Nissan R35 GTR test drive findings......
- Thread starter Gibbo
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I could go and buy a 60k car an my lifestyle need not change at all, my plan is to only stretch as high as 50k at a push.
I can still live as I do now, go on holidays, get smashed, have plenty of spare cash for overpaying the finance, fixing car when it brakes or upgrades or just to carry on saving.
You are financing half of it, why make out you have money to throw around? The budget went from £40k max due to some nice dealing on RRL.
How do you see the depreciation of the cars you are looking at? This will be a significant cost of ownership. If you can really afford £60k I'd be inclined to look at an Audi R8
How do you see the depreciation of the cars you are looking at? This will be a significant cost of ownership. If you can really afford £60k I'd be inclined to look at an Audi R8
Depreciation will be a proper killer on that.
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Soldato
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I wish they'd depreciate over here. I was offered one 2 years ago at my car +$30k which at the time put it at around $85k total. I didn't want to do it at the time but now you can't get one over here for less than $100k used!!
Then again, who really expects to make money off buying performance cars.....
/kicks self again
Soldato
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I do everything else i do so i can blow my brains out on cars, its what makes it all worth while
Trouble is, it's not like I couldn't have done it. I just wasn't that impressed with the car over my 911 to make me part with the $30k. I should have just done it but hindsight's 20:20 and all...
You do make quite a good point actually mate, best looking, best noise, mid-engine handling so probably handles/drives as good as Cayman but with re-assurance of 4WD grip.
I did call Audi for a test drive to which they said yes come drive our R8 Spyder V10, I was like thank you, but can't afford and after driving a V10 I'd never want the V8, so they are trying to source a used one for me.
I don't have money to throw around but I could easily handle finance payments and a lot more than I am contemplating, but I don't want to be paying £1200 a month on finance, afford it yes, but would be a bit dumb to have that kind of money exiting the bank each month.
Yes if I sell my car privately and even if I only get 20k for it I've still got close to double that in the bank but I am never gonna drop it all on a car and hence finance a chunk too as its simply good to have money in the bank for a rainy day or upgrades.
Anyway back to the R8, my only one fear with the R8 is after reading forums you hear people saying they spend a lot of time in garage broken, I find that hard to believe been an Audi. But the problem that does make me wonder is the R8 aint exactly that quick, many test actually show the 911 C2S to be faster, but maybe the R8 is all about the drive. I shall look at driving one because simply I might drive one and find it blows me away.
Depreciation wise an older 911 or Cayman bought right won't loose much money at all, over 2yr Id say 5k tops.
A 911 turbo Id also say they seemed to have bottomed out, so 5-10k tops.
It gets scarier though on say something like a newer Cayman S gen2 or a GTR, could quite easily be 10k or more.
But Gibbo, sounds like you are very much like me. What happens when the "Fastness" wears off from the Porsche, what then. You get used to every car. Having driven the new F10 550i, my 530d felt like a Fiesta. But then the 550i would be boring after a year. I'd be used to the power and it would be dull. What then?
Caporegime
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Mark, go round to Andys house and put a horses head in his bed with a note demanding he buys a Porsche, it's clearly the right choice of car for him.
a bike?
in all honesty, once id owned bikes, my car choice wasnt so important (in terms of speed that is)
This..
Whilst getting a bike isn't a solution to 'which performance car' I can understand what you mean.
Once you've ridden bikes capable of 0-100mph at under 6 seconds its hard to get that same rush on 4 wheels. I do still love cars though, but for me now its all about the handling and engine noise, and BHP and acceleration just don't really matter as much, hence why I really couldn't tell the difference between the 3.2 and 2.7 Boxster.
It sounds in this case that you'll kick yourself if you don't buy the Turbo, so you should probably do that, if only to postpone the desire to change again in 6 months
Even though I'm in a lowly 2.7, I can completely understand what you mean about the driver enjoyment. I intended to keep this car for 6 months last summer, but its just such a great drive that I can't think about selling it, unless I replace it with a newer Boxster / Cayman or 911. Its the only car I've owned in the last 10 years that I've gone out on an early morning drive just for the sake of it - something that I do on my bike all the time.
Last months GT Porsche magazine has a good article on the Cayman, Boxster and 911. In summary, they rated the Boxster the most communicative and involving to drive, the Cayman the best handling (almost too perfect they said) and the 911 the most accomplished all round.
I still cant decide what to go for next. I need to sort out moving house in the summer and then I can look at spending about £30k probably this time next year. I like having the roof down on the Boxster, and I think its a better car than a convertible 911, but I do like the idea of a 911 just to 'tick the box', and it would be handy to have the occasional rear seats for the kids, but then the luggage capacity in the Boxster and Cayman is far better :/
Once you've ridden bikes capable of 0-100mph at under 6 seconds its hard to get that same rush on 4 wheels. I do still love cars though, but for me now its all about the handling and engine noise, and BHP and acceleration just don't really matter as much, hence why I really couldn't tell the difference between the 3.2 and 2.7 Boxster.
It sounds in this case that you'll kick yourself if you don't buy the Turbo, so you should probably do that, if only to postpone the desire to change again in 6 months
Even though I'm in a lowly 2.7, I can completely understand what you mean about the driver enjoyment. I intended to keep this car for 6 months last summer, but its just such a great drive that I can't think about selling it, unless I replace it with a newer Boxster / Cayman or 911. Its the only car I've owned in the last 10 years that I've gone out on an early morning drive just for the sake of it - something that I do on my bike all the time.
Last months GT Porsche magazine has a good article on the Cayman, Boxster and 911. In summary, they rated the Boxster the most communicative and involving to drive, the Cayman the best handling (almost too perfect they said) and the 911 the most accomplished all round.
I still cant decide what to go for next. I need to sort out moving house in the summer and then I can look at spending about £30k probably this time next year. I like having the roof down on the Boxster, and I think its a better car than a convertible 911, but I do like the idea of a 911 just to 'tick the box', and it would be handy to have the occasional rear seats for the kids, but then the luggage capacity in the Boxster and Cayman is far better :/
Gibbo, I have to say I really enjoy your write-ups/reviews
Nope I've been able to summise from reading reviews that the Aston is a worse drive when compared to the likes of the Porsches, GTR and M3, plus it feels rather under-powered, even though its 380BHP it does weigh close too 1700kg so in this company I'd feel I get bored of the drive. Yes the Aston is the hands down winner in both looks and sound.
Spotted a white GTR tonight, it made me want one, oh what to do.....
Oh OK, I thought they would be in the same league or at least close. That's slightly depressing.
I may end up being shot down by saying this, but have you thought about one of those lease/hire-club thingies where you pay a set amount and can choose between different supercars?
I've not read into them or anything so not sure on the limitations as such, but it might appeal to people with a short attention span for cars but enough cash to enjoy them reasonably?
I may end up being shot down by saying this, but have you thought about one of those lease/hire-club thingies where you pay a set amount and can choose between different supercars?
I've not read into them or anything so not sure on the limitations as such, but it might appeal to people with a short attention span for cars but enough cash to enjoy them reasonably?
It was Tony mate, he seemed a nice enough chap, I was to be frank quite surprised the amount of GTR's they had, think they had like 14-16 of them.
But yes it was from MH garage to the dual carriage way sections, blasting over them, playing on roundabouts and back, so wheras I got to feel the power and play with the gearbox I did not get the chance to do some real twisty/bumpy stuff like I did in the Porks.
I suspect they may have done that as there was only two of them and I think the other guy was just a junior sales guy so he maybe did not want to leave him there alone and Chris was not there I know for sure as he told me he'd not be in as it was is Sunday off.
What Tony did say is that he recommended SATNAV as a must which is pretty much standard on all 2010 cars as is USB port, but 2009/59 cars SATNAV was an option and USB was not available.
Would you agree with that Fett?
50-52k seems to get a 2010 GTR with 2-5k miles with SATNAV and is black edition.
Wheras 40-42k gets a 2009 car with 10-20k miles and some seem to have NAV and others don't.
Question is though is a 2010 car really worth the extra or is this just a case of how fast the GTR is depreciating at the moment?
If there is no real difference apart from the USB then surely a 2009 car with some miles is the better option as I doubt in a year they will be 30k?
VDC was left on mate by the way, just the other two options were set to race mode.
I am not dismissing the GTR as like you say should try to get to drive one on country roads but shall email you so you can give us a break down of your running cost if you don't mind.
I've emailed you, like I said, I'm in and out tonight so I'll get the rest over tomorrow. To answer the above, Tony is trying to push the more expensive option on to you, it's his job.
We had a choice early 2009 on the sat-nav. You could have your GT-R in April if you were lucky, or May, June and July as and when the cars were delivered. Or you could wait until September for the same car, with sat nav. I couldn't believe how many people were willing to lose a summer for simple navigation. It's a good system, higher res screen as well, but c'mon.
I don't have an iPod, so that's a non-issue for me, the car has a HDD for storing your music anyway.
So I wouldn't sweat the small stuff, he should have pushed the MY10 on some of these more interesting points (Nissan press):
---------------------------------------------
Engine and Transmission
• Emissions become Euro 5 compliant, without loss of output or performance
• C02 emission reduced by 3g to 295g/km
• Gearbox logic has been changed to give a later downshift from 6th to 5th when being driven in automatic mode, but a more aggressive downshift pattern is adopted when changing down from 4th to 3rd, and from 3rd to 2nd gear
• Two additional NACA cooling ducts have been added to the carbon fibre underfloor diffuser which will provide additional cooling to the exhaust and gearbox.
• A new, larger diameter pipe connecting the oil cooler will reduce gearbox temperatures
• Front transmission mount has been stiffened to reduce vibration through the driveline under high-load conditions
• The logic controlling torque distribution between the front and rear axles when the GT-R is manoeuvring at low speeds just after start-up, when fluids are cold, has been altered to reduce rear-axle ‘binding’
Braking System
• The rear brake cross spring has a change in design to reduce noise
• A modified air deflector increases rear brake cooling
• Balance of the electronic brakeforce distribution bias has been moved slightly rearwards, giving greater braking stability in dry conditions
Suspension
• Front spring and damper rates adjusted to improve the ride comfort. Handling becomes even more dynamic thanks to improved responsiveness and more accurate control of suspension movements
• Rear suspension radius rod bushings has been stiffened giving an improved feel and responsiveness during cornering
Exterior
• Front and rear bumpers now benefit from a double coat of clear paint, giving a deeper colour finish
Interior
• The speedometer and rev counter now sport a gun metallic finish surrounds
• Uprated insulation has been fitted to the rear seats, further improving cabin refinement
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If you want an "interesting" drive...R,R and VDC off. Everytime.
Like I said in the email, I'm not sure what the figures are anymore, but it wasn't long ago the GT-R had one of the best CAP values around, so you need to compare % to % loss on the equivelent bit of Pork if you want an idea of loss. Revision, plus the CBA have knocked the value a bit and the 2013 announcement should be considered if you are looking to sell in two years.
Spoke to 2 chaps, who have both had Astons, one a 4.3 and the other a 4.7. Both also had 911's and both stated the same the 911 out drove the Aston in every manner, just a much better put together car and far better on the road.
What I buy needs to keep me entertained and I need to enjoy it.
The 911 should keep the interested simply because its a learning experience and when I master it, well it would be a very rewarding drive. I like the looks and sound, plus a good purchase should see little in the way of depreciation, 3-5k region. The only downfalls are possibly lack of grunt and will I get used to the driving style of working with a light front-end.
The GTR has the power, though its a bit smooth in the delivery, its incredible on the road, so planted and easy to drive quick without any fears of it killing me and it will embarras cars costing 3x more than it with ease. Plus I like the looks, it really does stand out and they get a lot of positive recognition, people do like them. The downside is not as involving as some to drive, but it does communicate, good steering, rear steps out etc. But my drive was dual carriage-ways and it could be get one on a country twisty road with bumps, cambers, drop it in race mode and it mayb indeed become a more involving drive especially when you master the gearbox. Its downfalls could be depreciation and running cost. Everyone has different comments on running cost, some seem to have nothing out the ordinary wheras others end up spending a fortune on consumables.
Gibbo, if you ever go back to Middlehurst for another test drive, ask them to take you to Crank Road. It's about the best road around here for twists and tight corners. I'm pretty sure someone from MH lives on the road so they should know where it is, since there's sometimes a GTR trailer parked at a house there.
I've lost count of the amount of GTRs I've seen blasting up and down the linkway to and from the M62. What a boring test drive that must be when you're looking to spent such a large amount of money on a supercar. Who on earth is going to drop £50-60k on a car after only driving it in a straight line and over a couple of roundabouts?
I've lost count of the amount of GTRs I've seen blasting up and down the linkway to and from the M62. What a boring test drive that must be when you're looking to spent such a large amount of money on a supercar. Who on earth is going to drop £50-60k on a car after only driving it in a straight line and over a couple of roundabouts?