Can you have a flash car in your 40's without appearing to be a ****?

WCA – I must be out of the loop – I thought you were making your next ‘flash’ car?

@scaredy – I think you’d need deep pockets for a good one. But maybe, one day! 🙂

The most salient point is that you might just be a cock anyway. The car you drive isn’t going to change that.

I think you need to disclose the model/brand of car you’re considering.

Okay, just to add to the info –

I have sold my TVR

and my Merc is up for sale

and all for a beautiful Maserati GranSport

and all for a beautiful Maserati GranSport

Well, its better than the merc. I’d think A – a knob. But only for spending an obscene amount of money on a car. At least its a proper car, a bit lairy and pretty flash. I’d imagine you to be bit of a character.

Better than the dullards that buy these understated super saloons like Audi S6’s. If you’re going to spend a daft amount of money on a car, at least get something daft. Not something incredibly dull.

the single most desirable thing about that car is the noise.
when I see them I stand still and pray that the driver will blip the throttle, just a little bit.
nnnnngggggg.

But folk don’t realise how cheap (what were) expensive cars are – what you spending, £10k?

Sell the cars, ride your bike and put the money you save towards a decent camera and house.

You’ve has the Maserati itch for a long time, I recall you saying you wouldn’t mind one at the first BigBikeBash Avon Tyrell hence me putting that in my earlier post, scratch that itch.

If you buy a Maserati I INSIST that you come up to my place for the weekend in it. Mrs PP loves Maseratis.

One of the guys that rides with us occasionally has a Maserati GranSport. He has to break down his bike (wheels off, post out, bars off) to get in a bike bag and get the frame in the boot. He also brings a bike stand. We all think this is very amusing and generally stand around offering “helpful” hints while he does this.

At least he had the car before he got into biking.

I have a diesel estate, but fold the seats down and the whole bike goes in the bike, wheels on.

Masseur eh.. Most excellent.
Glad you got rid of TreVoR.
And that Merc.

Hope the Massers a decent colour.

very nice

and reasonably affordable too. until it breaks. which, being Italian, it probably will

(former Alfa x2 owner)

the single most desirable thing about that car is the noise.

I have a 2002 BMW 3 series 330i sport with a K&N kit ( 😳 ). It makes an awesome straight six rumble, more inside the car than out, and acceleration is a really cool sounding grrrrrrrrrr.

Sometimes you can close your eyes, smell the leather and pretend you have an expensive car. In reality I do look like a 40’s man with 2 kids and a shed based hobby. I think its the Thule racks that give it away….

I sounded a bit dorky there ^^ didn’t I…

Edit: and with 240bhp at two rear, wide wheels you can pretend to be 17 again when no-ones looking (I’m 40).

I think you’ll be pretty safe in a Maserati GranSport. I’d just look and think nice car you lucky bar steward. Unless of course you’re driving like a prick, then I’d brand you the same as the other 40yr old flash car driving ****s. Drive it respectfully and courteously and you’ll be just fine. Enjoy it!

I think it’s fine.

Will you be getting a Honda Accord like mine?

It’s a right fanny magnet. Comfy, economical, quiet. The middle aged ladies love it plus it’s the same size as the death star so you can easily get their shopping in it.

I’d think “nice car”. I wouldn’t look at or consider the person driving it at all. It’s Only a machine.

Just go and buy it. Life is too short to worry what others think.

Buy, drive and enjoy!

I’d say some people can carry it off.

+1 to what deadlydarcy said though

You can have whatever car you like at any age surely?, if you get judged by others for what you drive then that says more about their insecurities than about your own.

Maserati btw? – absofeckinlootlyfriggingorgeous 😀

My mate used to have the rs4 above – i so want one but will never afford it, he did less than 5000 miles from new in it but decided to sell it as he never had the time to drive it, his other car is a Audi Q7 3.0tdi with full ABT tuning spec – so ferociously quick and well composed for a 2 ton truck – makes my 190bhp mk2 Golf feel like a Suzuki Alto 🙁

I prefer running about in his concours condition 1936 MG TA Monte Carlo though, only 1300cc but fun…fun…fun in the sun :D.

If it floats your boat JFDI. Stop worrying about what others think. Just don’t drive like the **** you don’t want to be perceived as.

Maserati lovely.

Personally I have all but given up on the fast car thing (mid 30s) so few chances to really enjoy them. Wife suggested we got a hot hatch recently and I’m in two minds as other than the odd A road overtake I am not sure where there’s any benefit.

Woah there. Back up a second. You say someone has actually bought the TVR? Bloody hell!

Maserati much cooler than the previous option I think, go for it.

Main problem with a nice sports car in the UK is zero op to be able to make any proper use of it except on track days. Just very expensive way to travel…
I’d love a 911 but totally impractical for the MTB and imagine I’d just spend my days frustrated at having such a beautiful machine but never taking it beyond 50% of its potential.
and tbh given a lot of people’s attitude to success I imagine I’d spend my days getting abuse and the car keyed

Buy whatever you want.

One of the high points of my life was hearing a Quattroporte being gunned through the centre of Rome a few years ago. Saw it a few times, black with dark windows, assumed it was the Pope…

The correct answer is buy what you want and **** anyone else. But if you are worried about your image though the exact model and how you own it is all important.

Lived in 911 = Cool.
Polished Daily x6 = Knob.

and probably vise verse, they are all branded tin cans after all so if if you can buy the flash car with ease and dont knock one out over it every weekend thats ok.

A nice sports car, nothing too lairy should be fine.

Worked with a guy in his 50’s who drove a corvette looked like a ****, even worse when he gave his teenage daughters a lift it looked wrong.

Anything in faux 4×4 and white has to be right out.

After that understated is your friend as above the fast audi’s don’t scream look at me like the BMW’s

One of the high points of my life was hearing a Quattroporte being gunned through the centre of Rome a few years ago

Each to their own I guess…… 😕

Still remember being overtaken by a Lotus Carlton on the road up to Dundee about 20 years ago..
With the window down I swear I could hear all the pulleys and belts turning in between the turbo whistle and tyre noise!
Sounded like the world ending!
Get what you want and have fun. As everyone else says you would regret not buying it, and we’re a long time dead.

Like it or not, cars do tend to betray a bit of our personality to others. The Maserati is much more neutral than a lot of other flash options though, not least because a lot of people’s animosity will be defused by their assumption that it was cheaper than it looks and will break down a lot.

I rather like the Merc by the way. And I’m not even 40 yet. Quite.

read a Telegraph article the other day saying that the BMW 5 Tourer was ‘probably the best car in the world’ – good for bikes too !!

love these threads…. ive had sh*t cars all my life and will come into a bit of money in my late 40’s, im holding back so much now not to go out and buy something stupid though….

the question asked above…

When do you get to drive a flash car to it’s full potential so you can really appreciate it and stay within the law?

i plan to buy something like a lotus exige keep it as a track day car then get a trailer and use my everyday battered car to take it to the track a few times a month.

i really dont see the point in having a high performance every day car when you cant really let it rip (it would frustrate me)…

then again ive never done regular track days and i asusme its expensive!?

I’d think “Knob”, but then a fraction of a second later I’d berate myself for prejudging someone based on their choice of car. Then I’d consider whether the stereotype I’d classed said driver as was born out by the way they drove. Then I’d move on to the next flash car that overtakes me too closely and the same though process would start up all over again.

Unless it was a car I thought may be a bit more interesting than the usual generic hulks of “sports” cars I see regularly, something like an 80’s Skyline or a Caterham. There’s a Lotus Excel and a Toyota Supra on my commute which are quite cool too…

You’d have to ask yourself why you want the car too. Would a car that was amazing to drive and super fast but didn’t look flashy do? If not, why not?

For instance, my mate has a very very fast Clio, with roll cage and bucket seats etc, that he uses on track days – I’m guessing that wouldn’t fulfil the criteria for many people though. You could argue that’s purely about aesthetics, but is it?

Excellent choice.

Look forward to seeing you drive it up the snow covered hill at Hit the North 🙂

I would always look to Viz for sage like advice

Mates has just got his new Merc van complete with Brabus conversion, V6 diesel with 550nm of torque 😆

3 regular Masserati users in my wee toon and a DB9, can be seen most mornings when heading into town

There is a risk you could look like this man….

so he’s now bought a 450 quid diesel 406.

Father’s friend in the late 80s went from era cliché 911 Turbo to second hand 205 diesel in one move.

My boss is a millionaire. He drives a second hand M3 convertible. He’s a **** for reasons other than his choice in cars…. 😉

RR Vogues are the middle aged man’s choice where I live. My only thought is – good on you for being successful. (But I do think private plates are beyond the pale).

I’m 35. I’ll buy a BMW next year. I could buy another Mazda. But WGAF.

Oh, and a colleague has a Maser. In a carpark of Ford Focuses, it stands out. His specific skills are rare and in demand, so he can command a sizeable income.

He spends it on Maseratis. I look at it and think: “That’s very nice. Good on you.”

When my father had money in the 80s, he had two Audi ur Quattros. But the car that got him loads of stick was a mk2 Golf GTi. The world is weird.

Buy one. Enjoy it. And don’t give a damn what us proles think.