Blobcat
Moderator
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2006
- Messages
- 38,949
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- Grange Moor
- Your Mercedes
- R171 SLK280, Smart R451, Land Rover 110 County SW, 997 C2S, R1250 GSA TE 40th, CBR600FP
- Moderator
- #21
I had the engine dropped in my 911 as the original battery cable has a tendency to corrode and the car won’t start when warm. The cable cost less than £100. Dropping the engine significantly more... still it’s what it needed and meant it never had an issue. That service cost me £2,500Yes, after 48 hrs of apparent panic sinking a few hundred Pounds into a car worth similar at WBAC valuation it was a jolt to the system! But with the views and thoughts shared on this forum, I have stood back and objectively made what I believe to be the right decision for me - get the car sorted and use it - until it blows up or has a major catastrophe like a gearbox strip and rebuild required. And then take time to consider the next car and choose a purchase on my terms and not driven by someone else's agenda to sell me a car.
I know better than most about the foolishness of buying a £100k car and trying to run it on the costs of running a £20k Ford Mondeo. The Porsche Turbo was £102k (the spec I have) and it requires deep pockets to keep it in pristine condition that enables one to enjoy it. Sadly too many of these great sports cars ar for sale at low-mid £30k's with exceptional mileages of 80k+ where the previous owner struggled to maintain it when the dreaded call came at service time after the health check on a list of advisories that were shelved and ignored. The following year the same and the list just got bigger and then in-between something went wrong so they fixed it up cheap and sold it on to the next unsuspecting gullible guy who finds out he needs the purchase price + £5k to sort out the deferred advisory issues. Then the turbos are reported as corroded and he breaks out into a sweat at £1k per Turbo + labour! And that's cheap - the original Porsche supplied new are £1800 or £2000 each! And there's two of 'em! I can imagine the gasp when the Air Suspension breaks down with leaks - at £1k per corner plus labour - thats a potential £5k bill on a car bought for £30k.
The LED headlights are not gonna be cheap. Same for the digital dash and the distronic/drive pilot. If it was not German, I'd question the reliability of the electronics - or maybe I am naive? But certainly, I am in no rush now to offload my very reliable car - it is silky smooth and never uses any oil between services - the mechanicals are just run-in!