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YOUR RESEARCHDecisions: 996 C4S v DB7 v E46 M3 v 4200GT
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"hockey-sticked" 3200
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Now if it was the "hockey-sticked" 3200, it may have got a vote for pure automotive mythology.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Over the winter it is my intention to fill a whole in my garage with a weekend only coupe which I will keep for 10 years or so.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I will post this thread on the various marque forums to even out hoem team advantage but would really appreciate opinions on reliability, running costs and smiles per gallon.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I will post this thread on the various marque forums to even out hoem team advantage but would really appreciate opinions on reliability, running costs and smiles per gallon.
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911uk: 1 discussions
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Over the winter it is my intention to fill a whole in my garage with a weekend only coupe which I will keep for 10 years or so.
Shortlist is down to:
2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage
2003 Porsche 996 C4S
2004 Maserati 4200 GT
2004 BMW E46 M3
I will post this thread on the various marque forums to even out hoem team advantage but would really appreciate opinions on reliability, running costs and smiles per gallon.
Hope fully some of you guys will have owned more than 1 of these and are able to compare but any opinion would be valuable.
PS Must have backs seats so no 355 or 360 (boo hoo) 456 maybe?
Cheers
easy
2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage - yes
2003 Porsche 996 C4S - bit tame, wish you had bought the aston
2004 Maserati 4200 GT weird sh*t
2004 BMW E46 M comon uninspiring garbage
you want an unbiased opinion on a porsche forum :floor:
DB7 and Maserati will need a tow truck to follow you everywhere, the BM if it floats your boat then ok, it would be a 2 horse race, but for me the 996 every day. Ultimately would come down to what would make you smile when you get in and drive it. if yoy havent already done so get out and drive them all. Then i'm sure the answer will present itself
Coming from a 996 GT3 and now in a CSL, you really don't compare a CSL to an M3. CSL is the GT3 of M3's. You buy the M3 if you want 55 way adjustable seats, sat nav etc, you buy a CSL to go fast with little bling.
Porsche to M3 are different beasts and I'd still lean to the Porsche for an overall better car but the M3/CSL ticks the much better rear space box, a boot, and a damn good drive. I would have been able to match my ring times in either car.
If you're considering it for weekends only and 10 years, then I woiuldn't consider any of these cars, I'd look at:
80s VW - either Corrado or Golf GTi
early 70s 911
ok extreme - Datsun 2x0Z
All will be worth more and provide more
per mile (less the Datsun, which, to be fair, I only included because I think it's a bit of a style icon).
If it was my money, it would be an early 70s 911.
First sensible choice as suggested by yourself, although some of the crap the others have said leaves a lot to be desired (have they ever driven a 4S or an M3?)
The others are not going to be worthy of a 10 year tenure, most are common or will more than likely fall apart causing you years of angst.
The CSL will reach the dizzy heights of collectability and will be that special car for the weekend!
Aston: flimsy build with very robust maintenance costs :-o and not a driver's car (GT) = NO
Porsche: easy to live with, and a great drive = YES
BMW: well it's another BMW 3 series (in the "does not feel special" sense) and sadly every other chav'd up 318 Beemer tries to be an M3 and worse yours may get mistaken for one.
Maserati: are you mad? Pretty. And you'll get to admire those lines so much better as it glides past at waist height on a low loader, yet again. = NO.
Just re-read your premise of additional weekend toy to keep 10 years.
In which case an icon with a sense of occasion is needed = Aston.
The others are either relatively mass produced (Porsche, BMW) and without a long term place in the pantheon of seminal metalwork. Or still insane right up to the point it spontaneously self-combusts due to electrics or turns to rust. Both of which are probable in a ten year tenure. (Maser)
Now if it was the "hockey-sticked" 3200, it may have got a vote for pure automotive mythology. Would still end in ashes or rust though.
Whatever you decide DO NOT GET AN SMG!
Have you considered an E60 M5 perhaps? Back doors as well as seats, plus the chassis and the 5 litre V10 gives you plenty of power. just thought i'd mention it.
Don't buy an M6.
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