• This topic has 134 replies, 113 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by juan.
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  • A life in cars…
  • BigJohn
    Full Member

    516 EOJ
    6301 E
    GVT 622D
    MKO 189F
    GOL 530L
    HRO 520Y
    D622 ???
    L660 GBF
    R402 AEY
    EA51 XBN
    YH57 YVB

    Daffy
    Full Member

    JulianA
    Free Member

    Daffy, is that second shot Weston Shore? Looks very much like it!

    eaststandlower
    Free Member

    Morris Minor
    Triumph Herald 13/60 estate
    Ford Escort MK Ii
    Ford Fiesta
    Toyota Rav 4
    Peugeot 106 GTI
    VW Golf
    Lexus IS200 SE
    BMW 318 coupe
    Audi A4 saloon
    BMW 330D saloon
    Audi A4 Avant
    BMW M3 (lunatic fast)
    BMW 330D coupe

    djglover
    Free Member

    Fairly interesting OP, then the predictable list of bland euro boxes

    engineeringcowboy
    Free Member

    Ford escort 1.3 -written off by a granny
    Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 estate – replaced by a diesel
    Ford Focus zetec estate 1.8tdi – sold to fund final year of uni
    Vauxhal corsa 1.4 auto – rubbish car but only cost £100. Blew up on the motorway after 20000 miles with no servicing
    Ford Mondeo Zetec Estate – first car out of uni, replaced by company car
    Various company cars
    Rover 200 1.1 bought as a stop gap for either side of travelling when I have my company car back
    Bmw 116i msport – my first nice car bought 6 months old replaced by
    Bmw m135i – written off by a new driver in his second month of driving – poor bloke
    Transporter t5.1 swb – sold
    Bmw 120d msport coupe – sold
    Porsche Cayman GTS
    Porsche Macan – on order due to the two year wait

    All in 11 years of driving!

    HansRey
    Full Member

    chronologically..

    then
    First decent car

    Something borrowed

    The ugliest and most reliable car ever

    julianwilson
    Free Member

    maxtorque to the thread please!

    Mine is most unspectacular. Only 2 of the following had electic windows and none have had aircon.
    1982 mg metro
    1990 clio 1.2
    2004 mini one (lease car not really mine)
    1994 fiesta 1.25 ghia (zetec engine, velour, pretend walnut, beigey grey leather steering wheel, it was ace!)
    1998 t4 caravelle

    metalheart
    Free Member

    Started off with a Suzuki AP50 at 16 which I ran for 8 months until the MOT ran out.
    There was a ten year gap until I got my first car: a Ford Fiasco 1.1. Tracking was off so used to wobble in excess of 65mph so never went above that. I have fond memories of this car, I suppose you always remember your first…
    Sold it when I got my first company car, a 1.3 Escort. Definitely the worst car I’ve ever had.
    Changed jobs, got A Fiat Bravo (1,2 I think). Completely gutless but I didn’t know any different, so I actually really liked it.
    Changed jobs again, had to buy a car. This time a Golf turbo diesel (no i). Awful, noisey, drove like shit.
    Got rid of it for a much more refined Skoda Octavia (90bhp). Great, smooth, quiet, economical car with heaps of space. I could even hear the tape player at 70 mph!
    Traded it in for my mid life crisis car, and my only car bought new, a petrol Mk 1 Octavia VRS Estate. Definitely the nicest car I’ve had. But it made me drive like a **** so it had to go. Swapped for older 1.9 100bhp Golf Estate. Not nearly as nice but much, much more practical. This was the car I’ve held on to the longest. Can’t say I liked it but we bonded and ignored each other’s faults…
    When I had the golf I also had a Fabia Estate (6 months) and a Seat Leon 1.9 140bhp (2 years) as company cars. The Fabia I liked as super practical. The Leon I never did learn how long it was. Didn’t miss it when it went!
    Sold the Golf as it had 110k on it and I’ve had a 105 bhp 1.9 Octavia for the last 3.5 years. Fancy a change but nothing wrong with the present (except bigger than I need see days) and hankering after a different bike.
    Passed my motorbike licence last year and got a Suzuki DL650 V-strom. Brilliant first proper bike, learnt loads on it but hanker after someone different. It feels a bit like my Golf estate though, not the most exciting but struggle to justify changing it.

    hora
    Free Member

    Ok there have been too many to list so I’ll do first and current…

    First- I passed my test in this- 10 lessons in 3 weeks in the dark evenings of winter:

    and my current:

    Note the Lewis Hamilton winning sticker- its been on every car since he last won 😀

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Keep ’em coming folks, pics please…I N R A T S!

    northernmatt
    Full Member

    Mk3 1.3 Fiesta – sold
    Austin Metro City with MG interior – stolen after 6 weeks
    Another Mk3 1.3 Fiesta – broke an engine mount
    Then this – which went to the big rust graveyard in the sky

    Then a big gap until…..

    Bodykit optional 😀

    Then a Toyota Avensis T180 which was fast but incredibly dull and incredibly thirsty.

    Now this

    withersea
    Free Member

    Fiesta 950 popular plus (one wing mirror, four gears and only car caught speeding in)
    Citroen AX diesel
    Fiat Bravo
    Posh Fiesta Ghia
    Puma
    Mini One convertible
    Nissan Muarano
    Mini Cooper S convertible
    VW Touareg

    Car I enjoyed the most: Puma
    Car I hated the most: Cooper S covertible. Leaked like a sieve as had bought a lemon. Thankfully garage took it back 10 days later.

    kcal
    Full Member

    Hm. Not sure can do pics.
    This since 1985. So 30 odd years of motoring..

    Citroen GSA (lovely)
    Citroen BX (pile of cack, had been my dad’s)
    Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6
    Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 (lovely, stolen)
    Golf Mk II GTI (sold on at 115k miles)
    Saab 900S (great car, written off at 108k, should have seen the other car, a Fiesta..)
    Saab 900S (newer type, eventually failed MOT after c. 113k miles)
    now Skoda Octavia estate, not that involving but nice enough..

    hora
    Free Member

    A few fellow Puma fans/owners. Heres my old £900 1.7 Puma. Its oil had been done properly too as it was bloody good

    Note the bad parking 8)

    zippykona
    Full Member

    No car I’ve ever owned has been worthy of a picture.

    jamesfts
    Free Member

    Bought a Fiat 500 with my old man when I was about 9 for a few hundred quid and learned to drive in it. Later we fully restored it when I was about 19, full nut and bolt job but moved house so unfortunately had to sell it… we’ve since bought another one with a mint shell and currently collecting all the go faster bits ready for the rebuild. Photo is of the 2nd car we bought thats currently awaiting resto to begin…

    At 17 bought a Pug 106 to pass my test as a cheap way of getting some no claims and being able to insure a proper car. Less said the better!

    As soon as insurance was affordable I bought an Alfa 145, great little van of a car. Bikes in the back, sorted the suspension out plus a few other bits it was like a little go cart! Loved that little ugly thing.

    Next was a bit of an on going project thats still with me today. Currently the only 4×4 converted Fiat Coupe on the road in the UK I think, running engine and drive train from a Lancia Integale instead of the usual fwd setup.

    Then had a VW Caddy for a while to keep me on the road whist working on the Fiat. This was hilarious, most attention I’ve ever had in a car – not sure if thats a good or bad thing! Stupidly low but fun.

    Then that grew into a Ford Ranger, mega workhorse, only car I’ve ever made money on and bizarrely had the best service history of any car I’ve owned.

    Next I went back to Alfa and bought a 156 2.4 wagon which was a great car. Got through tyres at an alarming rate and ate front suspension for fun. Got put through a flood, dried out and lived on for another 2 years.

    When that died I did the standard thing and bought a Skoda Octavia petrol VRS, goes well enough though bit dull but super practical for the bikes/dogs etc.

    Also currently have this pulling horses around and general utility stuff, surprisingly useless for bikes though!

    kilo
    Full Member

    Fiat Strada 65cl
    MGB GT
    Marina van
    205
    Mercedes 280e (great old barge but drank petrol)
    Fiat Uno
    Astra
    VW Passat (heap of sh**e)
    Honda Civic
    Honda Shuttle
    Toyota Verso
    Vauxhall combo van

    From the shuttle onwards they’ve all been chosen for bike carrying ability above all else at the Mrs’s insistance.

    Bikes;
    Kmx 200
    Guzzi v50
    Cbr 400
    r100gs (was a mistake to sell this)
    Firestorm
    R1100rs
    Varedro 1000
    Bonneville 800
    Mz 250(was a mistake to buy this)
    kawasaki gt550
    1968 bsa bantam
    honda c90

    Still got the last three on the list but feel like hacking in the gt550 for a different commuter, trouble is bikes seem expensive now and it’s only got 26k on the clock

    mudshark
    Free Member

    Bit of a mix:

    1989 – Renault 14
    1995 – Nissan Micra
    2000 – Ford Puma
    2011 – Skoda Roomster

    IHN
    Full Member

    1999 – VW Golf mk2
    2004? -VW Golf mk4
    2010 – VW T5

    Exciting, eh.

    johndoh
    Free Member
















    Yak
    Full Member

    Hmmm, I have an equally functional dull list:

    Megane. Great first car – could fit 4 in + climbing and camping kit and did climbing trips all over the uk and Europe. Rarely went wrong.

    Civic. Not much went wrong with this either, but you had to drive the nuts off it to get anywhere near the speed of the megane. Small boot though.

    VW T5 Kombi. Correct sized boot 🙂

    creagbhan
    Full Member

    All at least 2nd hand

    Wolseley 1500,ended upside down on Loch Lomondside
    Wartburg Knight, swapped for
    63 Beetle, turned into Baja Bug
    Hillman Hunter
    Mk1 Cortina
    Datsun 180B
    Austin Princess
    Volvo 340 yuck
    Granada Mk1 2.3 V6,15mpg
    Escort Mk 3 1.3
    Sierra 1.8 Ghia estate
    Talbot camper
    Fiat Marea Weekend

    From new

    Peugeot 406 Estate
    Senic 1.5dci
    06 Clio 1.4
    Suzuki SX4 x 2
    Focus Sport 1.6 TDCI

    MussEd
    Free Member

    First car, shared with my sister. Hand-Painted(badly) in light brown paint “sourced” form my dad’s work at an opencast pit.

    Great car. Yellow Peril lasted forever!

    This one wasn’t as good but it was a van…

    First new car. Ordered blue – this is chagall blue. Which is clearly purple. Hated it.

    Replaced with one of these – brilliant wee car!

    Then the nadir. Absolutely hated the BMW from the moment I owned it. Great to drive with all sorts of hitherto unknown mod-cons. But other road users treated me like dirt. A bit like cycling on the road I suppose…

    Then one of these – wife still has it…

    Back to a van at the same time…brilliant motor!

    And finally one very like this, which I’m keeping until it dies…

    michaelbowden
    Full Member

    Excluding company cars

    1980 Mini 1275 GT – sold
    1983 Astra 1.6SR – sold
    1998 Rover 820 – died
    1987 Cavalier 1.6 – died
    1988 Sierra 2.0GLS – sold
    1988 Audi 100 Avant – sold
    1990 Saab 9000i – sold
    1990 Discovery – sold
    1993 Espace V6 – sold
    1990 205 1.6GTI – sold
    1993 Discovery – sold
    1996 306 TD – the ex killed it
    1998 406 2.0 – the ex killed it, then she became the ex
    2007 C3 – leased
    2008 C2 VTS – leased
    2009 C3 – leased
    2010 C4 – leased
    2011 C4 – leased
    2012 DS4 – leased
    2004 Saab 9-5 Aero – sold
    2005 Saab 9-3 Convertible – Still got
    2005 BMW 645ci – Killed in the only car accident I’ve been in
    2005 CL55 AMG Still got
    2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Still got

    Company cars

    1996 Micra
    1998 Saxo
    1998-2000 various Saab pool cars
    2002 Saab 9-3
    2003 C3
    2004 C3
    2005 C4
    2006 C4
    2007 C4
    2008 C5
    2009 C5
    2010 C5
    2011 DS3
    2012 DS3

    I think that’s it!

    EDIT

    1963 MG B Roadster – Sold

    PJM1974
    Free Member

    I’ve only ever owned four cars, the one I drive now is on loan from my parents.

    1992 – 1997 – boxy, bouncy and no brake servo

    1997-2002 – a hoot to drive and surprisingly cheap to run

    2003-2007 (in red) – six cylinders = great noise + drink problem

    2007-Present – well screwed together, but expensive to run.

    Present…no apologies for this, you can fit two FS bikes in the back and it sips diesel.

    julians
    Free Member

    No Pics I’m afraid, but this is my list – starting in 1990:-

    – Talbot Samba 1.4 Rallye
    – Peugeot 405 1.9
    – Peugeot 306 2.0
    – MGF 1.8
    – Lotus Elise 1.8 – loved it
    – TVR Cerbera 4.2 – loved it
    – Fiat Coupe 20V turbo – terrible car
    – Caterham 7 – Still got this one 15 years later
    – Honda S2000 – loved it
    – Audi S3 – Hated this one
    – BMW E92 M3 – loved it
    – BMW M135i – loving it

    jamesfts
    Free Member

    Out of interest why did you hate the Fiat? I’ve never driven a standard fwd car so quite interested to hear your thoughts.

    I can imagine coming off the back of a the handling of the Elise and v8 of the TVR it’d be a bit of a let down!

    snownrock
    Full Member

    A fairly short history for me (28 yrs old)

    1991 VW Mk2 Golf GTI 8V – Bought as a non-runner project with my brother at 16, got to 17, couldnt afford to insure it, sold
    1996 Mk3 1.1 Fiesta – First ‘proper’ car, how dull, knackered after one year, catastrophically failed MOT, swapped for a paddock stand
    2001 Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.9SDI Classic – too slow, sold after a month
    2001 Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.4MPI Classic – 35k miles in one yr, bulletproof
    2004 Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.9PD VRS – First proper job, treated myself, then stolen 🙁 still sadly missed
    2006 Fiat Grande Punto Sporting Multijet 1.9 Diesel – Lovely car but annoying EGR valve, many visits to garage, fix it again tony….
    2008 Mk2 Skoda Fabia 1.9PD 3 Estate – Got a dog, needed bigger car, got this, 5 years and 120k miles, great car
    2007 Vauxhall Vivaro Custom Campervan – Current, great times
    2013 Mk3 Skoda Octavia 2.0TDI Elegance Estate – Current, lovely car

    willard
    Full Member

    First car: Panda 4×4 like this, but that nice beigey, greeny, browny colour and more rusty. Possibly still my best car.

    Second car: Golf GTi, like this but silver and more rusty. Lovely car to drive.

    Third car: Vauxhall Omega MV6. Surprisingly, this actual car. Awesome to drive.

    Fourth car: Rover 620 SLDi. Like this, but gunmetal grey. The shittest car I have ever owned.

    Fifth car: VW Polo Coupe. A car.

    Sixth car: Vauxhall Frontera DTi. My first car with full leather interior. It eventually dissolved.

    Seventh car: VW Passat Estate. Mmmmm. Reliable.

    First van: VW Transporter T5

    julians
    Free Member

    Out of interest why did you hate the Fiat? I’ve never driven a standard fwd car so quite interested to hear your thoughts

    Well, the brakes, despite looking like they meant business were wooden and had little stopping power.

    The suspension just allowed the body to roll far too much, and the torque steer was terrible. Having said that it was fast in a straight line.

    I’m generally not a fan of front wheel drive or turbo charged engines either, so it was probably a poor choice from the outset.

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    Can’t believe how many cars some people have owned! Amazing.

    Somewhat shamefully, I’ve had my licence for 18years, but didn’t get my first car until about 14 years ago and have only owned two (fairly boring cars) in total…

    First was a Fiesta Si (not my pic)….
    Considered the 1.6, but ended up with the 1.4 due to insurance costs. Stuck loads of miles on it, before getting rid as it was rusting badly…

    replaced it with a Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDi 130 in Sept 2006 and still got it. Put 224000 miles on it so far (got it with 24k miles on it) and it’s still going strong-ish.
    My black and white pic to hide the fact that the paint work needs some serious TLC….

    I really should buy something a bit more interesting! Almost bought a Racing Puma when I got the Ibiza, but the fuel costs of a 100 mile commute would have been too much.

    lunge
    Full Member

    My car history is astonishingly short and very boring.
    Passed test in 1998 and used my moms 1.2 Corsa on and off whist at uni.
    Left uni and got a Ford KA in about 2002, it was bloody brilliant. Simple to drive and to fix, very nippy and the best handling car in the snow I have ever driven. I bloody loved that car and only sold it as it got to £100k miles and started to need some costly repairs. If I could find another one in good nick for cheap I’d buy one tomorrow.
    Next up was a Renault Megane 1.5d. I had a love/hate relationship with this car as it needed £1k of electrical work doing within 18 months of owning it and continued it have a variety of electrical problems over my ownership. However, it did do £160k miles in the end with relatively few problems in the end.

    And that is it, as of 2 months ago in am car free. Very enjoyable.

    I’ve had the pleasure of driving various other cars over the year through friends and but is is my very pathetic personal history.

    markrh
    Free Member

    Renault 12, good. Bought off dad, killed in a field by rolling it over to many times.
    Ford Escort, 1st gen, good. Once driven home with only two cylinders working, It lived to the tale though.
    Audi 80,1st gen, weird steering but looked nice. killed by it not going around a corner when i turned the wheel..
    Renault 12 again. good. lemon paintwork! Another car killed it by hitting it very hard.
    Renault 12 again, estate though, good practical car.
    Alfa romeo alfasud. Great car. Had to drive around puddles though because of the holes in the floor..
    Fiat Uno, good.
    Fiat Uno Turbo. Great car. Rapid, fun, even felt well built! sprog on way, had to go.
    Fiat Tipo. Pile of crap.
    Renault 21 turbo. Loved that car, it was mint.
    Ford Fiesta., 3rd gen. A dud.
    Renault Scenic, 1st gen. Great car, wife’s favorite.
    Citroen Berlingo, great car, most mtb friendly car ever?
    Citroen Berlingo, nuff said.
    BMW 1, 1st gen. Good car, respected rather than loved.
    Skoda Yeti, very nice motor. Tiny turbo engine had to be fed to often though.
    Porsche Boxer, bit mad really. That one emptied my pockets and kicked me in the nuts on the way out.
    Mazda 3, good car. very relaxing, nice sound system.

    Pz_Steve
    Full Member

    Bought my first car in 1989 (25 years ago – YIKES!), so a few of these were quite old when I got them. I’m largely happy with my list, though:

    1974 Triumph Spitfire Mk IV
    1978 Triumph Dolomite 1850HL
    1971 Alfa Spider 1750
    1983 Alfasud 105ti
    1974 Mg Midget
    1988 Alfa 33 Sportwagon 1.7
    1985 Golf GTi Mk2 (8v)
    1976 Alfa GT Junior
    1989 Toyota Corolla GTi-16
    1998 MX5 1.8i
    1985 Toyota MR2 Mk1a
    1989 Saab 9000 CSE 2.3
    1985 Toyota MR2 Mk1a
    1989 BMW 325i Touring
    2002 MX5 1.8 Sport
    2002 Peugeot 106 Independence
    1994 MX5 1.8iS
    1989 Toyota MR2 Mk1b
    1988 BMW 325i Touring
    2001 Peugeot 106 Independence
    1998 BMW 325tdi Touring
    2009 Skoda Fabia 1.4TDi Estate
    1994 MX5 1.8i

    I seem to be getting increasingly sucked into some kind of automotive Groundhog Day (and worryingly, there are a few on the list which I would quite happily revisit yet again)!

    birky
    Free Member

    fiesta 1.1
    escort 1.6
    escort 1.4
    ka 1.3
    puma 1.7
    focus 1.8d

    suzuki gp100
    suzuki gs400
    beamish suzuki rl250
    suzuki gs550
    suzuki ts100
    fantic 240
    honda xl250
    kawasaki gpz550
    honda cbr600
    bmw 1150gs
    yamaha ty175
    montesa 315r
    bmw 1200gs

    downshep
    Full Member

    A sad progression from young, fun, dangerous and sporty to staid, middle aged, safe and boring. (example pics)

    Kart, lasted 8 weeks


    SR model, did the ton (just) Rolled like a 2CV on corners.


    Fugly duckling and a death trap. Stupidly fast with twin carbs on modified cooper s engine, weighed nothing, drum brakes. Minivan fuel tank 2″ from rear end, Three branch manifold with single cherry bomb silencer scraping the ground.


    Safer than a Mini Marcos!


    Quick, practical kit car, good handling and cheap to insure.


    A hoot.


    Another hoot.

    Impressive comfort and braking from clever hydraulics.


    Better than it looked.

    Efficient, beautifully finished

    Utterly dull, an appliance, had it for years.

    LimboJimbo
    Full Member

    1985 Polo 1.0. Leaded petrol only!
    1993 Punto. Rear light cluster multi plug held in place by a folded cornflake packet.
    2000 Rover 214is.
    Then came company cars.
    Almera 1.5 SE
    Micra 1.2 Sport
    Micra 1.2 SE
    Almera 1.5 Flare
    Almera Tino SE
    Primera 2.2 dCi
    Golf 1.4 S
    Golf 1.6 SE
    Golf 1.6 SE Auto
    Bora 1.9TDI Highline
    Passat 1.9 TDI Highline
    Golf Plus 1.9 TDI Sport
    Civic 1.8 EX
    CR-V Sport
    CR-V ES
    Accord Sport Tourer
    CR-V SE Auto
    Land Rover Discovery
    BMW 325i SE
    325d M Sport Saloon
    130i Hatch (the best of the lot)
    330i Coupe
    Z4 2.0i
    Mini Clubman D (new co.car tax rules 🙁 )
    Cooper S
    Cooper S
    Cooper S Clubman
    Cooper S
    Toyota Rav 4
    Auris
    Avensis
    BMW 118d Convertible
    118i Convertible
    Audi A5 2.0TDI Sportback
    A5 2.0TFSI Sportback
    A4 1.8TFSI Avant Black Ed.
    Q3 2.0TFSI SE
    A6 Avant S Line
    A6 Avant S Line
    A6 Avant Black Ed.
    A5 Sportback Black Ed.
    320ed Touring
    320d Touring M Sport Plus

    Another 3 series on order.

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    Monkeychild my mum and dad had an identical Nissan Cherry – exact same colour and exact model! On a plate though in 1986 I think. First brand new car they had.

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    Frist Car was a Sirocco GTi 1.8, I bought it before I passed my test as way of motivation, begged my parents, mates and anyone else to give me lessons in it – finally parked it up in the community centre car park 200m from my house and they had it towed and crushed inside of 48 hours! It was even taxed! “looked abandoned” apparently – Police not remotely interested in someone having someone else cars destroyed – small village, small minds.

    Anyway, passed my test and with insurance rates being through the roof and being a inexperienced driver I sensibly bought a modified MK2 Golf GTi 16v and tried to kill myself in it, managed 18 months without so much as a mark on me or it, considering the amount of time it spent sliding or spinning it was nothing short of miraculous – sold it on and the nest owner crashed it about a week later and wrote it off.

    Seeing as I was now a driving God and seemingly immortal I upped my game an bought an extremely ropy MK3 Golf VR6“cheapest on Autotrader” which should have been a bad sign, which I took to be good – spent £2k on it, spent another £2k making it road worthy… it repaid my love by catching fire at 80mph – and not in a sort of “ooo I see smoke” type way, no in a “fuuuuuuuck me flame are shooting from behind the dash, and I’m doing 80mph on the motorway” type of thing – burnt to the ground – but apart from being a bit shaken up, my immortality remained untouched.

    You know when you’re really young and you buy ‘Third Party Fire & Theft’ insurance to save some money? – well you can buy ‘third party only’ insurance too – not much good if your £2k car you paid £4k for burns…

    So with no money I bought a even ropier Mk2 MR2 GTI oh this was a peach, it was a rebuild Cat C write off, MR2s are many things, but simple they are not – but it was okay because the guys who rebuilt it had a body shop – so the paint was faultless and the panels straight – but it was a total basket case – they bought a “turbo look” engine bay cover which did indeed look like the one they fitted to the Turbo model, but sadly let rain water get all over the engine, which meant that it run like crap when damp and worse made the complicated variable intake manifold jam shut – they put out about 160-175bhp depending on the year at about 7200rpm, but at 4000rpm they couldn’t pull a greased stick out of a dogs arse. Sold it on again for half what I paid for it.

    At this point my folks too pity on my and being as they were emigrating they gave me the use of their car a 2 year old Passat V6 Tdi SE, that my Dad paid £30k for new – it was brilliant, if a bit boring, but very comfortable – it was odd in that it made no sense ‘on paper’ for a diesel it wasn’t very economical – mid-30’s in normal use, and for a V6 it wasn’t very fast, it only had 150bhp which isn’t much more than the usual 4 pot versions, but it drove really well.

    Had it for 8 years.

    After that, I settled down with my (as now) Wife and took a job 30 miles from home, problem being that when my Folks came home to visit – 4 weeks at a time, they wanted “my” car back, so I had to buy my own (which has always gone sooooo well before) so I bought a Honda Accord Estate Diesel which was brilliant(ish) it was massive – took my Shocker in whole, both wheels on – massive comfy leather chairs (too big to be mere seats) sat-nav (didn’t really work) even more boring and slow than the Passat and not much more frugal – of course at that point I decided to go online and see what was what with them – I assumed, being Jap they’ve been completely reliable – no, early ones suffered from – cracked exhaust manifold (£700+ VAT to fix) water ingress in the headlamps which cause them to fail (£300 + VAT to fix) and the fancy electric boot doors can go wrong BUT MINE DIDN’T! No, because it had broken before I owned it and the previous owner had ‘fixed’ it – he did this by re-wiring everything, very badly – within a few months it would simple lock me in and set off the alarm – £500 to fix, I say fix after 3 attempts at 3 garages it was never really fixed.

    Then some **** stole my new Lapierre Spicy 516 from our uninsured shed, heart-breaking – with all our savings gone on our impending wedding and 2.5 years left to run on the HP for the Spicy and the Honda on the blink again I decided to sell the Honda, spend half on a bike and half on a Mondeo – cheap motoring, every says so.

    I hated that car, it never broke down, but the exhaust fell off, the suspension broke continuously, it ate through brakes, it smoked terribly and it was just horrible to drive, be driven in, be close to or even think about so 12 months ago I MOT’d it (£600) and sold it for £1200, £100 more than I paid for it.

    I’ve given up buying cars now (I don’t have much luck) and have taken a Company Car, a brilliant Seat Exeo estate, it’s got loads of toys, does loads of MPG and has never once, gone wrong in even the tinniest way and if it does – it’s not my problem – I love it.

    I also owned a Honda CBR600 F4i at one point, it was amazing, but my immortality seemed to be running out so I got rid.

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