132 replies to this topic

[Ali87]

Good piece, I think for next year for completeness it should come on the Hoon...

[LazyDonkey]

i would love to!   Just need to get some serious brownie points first !

[Ali87]

Get earning then! I've found girly jobs get you a few but the real brownie points earners involve hammers and many power tools...

[LazyDonkey]

I know Lord Gray and Mr Pops have their own thread but i've actually been using my car and i've lept it more than five mins so i thought i'd update this thread

 

Well another 12 months have passed taking me to 2 years with the car so i thought i'd update this thread for anyone interested. 

 

Annual mileage has dropped to around 6k a year thanks to the introduction of the fastra and LazyDonkey Jnr and the odo has just ticked over 46k. 

 

Overall I still LOVE the car. Even opening the garage to do something as mundane as cut the grass is brightened up when i see the car sitting there looking all supercar esq. It's my "go to" car every weekend and if the weather isn't looking horrible it's the car i take to work. Not running it everyday has probably made me love it even more in fact. When DonkeyJnr was super small he used to come out with me in his group 0 car seat in the front and the airbag off and from 9 months on he's been able to sit in the back in a lovely forward facing recaro. Could get more space if i removed the seat padding from the bench seat but haven't felt the need yet. At the moment, myself, donkey jnr and 5'2 mrs donkey can go out for the day quite happily. Our Bugaboo buggy doesn't fit in the boot but it can go in the seat beside him at a push....but we've just bought a rucksack and a maclaren buggy and both fit fine. Wouldn't be perfect for a long weekend but as a day out car it's proving excellent. 

 

Other costs have been a bit more as this year i needed big service at 56k (all fluids and sparks every 5 year - call it £600something from my indy), new rears (£140 each fitted) and when i was in the indy (Craig Moncreiff Cars) i was told i could really benefit from changing the clutch as it was getting super super heavy. Craig was great and basically said it wasn't essential but he felt i'd enjoy the car a lot more. Much has been written about the evora clutch but at the end of the day with craig its a £1,900 job and it's the only big bill you seem to get on the car. At the same time i also changed discs and pads all round.....again not 100% needed and could have put cheaper brands on but felt it was best to get it all done and enjoy the car for the summer. Clutch did indeed transform the car and the one that came out was pretty fcuk. 

 

So the scores on the door since i bough the car 2 years and 16k miles ago?

- Servicing, tax, clutch, tyres, pads etc - £4,485

- MPG is averaging 28.4mpg measured with a high of 34.8 and a low of 23.4

 

So that's 28p per mile running costs excluding insurance and fuel. 48p per mile including fuel (based on 110p per litre) . Obviously i've incurred a lot of cost recently and the next 10-20k miles should be significantly cheaper which will take the cost per mile down significantly. Overall it isn't too bad when you consider i paid £32k for the car and they are still retailing at £30k for my age and miles.....maybe a touch more considering most haven't had the clutch changed. Early S cars seem to have plummeted in value but the NAs are stilll bumping around the £30k mark. There are some that go cheaper than that but there do seem to be a few dodgy ones

 

As i said above the clutch sounds really painful at £2k but there are a load of people who've never changed a clutch and if the worst case is £2k every 50k that's not that bad. It's also more than offset by the bombproof the engine is and how easy the car is on tyres (8k for the back), brakes etc. A mate in work has a '05 997 and i'm happy that over the next few years the evora will cost me a lot less sleepless nights and financial heartache. He's just had a full service at Hartech and the bill was £2k to get it up to the level they would warranty it. The warranty is then £100 a month. Put the evora in that context and it's Yaris costs. 

 

I've never had the top up the oil and the bodywork still looks brilliant. It's never failed to start and it's never failed to get me home. Interior has a few scuffs but thanks to the "vanity" plate most people think it's almost brand new and closer to £100k then £30k. Now that the weather is nicer i've been doing my annual "want a shot?" in the car with people at work and no-one steps out thinking anything other than "my god that's brilliant". 

 

As most of us probably do i go on PH from time to time and evaluate the dream garage and i simply can't envisage a time in the next few years where i will sell the car, unless i lose my job or a limb or something. It does everything i want it to do and the +2 brings genuine usability that means i never get any complaints when i suggest taking my car out to go for a family day out. 

 

So there you go - other mileage may vary but this may be of interest to people.

[Kal]

So when are you going to join JG, Lee and I in getting a newer model? Are you going to go back down to your VX routes and get a V6 or going to continue with the Evora path?  

[LazyDonkey]

Exige would never work for me as i can't justify a two seater toy.  All the downsides of the VX, faster a bit nicer but doesn't move the game on from where i was.  Evora a much much better option for me. 

 

Evora 400 looks nice but cost to change is £40k and it's not £40k better.  Not even close. 

Edited by LazyDonkey, 21 July 2016 - 09:10 AM.

[Pidgeon]

First I've heard of anything other than my 996 suffering from a heavy clutch.  When it came apart I learned Porsche, in their wisdom, pull to release the clutch.  I wonder if the Evora is the same?  Clutch kit was £750. 

[LazyDonkey]

Clutch itself isn't expensive.   You have to take the rear clam and engine out.  Which rams the cost up a touch. 

[ChrisS1]

Great write thank you for taking the time to update us. Certainly food for thought regarding the useability with having a young family

[CocoPops]

Evora 400 looks nice but cost to change is £40k and it's not £40k better.  Not even close.

See, for me, the Evora NA was a great chance to see if life with an Evora was good. Fact of the matter is, it was great. I could have stuck with my NA, or even upgrade to an S, but I knew when I bought my NA that I'd want a 400. For me it was £38k to change, your clutch, 5yr service and discs/pads were nearly 10% of that change cost as an example. Can I justify the cost to change? To me, yes, to the wife, yes. That's all that matters to me. Life has thrown us some lemons with Alex's brain tumour etc and so our outlook has changed over the last few years. Would I change from NA to 400 again? Yes, in a heart beat BUT... not because the NA is a bad car, far from it. I'd recommend an Evora NA/S/400 to anyone that wants a VX/Elise with 4 seats. Daily Driver or occasional track day, the Evora fits the brief.

[LazyDonkey]

Lee not saying you're wrong - far from it!     Just saying i can't justify it with my sensible head on

[CocoPops]

Lee not saying you're wrong - far from it!     Just saying i can't justify it with my sensible head on

And I'm not saying you're wrong Hence my line about any Evora, it's a fantastic car and I'm very glad I made the decision to listen to you at the start of last year. : :

[Kal]

I'm saying you're both wrong, and shout have joined JG and I in getting a V6 Exige  

[CocoPops]

I'm saying you're both wrong, and shout have joined JG and I in getting a V6 Exige  

I'm saying you know you're wrong and should have bought a 400

[KurtVerbose]

Jeez LD, you have an Evora and a Maclaren - you rich bastard.

 

Then you come on here rubbing our noses in it because we're driving 13 year old Vauxhalls.

 

'ow the other half llive eh.

 

Is the Maclaren a cabrio?

[LazyDonkey]

It's one vowel away from being a cabrio

 

  It's a quest model.   Not particularly pleased with it. 

[LazyDonkey]

Your chance to own the legend....

 

https://www.pistonhe...ch-done/9327663

 

 

[ChrisS1]

What's the replacement going to be? Anything interesting?

[LazyDonkey]

I'm thinking m2 at the moment. Evora hasn't really put a foot wrong but I'm now cycling to work. As such our only car capable of taking a bike is my wife's volvo. She's not terribly keen on me taking it every weekend and leaving her with lotus.

M2 is still fun but cns take a rack, seats fold down etc etc etc

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[JG]

I'd get a normal M140i (I love ours)

 

Better engine, just as fast, not as stolen (Marginally).