Summer Car Recommendations for Every Budget – 2019 Edition

Summer Recommendations for Every Budget 2019 Edition

Summer Car Recommendations for Every Budget – 2019 Edition

For us, the end of ski season this weekend marks the beginning of the driving season. Hence it’s time to update our summer recommendations for 2019. For this year I have changed the criteria a bit. The new cut off for consideration is 1990 (vs. 1970 in 2018). The budgets are all in US $ and I have given a few more American and Japanese cars consideration alongside the usual European suspects. This year’s list also includes a few less conventional recommendations.

The 2019 list, starting with the most affordable, is:

$15k-25k range: Last year I recommended a Porsche 911 (996) & a Maserati GranSport, this year we are going to change it up a bit and go with a Porsche Cayman S but stay with the Maserati GranSport. It’s hard to go wrong recommending a Porsche. In terms of bargains these days, the Cayman S offers tremendous performance, beautifully balanced handling and solid, fairly depreciation free, value. The Caymans, 911 (996s) and early Boxters all sit at the bottom of the Porsche price ladder currently but that doesn’t mean they all aren’t still terrific driver’s cars. The Cayman is the best balance of value, age, and performance of the lot right now. The Maserati GranSport is a car that had a spot in our garage about a decade ago. In sport mode, the GranSport comes alive and responds well to being pushed. The Ferrari supplied V8 that sits in the nose is wonderful to hear sing and provides plenty of grunt. It’s pretty hard to argue against a $25k car that has basically the same engine as a F430 sitting in its nose. Of the early 21^stcentury Maseratis, the GranSport is the best of the breed.

$25-50k range: last year it was the Jaguar F-Type along with the Dodge Viper but this year we are switching it up a going a bit more left field with a TVR Griffith and a Maserati GranTurismo. It doesn’t get much madder than a Griffith. The TVR is hugely fun to drive, can be pushed hard, and has character in abundance. In fact, sometimes a bit too much character. The Griffith is one car where having some basic mechanical skills will definitely pay off during your ownership. TVRs were made in Blackpool and build quality on many is more early industrial revolution than Japanese six sigma. Most Griffiths are now 25 years old so are eligible for US import and you should be able to land a decent example on US shores for $35-40k. If you’re looking for an adrenaline kick, a Griffith on a windy country road is hard to beat. The GranTurismo is another Ferrari powered Maserati. In Sport Mode, the GranTurismo has to be one of the best sounding cars on the road. When dropped into manual mode and driven using the paddles, the GranTurismo will engage and reward. Leave it in auto and you can cruise effortlessly for hours. The GranTurismo is a proper Italian GT and hard to beat for value today.

$50-75k range: Last year I went with the Aston Martin DB9 Volante and Ferrari 308 GTB. Based on age the Ferrari 308 GTB is out this year and we are replacing the DB9 with the Porsche 911 (997.2) Turbo Cabriolet. The Ferrari 308 is being replaced by the F355 GTB. As referenced in the recent article on the Car Market ( Car Market Q2 Update) with prices now around $50k, the F355 is affordable (by Ferrari standards) and its modern enough so the learning curve is short. The F355 is an infinitely usable car with enough luggage room for a multiday trip which certainly aids in its appeal. It doesn’t hurt that the F355 is one of the prettiest Ferraris to ever emerge from Pininfarina’s pen. Moving to the Porsche, it hard to argue against an open top 911 Turbo and the 997.2s are my favorite of the post 2000 911 models. Personal preference would be for one with a manual 6 speed gearbox. Hunt hard and you should be able to find one at the very upper end of the price bracket here.

$75-100k range: In 2018 it was the Maserati Grantursimo Cabriolet and Audi R8 V10. As we have a couple of Maseratis already on the list, I’m going to go with an Aston Martin DBS and replace the Audi R8 with its more exotic VW Group sibling, the Lamborghini Gallardo. The Aston Martin DBS is one of the most elegant cars Aston has produced and with a V12 in the nose connected to a 6-speed manual gearbox, hard not to get all “weak in the knees” about. If I was to ever again buy a pure GT, the DBS would be on the very short list. In this price range you should be able to find your choice of Gallardos. Unlike earlier Lamborghinis, the Gallardo is comfortable, impressively quick, and even a bit forgiving. The V10 behind the driver’s seat has soul and likely one of the last great naturally aspirated engines.

$100-125k range: Last year I recommended the Ferrari 550 Maranello, and the McLaren 12C Spider, for 2019 I’m only making one change in this range, replacing the Ferrari 550 Maranello with the Ferrari 599 GTB. Thanks to the miracle of depreciation, 599s are now falling under $125k for the first time. With an V12 lifted out of a Ferrari Enzo, the 599 GTB has enormous grunt, character, and continent crushing capabilities. The 599 GTB has ample luggage space for a multiweek road trip, wonderfully supportive seats, and a gearbox that is a huge improvement over the earlier single clutch F1 boxes. The 12C Spider was McLaren’s first attempt at a “mass” produced road car. The combination of carbon fibre tub, twin turbo V8 producing 616 bhp, and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission combined to form a package that is still near top in class. Build quality on the 12C improved during the production run with a 2014 being the best of the breed ( Our 1st McLaren 12C Spider). In terms of performance vs. cost, the 12C has to be the best bargain on the market right now.

$125k-150k range: This is a new range for 2019 and one I have always found tough to make a call in. as you are spoiled for choice. Looking at the market today, the two that would be the most tempting are the Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster and the Porsche 911 (997 or a 991) GT3. Finding a nice GT3 for sale these days is easy as there are plenty for sale, especially 991 GT3s. In terms of a pure driver’s car, any of the 911 GT3s are among the best. The Murcielago is Lamborghini at its best, large, loud, with tons of presence. Unlike some of the earlier Lambos, the Murci drives brilliantly and does not require physical therapy after more than 10 minutes behind the wheel.

$150-200k range: In 2018, my recommendations were the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and a McLaren 650S Spider. For 2019 I’m keeping the 430 Scuderia (see: Garage Goals) but switching to a second Aston Martin V12, the Vanquish Volante. I’m having a bit of V12 withdrawal as it now been over a year since we had a V12 in the garage. As open top Astons go, this is one of the most elegant. With 568 bhp, an 8-speed gearbox, and a carbon fiber body it will move smarty when you want it to. The experience of driving a 430 Scuderia across the Scottish Highlands is hard to top. The single clutch F1 gearbox is quick, sharp, & as the last iteration developed by Ferrari, best in class. The Scuderia is a beautifully balanced car that urges you to drive it hard. It’s also the last Ferrari that still feels more analogue than digital. Definitely a future classic.

$200-500K range: In 2018 I had the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona and Porsche Carrera GT is the half million dollar range. Current Carrera GT values now put it well above the high end here and the Daytona is out based on age. The replacements for 2019 are the McLaren 675LT Spider and the Ferrari 458 Italia Speciale. The 675LT Spider is a personal favorite and I have thoroughly enjoyed owning ours for the past three years (see: McLaren 675LT Spider). It’s a car that always leaves me with a smile after long drive in the mountains. The Ferrari 458 Italia Speciale makes the list based on recommendations from a few very knowledgeable friends. I one gentleman who’s opinion I value highly called the Speciale the best drivers car Ferrari has produced this century. Praise like that has earned the Speciale a place here.

A couple of honorable mentions: Acura/Nissan NSX, Dodge Viper, Ford GT, current generation Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Ferrari 430 Spider, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and the Lexus LFA.

Opinions and recommendations are just that. At the end of the day, always buy what speaks to you.

Thoughts, comments, other recommendations? Please see the comments section below.

Please share. Buttons are below.

Follow us on

March 2020

Share Now

Supercar Market Update– Q2 2019

Following up on the article on the car market in Q1 ( View on the Car Market Q1), I recently received the following auction result alerts:

31k- Mile 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Sold $550,000

4k- Mile 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, Sold $687,000

1k- Mile 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, Sold $775,000

15k-Mile 1996 FerrariF355 Spider 6-Speed, Sold $52,800

23k-Mile 1997 Ferrari F355 Spider 6-Speed, Sold $57,000

1k – Mile 2008 Koenigsegg CCX, Not Sold at High Bid $875,000

which I believe are quite indicative of where the market is today and where it is headed. I’ve chosen these four as I believe they are a good representation across the market. It’s wasn’t too long ago the F355 Spiders were regularly selling in the $90-100k range and market experts were predicting Daytona would be $1 mil cars shortly. Koenigseggs prices seem to have finally succumbed to the grip of gravity and started returning to earth. The one car that hasn’t retreated in value (which is a bit personally frustrating, see Garage Goals) is the Carrera GT. CGTs have been rock solid at $700k for the past year. A car is only worth what someone is wiling to pay for it and the buyer today has changed from who it was several years ago.

I believe the market is currently in a place where the speculators who drove prices skywards in the 2012-2016 period are now all long gone. The people buying the cars today are collectors and enthusiasts. They intend to use the cars they buy and maintenance costs do matter. Time is also playing a role as many of the buyers today are younger. The cars these buyers remember from their teenage years and early 20s are from the Ferrari F50, Enzo and Carrera GT era. These are the forces which are driving the market now.

When looking at the each of these four cars, I do believe different factors are driving the values in each case. Starting with the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, I don’t believe the majority of buyers who came of age in the mid to late 90s have much affinity for the car. The Daytona was your father or grandfather’s Ferrari. To top it off, they are not easy cars to drive ( Driving a Daytona). At low speed, Daytona’s are an upper body workout. The gearbox and clutch require skill and experience to operate properly, skills that are much less common with a generation that has grown up on automatics and paddle shifts. The brakes are a whole new experience for those who are used to a car actually stopping soon after you push the middle pedal. All of the above doesn’t do much to broaden the Daytona’s appeal and therefore demand, along with prices that have been steadily falling.

Many of the same factors that have been driving Daytona prices south, have been supporting Carrera GT values. CGTs are the cars that the new generation of buyers grew up with. They are still quick by today’s standards and no longer that tricky to drive. New tire technology from Michelin has improved handling on the CGT significantly to the point that it is no longer a smart gift to give to a spouse you want to dispose of surreptitiously. Owners do use there CGTs and they are a common sight at both car shows and major auctions. In many ways the CGT is as much an icon of the early 00s as the Enzo and therefore desirability along with prices remains steady.

In many ways the Ferrari F355 has replaced the 328 as the new “starter” Ferrari (SSO’s Ferrari History). With prices now around $50k, the F355 is affordable (by Ferrari standards) and its modern enough so the learning curve is short. The F355 is an infinitely usable car with enough luggage room for a multiday trip which certainly aids in its appeal. It doesn’t hurt that the F355 is one of the prettiest Ferraris to ever emerge from Pininfarina’s pen. Plant your right foot and the F355 will scare a passenger silly and. A few years ago, prices did jump up to the $90-100k range but fell back as that put the F355 at or above a 360, not too far off a 430, and out of the affordable starter range. Given Ferrari built over 10,000 F355s, there are always plenty for sale so rarity will never drive values. F355 prices will always be impacted by very high maintenance costs, the every four year cambelt change is an engine out exercise, and the F355 has a host of known issues that are not inexpensive to address. The F355 is also now in that awkward age where technology and performance have long since passed it by, but it isn’t old enough to be considered a classic yet. My guess is F355s are now properly priced and should hold at current values.

Koenigseggs have operated in a very different value universe for multiple years now. In less than a decade Koenigseggs have gone from little known to quite famous. Prices on their new cars have risen astronomically. This huge jump in new car prices has impacted the small used market for Koenigseggs dramatically. Our ex Koenigsegg CCR is a good example of this, we were the 3^rdowner and paid around £160k for it in 2010. After a couple of years, we traded it in at a £180k valuation. To the best of my knowledge our ex-CCR has yet to find another private owner in the past 7 years. The CCR has been moved through a few different dealerships and now has a current asking price of around £1mil. My guess is these asking prices are not sustainable as witnessed by the recent no sale on the CCX at auction. While the newest Koenigseggs may be able to demand multi-million dollar prices tags as engineering and automotive art, the older used K’eggs are tricky cars to drive ( Driving the CCR) with limited usability.

In summary, the Porsche Carrera GT has held very steady over the last 3 years and will likely continue to do so. Both the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” and the F355 rode the market up in 2013-2016 and now are settling back down more towards pre 2012 price points. Koenigseggs weren’t the poster cars of any of today’s buyer’s youth, usability is a real challenge and while prices have risen dramatically, they now seemed poised for a drop as the demand is just not there.

Thoughts and comments? Please see the comments section below.

Also please share, buttons are below.

Follow us on

March 2020

Share Now

Geneva Car Show Report

It’s very unlikely I will be able to go to the Geneva Motor Show this year. It’s quite inconsiderate of the Swiss to always schedule the show during US College Spring break week when we all go skiing as a family. I also always end up with a business trip that second Geneva week which inevitably puts me on the wrong side of the planet. Despite not being able to attend, it hasn’t stopped me from trying to stay abreast with what is going on.

Among the major players in the Supercar market, it has never been a more exciting or competitive time. Within a short eight years, McLaren has seized the high ground in terms of both performance and engineering. It’s taken Ferrari two years to catch up to the McLaren 720S with the just launched F8 Tributo, Ferrari is a similar distance behind with a Senna competitor, and I haven’t even heard rumors of an answer to the Speedtail. How Ferrari has managed to go from the clear leader in the Supercar market to a not quite fast follower in less than a decade will make for a good business school case study. With Aston Martin now making the pivot from being a High-Performance Luxury car manufacture to competing directly in the Supercar market with the Valkyrie, 003, and soon to be announced mid-engine line, the heat in Maranello can only be rising. With the involvement of Adrian Newey and Red Bull in these Aston Martin projects, performance and credibility are a given. On a personal basis, up to this point I have never owned an Aston Martin but am now seriously interested in where they are going. In the past, every time I was in the market for a Grand Tourer, I would look at both an Aston and the comparable Ferrari. While the Aston might have won on appearance, the Ferrari always was the superior car to drive and hence that’s what ended up in the garage. Of the other major Supercar manufacture, Lamborghini, it’s not one that has every had much appeal and nothing in its current line has changed my point of view. Not that there is anything wrong with Lamborghini’s just never been my thing. With the launch of the Urus, I will be interested to see if they follow Porsche’s route and essentially become a SUV manufacturer with a supercar (in the case of Porsche, sportscar) business on the side.

As interesting as things are with the majors, what a number of smaller manufacturers are doing is equally as exciting. I don’t think there have been this many viable entrants in this segment since the sixties. Of the two established companies, Koenigsegg & Pagani, both have steadily moved up in the market price wise while building viable niche business. In both cases they essentially now build automotive art that tends to live in collections. Koenigsegg continues to innovate around ultra-high performance using the same basic design (Koenigsegg must have hired one of the original 911 designers) while steadily increasing its presence. While Koenigsegg seems to be on its way up, Pagani seems to have stagnated. The Huayra never has generated the same amount of excitement as the Zonda with its never ending final/limited/bespoke editions. For its 20^thanniversary this year Pagani has promised something exciting. My guess is another bespoke edition of the Zonda.

Among the small manufactures, there have been a large number of exciting new entrants over the past couple of years. In some cases, these are “rebirths” of dead historic brands like Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS), Gumpert Apollo, & TVR, plus the completely new launches of Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG), Zenvo, and finally established racing car manufacturers getting into the supercar business such as Dallara and Ginetta. Of the rebirths, so far both Gumpert Apollo and TVR appear to be more stillborn than rebirth.

Of the new entries, the one I find the most interesting actually will not be at Geneva in 2019, SCG. Outside of the racing car manufacturers that already have existing established businesses, I believe SCG is the one mostly likely to both survive and thrive. SCG has been approved as a US NHTSA Low Volume Manufacturer which allows SCG to make 325 road-legal cars per year. In fact though, SCG is not exactly new to the automotive business, they built their first car, the P4/5 back in 2009 and will have two road cars, the SCG 003S and the 004S in production shortly. The 004S will be the first 3-seater produced since the McLaren F1 and will likely beat the McLaren Speedtail to market by a few months. There are three additional cars in development post the 003 & 004 so the longer-term direction for the company is clear. While very ambitious, SCG also seems to be on very firm financial footing with a highly committed, wealthy, and experienced owner.

Of the two racing car manufacturer entries, the Dallara Stradale is a road legal track car and the un-named Ginetta supercar looks to be a Dodge Viper that fell into a vat of steroids. The Dallara Stradale is a bare bones barchetta with doors, a windshield, and a T-bar roof all as optional extras. It makes a Jaguar XJR-15 look practical. The Ginetta supercar has a targeted top speed of 200 mph and a 600 bhp front mounted engine, specs which are frankly quite ordinary by today’s supercar standards. At least it isn’t as bad as the ATS GT which appears to be a McLaren 12C in a body kit for a bit over a $1 mil.

Net net, it is a very interesting time to be a supercar collector and enthusiast. Competition is driving innovation and the number of choices continue to expand. McLaren has proven that with the right resources and a clear vision, new manufacturers can succeed. Both Pagani & Koenigsegg have proven that there is a viable market for multimillion-dollar bespoke automobiles. While the vast majority of the supercar manufacturers are based in Europe, SCG looks set to prove that a low volume US based manufacturer can succeed in the supercar market. I’ll be interested to see what new information and surprises emerge in Geneva next week.

Thoughts and comments? Please see the comments section below.

Also please share, buttons are below.

Follow us on

March 2019

Share Now

Our Porsche History

If our histories with Ferrari & McLaren are defined by the cars we have owned, our history with Porsche is almost better defined by the cars we missed out on. This would be Porsche’s Trinity: the 959, Carrera GT, and 918. Despite this we have owned five Porsche’s to date a 911 (993) C4, 911 (993) Turbo, 911 (997.2) GT3 RS, Cayenne Turbo, & a Cayenne S. The last two have served as the family “trucks” for the last 10 years with the Cayenne Turbo proving itself near bullet proof & the Cayenne S being anything but. Of the two 993s, I have fond memories of the 993 C4 but did not bond with the 993 Turbo at all.

My first real sports car, at least by my definition, was a LHD 1995 Porsche 911 (993) C4. Bright red with black interior, it’s a car that I still have a soft spot for today. It’s also the car that taught me how to really drive in the mountains on the Iberian coast. We owned the 993 C4 for about two years and put well over 10k miles on it. Other than a high speed tire blow out, after which I discovered that the Porsche dealer had given me the wrong key for the locking lug nuts, ownership was completely drama free. The 993 C4 served as a sometime daily driver before making way for what turned out to be a rather loopy Ferrari 456GT. The 993 C4 is one car I wish I had kept much longer.

Porsche #2 was a LHD 1996 911 (993) Turbo. This one was generic Porsche silver with a black and red interior. It was a car that I thought I would love but never bonded with. The original intent was to use the 993 Turbo as my daily driver for a few years. After a few weekend drives in the Turbo, I quickly realized this was not a good idea. Traffic was definitely not its friend and the ride was very hard. Shortly after acquiring the 993 Turbo, we took it on a road trip down though western Germany. When the front end went quite light at 150 mph on the autobahn, I lost confidence in the car. Shortly after the autobahn experience, we took the 993 Turbo on a second road trip through Southern Spain. The Turbo’s air-conditioning decided to die shortly after leaving Madrid on what was a very toasty Friday evening, leaving us with a rather unpleasant sweaty weekend. This was basically its death knell in my mind. I sold it back to the person I bought it from at a slight loss.

Porsche #3 was a 2005 Cayenne Turbo. We purchased it used from the 1^stowner for 1/3 of what he had paid for it 4 years before. Before completing the purchase, I suggested that he just keep the Cayenne and just run it into the ground. My rationale was he had already taken a massive hit on depreciation and it would cost him little to run moving forward. After an additional 24 hours to think it over he said he just wanted something new and therefore the Cayenne Turbo had to go. The Cayenne Turbo served admirably as the family workhorse for 5 years and 50,000 miles. Two things about the Cayenne Turbo still standout out in my mind, something that large and heavy should not be able to go around corners the way it did or accelerate with the violence that it did. The only major issue we ever had with the Cayenne Turbo was the dreaded jerky transmission issue which cost about $2,000 to fix. We parted with the family truck when we moved across the Atlantic.

Porsche #4 was our second Cayenne, this time a LHD 2008 Cayenne S. As rock solid as the 1^stCayenne Turbo was, the Cayenne S was been more of a river of tears. We have now had the Cayenne S for 4 ½ years and the list of items that have been replaced on this SUV is extensive. Just about every one of the “common issues” for the 2008-2010 models has manifested itself in ours. This Cayenne S is fitted with a standard spring suspension which does not ride nearly as comfortably as the air suspension in the Turbo. Despite all the drama, we still have the Cayenne S. It now lives up in the mountains of Montana where it will serve out the remainder of its useful life.

Porsche #5 is a LHD 2011 911 (997.2) GT3 RS. This GT3 RS has been given further “focus” by GMG and now wears the WC-GT3RS script on its tushy. We have now had the GT3 RS for just a bit over two years. It is a car that the more I drive it, the better it gets. It very different from everything else currently in the garage but in a good way. You need to work to get the best out of the GT3 RS which is probably why we continue to bond. Moving its home from the uninspiring concrete jungle of Texas highways to the challenging mountain roads of Montana has been brilliant. It is a joy to drive in the mountains and gets plenty of workouts during the summer months. We are even considering putting winter tires on it next year to see if we can extend the driving season by a few months. Certainly, in the near term, I can’t see parting with it.

As I mentioned in the introduction, we have tried to acquire a few other limited edition Porsche’s over the years but each time it has not ended well. When the 918 was first announced, I contacted Porsche directly twice to let them know I was interested and never heard back. Given the challenges Porsche had selling out the production run, I guess this is a good indication of where I stood on their priority list. I also had an agreed deal on a Carrera GT. This was back in June 2014. I had located a 2005 Black/Grey Carrera GT with 8,200 miles at Porsche of Newport Beach in California. We had agreed a price, I had offered to wire over a deposit (which I was told was not necessary) and I was just waiting for them to send over the pre-purchase inspection report before wiring payment. After three days and no signs of the PPI nor any response to my emails, I finally called the salesman back and was told they had sold the Carrera GT to another buyer. What made it even worse was the dealership manager wasn’t even apologetic about the situation and basically told me to go pound sand. Since that time average Carrera GT prices have jumped by $300k and I am having trouble getting my head around one at these values. I do believe Carrera GT prices will come back down to earth in the next couple of years as they are not particularly rare and can be quite a handful to drive. We also came close to buying a 959 back in 2008. Prices then were a fraction of what they are now. Going through the history file of the 959 we were considering was eye opening. The service costs over the preceding several years nearly totaled the purchase price of the car. That was the end of that idea as I had no interest in ending up in debtor prison.

In summary, we have had a bit of a mixed relationship with Porsches over the years. Both the first 911 C4 and the latest 911 GT3 RS have been great cars. The Carrera GT continues to rank very high on the Garage Goals list and I am sure one will be acquired at some point. Even Mrs. SSO talks about perhaps having a 911 as her next daily driver so our relationship with Porsche will be continuing to grow.

Thoughts and comments? Please see the comments section below.

Please share. Buttons above on the left. Also please subscribe for email updates. Sign up is on the right.

Follow us on

February 2019

Tag: #porsche