Discussion
Slow said:
I could afford to run a m5, but everyone said I will die. Thus the e36 328i. Meant if it's Realy a lot cheaper to run that's more money for a nicer m5 after a year.
I'd say if you can run it go for it.....but.... Do be careful. When I was 19 I bought a civic type r (no where near the league of M5) I remember lambasting the insurance company on why they shouldn't tar every young driver with same brush as their quote was very high..... 2 weeks later I was phoning them to claim as I'd binned it into the back of a lorry entering a roundabout way to fast.I am not/was not your classic yoooof tearing around the streets, but ultimately there is only one reason you buy these kind of cars and that's too enjoy them. I'm now 30 and have been enjoying an M3 for the past two years and I know had I had this 10 years ago I would have killed myself in it, not from idocy just lack of experience.....the speed is too much to resist.
Fast cars these days (and I very much included e39 m5 in this) make you feel very safe and secure and can easily create the illusion that you know what you're doing at speed! But when you do go over the edge youre suddenly aware you're hustling along very quickly indeed!
I hope that doesn't seem patronising, I'd say borrow an m5 for weekend and see just how different they are, it really is a super car in a saloon shell.
Ps....that said, no speed is as scary as a warning light from the dashboard of any m car.....
A normal E39 costs enough to run, I've had two. My 530i Sport has cost about £700 since June, and I average 21 mpg to a tank (I don't do a lot of long runs) You'd have to have deep pockets to own one. Deeper than mine that's for sure. From what I hear and have read, running an Aston Martin is cheaper than running an E39 M5. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security with a low buy in price. These car's have supercar associated running costs, however everyone's personal circumstances are different. I used to think I'd get by running one if I earned a £30k salary, but after knowing someone who earns well over £45k with no kids and little outgoings ditch his because of the running costs, I've changed my mind. And his was a good one. You'll only regret getting third party insurance too, maybe wait till you're around 21 and insurance drops.
OP: if you've got a grand or two available then go for it. I had one for two years and it didn't cost me much to run (all things considered). Bear in mind that lower priced ones will probably have cosmetic issues as well as a few mechanical ones. Life is too short and petrol isn't getting any cheaper, so go for it (only caveat is that it can't risk you being financially screwed for the next 3 yrs - that wouldn't be fun).
Don't be scared of the power/rwd thing. It's such a fantastic chassis and if the DSC is left on it's a pussy cat. Spend a few hundred on a days high performance driving tuition if it bothers you. *Most* people will naturally find it a bit intimidating at first anyway, so it's unlikely that you'll go out at 10/10ths straight away.
Epic cars.
Don't be scared of the power/rwd thing. It's such a fantastic chassis and if the DSC is left on it's a pussy cat. Spend a few hundred on a days high performance driving tuition if it bothers you. *Most* people will naturally find it a bit intimidating at first anyway, so it's unlikely that you'll go out at 10/10ths straight away.
Epic cars.
bramley said:
OP: if you've got a grand or two available then go for it. I had one for two years and it didn't cost me much to run (all things considered). Bear in mind that lower priced ones will probably have cosmetic issues as well as a few mechanical ones. Life is too short and petrol isn't getting any cheaper, so go for it (only caveat is that it can't risk you being financially screwed for the next 3 yrs - that wouldn't be fun).
Don't be scared of the power/rwd thing. It's such a fantastic chassis and if the DSC is left on it's a pussy cat. Spend a few hundred on a days high performance driving tuition if it bothers you. *Most* people will naturally find it a bit intimidating at first anyway, so it's unlikely that you'll go out at 10/10ths straight away.
Epic cars.
I think the safety issue is that a younger driver finds use of the thrilling performance too difficult to resist even where it is not safe (ie most places!).Don't be scared of the power/rwd thing. It's such a fantastic chassis and if the DSC is left on it's a pussy cat. Spend a few hundred on a days high performance driving tuition if it bothers you. *Most* people will naturally find it a bit intimidating at first anyway, so it's unlikely that you'll go out at 10/10ths straight away.
Epic cars.
After writing a car off at age 19, I put my self through some extra tuition in the for of an IAM (institute of advanced motorists) certification.
It may have a bit of a fuddy duddy image but it was the best driving related investment I've ever made. I would strongly recommend signing up (at the time it was about £75, as you're "observed" by a volunteer).
10 years on, the training on sharpening my observation skills, hazard perception and general reading of the road has been invaluable. I still like to make good progress in the M3, but I'm more aware when pressing on - you can never have enough training.
It will also get you a decent discount on your car insurance...
It may have a bit of a fuddy duddy image but it was the best driving related investment I've ever made. I would strongly recommend signing up (at the time it was about £75, as you're "observed" by a volunteer).
10 years on, the training on sharpening my observation skills, hazard perception and general reading of the road has been invaluable. I still like to make good progress in the M3, but I'm more aware when pressing on - you can never have enough training.
It will also get you a decent discount on your car insurance...
To the OP...
Congrats on getting a house, in many years you'll probably be glad you did!
Regarding the maturity of 19 year olds... I've been lucky in that I've been trusted from a fairly young age with some very nice machinery, both on two wheels and four. I think having the motorbike experience is handy because you do not feel like you can't be hurt like you do in a car at that age.
Sadly, even at the crusty old age of 24 I already find myself cursing a lot of young people on the roads for being generally awful at driving. The truth is I probably have a lot more issue with old people on the roads, but enough saxos find their way into hedges around here that are automatically assumed as belonging to "young people" that it gets boring!
The only person who knows whether you can be sensible with the car or not is yourself, personally i'd recommend as others have said a 540i or similar - lots of fun still and a great sound. Not as much of a disaster too if you do get it written off. I just hope that you can get a car you love, show you love it (keep it clean and tidy), take it to shows, talk with some of the other many, many like-minded PHers and show that you're really not that different in the end!
99.9% of everyone I've met from PH in real life is a properly decent person and any concerns they express about your ability to handle that car at that age will almost certainly stem from some very unfortunate experience. It happens. It's life.
Good luck with it!
JM
Congrats on getting a house, in many years you'll probably be glad you did!
Regarding the maturity of 19 year olds... I've been lucky in that I've been trusted from a fairly young age with some very nice machinery, both on two wheels and four. I think having the motorbike experience is handy because you do not feel like you can't be hurt like you do in a car at that age.
Sadly, even at the crusty old age of 24 I already find myself cursing a lot of young people on the roads for being generally awful at driving. The truth is I probably have a lot more issue with old people on the roads, but enough saxos find their way into hedges around here that are automatically assumed as belonging to "young people" that it gets boring!
The only person who knows whether you can be sensible with the car or not is yourself, personally i'd recommend as others have said a 540i or similar - lots of fun still and a great sound. Not as much of a disaster too if you do get it written off. I just hope that you can get a car you love, show you love it (keep it clean and tidy), take it to shows, talk with some of the other many, many like-minded PHers and show that you're really not that different in the end!
99.9% of everyone I've met from PH in real life is a properly decent person and any concerns they express about your ability to handle that car at that age will almost certainly stem from some very unfortunate experience. It happens. It's life.
Good luck with it!
JM
Only just seen this thread, latecomer to the party. My two cents.
I learned to drive and passed my test in a Mk2 Uno Turbo, 120BHP and it felt quick (at the time). I was thinking back only the other day that really I should be dead in a ditch, when I think of the way I tended to drive it... Funny how your thinking changes. I still drive with vigour but take none of the risks I probably did when I was younger. But then that's maybe just me. Suffice to say, having an M5 at that age would have made me immortal and legendary, but very, very dead
I will agree with the majority of what has been said previously.
Kind of glad in a way you ended up with the pad, it's a lot more comfortable sh@ggin in a proper bed than the back seat of a car ;-)
Look forward to the updates when you do pick up a great motor, you sound to have the right ideas about what's what.
I learned to drive and passed my test in a Mk2 Uno Turbo, 120BHP and it felt quick (at the time). I was thinking back only the other day that really I should be dead in a ditch, when I think of the way I tended to drive it... Funny how your thinking changes. I still drive with vigour but take none of the risks I probably did when I was younger. But then that's maybe just me. Suffice to say, having an M5 at that age would have made me immortal and legendary, but very, very dead
I will agree with the majority of what has been said previously.Kind of glad in a way you ended up with the pad, it's a lot more comfortable sh@ggin in a proper bed than the back seat of a car ;-)
Look forward to the updates when you do pick up a great motor, you sound to have the right ideas about what's what.
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