Advice for UK GT buyer - pricing etc.

[dealmaker]

Guys,

Got pointed over here from Albofaz over on the LamboPower forums - hoping you guys can help a GT purchaser!

I've decided to ditch my order for a 997TT after I had one for two days on loan - found it really boring and it left me cold (probably most things will compared to my Murcie!)....anyway I need a car to replace my 997C4S to use as my daily driver...and I've decided I'd REALLY like the GT !!....so a couple of questions if I may (just because I am in England and it's really difficult to get any sensible advice/assistance from over here) :

1) Can the GT be used as an "everyday" vehicle (with a few obvious concessions to the car) - i.e does it handle mileages of 8-10k per annum? How's it in traffic etc?

2) What sort of REAL deal price can I expect to pay in the US for say either a NEW 06 car (my spec is White with Blue Stripes, Ligthweight Rims, painted calipers and Macintosh) - or alternativley say a 1 year old car with a few miles on it (but perfect condition)??

3) Where in the USA can you get a "deal" !!

4) Will prices tend to soften a little in the depths of winter (as they do over here in the UK)???

5) One of the main criticsims I've heard about the car is that it lacks some NOISE !!...what can I do to give it a nice sound??...cost of that and where from??

Thanks again for any feedback and advice!!

Darren

 

[dealmaker]

Anyone???

 

[FlorIdaho Chris]

Guys,

Got pointed over here from Albofaz over on the LamboPower forums - hoping you guys can help a GT purchaser!

I've decided to ditch my order for a 997TT after I had one for two days on loan - found it really boring and it left me cold (probably most things will compared to my Murcie!)....anyway I need a car to replace my 997C4S to use as my daily driver...and I've decided I'd REALLY like the GT !!....so a couple of questions if I may (just because I am in England and it's really difficult to get any sensible advice/assistance from over here) :

1) Can the GT be used as an "everyday" vehicle (with a few obvious concessions to the car) - i.e does it handle mileages of 8-10k per annum? How's it in traffic etc?

2) What sort of REAL deal price can I expect to pay in the US for say either a NEW 06 car (my spec is White with Blue Stripes, Ligthweight Rims, painted calipers and Macintosh) - or alternativley say a 1 year old car with a few miles on it (but perfect condition)??

3) Where in the USA can you get a "deal" !!

4) Will prices tend to soften a little in the depths of winter (as they do over here in the UK)???

5) One of the main criticsims I've heard about the car is that it lacks some NOISE !!...what can I do to give it a nice sound??...cost of that and where from??

Thanks again for any feedback and advice!!

Darren

Dealmaker-

Probably not alot of replies since opinions on all of these questions have been thoroughly discussed in recent previous threads. The search button will help you tremendously. Here's a few quick thoughts though:

1) There are no mechanical issues with the GT that would prevent using the GT as a daily driver, as a few on this site choose to do so. Things to consider though- doors require large parking spaces for entry/exit. No storage at all for daily driver chores, large turning radius.

2) Current pricing for new cars seems to be between invoice and MSRP if you work at it.

3) For a deal search Autotrader.com

4) AFAIK seasons don't affect GT pricing.

5) Exhaust options are numerous. $1.5-2.5K do a search.

Just a thought- Nielda is a UK GT owner living in London, and frequent poster on this site. You might try dropping him a PM to see if you can hook up.

 

[flyingsniffer]

Dealmaker,

Daily driver? Just ask Clarkson. Although mechanically it is strong enough (the P1 car has done 36,000 miles with nothing but routine servicing), it's very wide for UK roads, the rear visibility is not great, you have to 'pick' your parking space and the LHD is less than ideal here in the UK. So I wouldn't recommend it, although whatever floats your boat. It's no more impractical than the Murcilago, put it that way. Mine is a weekend car: 2000 miles in the last year.

Your first choice is whether you want to import or not. There are several for sale over here in the UK, although some of them are not physical. You could look for an official ('28') car - I beleive Eddie Jordan sold his recently for £145k, which is a significant premium over imports. Although I would say that: others will no doubt disagee :wink !

BTW, no point in having the Macintosh over here: the frequencies are different. And red calipers weren't offered as a European option either, so any car with those features will be clearly identifiable as imports.

Noise? Mine makes a perfect noise for what I want - I let the car do the talking. You can get a noisy Saxo VTi if you really want to turn heads down your local High Street on a Saturday night!

 

[dealmaker]

Guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

Driving something impractical doesn't bother me (I used to use my track tuned 964RS and then 993 GT2 every day for work!), nor does the compromises you will need to make in terms of parking etc. etc.

I will only be driving it to the office and back (where I have a nice big space!...joys of being CEO!) - and the roads between there and my house are Great (joys of living in Northumberland!).

I've had a few cars imported from the States - why would the radio frequency be an issue - just because they all end in "odd" numbers i.e 97.1, 98.1, 105.3 etc??....if so then thats not a problem as conveniently all the radio stations around here have frequencies with odd numbers!! Besides which, I mostly listen to CD's when I'm in the mood for music anyway (but I'd rather be listening to a nice engine note!)...and on that note (sic) ....when you have a Tubi Rumore Murcielago in the garage you tend to have a discerning aural taste for the finer side of exhaust music!!

I'm really not bothered about the car being identifiable as an import....especially if it demonstrates my commercial prowess by being able to acquire the same car for £45-55k less!!!

Looking forward to it already!

 

[prmoldoaks]

I imported my car back in November and paid a pretty premium, had it sva'd by Ford, so although its not an official (28), it is just the same, but with red break calipers (a must with the light rims).

Radio upgrade a total waste of time, speak in my opinon spoils the cabin, and I never listen to the radio with that lovely V8 in your ear.

Not an everyday car, parking space required here is 3 standard spaces just to get out he car, you will bash your nut a couple of times even with he door wide flung open. Bloody nice week end car and I enjoy every mile, and it turns more heads than any car I know.

The V8 is noisy and thoaty, but not really enough to justyfy the cars beautiful lines, I am considering an exhaust upgrade, but it does sound better than any car in my county as is.

Its a true American muscle car as is.

If you need any help pm me.

 

[dealmaker]

Thanks prmoldoaks - whereabouts are you based??

 

[prmoldoaks]

suffolk

 

[Neilda]

Darren, I've sent you a mail with some thoughts....