Noble GTO3 R
 

I'm interested to hear peoples' opinions on Nobles. I'm quite tempted with buying one and trading in the STi, but they're not cheap and residual values concern me. I guess if people's perceptions of the car are good, then values will stay strong - which is why I'm asking people's opinions.

From my short test drive, however, it's was very impressive, and with none of the image baggage associated with Porsche and Ferrari (or the price).

Just a shame it's a Ford engine :D

Very fast but feels fragile.
W9 GTR has one.
I have thrashed it many times and believe me it is incredible to drive but just feels like it may fall to bits but hasnt yet!!!

They break down. They overheat. The engines blow up. The handbrake cables melt, then reset to lock the brakes. The aircon doesn't work. The engine sets itself alight and writes itself and the car off. The factory lowers the prices significantly and leaves recent owners miffed. They are incredibly difficult to sell privately. The headlamps mist up. Basically they are classic British hand built cars. THe driving experience is incredible, the ownership experience can be challenging.
This is all from a friends recent ownership experience, sadly over now as he stacked the thing last week :(
He loved driving the car, it really was special, fast and exotic. But would rather rent one than own one.
Rgds
Cman

Regarding servicing, think Porche/BMW prices, not Ford...it's a £50k car and running costs reflect that.
www.pistonheads.com forums is a great place to bone up on them :)
C

A good one tho. :)

Ford engine or not they sound something far more exotic....

You'd be better off asking on Pistonheads tbh. Ask a few owners rather than all the keyboard/magazine test drivers on here.
Only seen them on track myself - very impressive for a road car. Would love one personally.

Steve`s ownership experience has been a fraut one from new but the car has been back to Noble`s factory and is faster but still feels fragile.
Handling is for experienced drivers only if you wanna push it so I`m ok ;)
recently tested against my mates Catheram superlight and upto a ton nothing in it then the Noble pulls away!!!!!!

That's because your mate weighs about 25 stone!! ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) So it's not a superlight once he squeezes in!! ;) ;)

Always makes me chuckle - the fattest people buy the lightest cars available - 'cos it makes all the difference ;)

saying that about a noble makes it out to be really bad but i remember a car magazine that had a porsche, only a couple of years old and to keep it on the road for just 1 year cost them £12,000 so porsches aren't exactly the cheapest cars to keep. also a ferrari in one that cost a similar amount

M12 GTO3R
 

Ok.....From an owners point of view I think I am best qualified to give my two penneth...
I was interested in both Porsche C4S and Noble and drove both of them. (You'd be surprised at the distinct lack of competition in this sector) I couldn't find anything to compete with the presence and driving experience of the GTO3R. The Porsche was boring by comparison and did nothing for me, although the GT3 is another animal, so I went for the Noble.
Six months into ownership and it has been a bit of a rollercoster ride, a somewhat curious mix of dispair and elation in nearly equal measures.

The negatives first......
The customer service, in my experience, has not been up to scratch
The finish of the car is not good enough for a 50k Mota
In the Noble Blurb they bang on about the superior build quality finish that hand finishing a car lends yet when challenged about the finish of my car being poor the response was "what do you expect it's a hand built car!!!!!!!" hmmmmm
The gearchange is woeful, the aircon not much better (its a bit all or nothing, freezing then too hot when you turn ot off)
I was pi55ed as well when the prices came down but sh1t happens
Very very low so sleeping policemen are an expensive hazzard
Stonechip city
Ford parts and switch gear

The positives
Nothing this side of a Fezza CS Stradale or GT3 comes close to the driving experience.
Handling is sensational..loads of opposite lockery
performance is gobsmacking (ask my mate who owns a gallardo)
The driving position is not as bad as some make out.
I love the looks, the road presence and the exclusivity of driving something that little bit different
A very special car just needs the i's dotting and t's crossed and Noble need to get wise to customer service as this is the only aspect which would deter me from buying another Noble.
Do I regret it?....on balance i would say no. There have been times when I thought I'd made a very expensive mistake, but as soon as I get in the car this all changes. Ask Birdy about the grin factor ;)

Go on you know it makes sense.....buy one

Another company who expects their customers to do their development work for them.

...sounds a bit like TVR!

Yeah it is a bit like that I would agree, but there is nothing else on the market like the Noble so I am prepared to live with it.
:D

It certainly is a rapid mota!!! ;)
Just built by Mechano!!!

[QUOTE=ARRON BIRD]It certainly is a rapid mota!!! ;)
[QUOTE]


I'll second that. Does'nt sound to bad going past the lambo as well :)

Simon

[QUOTE=simo][QUOTE=ARRON BIRD]It certainly is a rapid mota!!! ;)
;)
No mate it sounds the bollox

I was under the impression that Noble thought that most of their problems were dealer related, and thats why they chopped in the whole network, set up their own distribution and cut prices. The M14 should raise the bar, the quality has been engineered in from the start.

I find it amusing that people feel the need to bring up the fact that the engine is ford sourced. It is related to the v8 in the GT and the V12 in the aston, and has probably had more development time and cash spent on it than the oily bits of any piece of italian exotica. The running costs are commesurate with any very fast car, the mechanicals themselves are pretty bombproof.

Whats wrong with mechano cars? Something falls off, you bolt something else on in it's place. Simple ;)

Well said, despite having heard some negatives, I bought a 2 yr old 2.5 a few weeks back. Have already covered 2.5k miles in it using it day to day. I was going to buy from one of the Noble dealers but their attitude was dreadful, instead I tracked one down myself. Took it to the factory last week for a service and was totally impressed by the whole operation as well as the enthusiasm of the staff.

Yes it's a Ford engine, the only comment to make about that is try driving a Noble before making any supposition.

Lee Noble is a total petrolhead, even involved in developing the chassis for the Maclaren FI (not a bad car). He's now back in racing in a Noble. I've been fortunate enough to own a few cars which I thought were quick but this is on a different level.

PS, I was hooked on getting a secondhand 3L or 3R, am now glad I saved a few grand, which can be spent on tyres!

As for the servicing costs, 18k service is £750. Paid same as that for 48k service for an EVO.

Not that many cars about that you can take back to the factory for servicing and get to meet the people who built it plus the guy who designed it.

Only downside to my Noble so far is if your used to waving at same make cars, you might have to wait a while for another to come along...........