Thanks all. It really is great to be back in a Maser and dealing with friendly fellow enthusiasts. I intend to get to a few events so hopefully will meet a few of you then.
To answer a few questions; I am not and, to the best of my knowledge, never have been 'Spike'...
And to answer the most important question; since the demise of my 3200 I worked overseas for a little while so did without a car for a bit, came back and bought a CLK430 ( just to get a cheap V8!) and ran that for a couple of years until we got settled.
I then started looking for a 'proper' car again and considered a QP but the memories were too close so opted for a 911 (996) Targa, partly because we knew the children would fit in that at the time but eventually grow out of it, so we should do it whilst we could...
The children have now well and truly grown out of it (& the 3200 pain has faded) so the QP is the obvious answer!!
I'm can't knock the Porsche. I've never been a huge fan of them as they somehow don't seem 'special' enough, and that's true from the outside but the drive and ownership experience was outstanding. Deceptively fast and nimble and next to never went wrong - even when it did, parts were pence! It was a really, really great car. But not a special car....
The worst thing I found was that the owners groups (the ones that I came across at least) were a little 'sniffy' and if you 'only' have a bog standard 996 you weren't that welcome (God forbid you owned a Boxster!!)
The difference in the welcome that I have had on here is night and day! So in less than 24 hours I've got a car that the whole family can fit in, one that looks, sounds and feels 'special' and I also feel like I've got my hobby back!
This feels like winning!