Porsche Stories from the Autohaus Family: Roy Grady

Some of the greatest joys in life come from journeys. And for car nuts, our perfectly-sorted pride and joy is usually the result of a lot of hard work, trial and error, and daydreaming.

These stories are fascinating and inspiring, so we???re reaching out to our friends in the Autohaus family to bring their stories to you here.

This week we have a chat with Roy Grady to find out how he found his way to Porsche, and what he plans to do now that he???s hooked!

04 Boxster

??y love affair with Porsches started nearly three years ago, when I came across a Boxster that was for sale.??/i>

?????d owned an Alfa Romeo GTV 2000, an MG TD, a Jaguar and some more pedestrian cars, and at the time I had a ???69 MG B, which I???d done some considerable work to.??/i>

??t was supercharged and had air conditioning, an automatic gearbox, parabolic suspension and larger brakes. I had it stripped back to bare metal and gave it a full respray, did all the interior.??/i>

??t became unsuitable because my main residence is in Dubbo, where you can have one degree Celsius in the winter and then forty in summer, and you can???t really enjoy a car like the MG B in that climate.??/i>

??o I decided to sell it and get a sports car. I was originally thinking about getting an SLK and had found one at Prestige Auto Brookvale. I went in to ask if they would be interested in trading the MG B in on the SLK and they had a ???99 Boxster 2.5 there purely by chance.??/i>

??wning a Porsche had been a life dream of mine when I was younger, but I never thought that I???d get one, so I asked if I could have a drive, and took it around Dee Why. It sat on the road so beautifully that I decided to do a deal on it.??/i>

??nowing absolutely nothing about Porsches I looked to find a reputable and professional specialist that could inspect the car I was looking at purchasing, as well as carry out any work needed and look after my car on an ongoing basis.??/i>

??restige Auto Brookvale suggested Autohaus, so I took the car in to see them. They advised me on the car, suggesting some work here and there as well as a major service. Not long after that I got them to put a new hood on it and they???ve been servicing my cars ever since!??- Roy Grady

04 Boxster

With his Boxster in the garage and nicely sorted, Roy got to using it, and, as it seems to go, to thinking..

??b>I started going on a couple runs with the Porsche Club and straight away saw the difference in performance between the Boxster and 911s.??/i>

??o the only problem that I???ve developed with my Porsche is that it creates an infectious appetite!??/i>

??or the last year or so I???ve been saying that I???ve got to get a better car. What really motivated me was the experience I???ve had with Autohaus. It gave me the confidence to go forward and buy another one.??/i>

??hen Autohaus had one for sale, I immediately got in contact with Scott, who actually had two cars that suited me: a 2004 Boxster S and a 911. I went back and forth on the two for a bit, but decided on the Boxster S because of the mid-engined layout.??/i>

??f course having bought the car I wasn???t happy to leave it at that, and got to work making a good thing even better! So far I???ve had the IMS bearing updated, installed reversing sensors and satellite navigation, and, with Grant???s help, upgraded to a set of GT3 Wheels.??/i>

??he canvas roof had some signs of wear and, as I wanted the car to be as perfect as possible, I had that replaced as well.??/i>

?? can???t believe the difference in performance between the old and the new one! It seems to sit on the road a lot better. Handles much better.??- Roy Grady

04 Boxster

It???s clear that Roy???s been bitten pretty seriously by the Porsche bug, so what are his plans for the future?

??lthough the pocket might be a little lighter, I couldn???t be happier and I know that I have a car which will give me lots of pleasure.??/i>

?????ve really enjoyed the runs that I???ve done with the club, and the skid pans are something I???d like to look at going forward. I definitely see motorkhana in my future.??/i>

?????m taking it one step at a time, but I???ve already told Grant that I???m going to upgrade again in two years.??/i>

??y son in England sent me a book called 101 projects Porsche Boxster. It has a section about putting a 911 engine in a Boxster.??/i>

?? took that to Grant and let him have a look at it. He started laughing and said that yes you can do it, but it???s probably going to cost you forty or fifty grand and that when I was ready it???d probably be better to trade my Boxster in and get a Turbo, GT3 or 4S.??/i>

?? said OK! Give me 18 months to two years and I???ll be back!??/i>

04 Boxster

We???d like to extend our most sincere thanks to Roy for taking the time to chat with us and help put this together, and, most importantly, for sharing his story with us!

Stay tuned for more stories from the Autohaus family, and let us know if you???d like to be part of one!