OP
OP
Bruce H.
Enthusiast
Thanks emericr,
I am excited, and relieved to have been able to come to such a confident decision to buy. I agree with everything that you say, and was also being put off by those and many other reasons. But a funny thing happened as I realized that the car itself was truly what I was looking for, and suddenly those complaints simply no longer were a deterrent. I could have purchased an AMG or a Porsche instead, and literally tried to talk myself into those and others, particularly focusing on the 911 GT3. But it didn't matter how good the GT3 is, or how great the C7Z06 will be heralded next month, or how fantastic the R8, GT-R, and similarly priced used exotics are, or how easy it is to drive and buy them, or how pleasant their owner's forums are, or how technically advanced some are, or how great their DCT's are...none of that mattered when determining where I'd drop the ***, and while there were a lot of nice sports cars out there, there wasn't even one that I considered a second place choice to the TA for my needs. I had resigned myself to keep what I had if I couldn't buy the TA, and would have waited for whatever track focused version replaces it had I not been able to find one.
I found that rather surprising as the car I was going to trade in was a convertible that we love driving top down in, so I really thought I wanted a Viper convertible if it came out with roll-over protection for the track. I had also got swept up into the DCT buzz, and thought the active suspension and e-diff on my Jaguar was the cat's meow. One of my favorite features in the Jag are the cooled seats which are awesome at the track.
So in the end I didn't end up with some of the things that I thought I would want, but got everything I could possibly have hoped for in a truly remarkable and collectible track/weekend car. It will be an event every time I fire it up, a real sense of occasion to cruise around in, and a hair-on-fire thrill to track. And it will hopefully take me years to explore its limits. After sharing a private fall track day with close to 20 911 GT3 and GT3 RS's, I rather think I'm also going to enjoy the rarity of the Gen V. Each of us looks to find a car that will suit our needs, and despite there being a wide selection of impressive cars, we're very lucky indeed to find one that we can be so passionate about owning. The absolute last things that would prevent me from buying it would be the things you mentioned, and I purchased my car without ever stepping foot into the showroom, never mind into the car. That may sound like a risk, and certainly out of character for me, but I feel I know everything I need to in order to purchase it, and I'll gladly accept and adjust to the rest of it. I'm glad to see this forum move beyond all those initial criticisms, and I'm sure all the great reviews of "production" cars and owner feedback has exposed it as a gem. I hope SRT will improve in whatever areas it can, and that other prospective buyers will focus on what's truly important.
I hope you feel as positive about your AMG purchase, and will enjoy it just as much!
Bruce
I am excited, and relieved to have been able to come to such a confident decision to buy. I agree with everything that you say, and was also being put off by those and many other reasons. But a funny thing happened as I realized that the car itself was truly what I was looking for, and suddenly those complaints simply no longer were a deterrent. I could have purchased an AMG or a Porsche instead, and literally tried to talk myself into those and others, particularly focusing on the 911 GT3. But it didn't matter how good the GT3 is, or how great the C7Z06 will be heralded next month, or how fantastic the R8, GT-R, and similarly priced used exotics are, or how easy it is to drive and buy them, or how pleasant their owner's forums are, or how technically advanced some are, or how great their DCT's are...none of that mattered when determining where I'd drop the ***, and while there were a lot of nice sports cars out there, there wasn't even one that I considered a second place choice to the TA for my needs. I had resigned myself to keep what I had if I couldn't buy the TA, and would have waited for whatever track focused version replaces it had I not been able to find one.
I found that rather surprising as the car I was going to trade in was a convertible that we love driving top down in, so I really thought I wanted a Viper convertible if it came out with roll-over protection for the track. I had also got swept up into the DCT buzz, and thought the active suspension and e-diff on my Jaguar was the cat's meow. One of my favorite features in the Jag are the cooled seats which are awesome at the track.
So in the end I didn't end up with some of the things that I thought I would want, but got everything I could possibly have hoped for in a truly remarkable and collectible track/weekend car. It will be an event every time I fire it up, a real sense of occasion to cruise around in, and a hair-on-fire thrill to track. And it will hopefully take me years to explore its limits. After sharing a private fall track day with close to 20 911 GT3 and GT3 RS's, I rather think I'm also going to enjoy the rarity of the Gen V. Each of us looks to find a car that will suit our needs, and despite there being a wide selection of impressive cars, we're very lucky indeed to find one that we can be so passionate about owning. The absolute last things that would prevent me from buying it would be the things you mentioned, and I purchased my car without ever stepping foot into the showroom, never mind into the car. That may sound like a risk, and certainly out of character for me, but I feel I know everything I need to in order to purchase it, and I'll gladly accept and adjust to the rest of it. I'm glad to see this forum move beyond all those initial criticisms, and I'm sure all the great reviews of "production" cars and owner feedback has exposed it as a gem. I hope SRT will improve in whatever areas it can, and that other prospective buyers will focus on what's truly important.
I hope you feel as positive about your AMG purchase, and will enjoy it just as much!
Bruce
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