What would you do?

[garyfrogeye]

Blimey all this talk of powerful motors. We could barely keep up with her when she had the Micra. But as Mark says, a Boxter would suit you Mrs T

[Chris24]

If mobility is an issue, I would try the Porsche out for size etc first before considering one. I recently went in a friends Boxster and he all but had to push me out to help me out of the passenger seat when we arrived at our destination.

[wishy]

Deb,

If you need any advice on buying a Cayman, it might be worth having a word with Pretzel.He has had a Cayman for about a year now and absolutely loves it.
I do remember him saying that he test drove 911's,Boxters and the Cayman, and he said of all of them the Cayman was the best drive, hence why he did the deed and bought it.

Andy

[Mike]

What about the Porsche Cheyenne?

Large enough to be practical, Porsche build quality, and quick enough when you need it to be.

One of my chums has just bough a second hand, 55 plate I think 4.5S with about 50k on the clock and all the toys for about £13k.

[mgmark]

Deb,
If you need any advice on buying a Cayman, it might be worth having a word with Pretzel. He has had a Cayman for about a year now and absolutely loves it.
I do remember him saying that he test drove 911's,Boxters and the Cayman, and he said of all of them the Cayman was the best drive, hence why he did the deed and bought it.
Andy

Absolutely and aye for that, unless the ragtop is a must for you, because it is a more rigid mid-engine, tintop boxster.  

Oh, and further on the manual v tiptronic question, the latter is generally cheaper in capital outlay, thus representing even better value for money.....  

MG Mark

[termietermite]

Smashing chaps - I knew you'd come up trumps.  Giving me much food for thought.

GF - If it's good enough for Mr Elford, it's good enough for anybody!

Lorry - Just a Renault. 265 bhp - are you kidding?  I have yet to read a bad road test of one.  What's more there are plenty about in France with 10k or so on the clock within my budget.  More practical than a Porker, especially with the rear two seats gone.  Still lurking near the top of my list. Even second hand I'd get a year's warranty.
EDIT : Volvo - well I have been mega impressed with them when being taxied back and forth - oddly more than I was by the equivalent Fords they share so much with.  Somehow the interiors and passenger seating positions worked better for a shorter person like myself.  One for the future, methinks.
  
Paul : Defender V8.  I ran one for several years.  Great thing - best tow vehicle I ever hand but Landies are quite tough to get in and out of.  Not to mention the tractability for every day.  Probably not.

Anything VAG - I thought about maybe a Scirocco instead of the RS Meganne but they lose out in every comparison test I've read plus nearest garage is in LM so less practical for servicing/bits etc (I know what a palava it is to get bits for the Skoda via the local bod.)  Never been a great Audi fan - apart from the really sporty ones (and I don't mean the TT - very hairdresser imo) they don't light my fire much.  A bit middle-aged bloke.

Souped up diesel estate is a deffo idea for the day I trade the more sporty job in after a couple of years (I reckon 60 is a good average age - for me I mean - to get a bit more staid and practical when the reactions really begin to slow down below danger level.)

Clio Sport - definately a possibility.   I'm going to discuss buying a new one with the local bloke and price that up.  There's also a Gordini available locally well within my price range (I could then keep the Note or even update and upgrade it a bit and just dump the Skoda) and with all the intro' taxes etc paid for. 7k on the clock and a year old.  Very tempted.

Gary : Tee hee.  

Chris, Wishy : There's a circuit near Evreux which does track days.  They have both the Meganne and the Clio on site plus all three Porkers (911, Cayman, Boxter).  Pretty cheap so I'm going to hopefully book some time up there to try things out.  I can also test out all the Porkers at the LM Bugatti driving school.  On the cards as a thing to do, even if I don't buy a one in the end.  

Mike : Again the Cayenne is one of those vehicles I'd look at down the line.  But not for the immediate future.  There are loads of bargains about for sure but for a reason - cheap to buy but not that cheap to run.

MGM et al I have looked at loads of Porsches of various type numbers over the last couple of years whilst day dreaming!  I'm not averse to a soft top but wouldn't chose one above the Cayman if it weren't for the fact that the latter is less widely available and way out of my price range in most cases.  I have seen a couple of Boxters with (after market?) hard tops - are these a factory fit or does somebody make them?  Something to look into.  They certainly come into the reckoning.  Mark - I keep reading the post above - is that right?  Manual more expensive than triptonic?  Then I have to ask myself if I could get enough stuff in a Porsche to make it viable to take anywhere?   My little scooter comes apart but even so....  Whereas I could take a Meganne to Spa and get all I need into it, anything which is a true sports car rather rules that out.  On the plus side, I could do more fun stuff like local car meets,  LM open days etc etc with a Porsche.

Still mulling.  Thanks guys, this is all really helpful and lets me gather my thoughts a bit more.

[pretzel]

Deb,
If you need any advice on buying a Cayman, it might be worth having a word with Pretzel. He has had a Cayman for about a year now and absolutely loves it.
I do remember him saying that he test drove 911's,Boxters and the Cayman, and he said of all of them the Cayman was the best drive, hence why he did the deed and bought it.
Andy

Absolutely and aye for that, unless the ragtop is a must for you, because it is a more rigid mid-engine, tintop boxster.  

Oh, and further on the manual v tiptronic question, the latter is generally cheaper in capital outlay, thus representing even better value for money.....  


MG Mark

My vote obviously would also favour the Cayman :-) As my friend Wishy says I tried a few other Porsche variants before finally deciding it was the one for me. A few points to add:

1. It is not quite the same as the Boxster (apart from the obvious). Engine power for the same capacity is up by around 10BHP and the suspension setup is subtly different, for the better.

2. Rear storage is even better than the Boxster as there is no space taken up by the ragtop. It really is surprising how much luggage it can swallow.

3. In the (nearly) 2 years I have had mine ownership costs have been pretty reasonable, for a Porker.

4. Residuals are not as good as they once were in these straitened times although have flattened off now, so the 2.7's will fall well within your budget. The 2.7 needs a bit more winding up but still VERY satisfying to drive quickly.

5. Cannot comment on the Tiptronic but the PDK is good (mine is a manual, but I have tried this shift option). Probably irrelavant though as the PDK versions will stray outside your budget.

6. Thankfully I do not have your mobility difficulties, but it is a challenge to get out of.

Notwithstanding the last comment take that track day test drive and give it a go. Your heart could well overrule your head, and you more than most of us will know - you only live once :-)

[Martini...LB]

Smashing chaps - I knew you'd come up trumps.  Giving me much food for thought.

Anything VAG - Never been a great Audi fan they don't light my fire much.  A bit middle-aged bloke.

Excuse me... age has nothing to do with it, I am on my fifth and I started in my thirties... you are forgetting build quality and reliability which is improving year on year...

>Martini...LB

[mgmark]

Debs,

Yup, a tiptronic in UK is around £1-1.5k cheaper than a manual; the price difference is caused by people who think that the tiptronic is just an automatic gearbox with an "M" function to provide an illusion of manual changes.  It's not.  It has a direct mechanical lock up in every gear except first, so the torque convertor is just used as a "clutch" only for the instant of a gear change.  Full power up changes, no slush, and normal engine braking when down changing.      

The factory hardtop is the bubble shaped one and there are aftermarket ones that make it look like a Cayman, but check prices.

Space really is not an issue- the missus and I went touring in France, Germany and Italy for 3 weeks a few days after getting ours and covered 3800 miles, camping every night, with everything we needed to live, sleep, eat and have clean clothes.  The front and rear boots take oodles of stuff, and the front boot is very deep too, so all manner of stuff fits in there. More useable front boot space in the 986 compared to the 987.  

Go look and see what you think - mine brings a big smile to my face every time I get in it and an even bigger grin when I drive it.  Was awfully thankful though that the gendarmerie's speed gun soon after Rouen last year was located at the start of a long straight bit........

MG Mark  
          

[Kev_mk3]

Cup Clio is fantastic dont buy a gordini or a silverstone as not worth the extra money IMO. Handle fantastic out of the box and go like stink!

Megane (or flying baguette as i call them ) would take my money tho as handle, can be good ish on fuel if driven sensible, handle well and stop on a penny. A friend has one, he drove from scotland with the wife and kids unloaded them in Anglesey, did a track day then drove home without a issue.

[termietermite]

Excuse me... age has nothing to do with it, I am on my fifth and I started in my thirties... you are forgetting build quality and reliability which is improving year on year...

>Martini...LB

No, I guess that was unfair.  I suppose I mean it's a bit Captain Sensible for what I'm after at the moment.

Great feedback chaps.

The other vehicle in my sights is a Z car.  Few and far between over here but still possible with relatively few miles on the clock for the money I have.  The only Boxters I've found are years old in my price range, even from Germany.  Narac (Rouen) has one, for example but it is 15 years old with 100k on the clock. - not to mention the fact that it's a truly revolting colour (I try not to be girly in this department but honestly - who ordered bright metalic green when it was new, ffs?)

[Lazy B'stard]

Debs, you say the Renaults always come up trumps in magazine road tests, but that's because they are brand new. Within six months they start falling apart. Talk to any garage monkey or MOT tester and they will tell you just how bad they are.

@Kev.... You say your friend drove from Scotland to Anglesey, did a track day and drove back without problems? I should bloody hope so, it's the 21st century for gawd sake. I thrashed a 40 year old Alfa to Le Mans and back last year, a 1300 mile round trip, without any problems. I would hope that in the last 40 years that cars should be easily capable of such journeys without problems!

Some fair suggestions so far, but please give the Renaults a miss. If that's the kind of thing you fancy Debs, go for the VW, it's better looking, better built and will hold its value better. Forget what the magazines say, they are biased toward whoever are lining their pockets at the time.

[termietermite]

I would hope that in the last 40 years that cars should be easily capable of such journeys without problems!

I agree about that one.  However our Skoda had a lot of teething troubles out of the box and had to be completely repainted but that was all under warranty - nothing for the last 10 though until the clutch.  My 3 Nissans have run trouble free; our Pugs, Citroens, Toyotas, Rovers, Vauxhalls ditto.  In fact the only time we've had mechanical troubles  were with tatty old 2nd handers and the Fabia.

Given that the Renaults I'm looking at have all got a year's warranty (4 if I get a new one) then I guess it's less of an issue than the sheer fun aspect.  VW better looking?    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

[Jules G]

Deb,

We traded in my wifes Megane last October for a VW Golf. The Reggie had at the start been a good car, but over time.....well it cost a packet to keep going, especially on the electrical side of things. A Golf is all things to all men or ladies, well built, well spec'd.. GTI all the way, but avoid the 18 rims, harsh ride.

[termietermite]

Sorry Jules but nobody will talk me into VAG. Doesn't light my fire at all.  I get all the sensible arguments but nothing they produce does it for me in the looks department .