RE: £100K Garage: James Green

RE: £100K Garage: James Green

Wednesday 17th September 2014

£100K Garage: James Green

James wanted a fun car, a family car, a classic and a convertible; here are his choices!



Name: James Green
Previously owned: 2 x Mazda MX-5, Mazda2, MGF, Nissan Sunny, Ford Fiesta, Bedford Astra van (please note the last three were forced on me by my parents in the learning/new driver stages of my life!).
Currently owned: Toyota GT86
On the shortlist: "Ferrari 360, TVR Sagaris/Tamora/T350, C63 AMG estate, BMW M3 saloon

"Despite a love of cars and a lot of time spent in the classifieds dreaming, once I have a car it tends to stay with me for quite a while and my thought is that all of the £100K garage would be keepers while covering the following requirements - fun daily, weekend fun, classic, convertible, load lugger, family car. I have gone for a fun British selection with a big German to fall back on as required. (Can I keep my GT86 as well in case they all go wrong?!)"



Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe
Cost:
£34,995
Balance: £65,005
Why I chose it: "The weekend fun. I have wanted a V8 ever since I sat in one at the motor show many years ago. To me this is one of the most beautiful cars to be sold in the last ten years. It has a lovely sound (yes, I know it is not the V12) and still looks as great as it did when first released. I prefer the looks of the coupe to the roadster; though open top motoring with that noise was tempting it would have come at a higher price. I had hoped to get one around £30K but it has to be a manual in Metallic Meteorite Silver with black leather so an extra £5K for the specific spec and low mileage. I also think it should hold it's value and in time, even make a bit."

 


BMW M5 Touring
Cost:
£20,495
Balance: £44,510
Why I chose it: "The family car and load lugger (as well as daily duty cover). It was a hard choice between this and a C63 AMG estate but in the end price made the decision easy. As a family car, it looks smart enough to go anywhere but has plenty of space for when I have a family. I had a 520d Touring as a hire car recently and it made me realise that as practical as I think a GT86 is, I also need a load lugger for those times when you want to have a clear out, take a suitcase on holiday and so on. Furthermore if you are going to have an estate, you may as well make it one with a 5.0-litre V10."

 


Lotus Europa S
Cost:
£18,450
Balance: £26,060
Why I chose it: "The fun daily. I currently do about 20K per year in my GT86 between Essex and London, and it was tempting to add one to the list. However with an expanded fleet I thought I would take a bit of a gamble as the M5 can easily slot into the daily duties when required (when the Europa gets too much for London driving). I like how rarely you see a Europa and at around the same price as an Elise, but with similar fun levels and the added practicality of a fixed roof makes it a perfect fun daily."

 


MGA
Cost:
£25,995
Balance: £65
Why I chose it: "The classic and the convertible. There is a coupe in the classifieds for over £10K less but with the other cars in my £100K garage, this would be reserved for summer use so it makes sense to tick off two boxes with this one. An iconic British sports car, one of my favourite classics. I especially love that the convertible has no door handles. I am already imagining the sunny weekends, roof down, driving through the country lanes..."

Author
Discussion

Axionknight

Original Poster:

8,505 posts

135 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Good choices all round I'd say - I've always been a fan of the V10 M5, maybe need a few quid aside for an aftermarket warranty though? biggrin

Theallotmentman

140 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........

foxhounduk

490 posts

180 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
The Europa S? interesting choice!
Definitely feeling the V8 Vantage. Its just utterly timeless.

renaultgeek

473 posts

148 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt

Theallotmentman

140 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!

bobbo89

5,199 posts

145 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Nice choices, although in reality I could see you being more tempted to jump into the M5 or Aston rather than the Lotus most mornings

Contigo

3,113 posts

209 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Had the M5 Touring and it was EPIC. Silencer delete was the best and cheapest mod that I have ever done!

cheese

66 posts

282 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Nice selection.

Why should one worry about fuel costs when considering a 'dream' garage, remember this is a 'dream' and not nightmare garage?

Barchettaman

6,303 posts

132 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
26k for the MG-A. Wow. I didn't realise they were that much.

Whilst I enjoy the 100k fantasy garage series, I always think it would be more interesting with, say, a 20k max but minimum number of vehicles (let's say 3).

A more constrained budget might encourage a bit more creativity and some even whackier choices?

Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 17th September 11:56

ManFromDelmonte

2,742 posts

180 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.

lightthefuse

426 posts

172 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Best garage I've seen so far, whilst I'd probably skip the MGA, I'm not quite sure what I'd have in its place at the moment...

AndrewSV

118 posts

149 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
ManFromDelmonte said:
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.
I'm not sure yet it's been established he'll get off the forecourt with only £65. The suspense is killing me.

Fetchez la vache

5,572 posts

214 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Nice garage, though I'm unsure as to whether a £35k Aston would "hold it's value and in time, even make a bit". Sounds like man maths smile

Theallotmentman

140 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
AndrewSV said:
ManFromDelmonte said:
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.
I'm not sure yet it's been established he'll get off the forecourt with only £65. The suspense is killing me.
I'm not sure, can anyone confirm that he did indeed get off the forecourt?

Itsallicanafford

2,764 posts

159 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
...Yeap, that will just about do it for me too, maybe something slightly more track focused (swap the europa for and Mk2 Exige and some ear plugs?) but very nice choices all around...

irocfan

40,389 posts

190 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
I've rated this garage highly - not because I like the cars (the BM would be nowhere near my driveway) but because I like the way the OP has thought about what he wants and why. IMO well thought out (oh and I do love the AM!!)

British Beef

2,210 posts

165 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
ManFromDelmonte said:
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.
Unlikely that will be sufficient to get him off the forecourt.

Fastchas

2,644 posts

121 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
British Beef said:
ManFromDelmonte said:
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.
Unlikely that will be sufficient to get him off the forecourt.
I'm confused now. Are we agreed or not that the forecourt perimeter will be reached...??

unsprung

5,467 posts

124 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all

Good garage. The addition of the MGA alongside all the modern motors is an inspired touch.

Theallotmentman

140 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Fastchas said:
British Beef said:
ManFromDelmonte said:
Theallotmentman said:
renaultgeek said:
Theallotmentman said:
Definitely one of the better garages. I always wonder how with these garages there is never a consideration on fuel and insurance though. It's supposed to be dream I know but still........
he has £65 for that, enough to get him off the forecourt
Lol, the BMW will use £65 just to get off the forecourt!
That should get him off the forecourt.
Unlikely that will be sufficient to get him off the forecourt.
I'm confused now. Are we agreed or not that the forecourt perimeter will be reached...??
I'm afraid no conclusion has been reached. Are we calculating parameters such as weight, surface of forecourt, weather conditions, tyre pressures, price per litre?