So after 3 months since selling arguable the best car I've ever owned, I have started to look back about things I really enjoyed about the R26 and now miss. Curious to hear views of others who have sold theirs?
Miss: the Darth Vader induction noise with an open cone filter the look and style of the thing/presence the connection to Formula 1 sunglasses in roof grab dark windscreen sun-strip Don't miss: crippling maintenance cost for things going wrong/needing replacing water leaking in everywhere causing untold problems unreliability creaks and rattles
Driving it more than a few times a year due to race car only now... Dont miss electrical gremlins that come with French ownership (now removed nearly all bar engine loom)
Selling mine early next year for hopefully a 265. I'll miss the slightly in your face-ness of it and the angry front and large rear. But the technical niggles and silly things going wrong that shouldn't won't be missed!
For me i really miss that loud turbo whistle with the window down and the jet noise with the rear seats folded. Mint But yeah also every time the sun comes out im missing the glasses holder above
I've always put aside £1000 every service for my Audi to cover costs if there is a fault. Sometimes it's been more but that tends to cover the problems. Biggest was £3,600 for replace cams and catless down pipes uprgrade. I've done the same for the Meg ! I've done 16,000 miles so far in 8 months and just had one service ! A few niggles that need sorting but will get done before MOT time. track rod end, window regulator, clutch slightly sleeping. Its been a cracking fun car and I'm glad I bought it ! All cars have problems unless it's a Honda lol I will get a Meg 250/265 cup next maybe next year. I think you get a lot for your money compared to a Audi S3 which I was going to get but I wanted a car that was fun and handled better so that's why I went with the Meg.
I've always put aside £1000 every service for my Audi to cover costs if there is a fault. Sometimes it's been more but that tends to cover the problems. Biggest was £3,600 for replace cams and catless down pipes uprgrade. I've done the same for the Meg ! I've done 16,000 miles so far in 8 months and just had one service ! A few niggles that need sorting but will get done before MOT time. track rod end, window regulator, clutch slightly slipping Its been a cracking fun car and I'm glad I bought it ! All cars have problems unless it's a Honda lol I will get a Meg 250/265 cup next maybe next year. I think you get a lot for your money compared to a Audi S3 which I was going to get but I wanted a car that was fun and handled better so that's why I went with the Meg.
I haven't had any electrical gremlins with mine apart from the crazy windows and the random up/down movement that bares no relation to which way you press the button. A mate is selling his 928 GT or it might be a 928 S4 with manual gearbox can't remember. That is a huge temptation that would require offing the Megane. Still though I love the manic nature of the R26, I came from front engined Porsches with similar power and weight or power/weight to the R26 but none of them in standard road trim feel so manic and alive like the R26 does. I think I would miss that like crazy as it makes the thing a bit fun to drive for pretty much any journey I do.
My drivers side window was doing the same, it turned out to be a faulty switch not the regulator as it usually is. I haven't even advertised mine yet and I know I'll miss it, it must be one of the best R26's around now and even the interior doesn't rattle now I've had Mark Black sort it all out! It literally drives like a new car and is so good. I just wish I had the time to enjoy it instead of doing 3k miles a year to work and back.
Thanks guys food for thought. The 928 is tempting but its not without some huge downsides. They are fiercely expensive cars to run, probably the most expensive to run of any series production Porsche, this is a big part of why my mate is going to sell his as he tells me it has cost him about 3x as much as his 944 was costing years ago. To put that into perspective it is looking like my R26 is cheaper to run overall than either my old 968 or the 944 S2 when it was a road car. Simple things like a standard front Sachs strut for the 968 cost me over £200 each a few years back, they are £55 for the R26 and it rides and corners better. Front wishbones the same, £400 each and they went NLA for about a year. Honestly after 15 years with Porsches I think I am done with them, the old models are moneypits but the newer ones have chocolate engines and stupidly long gearing.
Why not just go for a random blast? I usually go for a good drive every 3 weeks just to remember why I bought the car.
Two kids under 4 (one is 10 weeks old), I do a lot of cycling and like to get out on the road bike Sunday mornings so I don't really get time to disappear on my own in the car. I'm in no rush to sell though, I'll advertise it and if I don't get what it's worth I'll happily keep it. If I keep it 2 more years it will still be on less than 60k miles so should hold onto its value pretty well.
