Random lessons learned

1. Smaller is better

The more sports cars I’ve owned and driven, it’s always the small ones that get an immediate adrenaline rush. Think McQueen in the 917 in LeMans. I was car shopping last year. Gorgeous F12 felt like I was in a high end coupe, but in my ex 328 felt like I was wearing it. Ditto the Porsche 991. It felt like a luxury GT car, while the 911/964 I bought puts you shoulder to shoulder with your passenger, nose to the windscreen, tach in front. It’s all engine, wheels and instruments.

2. Navigation belongs on your mobile phone. Not in your car.

Real gauges and switches are timeless. Think Daytona or early E-Type or air cooled Porsche. Touchscreens and other ephemeral technology never looks good and dates a car. I want to love the Roma and GT3, but the tech will be the equivalent of the iPod. If you want a timeless car, skip the screens.

3. Wheels: big but reasonable

I’ve never regretted upgrading wheels, but a car’s designer usually has a wheel size in mind. The 16” concave wheels on a 328 are perfect. Change to 18” and it’s a rolling parody of a car. OEM size is almost always best.

4. Coupe or targa over cabriolet

There are exceptions, but typically if a car was designed as a coupe (e.g. Porsche 911) it loses its aesthetic appeal with a soft top. Power tops also seem to be the most common item to fail on many cars. Coupes and targas have always served me better.

5. Classic cars get all the love

High end new cars are all about displaying wealth. Classic cars are about displaying your enthusiasm. Again, generalizing, but it was impossible to take my Porsche 356 to refuel without a conversation.

6. Mileage history: Even or early spike?

If a prospective purchase has 50,000 miles, it’s helpful to know if these were accrued evenly or early on. It’s possible for a 50,000 mile car to have been sitting around for a long time, which affects the car’s service to-do list.

7. DIY? Trust but verify

My 911/964 was owned by one guy from 1993-2021, a PCA member who did his own servicing on the car and kept handwritten records. Commendable but he neglected some of the harder items (drive belts) and did a few items incorrectly (over tightened rear plastic lenses causing cracked mounting tabs). The Porsche Classic tech discovered this during regular maintenance.

8. No denim on light seats

If your car seats are beige, chalk, or similar, leave the blue jeans at home. Dye transfer is forever.

9. Eat and drink elsewhere

No matter how careful you are, your passenger will drip Starbucks on your climate control switches.

10. Find a marque tech older than your car

11. Black carpets always

Easier to keep clean, but also as cars age black floor mats tend to be available forever. Blue mats … maybe.

12. Black paint: never.



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Thanks. I’m better at entertainment than wisdom.


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