Hi Gary,
I haven’t driven a Porsche since I sold my 993 so I’m not at all familiar with how they drive.
And call me old-fashioned but the original Porsche two-seat car was air-cooled. No reason to change that. I’m all for change; change is good but I’m just a stickler for that particular thing.
16 years? You’re edging close to my affair with the 911T. I had my 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK-430 for 19 years. I’m kinda loyal.
cheers,
elliot
Hi Elliot,
I had read some feedback a long while ago about air-cooled vs. water-cooled 911’s… and it is definitely a polarizing factor. I can appreciate both perspectives, but I do lean towards original premises. Porsche has plenty of other vehicles water-cooled. Why not keep the 911 as a unique affair? In fact, I believe they could’ve kept improving upon it. But now… it’s kind of all being triumphed by the advent of electric power.
When I bought my first brand new car, a 1995 Nissan Maxima SE (5 MT), it took me months to choose it. I’d narrowed down to 3, and the Maxima won. I kept that car for 13 years. The Audi TT I had been lusting after since 1999. That was easy. Moving on from that… was tough. Took me nearly 3 months of analyzing options. I almost went with a used BMW 530i. But then I test drove the A3 and it was like… a strong echo of the TTQR. I fell in love with it. Then it was a matter of choosing options. I nearly went back to the BMW when a 528i came up, a really good deal. CPO warranty and all. But then my Audi sales guy pulled through. Found me 95% of what I wanted. The only thing missing was the roof rails. I’m very glad I went with it. Never a breakdown. Totally reliable for every day I’ve owned it. I performed a complete center console upgrade, taking out the single DIN stereo and installing for double-DIN, and a gorgeous Kenwood head unit that totally matches the red display (configurable, actually, and the red is a spot on shade). Added Euro tails with amber turn signals. Upgraded the headlight switch and used VAG-COM to program rear fog lights. The two-panel Open Sky sunroof (a novel thing for cars from 2007) is terrific. Steer sensitive headlights. The torque is G-force inducing. And the space inside is just great for cargo moves. I’m keeping it until I make the jump to electric. It’ll be painful. I have an unhealthy emotional attachment to this car. So yeah, I hear you about loyalty. 
Cheers,
~Gary
How did you like your Audi TT? I always thought those were very cool.
I loved the Audi TT QR. First off the interior design is so amazing. Minimalist art form in function. The overall theme was dimples in a circular perimeter. It’s around all of the round bits. The vent rings. The instrument needle gauge centers, etc. So many cool things, like the seat warmer control using that same theme, LED dots around the perimeter. You press the knob and it slides out as a cylinder shaft by about 1 inch. You rotate it, the LED’s light up to show your level, then you press it back in. Yeah, a little extra work pressing in/out, but was a neat design. The engine was a high torque 225hp 4 cylinder. I’m not a horsepower hog. I like lean but potent. Fuel mileage was really decent (34 mpg highway). The handling? Like you’re on rails. And last but not least… top down! I miss it, badly. I get by with a large moonroof, but it’s not the same.
I still have a dream of locating one once I’m back into a 2 car capacity mode, maybe someone who babied theirs, in great condition, but most people are wanting the more modern TT. I’d love to have it again.
My sister just picked up a 2015 BMW X1 in lightly used condition. It was a station car, so it’s only 25k miles. BMW seems to have cut back on the CPO warranty. AFAIK, BMW used to provide a 7 year / 100k miles warranty for CPO vehicles that are 3 or less years old. Now it’s 5 years / 50k miles. But you can purchase an extended warranty. The price varies depending upon the car’s age and what you negotiate with the dealership. I’d avoid owning a BMW without a warranty. I had 2 friends who kept their cars after the warranty ended and got hit with some seriously expensive work needing to be done. Supposedly, the 3-series (below 4.0 L engines and outside of M series) are the most reliable of the BMW lines.
