Fair enough really. I'd love an M3, just a) can't afford one, b) couldn't insure one (19 yo uni student) :(
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I needed a car to protest against the bus service here.
It was becoming hard work (and dangerous) cyling slowley infront of them to make them late, and I really cant keep a job without my own transport.
I looked at cars for about 2 months. My price range was upto about £2k, which one half would be for car and the other for insurance (as I was only 20, 8 months ago).
£1k = car had to be older than 1997, but I was looking mostly at 1994-1997.
Of all the cars I test drove, my mk3 fiesta was by far the best condition, and still worth it even though the fact its a 1.6 meant the tax and insurance would cost +£175 more combined.
I have been burning a lot of fuel recently though. Since sepetmber my 90miles per week has left me at ~25mpg for the last 5 fill ups.
So I thought this month I would drive slowley, although for 2 days I failed, it really put a smile on my face when I heard it accelerate after driving like an oap for 2 weeks :D
Did driving slowly help the fuel economy?
25 mpg sounds very low though, I get about 36-40 mpg on my 1.6 A3.
Ill have to wait a week to find out.
I was literally driving with my foot 75%+ to the floor all the time :)
She also drinks about 1liter of oil for every tank when my foot is so far down, that seems to be fixed if I drive slowley. I think its the valve guides and been talking to a mechanic about it.
However I have about 17 liters of cheap oil in the garage so Im not too bothered.
To be honest, I didn't need a new car. Infact, I was more than happy with my Mondeo. But a change in circumstances meant getting hold of a nice example of a car which has been my realistic dream car ever since I saw the first one they first came out was possible. I jumped at the opportunity.
The actual requirements which led to this sort of car being suitable were the same as that for the Mondeo.
I needed something that would do everything, but do everything damn well. It needed to be able to get me to and from University, be suitable on long journeys to visit family and attend meets, and of course satisfy my thirst for cool funky gadgets. I also wanted proper, decent performance.
But as well as this, I wanted a well built, comfortable and luxurious interior, and I didn't want something that would break down every 34 seconds, or feel cheap. Something understated, yet sporty looking.
Something like my 530i Sport :)
some nice motors here...been checking out autotrader out of interest for prices :surprised:
I still have a real problem spending anymore than 7k on a car - it just hurts !:shocked2:
Because I was young and reckless and I wanted the car I'd dreamed of owning since it first came out. :)
For 2 years I had an 07 plate Mazda MX5 1.8i. Sweet sweet driving machine. Handled like gluey car goodness. roof off every chance I got. That's the way to drive.
Then I get a job 100 miles away :crazy:! Resulting in filling up the tank almost everyday! Aye, it cost nearly my wages to to get to and from work. Sheesh.
Got rid of that and got a spangly new Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCI Titanium. Totally different but excellent in it's own right. Quiet, comfortable, filled with gadgets and blacked out rear windows as standard.
I then got a job 7 miles away :) And now I fill the tank about once every 3 weeks. Moneytastic. Car looks good too ;)
I have two cars, both utility vehicles. The oldest is a 1994 Renault Clio 1.9 diesel. It looks like someone took a dump after eating a lot of tin foil. The paint as held on by some kind of shiny layer, but that's mostly gone and the bits that remain fill with water when it rains. It will do 135 km/h (about 84mph). I bought it as I needed a car to carry logs back from my land to my house, and I needed something I could leave at the station while I commute to the city for 4 days a week. It is the worst car I have ever seen.
I have another tractor-type car, a 2007 Porsche Cayenne S. I bought it as I needed a 4x4 for the winter, and because I test drove a number of 4x4s and liked it more than the RR Sport, or the ML, X5 or Land Cruiser. It's actually a very competent mud-plugger and can go up a wet muddy hill at angles you would find hard to believe. It can also take me from Carcassone to Antibes in superb comfort in about 4 hours. It's a 470km/290mile trip, but mostly autoroute without cameras, and I used to drive it in my old E32 BMW 740il, and I actually find it a nicer drive in the Porsche, which says a lot.
VW Scirocco R:
I didn't. It's my wife's choice. I just manage to borrow it pretty much every day. What a shame.
Why do I like it? Because it's fast, comfortable, well equipped, and looks ok.
Always wanted a DC2 since playing Gran Turismo. Was going to be either a DC2 or a 3000GT.
DC2 looked more financially sensible, so went for that.
Had it for ~30000 miles and ~4 years now. Love it.
Got a BMW 330d Touring. Only really bought it as I had the opportunity to get it very cheaply, but I think I was subconsciously looking for something practical, quick and fairly economical at the same time. Not as much fun as my 328 was, but it does lots of jobs very well.
Currently on dark and oily side in an Audi A3 2.0TDI (170) Quattro due to a 100 mile a day commute. While I miss the fun of petrol its quite nice settling in to early stages of getting old and having the easy lowdown diesel torque for a laidback and cheaper drive.... some day I'll return to the petrol goodness but probably not until mid life crisis time hits.
Ah - good to see the dust blown off these old threads... :)