Stijn!!

[GH85Carrera]

Wow, that is some expensive taxes just to own a fun toy.

I pay $40 per year for my personalized license tag sticker. Same tag, just another sticker in the corner. And now, I can get a two year sticker, so $80 bucks, and done for two years. We renewed out driver's licenses recently. Since I am over 65, the driver's license is free and good for 8 years!

[svandamme]

At least insurance is reasonably , 2nd car, 10.000km a year limit
49 euro a month for 3rd party liability and legal aid


Its because of taxation that European cars have lower displacement.
a 5.4 Liter US V8 is even worse in taxes.

And on new cars first reg can be 15 grand or more, if they are poor emissions , high power and big displacement
a Cayman GTS with 4 liter block , 13.969 first reg 3.600 first year road tax, then 3600 every year after.

the 2.0 718 and 2.5 718S are actually very affordable in taxes
But I can't get my head around a 4banger turbo.. I would never be happy with that, no matter how much power they make.
Its N/A Flat 6 and a high redline, or bust for me

[GH85Carrera]

I have agreed value insurance on both my 911 and El Camino. I am "limited" to 5,999 miles per car per year. Never been an issue for me. I have pay right at two dollars per day for both cars combined, full coverage, and uninsured motorist coverage. Lots of illegals just drive with no insurance even if that is criminal. We have no safety inspections, so there are some real pieces of garbage vehicles on the road that should not be out of a junk yard.

[svandamme]

agreed value isn't a thing here for youngtimers


So I have now 2 Meteor Grey Manuals on my radar:

1 is in Wurzburg Germany, 42K 66000 km , silver wheels , no PCM , heated seats,looks mint
Brakes, battery and tires done in 09/2025




2 is in Le Mans, 35K 142000 km, black wheels, looks great, PCM but not mint

[svandamme]

French Seller is very proactive, good clear comms
disclosed minor fender bender and decent intel on car

German seller can go F himself. full of ****
opens up with 3 others interested, if you want a test drive you have to book in advance and put downpayment.

I can understand them not wanting joy riders but when somebody is willing to drive 650kilometers to see a car, he not a joy rider.

Asked for options code list, German didn't provide, sent me loads of other crap
Frenchie sent it stat

The French car is not on original wheels, has been driven more frequent and is due maintenance
either he does it for asking price listed with the mandatory warranty, or he discounts if I do it and take it as is..
Either way it gets the 100 point check and they fix any discrepancies ..
tires are at 50% which is fine by me since I want to get it on 18" wheels light color anyway
Its 6 grand cheaper, I can do a heck of a lot of maintenance myself for 6 grand

Thursday off work, I'm headed to Le Mans !!

[GH85Carrera]

I know Europe and especially Germany and Great Brittan have strenuous inspections and a MOT that inspects a car carefully. From what I hear, in Germany a dented fender or visible rust will get you a ticket and a fail at the inspection station.

Just yesterday I saw a generic economy box car driving on just the tiny spare tire and most of the fender torn off. The spare was showing cord, so it had been on there a long time.

About 20 years ago the legislature eliminated safety inspections entirely. One of the legislators even spoke about eliminating them as "everyone has a new car now" and I knew then he was an idiot.

The police can pull a car over that looks unsafe. They must do that often, as there are lots of POS cars on the road. I keep my cars in great shape, and have no issues that would cause a fail at an inspection.

[svandamme]

Rust, no, only on load bearing parts.. chassis members etc etc.
and surface rust only is not enough to fail TUV inspection..

dents are fine as well, but you cannot have anything imposes risk of anything coming loose at speed etc etc.

UK is actually a bit less strict than most of its neighboring EU countries

[GH85Carrera]

I dropped my 911 off for a "spa" day. The trips to Porsche Parade have brought a few rock chips in the paint. A business just a few miles from my house is place that many of the dealerships bring cars that they took in trade in. He does some pretty good magic to make rock chips go away. I don't have any door dings, just rock chips from driving. It is just part of having fun driving the car.

Of course it is not a perfect invisible repair, but way better than the chip down to the primer. With a white car, it is so bright and reflective flaws are hard to see. The opposite of a black car.


This was before I did a digital bug removal.

A recent photo my wife turned into a painting.


She won first place at Porsche Parade art show for paintings.

[svandamme]

That is nice!

[HHI944]

Howdy Y'all

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by HHI944

Howdy Y'all

Wow, another blast from the past. What are you up to?

Married yet?

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Wow, another blast from the past. What are you up to?

Married yet?

Headed to Cambridge at the end of August to start grad school at Harvard.

And, oh dear god, no.

[GH85Carrera]

So what is your major? Cambridge is a bit pricey from what I hear. You can maybe find a nice and smart co-ed there.

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So what is your major? Cambridge is a bit pricey from what I hear. You can maybe find a nice and smart co-ed there.

Going for a master of theological studies focusing on the interaction between Islamic politics and US foreign policy.

I got into the grad student dorms for the first year so housing isn’t horrifically expensive.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by HHI944

Going for a master of theological studies focusing on the interaction between Islamic politics and US foreign policy.

I got into the grad student dorms for the first year so housing isn’t horrifically expensive.

So looking to get a job at the State Department? That would be nice.

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So looking to get a job at the State Department? That would be nice.

Bold of you to assume they’ll have figured out how to hire people by then.

[GH85Carrera]

One of my former co-workers was our receptionist, and she entered all the invoices and payments into our accounting system. She was taking accelerated accounting courses, and when she took her test to be an accountant, she had the highest score.

The IRS hunted her down, and offered her a job outright. She joined the IRS, and is on a team that goes with the SWAT team to take over a business, for failure to pay taxes. She was not part of the SWAT team, sh sat outside in the car until the building was declared clear. Since some people get upset about loosing their business she was trained to carry a gun, and licensed to carry it everywhere, even through the airport and on commercial flights.

It was weird to see out little Lori strapped and a Federal badge. I told her I never ever want to see her in her professional capacity. She replied, just pay your taxes and you will never see us. And never ignore certified mail from the IRS. That was a reasonable statement, and I do pay on time.

She said she never dreamed of being an IRS agent, but she loves the job.

[HHI944]

Federal hiring is currently a disaster. I'm hoping it's somewhere closer to normal in 22 months. If not, there are private firms domestic and in-region. The in-region ones have some pretty aggressive compensation packages.

[HHI944]

Oh yeah, I bought a house in Savannah too.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The IRS hunted her down, and offered her a job outright. She joined the IRS, and is on a team that goes with the SWAT team to take over a business, for failure to pay taxes. She was not part of the SWAT team, sh sat outside in the car until the building was declared clear. Since some people get upset about loosing their business she was trained to carry a gun, and licensed to carry it everywhere, even through the airport and on commercial flights.

Previous company was Radiology Software, when the FDA would do audits, some of their auditors were also packing a gun..