Nick Jeffery Surrey, UK
@npjeffery @npjeffery Model 991.1 GTS Year 2015 Acquired AUGUST 2022 Model 997.1 GT3 Year 2007 Acquired NOVEMBER 2019
I’m a firm believer in using my cars in all weather conditions, all year around. I don’t view them as investments. I purchased each one to be regularly driven and enjoyed. However, now that the weather has turned, it feels like a full-on job trying to keep them clean. I tend to leave it a while based on usage and weather forecast, and then have a car-cleaning blitz.
Appreciating that everyone has their own preferred products, I can’t recommend Auto Finesse enough. My tried and tested favourites are its Lather car shampoo, which is relatively inexpensive, smells great, cleans effortlessly and leaves a truly outstanding finish. I also rate Auto Finesse’s Triple car polish and Glisten spray wax, which provides excellent beading.
While it’s always therapeutic and satisfying to clean the cars, it’s also a bit of a double-edged sword. Because all three are driven regularly I always seem to notice something new. I’ve only washed the GTS twice since I picked it up at the end of August, but have just observed a slight discolouration on the barrel of the near-side rear wheel. This must be historic, because I only use car shampoo to clean my wheels rather than harsher alloy wheel cleaners, which can cause damage to your wheels – especially ones fitted with centre locks.
Despite applying PPF to the Spyder’s bodywork, a couple of areas have suffered impact damage while on UK tours this year, and I’ve picked up some chips on the alloys. I also seem to be fighting a losing battle with the black exhaust tips on the GT3 where the paint on the flange between the tips keeps flaking off. Understandable really, given the car is 15 years old. I’m constantly touching it in with black paint, but will soon need to decide whether to have the exhaust tips repainted or replaced with larger diameter, aftermarket tips from either JCR or Sharkwerks.
In other news, I recently became a 9WERKS Radio Patreon. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages, but kept slipping my mind. There are various price points for enthusiasts to become involved, all of which are very reasonable, and there’s a 10 per cent discount if you pay for the year up front. The podcast is excellent and there’s an active Patreon only Whatsapp group – another great Porsche community to be a part of. I’m looking forward to my first 9WERKS Meet & Drive this weekend, starting at Philip Raby Porsche.
I’ve also taken the plunge and joined TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club), which again is something I’ve been contemplating for a while now. I’m part of the Kent & South East London region in addition to my home region, Surrey & Sussex. The cost is also very reasonable at £40 annually or £60 for two years, and I’m attending my first breakfast Meet & Drive down to Hastings with TIPEC this weekend.
The last Porsche Club GB Sussex Region Breakfast Meet & Drive of the year proved to be an absolute belter, with breakfast at The Boat House at Littlehampton Marina followed by an organised drive in the GTS to Torque Moto Café near Horsham. A couple of weeks later over 3,500 Porsche enthusiasts attended the Porsche Club GB Christmas event at Bicester Heritage despite the bitterly cold weather and the predicted sleet and snow showers for the journey home, which only serves to reinforce my view that Porsche owners are just as hardy as the cars themselves. The GTS never missed a beat and the Pirelli P Zeros continue to exceed my expectations, even in extreme weather.
Looking ahead to the new year, I’ve booked Le Mans Classic with Classic Car Tours in addition to a brace of overseas road trips with European Driving Tours. The first is across the Dolomites and Europe’s greatest passes and then, only five days later, an epic trip across the Pyrenees! After the past couple of years and everything that we’ve all been through, my wife and I have decided 2023 should be the year we pick up where we left off in 2019!