Yesterday I fulfilled a dream and I now own a 991.1 GT3, bought painlessly from an OPC, with for me, the right colour and the right options- comfy seats, front lift and steel brakes, oh, and the right price.
14 months of looking; scratching through endless pages on Google, watching videos ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and reading articles about values, 'it's not a manual' engine failures et al. I even considered other makes... I am sure I am in good company here!
During this process I came to a few conclusions that I would like to share with those of you kind enough to read this post:
I bought a GT3 because I love Porsches, I have had 7 in my life starting with with a 944 turbo in the 80's. I enjoy (surprisingly enough) driving these cars. I currently have a 993, a Cayman S and now the GT3. They will all go on track occasionally and be enjoyed, yet I am no Derek Bell. It is currently snowing in Scotland where I live and decided to take the GT3 out this morning. Surprisingly it was no more difficult to drive than a Mercedes or BMW, needless to say I did not get within a mile of 9000rpm...
Trawling through forums I was made aware of engine issues: Mine has had the engine changed which has a 10 year warranty plus a full manufacturer's warranty until 2011. Depreciation: who buys a modern car as an 'investment'? Good luck to those that do, but I certainly did not buy a GT3 to 'make' money. I get the impression that there are people out there who want a car that appreciates in value, costs nothing to run and will never break down (if you are one of those, can I suggest you vaccinate yourself by buying a Range Rover!)
There are 1001 sensible reasons why not to buy a GT3 or any other sports car for that matter, yet we do. I have read lots of doom and gloom column inches about GT3's and wonder sometimes if the authors have actually sat in one let alone driven one.
Ultimately my very personal view is that if you are in the market for this type of car, i.e. you can afford it financially and emotionally, and have an affinity for the brand, find a good one and take the plunge, they tick the boxes for most petrolheads and will leave you grinning like a teenager every time you take it out.
14 months of looking; scratching through endless pages on Google, watching videos ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and reading articles about values, 'it's not a manual' engine failures et al. I even considered other makes... I am sure I am in good company here!
During this process I came to a few conclusions that I would like to share with those of you kind enough to read this post:
I bought a GT3 because I love Porsches, I have had 7 in my life starting with with a 944 turbo in the 80's. I enjoy (surprisingly enough) driving these cars. I currently have a 993, a Cayman S and now the GT3. They will all go on track occasionally and be enjoyed, yet I am no Derek Bell. It is currently snowing in Scotland where I live and decided to take the GT3 out this morning. Surprisingly it was no more difficult to drive than a Mercedes or BMW, needless to say I did not get within a mile of 9000rpm...
Trawling through forums I was made aware of engine issues: Mine has had the engine changed which has a 10 year warranty plus a full manufacturer's warranty until 2011. Depreciation: who buys a modern car as an 'investment'? Good luck to those that do, but I certainly did not buy a GT3 to 'make' money. I get the impression that there are people out there who want a car that appreciates in value, costs nothing to run and will never break down (if you are one of those, can I suggest you vaccinate yourself by buying a Range Rover!)
There are 1001 sensible reasons why not to buy a GT3 or any other sports car for that matter, yet we do. I have read lots of doom and gloom column inches about GT3's and wonder sometimes if the authors have actually sat in one let alone driven one.
Ultimately my very personal view is that if you are in the market for this type of car, i.e. you can afford it financially and emotionally, and have an affinity for the brand, find a good one and take the plunge, they tick the boxes for most petrolheads and will leave you grinning like a teenager every time you take it out.