Reviews

Car Reviews

Leave a comment

We have collected some excellent car reviews over the last few months, which provide a real world experience of ownership from real people. The reviews detail the best and worst elements from performance to insurance and repair bills to provide our visitors.

The E36 vs E46 M3 and 930 vs Cayman type reviews are becoming more popular to help our visitors make informed decisions on what aspects of cars will suit their requirements.
Porsche 911 SC
This site is aimed to help those buyers who are not necessarily interested in buying new but still want something exciting, well built with reasonable running costs and minimal depreciation. These are the type of buyers that research the most whether your budget is cash or finance and £5k or £50k.

Please continue the good work and send your reviews to ns@fastgerman.com

Audi:

Wanted

BMW:
M3 Evo II (88), 318 is (96), 328i Sport (98), Hartge Z3 Coupe 5.0l (98), 330i (00), M3 Convertible (99 and 01), M3 Coupe (02), X5 3.0d (06), 335i SE Coupe (07),

Mercedes:
SLS AMG (10),

Porsche:

911T (68), 911 Turbo LE (89), 968 Coupe (92), Porsche Carrera S (05), Porsche Cayman R (11) & 911 SC, Porsche Panamera (11),

Volkswagen:

MK1 Golf GTI (85), Scirroco Scala (91), Corrado 2.0 (94), Corrado VR6 (94),

Reviews

Cat D Write Off – Should I Buy?

1 Comment

Firstly, what does Cat D mean – It means the car has been written off in an accident.

Category D write off infers that the insurance company consider it uneconomical to repair but one that could be repaired and returned to the road given cost, time and technical ability.

Category A and B should never be returned to the road. Category B write off is one that is so badly damaged it can only be used for the salvaging of spare parts. Category A is one that is sent to the crusher.

It is worth noting that a Cat D write off isn’t always a big issue. I would be more inclined to walk away if the Cat D was recorded while the car was relatively new e.g. a £50k car new that is a few months old and has been declared as written off by the insurance company will most likely have hefty repair work.

If, however the £50k car is now only worth £5k 10 years on and is a BMW (for example) then labour at £150+ per hour, a new front bumper, paint and some lights could nearly equal the value of the car. It’s then written off as not economical for the insurance company. Cat D can also apply to stolen recovered cars that have not been damaged.

Example of a worthy review given today’s Porsche 993 prices is a 78k miler 993 C2 in silver for just under £13k on Pistonheads. No paperwork but worth some digging.

Start with an HPI check. Investigate further by phoning dealerships and head office to get some history. Try calling MOT stations if you can find some clues of previous owners addresses on the V5. Have a specialist inspect the car.

Reviews

Classic Cars That Will Appreciate

Leave a comment

An interesting topic and a more exciting investment than shares/art/property for the petrol head.

Unfortunately, there are running costs to take into consideration unless you really want to dry store, which can result in perished rubber, belts, seals, tyres and so on.

Therefore the most useful option is to find a car, which you can enjoy on weekends/special occasions and sell for the same or more than the purchase price.

A good example is the Porsche 964 RS. Value’s have tripled since they were £20k only a few years ago. I’ve even seen one on the market at over £100k and these are still usable cars.

Going up quite a few levels, it wasn’t that long ago that a Ferrari F40 could be had for £150k, now they are closer to half a million. The 250 GTO that sold for circa £20 million this year… well, you wouldn’t want to drive that would you.

Back to usable classics and my thoughts on cars that can be used with minimal depreciation and could possibly appreciate in time:

<£5k - Porsche 944 Turbo, VW Corrado VR6 VW Corrado VR6

<£10k - Audi RS2, Audi Quattro but not the UR unfortunately at this price Audi UR Quattro

<£15k - BMW E30 M3, Lancia Delta HF Integrale, Porsche 968 Club Sport BMW E30 M3

<£20k - Honda NSX, Mercedes SL55 AMG R230, Porsche 964 C2 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG

<£25k - BMW M3 CSL, Porsche 993 C2 Porsche 993 C2

<£30k - Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Porsche 993 C2S Corvette Stingray

<£40k - Ferrari 355, Porsche 930 Turbo Porsche 930 Turbo

Big Money Car – Ferrari F40, Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Porsche 959
Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Porsche

Porsche Panamera

3 Comments

My poorly 911 Carrera S has gone for some major work including a new gearbox and front suspension. However I have a very fancy courtesy car, the Porsche Panamera. Initially I was disappointed to find out it was going to be a diesel but 2 days in, there is no tractor noise on startup even in 2 degrees C. The rev range is as short as you’d expect but with an 8 speed gearbox there is adequate acceleration for such a big car.

Not entirely sold on the Cayenne or Panamera when you think of what Porsche should be i.e. performance sports car manufacturer, but, I do see the point. The Panamera is loaded with tech – 8 speed gear box, Mercedes style electric raising and lowering boot, touch screen navigation, Bose and Bluetooth. Auto lights, wipers, rear view mirror and AC. As you can see from the centre console there is no shortage of buttons and the interior is very luxurious with leather everywhere.

Porsche Panamera

Porsche Panamera

The Panamera is no 911 and is completely different to what I expected, which was a stretched 911 in looks and feel, this is more like a big Mercedes. If I was thinking of a 4 door the 5/7 series, E/S class, Rapide, Quattroporte and Range Rover would be near the top of my list, however a few days with the Panamera and I see the point. This is as luxurious as a Mercedes with the handling of a BMW, a lovely place to be but maybe not to look at.

Stats:
Engine: 3.0L V6, 250bhp and 550nm
Performance: 0-60 in 6.8 and 150 mph