Bought myself a pocket rocket midlife crises car…

What engine bearnecessities ? I bought one too fairly cheap but now looking for a 6 cylinder one preferably 3.0 rather than my 2.0
Great to drive , leather seats but not so keen on the run flat tyres

13k for a Caterham?!!!?

Seriously, if anyone sees a left hand drive Seven for under 15k please let me know!

What engine bearnecessities ? I bought one too fairly cheap but now looking for a 6 cylinder one preferably 3.0 rather than my 2.0
Great to drive , leather seats but not so keen on the run flat tyres

3.0l.

Vredestein (sp) normal tyres. Rears are larger/more expensive than fronts..I’m not entirely sure but I think the 3.0 comes with Msport suspension as standard, if not it’s a blessed option I’ve got because it’s a sodding clattery ride over imperfections that I’m not a fan of – but I’ll suffer it.

The sound of the straight six is just glorious. It (warning: forum trigger alert) burbles/pops when changing gear, in a very subtle but lovely way and when you boot it, it sings – I’ve never driven any car above 3k revs, but it’s a must with this engine….on occasion. Oodles of power lower down, which in all honestly I love because I don’t actually want to rev it everywhere like a tit.

Anyhow, if you’re thinking of buying, they’re quite option-sensitive. Which you probably know if you’ve already got one!

That’s the right colour for an R-design Volvo.

It’ll easily match older (E90/92) M3’s and beat them if it’s damp

If I bought it I wouldn’t be racing anyone, it’d be for my listening & driving pleasure.

The reality is though the most that’ll likely happen is a remap to my 320d, which has the habit of looking lovely when shiny and like a tired dad’s skip-o-matic when dirty. I looks as though I can have about 230bhp and 500NM torque for £300 which will make it a bit more fun-er, albeit missing decent noise.

Not mine but the same colour/wheels:

I need to properly research for any additional wear and tear that remap cause though, I don’t want to be paying for a new gearbox or summit in 50k’s time.

Its a proper mid life crisis where your juggling your savings between a remap or some all-season tyres 🙂

13k for a Caterham?!!!?

It’s a 1999 Westfield with a 2l Zetec

Sold my C30 T5 nearly three years ago now, proper little fun car as standard (I think mine had been mapped as it made 250bhp on the rollers) Only thing I didn’t really like was the size of the boot.

The reality is though the most that’ll likely happen is a remap to my 320d,

If you drive in town, please don’t get a remap. Generally they just overwrite the manufacturer smoke map and pile more fuel in which is obviously not great to get a face full as you accelerate past, say, a cyclist (if there are any left on this car forum)

Should be brisk at 300bhp ish. My mate had a Focus ST with the 2.5 litre lump in it running similar bhp. I had a 225 Quattro Audi TT at the time and having driven the ST the Audi performance in a straight line felt very flat. I liked the noise of the ST engine but I found it quite heavy / sluggish overall to drive at the time.

Shows I’ve aged though (now 40) – now rolling round in a 1.7 tonne Jag XF Sportbrake with the 2 litre petrol pump running 250ps and I love it. Maybe my days of throwing cars round corners on the public road are well and truly over 🤷‍♂️

You lot are insane!
I thought my Scirocco 2.0TSI was a decent MLC car and now I feel a bit deflated and it’s just too normal.

there’s not much else to go wrong with these

Checked the roof motor drains? And rear springs (if they’ve not been done already). The less said about the abs computer the better but not a lot you can do about that.

Also pro tip – keep the door latches well greased. Spray stuff works nicely. Otherwise they get a touch sticky and cause central locking oddness and then you can’t get the filler open (emergency release in boot tho).

A Volvo as a mid life crisis purchase? You need to live a little!

‘There’s not much else to go wrong with these’ Z4 MOT today total cost £40 , I think they may have adjusted the handbrake for free. Not bad going for a 56 plate car
I’ve got the Z shed roof motor repaired and relocated, new sensor to shut the alarm going off throughout the night upsetting the neighborhood

and relocated, new sensor to shut the alarm going off throughout the night upsetting the neighborhood

Was gonna mention that one too. If you lock it, then again in 10s to put it in ferry/towing mode it disables the problematic sensor and it won’t go off in the night as the car cools.

Same make, but slightly less ‘pocket’. Partly inspired by the Volvo estate appreciation thread, I picked up a V70R a few weeks ago. I’m subscribing to the logic of having a zero mile commute justifies something with a much lower mpg that the old D2 1.6 diesel.

When I can get Imgur to play ball, I’ll post a pic.

Lovely Z4 @bearnecessities/. I bought a 54-plate 3.0i SE on my 30th birthday (started my MLC rather early, then bought a dirty V8 for my 40th). Great cars. Already mentioned, but rear springs snap at the bottom as spring cup retains water. Motor drain holes can block, some folk relocate motor into the (I think?) the boot. Had mine 5 years, nothing went wrong. Those 108-style split rim wheels are a nightmare to look after though if the outer lip is still polished and clear-lacquered (often get powercoated) – I swapped to 202-style wheels instead.

And:

The less said about the abs computer the better but not a lot you can do about that.

Is that the ABS/ECU unit? If it’s the same issue as the e90 BMWs then https://www.ecutesting.com/ can repair them. Cost <£250 for the one in my e90 330i which replaced my Z4.

Apologies @unfitgeezer, nice C30 too – nice design of Volvo that.

Not enough pictures on her – my first estate / proper dad car after having an XE saloon before this (company car). Not quite a mid life crisis but I am
40 and have run a succession of more sensible diesels before this. Reckon this will probably be my last ICE car with the way things are going. I might even get a cheeky stage 1 remap if it won’t put the insurance up too much.

XF isn’t a company car as they decided not to replace them to save costs – therefore I plan to drive a lot less so went for the 250ps 2 litre petrol turbo version. Much quieter / more satisfying to drive than the 163 diesel XE – albeit at a cost of averaging 23mpg so far 🙈

A Volvo as a mid life crisis purchase? You need to live a little!

Have to say that was my first thought :->
Been a few people round here gone down the MLCC route recently. Some the usual caterham/westfield/lotus route and another with a cobra replica with big V8 which seems a very 70s/80s thing to do. No doubt a stunning thing with a (nice) noisy V8 but a bit too much towards the chest-wig, look at me end of the scale compared to a volvo for me.

Funds allowing I’d struggle to see past a Boxter GTS or (even more unlikely funds-wise) a restomod 911 with trick modern suspension as a play thing.

Partly inspired by the Volvo estate appreciation thread, I picked up a V70R a few weeks ago.

If this isn’t BTCC era (yes I know that was the 850) then i’m very disappointed. Admittedly that would also mean that you’ll be wanting to keep oil trays under it….

Also, who is going to step up and get one of these? https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/it-finished-renault-5-turbo-restomod

Sorry to disappoint @mashr

Would love one of those Renault 5 turbos – used to lust after a turbo 2 or a 205 gti Dimma (with a mid engine conversion) – or a bit later on the MK2 Clio V6 in liquid yellow. Closest I got was a 205 gti with an MI16 engine conversion which was quite amusing.

Imagine that ‘turbo 3’ would be bonkers with 400bhp from an engine in the back.

This is as ‘mid-life’ as I can go at the minute as I need to get a dog-cage in! 🙂

Fun, actually practical, fast enough and I like small cars – can’t decide wether to keep it standard or mod-it a bit – but equally very analogue and you love it one day and want to dump it off a cliff another day!…

@unfitgeezer

Out of curiosity:

Running stage 1
Intercooler
Cat back.

Got max of 280bhp here. Mine is the lovely focus st but it’s the same engine etc.

What set up has it got?

If it hasn’t had it done you’ll need an RS clutch and flywheel and block mod doing before long.

Also, who is going to step up and get one of these?

Not me as any decent resto mod (i.e. Retro power) is going to be £200,000 + and the Renault will be no different.

The Civic Type R is decent – although I’d prefer an EP3 which I believe had the same engine but was lighter / had smaller wheels.

The engine still sounds bonkers though doesn’t it – hits 6000rpm and gets going or something along those lines? I had an S2000 and I think it was sluggish until 6200rpm then ripped round to 9000rpm – had an induction kit fitted and perhaps an aftermarket exhaust. Loved that car – fast Hondas with vtec engines are great.

kerley
Free Member
Not me as any decent resto mod (i.e. Retro power) is going to be £200,000 + and the Renault will be no different.

Lower the monthly’s by remortgaging the house – everyone wins 😉

https://twitter.com/SarahLarchmont/status/1485022233873502208

Although the better looking (IMO) 2015 RS4 is now in reach, at least for initial purchase:

I nearly ended up with one of these as a “suitable family wagon”, but couldnt find a decent example local enough to me.

Ended up going S-line A6 Avant, black edition, 3 litre TDI Quattro, only the 270bhp version, but still goes quick enough to get suspended in most situations. MPG is 20 around town and 35-40 on long journeys, it would probably help if i took it out of sport but for such a big car it just goes like stink.