Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!

[rob.kellock]

ORIGINAL: flat6 Maybe some drive their Spyder to Le Mans or want to lose themselves on Welsh mountain roads but would rather the PCM Nav module rather than a TomTom falling off the windscreen

OI! I resemble that remark! Must be something to do with the cool waft of the aircon but it invariably falls off after 1 1/2 hours or so! The one thing I would have specced differently in my car had I gone down the build to order route is PCM although the lightweight ethos of the portable device suits the car quite well! MrD is so controversial on Pistonheads that an alter ego of MrsD was set up recently (and imitation is the most sincere form of flattery). He does enjoy stirring the pot from time to time which, to be honest, entertains me greatly and long may it continue. edited to add:

 

[daro911]

If we all liked/wanted the same spec Spyders my car would be worth at least another £10k today [] Friendly banter is always good fun and entertaining and as long as we agree to disagree in a friendly manner let the debates rumble on and on[] New page New Pic of one Spyder I would definitely not have even if it has buckets and stick shift[]

 

[jdpef356]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock

ORIGINAL: flat6 Maybe some drive their Spyder to Le Mans or want to lose themselves on Welsh mountain roads but would rather the PCM Nav module rather than a TomTom falling off the windscreen

OI! I resemble that remark! Must be something to do with the cool waft of the aircon but it invariably falls off after 1 1/2 hours or so! The one thing I would have specced differently in my car had I gone down the build to order route is PCM although the lightweight ethos of the portable device suits the car quite well! MrD is so controversial on Pistonheads that an alter ego of MrsD was set up recently (and imitation is the most sincere form of flattery). He does enjoy stirring the pot from time to time which, to be honest, entertains me greatly and long may it continue. edited to add:

Rob. Surely a typo! Mr D is always banging on about GEO[]

 

[billy1]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Good value with the warranty - there's a bum for every seat! With that spec, wonder if its ex PEC?

I'm almost certain it's actually the ex press demonstrator: http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=105&i=21703

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: billy1

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Good value with the warranty - there's a bum for every seat! With that spec, wonder if its ex PEC?

I'm almost certain it's actually the ex press demonstrator: http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=105&i=21703

Good spot and fairly accurate article too [] So as an ex press car thats probably seen far too much abuse in it's life I no longer feel the asking price is that fair[&o]

 

[billy1]

ORIGINAL: daro911

ORIGINAL: billy1

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Good value with the warranty - there's a bum for every seat! With that spec, wonder if its ex PEC?

I'm almost certain it's actually the ex press demonstrator: http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=105&i=21703

Good spot and fairly accurate article too [] So as an ex press car thats probably seen far too much abuse in it's life I no longer feel the asking price is that fair[&o]

Maybe, maybe not. There are quite a few early cars out there which would have been ex PEC cars or press cars - sometimes you know, sometimes you don't.

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: daro911 Friendly banter is always good fun and entertaining and as long as we agree to disagree in a friendly manner let the debates rumble on and on[]

Indeed. Recognising that personal opinion, wider observation and fact are all exchanged within a single topic of banter means it can't be taken too seriously[]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock

ORIGINAL: flat6 Maybe some drive their Spyder to Le Mans or want to lose themselves on Welsh mountain roads but would rather the PCM Nav module rather than a TomTom falling off the windscreen

OI! I resemble that remark! Must be something to do with the cool waft of the aircon but it invariably falls off after 1 1/2 hours or so! The one thing I would have specced differently in my car had I gone down the build to order route is PCM although the lightweight ethos of the portable device suits the car quite well!

[] But you have the advantage of not having to manipulate the PCM Nav when you can't locate/enter an obscure location from the partial post code it limits you to. But when it works, it is instant finding a satellite (unlike my old Garmin) and works really well. Expensive for the first owner though. I should also point out that your long range fuel tank weighs an extra 7kg, plus the weight of the extra 10 litres of fuel it holds, over the front wheels, so I can only imagine this helped your turn-in at Angelsey as you were cornering better than me[&o] [&:][&:][&:] But on a sensible note, I found this an interesting read if you're interested in the tyre saga in F1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23155008

 

[rob.kellock]

Good spot! Ex PEC/press car unlikely to cause any difficulties - car may have had new boots/ brakes and cosmetic refresh? Isn't the rule of thumb 100 motorway miles = 10 urban miles = 1 track day mile, not a theory I particularly subscribe to.

 

[flat6]

A short and concise review for any newbies considering one. Those who've been here a while will have seen it before. http://www.carguydad.com/quick-drive-2011-porsche-boxster-spyder/

 

[MrDemon]

Pistonheads is just full of 911 owners and wanna be's. you have to stir it up a bit, but if you dare slag a 911 you better be in for some abuse. I back my comments up with facts, which shuts most up, the rest back track and fail so end up giving out abuse as they have no where to go. my opinions are only that at the end of the day ;-) The guys who give out abuse, of which there are many prob don't even own a Porsche.

 

[billy1]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Good spot! Ex PEC/press car unlikely to cause any difficulties - car may have had new boots/ brakes and cosmetic refresh? Isn't the rule of thumb 100 motorway miles = 10 urban miles = 1 track day mile, not a theory I particularly subscribe to.

It just adds a "story" to the history which may put some people off compared to a "no stories" car. If you had the choice, most people would rather not have a car known to have been thrashed when new.

 

[rob.kellock]

MrD's car was a press car - hence its ultimate light weight spec - I suppose the converse argument is that in years to come that magazine photo / video footage adds a nice little bit of history. Whether an ex PEC car is any worse than a car bought from the trade when you never met the previous owner is an interesting one. I have been in very new cars at the PEC and encouraged to drive them to their full abilities (and beyond!). They have at least been warm though. My car was run in according to the handbook for the relevant mileage. When I went to OPC Edinburgh to pick up Jamie Wilson's 997, the salesman there was telling us of a customer who purchased a new 991 and rang him from the car on the road outside the showroom to demonstrate a full launch control start - the car's first ever use on the road! My wife practically bounces her poor Abarth off the limiter in first as she pulls off the drive each morning (God knows why, she's not generally a quick driver) and I pity whoever picks that up in a couple of years time. I suspect a fair proportion of new Porsche owners treat the cars worse than the experience centre do. I am a hypocrite though as personally I wouldn't want one given an informed choice.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock I suppose the converse argument is that in years to come that magazine photo / video footage adds a nice little bit of history. Whether an ex PEC car is any worse than a car bought from the trade when you never met the previous owner is an interesting one. I have been in very new cars at the PEC and encouraged to drive them to their full abilities (and beyond!). They have at least been warm though.

Look at it another way a used car may have had a unsympathetic previous basta*d owner but an ex press - PEC car would have had 100's of thoughtless reckless basta*d drivers behind the wheel and any car can only take so much abuse when young which IMO is bound to end in mechanical tears years before it should ever have done further down the road Only an opinion but why drastically increase odds of aggravation when there are so many good history examples to choose from[&o]

 

[MrDemon]

get a rev range check done, on all cars before buying. my car is a press car as stated ;-) ,and rev range 3 clear, press cars are built on the production line from new as a press car, so it will have a press car vin which always show up on OPC database. Press cars are very well looked after, with 1000's spent, every time one goes out it has to be perfect. I would rather a press car than a OPC demo car of which most are, or one owned by a women The issue is these cars need to be revved high they are built for it, low revs and full power is causing the scored bore issues and other bad stuff the net is full of. Ask Porsche about the issues and they say get out and bloody drive the things as they were built to. The cars need to be driven right and warmed up well. Also this bull about dead throttle/lag etc at 31mph in 4th is crazy talk and how do people find out about that, you should never be in 4th at 31mph not even by mistake lol. Again Piston heads bollocks about people saying they would NOT buy a Cayman because of the throttle lag !!!!! when they don't even understand it and slag Porsche for it. To me in means cheap tax as they found a loop hole to get the Co2 down without you even seeing the issue in real driving/life press cars will allays put some people off, in 50 years times people want the press and magazine cars, it's a daft world, but with all the checks and rev range logging, I would just treat it like buying any other. And if it's rev range 3 and above clean and Porsche sell it with another 2 years warranty, no issue imo. So many cars are ex demo and only on the OPC fleet for 3 months and driven far worse than any press car by 100's of people. if each of the 36 OPC has 8 demo cars every 3 months that's 1152 ex demo cars sold in the UK every year. any past owner, press, ex demo, female, old man, boy racer etc is a risk, if you don't ever want that risk you have to buy NEW. for the rest of use get the car checked over and rev range checked, people again slag off Porsche and the rev range issues, but I think it helps private buyers and sellers loads. you could be the best driver in the world and have done a monkey shift buzzed the engine at 9k revs and no one would know. My other half makes our mini work for a living, 4th gear up hills at 20 mph is far worse than 2nd gear at 6k revs, you never know what you are buying good history or not. City owned London cars need new clutch's sooner as a example and will prob have sludge build up , but have a 1 owner perfect history.

 

[rob.kellock]

Fundementally I agree (with daro911) but I wonder how much damage/ premature wear can actually be inflicted on the PEC cars when 3 out of 4 activities are on low friction surfaces, the cars are designed for hard use, only driven under supervision and full of electronic protection such as rev limiters etc. Clutches brakes and tyres will all generally take much more hammer than a privately owned car but are, to some extent at least, consumable items. I've never actually read on any internet forum of anyone buying an ex- PEC car and complaining about trouble with it or premature wear. As I said above, I'm a complete hypocrite as I would prefer to avoid buying one.

 

[rob.kellock]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon So many cars are ex demo and only on the OPC fleet for 3 months and driven far worse than any press car by 100's of people. if each of the 36 OPC has 8 demo cars every 3 months that's 1152 ex demo cars sold in the UK every year.

I think that's a fair point. I always treat loaners from the OPC as I would my own car - I've even washed them properly a couple of times! I know others who do the same. I've also met people who brag about thrashing the arse off them which I don't find particularly big or clever.

 

[MrDemon]

I don't think I would buy a PEC car, they rack up the miles and I have seen how bad some are driven lol Press cars don't have that many miles on them are normally are speced to the hilt, and driven by pro's light weight spec mine might be, but it has full leather and PCCB's which are 8k option for both ish !! I was very wary with my car, and I said I will only buy it if rev range 3 clear, 4 and above used to be the issue But just of late OPC don't even like rev ranges in 3 now. female owned and ex demo put me right off cars. But I agree a PEC would not be high on my list either and must be the most abused cars out there.

 

[billy1]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Fundementally I agree (with daro911) but I wonder how much damage/ premature wear can actually be inflicted on the PEC cars when 3 out of 4 activities are on low friction surfaces, the cars are designed for hard use, only driven under supervision and full of electronic protection such as rev limiters etc. Clutches brakes and tyres will all generally take much more hammer than a privately owned car but are, to some extent at least, consumable items. I've never actually read on any internet forum of anyone buying an ex- PEC car and complaining about trouble with it or premature wear. As I said above, I'm a complete hypocrite as I would prefer to avoid buying one.

That's the thing Rob, it probably is no better or worse but if there were two comparable cars and one was ex press and the other had "no stories" most (if not all) buyers would prefer the "clean" car. It doesn't make much sense but is true.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon get a rev range check done, on all cars before buying. my car is a press car as stated ;-) ,and rev range 3 clear, press cars are built on the production line from new as a press car, so it will have a press car vin which always show up on OPC database. Press cars are very well looked after, with 1000's spent, every time one goes out it has to be perfect. The cars need to be driven right and warmed up well. Also this bull about dead throttle/lag etc at 31mph in 4th is crazy talk and how do people find out about that, you should never be in 4th at 31mph not even by mistake lol. City owned London cars need new clutch's sooner as a example and will prob have sludge build up , but have a 1 owner perfect history.

You can mechanically muller a car without ever over revving it I have seen stone cold demo cars driven off from my local OPC like they were stolen and seen this several times[] I think you will find that Porsche engineers have programmed the upshifts and at 31 mph I am sure it's almost recommending 5th gear! If it is killing the engine why are the upshifts set so low by Porsche[&o]

 

[MrDemon]

it does seem daft, as Porsche say the scored bore issue is low down torque in the wrong gear. and as you say a PDK car gets into 5th down your drive way. I guess though if you floor the PDK car it will put it back in 2nd gear. where my other half is happy to floor the Mini in 4th gear at 15 mph up hill, and you can hear the engine plinking []