My Car History So Far (17-22)
Discussion
I have been trawling the readers cars section for quite a while, as am getting bored of going through my usual owners clubs forums, and like to have a bit of variety
To begin with i had a Peugeot 106! Loved this little car, it was my first car, so have fond memories of it! Small little 1.1 engine, no power steering, no leccy windows, but it was a way of getting about without getting wet, or using the dreaded public transport! As with all 17 year olds at the time, i had the obligatory Lexus lights, which soon got removed! This car suffered an eventful end, with some lovely skidding, and lift off oversteer going round an unfamilar country road in the wet! Got towed home by a member of the public with his ML which was much appreciated! The car receivied a new radiator, had the wires which were severed crimped back together, and was then sold to some illiterate chavs for the grand sum of £350, spluttering all over the shop, and with the HG on its way out!
I then needed a new car and quickly jumped at a 1.4 mk4 Astra in green! I revelled in the luxury of a bigger car with power steering, leccy windows, it was lovely! Came with a lovely tow bar which was soon removed, and i received the name of 'grandad' from my mates for having such an old mans car! I upgraded the front/rear lights to the SXI tinted versions, CC'd a few bits on it, had the cambelt/water pump changed and enjoyed almost a year of trouble free motoring!
Next step was to either mod the 1.4 or move up in the world...i choose the latter!
After looking at 1.6 and 1.8 astras, a beauty came up for sale a few miles down the road! It had everything i wanted! A 1.8 SRI with factory fitted prodrive kit, cruise control, air con, 3 door, silver! It literally ticked all the right boxes! Insurance was sorted and for the grand some of £2500-£3000 (cant remember exactly) it was mine! Whilst all my mates had 1.0 corsas, and 1.25 fiestas, i had a 1.8 astra! Of all my cars so far, this was my baby! Below is a pic from when i picked it up:
I was working as an apprentice at the time, but it was well paid for what i did, and my money was ploughed into the car! I upgraded various bits, eibach springs, whiteline RARB, powerspeed custom cat back, BBS wheels, GSI spoiler etc! Apart from a cambelt/waterpump, this car proved to be one of the best i have owned to date. I would regulary drive from Kent to warwickshire and it never missed a beat! By the time i finished tinkering with it, it looked as it does below
Further plans were to fit in a VXR engine! However i started a new job, which came with a company car, a lovely mk5 astra estate 1.7 cdti! I couldnt justify keeping both cars, so the astra had to go! I was gutted to see it go, but i removed a few of the mods off of it to recoup some money and everntually sold it for £2850! Sad times!
Months went past with the mk4 astra! Nice to drive, enjoyed the diesel torque, but being a petrolhead, i got bored, very bored! I needed some excitment in my life! I was 20 at this point, i had a quite a bit saved up, but wanted something to excite me on a budget!
Cue looking at clio 172's! After much trawling on the forum, someone mentioned a 306 rallye being an awesome motor, so i had a look! Was always a fan of the 106 rallye, after my first car, but these demand quite a high premium! I was straight onto ebay and found a red (later to be pink) 306 rallye! A quick call later and the next day i went to look at it! It was covered in scratches, the paint was faded, but the owner had just spent £1200 having the HG, waterpump, cambelt and various other parts being done, and was now upgrading to a R26 megane! A bit of haggling later, and i had bought it for £1850! Within one day of reading about this car, seeing it on ebay, and looking at it, i had bought it!
When i picked the car up, it was the first time i had driven it as my dad had test driven it! What he forgot to mention or pick up on was the idling problem, the car was lumpy on idle, and if the revs dropped quick it would stall! Not good! A bit of research later and a second hand MAP sensor was bought and to my delight problem cured!! The car was transformed! It just loved to rev, and sounded awesome when coming on cam! It was treated to a full machine polishing and all new decals, and i was impressed with my handy work! It was standard apart from a k&n panel filter and a powerflow catback which i put on (not to the amusment of my mates who sat in the back on a sprint bak from hastings!) With little sound deadening, wind down windows etc, it was a raw ride, but would keep up with my mates 330 auto convertible from a stand still! a few pics after the detailing sesh are below:
I kept this for a few months, but soon got bored! It was french, ticked over 100 00 miles, but i couldnt see it making the long run! It had all the engine work done to it, but i still wasnt impressed with the bits of rust underneath, the lack of creature comforts and the rattling! Around this time, my parents put their BMW Z3 up for sale! It was immaculate! 50 000 miles, all receipts from new, like new inside and out! And more importantly summer was on its way! Oh and the glorious 2.8 6 cylinder was nestled under the bonnet!
A deal was done, and the Pug went up for sale! 3 weeks later and the new owner came to look at it! H knew what he wanted and this was one for him, and off it drove to its new owner in essex for the princely sum of £1500!
Over the next few months i thought i would enjoy the top down-ness of the Z3, with its glorious engine note, retro looks blah blah blah! Given credit where its due, the Z3 is a lovely car! However i never bonded with it, i missed the agility of the Pug, my girlfriend didnt like it as she said she didnt feel safe in it, the wind messed up her hair (SHAME!!!) I wanted to love it like my dad did, and still does, but we never formed a relationship, it just wasnt the car for me! As you can see below, she is a glorious example! I still have her tucked in the garage, SORN, so if anyone is interested in buying her, they dont get much better than this, you wont be disappointed!
The insurance was due for it in September of this year, and i was stuck on what to do next! Get a track car, spend a wad on a perfect car, or do my motor bike license! I had a 50 and 125 crosser before the cars when i was 16/17 and just loved the freedom! But with the possiblilty of buying something that would be silly fast, i decided i liked how my limbs were still intact and wanted them to remain that way, so a bike was ruled out!
I looked at M3's, VXR's', ST's, S4's etc etc! I didnt want the BMW due to ridiculous insurance and running costs, the VXR would be too similar layout to my current company car and i just couldnt justify running a 4.2 V8 Audi or the supposedly unreliable 2.7 bi turbo! My mate on the other hand had a orange Focus ST, it sounded glorious with its dreamscience turbo back exhaust, and after a small drive in it, i was sold (mainly by the echaust note!!)
I started looking around, and found a nice one somehwere off the M1! It only had 35000 miles, full service history and was up for just under £8k! I went and had a look and fell in love with it, the same way i did with my astra! It had everything i wanted; that 5 pot sound, a turbo, was an ST3 so heated leather
and a deal was struck and two weeks later i picked it up (longest two weeks of my life!)
Once home, it was fully cleaned, clay'd, machine polished, waxed! The whole works! A few weeks went by and i had to scratch my itch, i needed to start modding!
A 100 cell sports cat and 3" downpipe were ordered and fitted, and transformed the way the car picked up, the turbo spool'd up much faster and it was amazing! I had some nice pops and bangs to enjoy too! I then bought a second hand mongoose catback and had that fitted! On the sound front, i was happy! Oh and i almost forgot the obligatory pics! These were taken after the 2 days of cleaning when it was standard!
This brings me to now! The car is off to SCC soon for eibach springs, and i also have a 25mm rear anti roll bar on the way! An open cone induction kit such as the dreamscience one, is next on the list! Obviously i have been told about how a remap will transform it, but insurance wont allow this for the time being, but it will comes as a nice treat next year when the insurance is renewed!
The focus is everything i wanted it to be, and is 'me'! It suits my needs perfectly and i love driving it! Coming up to 22 this month, and most of my mate still have their first cars, whereas i have gone through quite a list! But this is my story so far, and i will keep updating this, as the Focus develops!
Hope you enjoyed reading this essay/life story/monologue!
To begin with i had a Peugeot 106! Loved this little car, it was my first car, so have fond memories of it! Small little 1.1 engine, no power steering, no leccy windows, but it was a way of getting about without getting wet, or using the dreaded public transport! As with all 17 year olds at the time, i had the obligatory Lexus lights, which soon got removed! This car suffered an eventful end, with some lovely skidding, and lift off oversteer going round an unfamilar country road in the wet! Got towed home by a member of the public with his ML which was much appreciated! The car receivied a new radiator, had the wires which were severed crimped back together, and was then sold to some illiterate chavs for the grand sum of £350, spluttering all over the shop, and with the HG on its way out!
I then needed a new car and quickly jumped at a 1.4 mk4 Astra in green! I revelled in the luxury of a bigger car with power steering, leccy windows, it was lovely! Came with a lovely tow bar which was soon removed, and i received the name of 'grandad' from my mates for having such an old mans car! I upgraded the front/rear lights to the SXI tinted versions, CC'd a few bits on it, had the cambelt/water pump changed and enjoyed almost a year of trouble free motoring!
Next step was to either mod the 1.4 or move up in the world...i choose the latter!
After looking at 1.6 and 1.8 astras, a beauty came up for sale a few miles down the road! It had everything i wanted! A 1.8 SRI with factory fitted prodrive kit, cruise control, air con, 3 door, silver! It literally ticked all the right boxes! Insurance was sorted and for the grand some of £2500-£3000 (cant remember exactly) it was mine! Whilst all my mates had 1.0 corsas, and 1.25 fiestas, i had a 1.8 astra! Of all my cars so far, this was my baby! Below is a pic from when i picked it up:
I was working as an apprentice at the time, but it was well paid for what i did, and my money was ploughed into the car! I upgraded various bits, eibach springs, whiteline RARB, powerspeed custom cat back, BBS wheels, GSI spoiler etc! Apart from a cambelt/waterpump, this car proved to be one of the best i have owned to date. I would regulary drive from Kent to warwickshire and it never missed a beat! By the time i finished tinkering with it, it looked as it does below
Further plans were to fit in a VXR engine! However i started a new job, which came with a company car, a lovely mk5 astra estate 1.7 cdti! I couldnt justify keeping both cars, so the astra had to go! I was gutted to see it go, but i removed a few of the mods off of it to recoup some money and everntually sold it for £2850! Sad times!
Months went past with the mk4 astra! Nice to drive, enjoyed the diesel torque, but being a petrolhead, i got bored, very bored! I needed some excitment in my life! I was 20 at this point, i had a quite a bit saved up, but wanted something to excite me on a budget!
Cue looking at clio 172's! After much trawling on the forum, someone mentioned a 306 rallye being an awesome motor, so i had a look! Was always a fan of the 106 rallye, after my first car, but these demand quite a high premium! I was straight onto ebay and found a red (later to be pink) 306 rallye! A quick call later and the next day i went to look at it! It was covered in scratches, the paint was faded, but the owner had just spent £1200 having the HG, waterpump, cambelt and various other parts being done, and was now upgrading to a R26 megane! A bit of haggling later, and i had bought it for £1850! Within one day of reading about this car, seeing it on ebay, and looking at it, i had bought it!
When i picked the car up, it was the first time i had driven it as my dad had test driven it! What he forgot to mention or pick up on was the idling problem, the car was lumpy on idle, and if the revs dropped quick it would stall! Not good! A bit of research later and a second hand MAP sensor was bought and to my delight problem cured!! The car was transformed! It just loved to rev, and sounded awesome when coming on cam! It was treated to a full machine polishing and all new decals, and i was impressed with my handy work! It was standard apart from a k&n panel filter and a powerflow catback which i put on (not to the amusment of my mates who sat in the back on a sprint bak from hastings!) With little sound deadening, wind down windows etc, it was a raw ride, but would keep up with my mates 330 auto convertible from a stand still! a few pics after the detailing sesh are below:
I kept this for a few months, but soon got bored! It was french, ticked over 100 00 miles, but i couldnt see it making the long run! It had all the engine work done to it, but i still wasnt impressed with the bits of rust underneath, the lack of creature comforts and the rattling! Around this time, my parents put their BMW Z3 up for sale! It was immaculate! 50 000 miles, all receipts from new, like new inside and out! And more importantly summer was on its way! Oh and the glorious 2.8 6 cylinder was nestled under the bonnet!
A deal was done, and the Pug went up for sale! 3 weeks later and the new owner came to look at it! H knew what he wanted and this was one for him, and off it drove to its new owner in essex for the princely sum of £1500!
Over the next few months i thought i would enjoy the top down-ness of the Z3, with its glorious engine note, retro looks blah blah blah! Given credit where its due, the Z3 is a lovely car! However i never bonded with it, i missed the agility of the Pug, my girlfriend didnt like it as she said she didnt feel safe in it, the wind messed up her hair (SHAME!!!) I wanted to love it like my dad did, and still does, but we never formed a relationship, it just wasnt the car for me! As you can see below, she is a glorious example! I still have her tucked in the garage, SORN, so if anyone is interested in buying her, they dont get much better than this, you wont be disappointed!
The insurance was due for it in September of this year, and i was stuck on what to do next! Get a track car, spend a wad on a perfect car, or do my motor bike license! I had a 50 and 125 crosser before the cars when i was 16/17 and just loved the freedom! But with the possiblilty of buying something that would be silly fast, i decided i liked how my limbs were still intact and wanted them to remain that way, so a bike was ruled out!
I looked at M3's, VXR's', ST's, S4's etc etc! I didnt want the BMW due to ridiculous insurance and running costs, the VXR would be too similar layout to my current company car and i just couldnt justify running a 4.2 V8 Audi or the supposedly unreliable 2.7 bi turbo! My mate on the other hand had a orange Focus ST, it sounded glorious with its dreamscience turbo back exhaust, and after a small drive in it, i was sold (mainly by the echaust note!!)
I started looking around, and found a nice one somehwere off the M1! It only had 35000 miles, full service history and was up for just under £8k! I went and had a look and fell in love with it, the same way i did with my astra! It had everything i wanted; that 5 pot sound, a turbo, was an ST3 so heated leather
and a deal was struck and two weeks later i picked it up (longest two weeks of my life!)Once home, it was fully cleaned, clay'd, machine polished, waxed! The whole works! A few weeks went by and i had to scratch my itch, i needed to start modding!
A 100 cell sports cat and 3" downpipe were ordered and fitted, and transformed the way the car picked up, the turbo spool'd up much faster and it was amazing! I had some nice pops and bangs to enjoy too! I then bought a second hand mongoose catback and had that fitted! On the sound front, i was happy! Oh and i almost forgot the obligatory pics! These were taken after the 2 days of cleaning when it was standard!
This brings me to now! The car is off to SCC soon for eibach springs, and i also have a 25mm rear anti roll bar on the way! An open cone induction kit such as the dreamscience one, is next on the list! Obviously i have been told about how a remap will transform it, but insurance wont allow this for the time being, but it will comes as a nice treat next year when the insurance is renewed!
The focus is everything i wanted it to be, and is 'me'! It suits my needs perfectly and i love driving it! Coming up to 22 this month, and most of my mate still have their first cars, whereas i have gone through quite a list! But this is my story so far, and i will keep updating this, as the Focus develops!
Hope you enjoyed reading this essay/life story/monologue!
!I like the sea grey as its more subtle than the in ya face orange! Has a nice metallic flake to it too!
To be honest, insurance is as bad as you might think! The z3 cost me £1300 fully comp and the ST comes at about £980! Some might say that is a lot, but it's more a hobby and interest and most of money is put into these and I enjoy then! I don't drink, smoke or go out clubbin so this is better for my health, but not necessarily for my wallet!
To be honest, insurance is as bad as you might think! The z3 cost me £1300 fully comp and the ST comes at about £980! Some might say that is a lot, but it's more a hobby and interest and most of money is put into these and I enjoy then! I don't drink, smoke or go out clubbin so this is better for my health, but not necessarily for my wallet!
A small update!
Eibachs fitted and the car sits so much better now, also rides a lot more level with less roll!
Fitted the bigger RARB and two weeks later have removed it! Definetly improved the cars handling but made it a lot stiffer making all the trim creak and rattle more, so it's off to a new owner tomorrow!
Next up some sort of induction kit, maybe a change of wheel colour too!
Oh and it also has the darker headlights on it too!
Pictures will be uploaded......when I eventually take some!
Eibachs fitted and the car sits so much better now, also rides a lot more level with less roll!
Fitted the bigger RARB and two weeks later have removed it! Definetly improved the cars handling but made it a lot stiffer making all the trim creak and rattle more, so it's off to a new owner tomorrow!
Next up some sort of induction kit, maybe a change of wheel colour too!
Oh and it also has the darker headlights on it too!
Pictures will be uploaded......when I eventually take some!
Just thought i would upload a pic of the car as it is now with the eibachs and tinted lights! Also had the rear windows tinted and have a elevate engine torque mount waiting to come! Oh and when the weather warms ups, gonna spray the front grills and fog surrounds!
No more immediate plans! Thing im gonna hold off until the insurance is due later this year, get a intercooler and induction kit, and go straight to stage 3, bout 280-300bhp!
Hopefully will be doing the ring at some point this year, maybe the welsh roads too!
No more immediate plans! Thing im gonna hold off until the insurance is due later this year, get a intercooler and induction kit, and go straight to stage 3, bout 280-300bhp!
Hopefully will be doing the ring at some point this year, maybe the welsh roads too!
jakeharvey63 said:
Just thought i would upload a pic of the car as it is now with the eibachs and tinted lights! Also had the rear windows tinted and have a elevate engine torque mount waiting to come! Oh and when the weather warms ups, gonna spray the front grills and fog surrounds!
No more immediate plans! Thing im gonna hold off until the insurance is due later this year, get a intercooler and induction kit, and go straight to stage 3, bout 280-300bhp!
Hopefully will be doing the ring at some point this year, maybe the welsh roads too!
i like that pic mate No more immediate plans! Thing im gonna hold off until the insurance is due later this year, get a intercooler and induction kit, and go straight to stage 3, bout 280-300bhp!
Hopefully will be doing the ring at some point this year, maybe the welsh roads too!
Just a little update!
Car had the grilles sprayed, had little dashes of orange over it (brake calipers/fog surrounds, gel overlays etc), had 15mm spacers fitted all round, whiteline rarb, rs parts rear diffuser, wheels refurbed in shadow chrome and a bilstein b12 kit fitted!
Don't drive the car nearly enough as I should as its a second car, so thinking of getting rid and scratching a cheaper itch, such as civic type r, Audi s4 2.7 or Mazda mx5!!
Pics will come soon!
Car had the grilles sprayed, had little dashes of orange over it (brake calipers/fog surrounds, gel overlays etc), had 15mm spacers fitted all round, whiteline rarb, rs parts rear diffuser, wheels refurbed in shadow chrome and a bilstein b12 kit fitted!
Don't drive the car nearly enough as I should as its a second car, so thinking of getting rid and scratching a cheaper itch, such as civic type r, Audi s4 2.7 or Mazda mx5!!
Pics will come soon!
Edited by jakeharvey63 on Monday 10th December 16:28
Car has been returned almost to standard, leaving just the bilstein b12 kit on it at the mo!
Will be sad to see it go but it doesn't get driven hardly, so is just money sitting there which I would rather see in the bank!
Soon will be up for sale after been serviced and tax'd! Will miss the sound so much!
Although I bought this for a steal from a mate for the summer which will tie me over! A nice lazy 3litre auto!
Will be sad to see it go but it doesn't get driven hardly, so is just money sitting there which I would rather see in the bank!
Soon will be up for sale after been serviced and tax'd! Will miss the sound so much!
Although I bought this for a steal from a mate for the summer which will tie me over! A nice lazy 3litre auto!
Well the focus went, was sad to see it go, but the money was better off in the bank then sitting on my driveway! I had the BMW for about a month, again just like the other one, I didn't gel with it! And I sold it a at a small loss, just as the sun was coming out!
But then I bought this! Had always looked at these over the common CTR's! Is a complete Jekyll and Hyde car! Almost boring like grandad style looks from the outside but a 8000rpm redline, LSD, recaro seats, 2.2 vtec underneath! Completely different to anything I have owned before, especially having to rev the nuts off it until at 5850, the vtec cuts in! Feels just as quick as the focus up to around 60, handles just as well too! Has a few marks and could do with a front end respray (clocked 77000 miles in the first 3 years, company car I'm guessing) and has been serviced at honda until 91000 and independent from there, so stacks of history! Looks like I will keep this one for a while! Ticks all my boxes, cheap, ok-ish on fuel, quick and will do a few road trips in it this year! Oh and with a k&n typhoon on it, it now sounds amazing!
But then I bought this! Had always looked at these over the common CTR's! Is a complete Jekyll and Hyde car! Almost boring like grandad style looks from the outside but a 8000rpm redline, LSD, recaro seats, 2.2 vtec underneath! Completely different to anything I have owned before, especially having to rev the nuts off it until at 5850, the vtec cuts in! Feels just as quick as the focus up to around 60, handles just as well too! Has a few marks and could do with a front end respray (clocked 77000 miles in the first 3 years, company car I'm guessing) and has been serviced at honda until 91000 and independent from there, so stacks of history! Looks like I will keep this one for a while! Ticks all my boxes, cheap, ok-ish on fuel, quick and will do a few road trips in it this year! Oh and with a k&n typhoon on it, it now sounds amazing!
Nellist said:
Great car history and a decent write up mate only one major criticism about all of your cars.. None of them had a PH sticker on them! Very disappointed ... Haha
Accord looks like a nice car, preferred the focus if I'm honest but can understand selling it if it was hardly used!
Here is a pic of how the focus ended up, que PH smiley! only one major criticism about all of your cars.. None of them had a PH sticker on them! Very disappointed ... HahaAccord looks like a nice car, preferred the focus if I'm honest but can understand selling it if it was hardly used!
Of course I preferred the focus, but having a company car, I barely drove it, and wanting to moving out, the money was better off in the bank! I do miss the sound of the focus though!
The accord will be being smillied up soon!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff