the only 3 spec items the car didnt have which I wanted. Mod wise... nothing planned atm. Maybe a sports exhaust at some point, but thats about it. Awesome car mate, im currently turning the other way with my car choice, something less powerful with great mpg that saves me money compared to the Z, most likely the new TT. Thats basically what I did when I moved from the zed to the 123d. I expect I will do the same in a couple of years too once the "sensible" side of me realises that maybe this isnt the best daily commuting car! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Man maths at its best , 350z too expensive to run so buys a Porsche Nice one 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 I have to say I wasnt a fan of the alloys either, but they are better (imo) than the horrible ones on the 997.2 turbo. But they are kinda growing a bit on me now. Plan wise... ive already had cruise control retro fitted into it and ive just bought a bluetooth system which can give the horrible sat/nav/"entertainment" system a bit more modern abilities - such as streaming music from your phone & proper bluetooth hands free etc. I also want to fit the sports seats. Basically those are the only 3 spec items the car didnt have which I wanted. Mod wise... nothing planned atm. Maybe a sports exhaust at some point, but thats about it. I'd guess the alloys probably look better in person too. Sounds like you've already made a good improvement to the car then. Get some more pics up if you can at some point please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 (edited) Well collected car tonight and broke the news to the wife. She was mega surprised but took it well. But after I refused to tell her what it cost she did some stalking autotrader style and found it and was proper shocked at the cost of these things. Still over all she seems okay with it. Anyway, driving home in it, was pretty cool. Sad seeing my old car go after 4 years but when you are replacing it with something like this, well, its got to be good.Weird seeing all the attention a car gets again, people staring as you drive by like they did with my 350z. Most importantly my toddler thought it was the b*llocks. First look at the car and he saw the boot spoiler and said "daddies new car is super fast". His face after a quick spin was priceless. He will go off to nursery on Monday telling everyone how daddy has a porsche and its superfast. Brilliant! Couple of shots of it on my drive. Edited May 14, 2016 by rabbitstew 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyZ Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Nice motor mate, and good work not getting ditched by the wife after that stunt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Very jealous now rabbitstew. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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