Chris L

Ouch

I love these cars - something very special about them. I don't think the class / heritage thing has anything to do with it either. Don't think a certain Japanese manufacturer who features heavily on this website had much in the way of kudos / cool - call it what you like, until they went rallying and started making interesting road cars

And as Simon says, Lee (not Ian if memory serves me right ) Noble is a legend in the sports car world. Don't forget his earlier efforts - Ultima and Ascari and not forgetting that he was involved in the engineering of the Mclaren F1, which in my books, gives him serious credibility.

The average punter in the street may not recognise the badge, but to those in the know, you'll get respect.

Would I have one - oh yes

Chris
(did I mention that a guy at my new firm (hopefully) has one? Guess who I will be asking for a test drive... )

Blow Dog

Porsche have the best depreciation return in the market bar none. They've engineered a fantastic business model and desire is higher than ever before.
Nobles are superb cars indeed. I was also thinking of the Noble but I drove the GT3 instead and was hooked.

Cem

Chris L

No the engine isn't from a Mondeo - common misconception. The engines are bought from Ford (I believe the block is originally a US design) - very similar to the V6 engine used in the Mondeo, which is how this story has emerged. But who cares when it goes like this?

scoobynutta555

meant to say 993 turbo, ive been up since 5 am lol

Dracoro

Although Porsche have low depreciation, it's not as low as you might think.

Typically, a Boxster retails at c£33,000 and a 1 year old one is £29,000. Most people would naturally assume that they therefore depreciate £4,000 in the first year (12%). This is misleading as virtually no-one buys a base spec boxster with no options (wind deflector, leather, psm, air con etc.). I would guess that most boxsters have £3/4k of options (at least). This brings the price up to £37,000, thus a £8,000 drop in the first year (21%) which is more in line with normal 1st year depreciation. I'll not even go into Porsche dealers giving poor trade in's and selling high. I reckon a trade in on a normal boxster will be closer to £26,000. I assume the 911's are similar but I may be wrong. Do people often spec up their 911's?

Anyway, after the 1st year or two, there's no doubt that they have low depreciation. As do other cars. I only lost £1,500 in a year and a half on my S2000. Generally the roadster market(TT, Z3/4 etc.) does depreciate lower than normal cars anyway.

davyboy

I think you would struggle to get a 2.7 03 plate for £29k. Maybe a higher mileage one with less desirable extras. I would think £32 would make your job easier.

Howee

Oh, I agree, apart from the dedicated track car bit as I'm sure it's not as impractical as you think. But if you take practicality out of it and money's no object then it makes the decision easier. If you choose a car on performance and exclusivity alone then in my books the Noble wins over the Porsche every time; the Porker has the performance but it's hardly exclusive anymore.

I could afford one (at a stretch) but apart from her indoors seeking instant divorce I would never buy any car for that money as it's too much to tie up in a tin box. If money was no object tho it would be a different story.....

Chris L

Not sure if it is just about being exclusive owning a Porsche. After all they are a volume manufacturer - always have been. Granted they aren't as rare as a Noble, but then they are hardly common either. It also depends on what you get. Cem's 996 GT3 is just a bit special and again, for those serious Petrolheads amongst us, will know and appreciate the difference between this and a Carrera 2.

Porsche make fabulous cars, even a basic Boxster is a great car to drive. To be honest their chassis engineering and handling is something that the vast majority of manufacturers (Subaru included) can only dream of.

Would you consider a Ferrari exclusive? Most people would. But ask yourself, when was the last time you saw one? Then ask yourself when was the last time you saw a Lamborghini?

Personally I buy cars because I like them - not because someone does or does not consider them exclusive. As I said before, yes I would own a Noble without hesitation.

Chris

MadGrip

If you want one , then go for it. I'm looking at them at the moment but the residual prices are off putting, that said, I maybe tempted next year if I can talk 'er in doors around to it , although I would never buy a new one.

Phil

akshay67

A stunning car. Bloke who lives on road behind me had one. Everytime we'd return from a night out or whatever, we'd always turn into the road behind and take the long way just to feast out eyes on it.

Congratulations.

Daz34

That explains the SN Plus membership then

JohnMcC

lol

Nobles are awesome - and as for being a track only car, there is a guy near me that commutes daily in his.

Obviously not a mainstream car but if I was in the same position it is the car that I would certainly be looking at. As for the 'lack of heritage' thing - well, the badge itself may be lacking it but as has been mentioned the brains behind it are certainly worthy of respect. Besides, heritage is fine but at the end of the day, for us enthusiasts, its all about the way the thing drives.

And as for bullet proof Porsche depreciation, I would echo the person that said it isnt always as straight forward as that. My old man had a low mileage 911 C4 Cab (996) and lost an absolute bucket load on it when he chopped it in for an SL. It was a mint car in a good colour with good options - had the Aero Kit which may not be to everyone's liking but still - we were very surprised at the hit he took on it.

Howee

I wouldn't choose a car on its exclusivity alone but if I was spending that kind of dosh on a car I'd want something that stood out a bit. I'd be impressed if I saw a Noble on the street but, though I may still turn my head at a Ferrari, long gone are the days when seeing one was a jaw dropping experience (except maybe if it's a Dino or an Enzo) because they are more common. And as for Porkers, they're everywhere, just like scoobys .

CraigH

For 55k you could buy a top spec Ultima, which will be a huge amount faster straightline, handle at least as well, have much more of a feel good factor and sense of occasion, depreciate about the same, but more imortantly, scare the bejesus out of other people on track when you blast past

Love Nobles though, great choice

Just my opinion........

Chris, if you talk to Nobles in Chesterfield who build the engine, they'll tell you it was the 2.5 duratec andis now the 3.0 duratec, albeit v highly modified.

Dream Weaver

Yeah but Ultima's look minging

Last Noble I saw was at Oulton in October:

PaulMc

I had a trip in one last June. The owner had just taken delivery and had just covered it's running in mileage. He traded a 993 C4S in for it.

We went out at midnight at Lemans 2004 on the Friday and managed to clock 170 on the mulsanne Straight ! Awesome car awseome sound.

The downside...The trip down to La Sarthe and playing with a Diablo most of the way had peppered the front nose quite badly. This however was passed back to Noble upon his return and sorted with no fuss.

I am contemplating getting a low mileage used example next year or a 993

DavidBrown

I was tempted by a Noble for a while, the spec is very impressive indeed.

The sticking points for me were the resale value and also how difficult it may be to sell (particularly if they bring out a GTO-4RS or something). Another sticking point was the looks, a bit kit car/jelly mould for my liking, but that's just my personal taste (or lack of !).. and finally the dealer network is a bit thin on the ground and not sure how much maintenance it'll need (warranty repairs etc.)

I think Steve should have kept his Skyline, but he's obviously driven one and liked it enough to buy one.. result !

Regarding Porsches holding their value well.. I think that's definitely true of Boxsters, and some 911 variants, but a GT2 will lose £30-40K in less than a year and even the new-shape GT3s aren't holding their value as well as some hoped.

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

I am looking at an M12 GTO 3 on Monday priced at £39,995
Its an 02 car with a couple of options & 12k miles on it in blue.
I have a mate in the car trade & he asked around for me about residuals.
CAP supplied some numbers based on financing the car with a balloon & said that they would put a value on this particular car of £24k in 3 years time.

They tend to quote 85% of what they think the car will be worth (to build in a safety margin) so actual 3 year value more like £30k or so.
I am not so sure - will this car - If I buy it - only lose £10k ?
That seems very small amount for the type of car???

Ro.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

LOL

David

With respect m8, that comes from a man who has an Exige






Nothing wrong with either of them IMHO - wish I was in the ballpark

DavidBrown

Yeah, you got me there.. although the Exige was almost half the price ! I dunno, it just has a kit car look which I can't explain..

I still reckon Steve is going to have a great time with it though !

Mark_BT52

Very nice, would have probably got one instead of the Tuscan if we didn't already have the Exige.
And it's not a Mondeo engine......





..it's a Maverick's

ARRON BIRD

Well I know **** all about cars or how to drive em but I`ll do my best to try and explain the test drive for me today.
Looks.................awsome.
Build quality..................very good.
Handling...................go kart.
Brakes.....................stop very well.
Body roll.....................non existant.
Noise............................stiffy coming.
I want one but as my worthy friend seems to keep throwing money at these exotic cars and let me rag em whenever I like cant see the point really.
I suggest that you all come to Bedford on 27th March to see touch and feel the Noble experience.
Steve will be charging £50 for 15mins passanger laps and I will be charging £5000 for 1 minute passanger laps.
I do believe that this is the fastest most tracteable car I have driven that will demand some respect for at least.....................5 minutes before it gets a serious ragging!!!!!!
Very nice and a very lucky git!!!
Roll on next Wednesday for pick up day.
Car was struggling for grip under 3rd gear acceleration today on a dry salty road.
Serious forward motion!!!!
No ABS so Steve has had the only accessory fitted as a factort option which is a full factory anchor system!!!

johnfelstead

But is he up to driving it? I still havnt seen cars of this nature driven properly (ie quickly), i have never seen an Exige going quickly for example. The only thing i have seen in similar ilk driven well is Gareth Lloyd in his F40, but he is a very skilled racecar driver.

Will Steve prove to be the exception? I hope so.

ex-webby

Oops! Lee, not Ian! Thank you Chris

W9GTR

Probably not.... ,
Cem, I know...I know.....I Know but I took one look, one drive and went running for the Kleenex

You should have seen Birdy's face today when we pulled up and my car was parked up at the dealer...it looked Stunning!!!!!! Much better in the flesh than any photo.

As for the depreciation, I suppose I have let me heart rule my head on this one and I am trusting to luck a bit, but then I thought I was going to take a bath on th Skyline after buying it but they have held really well especially the UK cars mine lost less than 5k per year which is pretty cool for a Datsun with a coffee table nailed to the boot , I will be very sorry to see the beast go but fortunately have sold it to a mate so I will still (hopefully) get a to drive it on occasion, if Pete would be so kind

I went to test drive a C4S as I was contemplating the Porka route but was treated like dirt and ignored by veru unbusy sales staff for over 15 mins
Didn't like the snob culture (sorry Cem don't mean you) associated, plus the car felt very boring after driving the GTO3R

This car pulls my string big time, I only hope I can learn how to drive now as for the 4 years the old Skylark has done most of the work for me Good replies chaps keep em coming it might make the next 5 days go by a little quicker, tho i doubt it. Bring on Bedford 27th RMA for anybody interested the titanium terrier will be unleashed for the first time in anger

W9GTR

ooooooooooops nearly forgot!! Best be changing my login name as the plate goes with the car.
Still my new plate is pretty cool so as of wednesday I will changing my name to SS04 GTO

Blow Dog

Good to see you talk so highly of the car - it's obviously hit the spot. We were at Bedford early Feb and there were about 6 Nobles there. It was very wet and rain was practically horizontal. Almost all the cars span at least once, including the Nobles and GT3's.

I think the GT3 and the Noble are both chips off the same block. Uncompromised trackday cars that are capable on the road also. Yes, the Porsche has a snob culture, yes the service is high brow (I actually sent a letter of complaint to a dealer, notifying them that I had placed an order at a different dealer - my third!) but by god can they build cars.

I hear the Noble is VERY fast. When the GT3 arrives, we're going to meet up for some passenger rides.

As for Porsche depreciation, I will stand by my original comment. They are rated as having the best financial returns of any mass produced car - fact. Yes, the GT2 seems a bit of an exception, but used Mk2 GT3's still command premium prices - the reason I went for new. One of the recent journals calculated the GT3's to have a 5% yearly depreciation rate - compared to 45% for something like a Maserati. A 5 year old '99 model GT3 is still selling for £60k - £3k a year depreciation.

I'm suprised with the Noble, I would expect that to hold it's value. The only reason it won't is if Noble continue to release successive models every 6 months, saturating the market and removing desire from their previous models.

Post some pictures Steve, ffs.

Cem

Edcase

John F, I got to see the business end of both a noble (not the latest M12 GTO) and an Exige driven at a very twitchy 9/10th's at Donington on one of the hottest days of the year last year.

I was genuinely shocked at just how quickly they were lapping, and made me look almost static (although that heatsoak didn't help!). The Exige looked much more of a handful on the limit, but given the larger size, the noble looked simply effortless!

I also had a radical on track at the same time as me. My god it was like watching a scalextric car going around corners, making absolute mincemeat of westie megabusas etc!!

I am seriously considering a ' proper' track day car when the scoob goes next month.

simo

steve

if it was fun at bedford last month in the r34 (& it was), what is the noble going to be like

I think petes made a good choice as well, a r34 instead of the 33 and a car he knows. Hope to make it on the 27th

cheers simon

ps Cem, how you doing? long time no speak. S

Type R

There is a a chap called Andy IIRC, who attends most the SELOC trackdays, he seems to get the thing to go quick, fantastic.