A newbie who can't settle on a car...
Discussion
NSX
Just realised I quoted myself on 9th Aug 2013 here saying: "I've set (in my head) that I'll own an NSX before next year ends... Hopefully I get there somehow..."
Well and truly achieved
Sorry not much on the update front, still looking for a FT job so I've just been driving them around, NSX every now and then simply because I can't resist! I do have a few pictures for you though!
Both cars are so different yet I love driving them both (slight bias towards the NSX). The Swift does want new front shocks if I'm honest but other than that, is going great! (Bar no air con..
)
Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! I took both cars out separately today for a bit of a drive in-between family stuff. It was fantastic.
Well and truly achieved
Sorry not much on the update front, still looking for a FT job so I've just been driving them around, NSX every now and then simply because I can't resist! I do have a few pictures for you though!
Both cars are so different yet I love driving them both (slight bias towards the NSX). The Swift does want new front shocks if I'm honest but other than that, is going great! (Bar no air con..
)Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! I took both cars out separately today for a bit of a drive in-between family stuff. It was fantastic.
Update time! YAY!
So summer was here and the swift needed en entire AC overhaul (read above 1k) so that was a no go; put it for sale to see if there was any interest... and well, no not really. I had a couple come see and offer me half of what I was after.... So I kept it and just had to endure the 40degree days... Yeah that wasn't fun.
A few weeks later I had 3 calls at once which resulted in one gent from SYDNEY buying the car for asking, sight unseen and transferring cash into my account the next morning! Turns out he already has one, but he wants two... Only 200 were ever imported into Australia apparently. I've only seen one other one in Perth.
So now I was down to one car and no FT job, manageable except I ended up stealing mums car which doesn't really work because she needs it too. Fine, I'd buy a cheap thing to get me around. Wasn't really fussed at this point as long as it was A) reliable, B) cheap to buy and C) not a fuel guzzler.
Sent dad off to view one car because it was local to him.... Should've known better, ended up with this magnificent turd:
Cause you know, I do serious off roading! This one time, I mounted a curb!
Well its a 1998 green-ish Honda CRV, 5spd manual. It was also an oil leaky turd with several dents and scratches (pics don't tell half the story..) Thanks dad.
Brought it to the mechanics and had to spent a fair few bob to get it mechanically right.
And I still hated how slow it was, how unnecessarily heavy the clutch was. The good part was a rear that had flat folding seats and separate tailgate.. So quite useful.
I drove this for a while then put it for sale... Just felt like a machine and I had no love for it. Had many time wasters surprisingly but sold it eventually for a small loss.
Back to borrowing mums car.
NSX update - well not much really. I did get another laundry driving job for a competitor so been doing that for a while. At least its enabled me to spend all I've earned on the NSX... Yep, finally ordered that timing belt / water pump stuff so I'll finally be able to drive it soon. Its currently en route from the USA. What pushed me over the edge to get it done, was my mechanic saying it sounded nice. Yep. Haha
Now mum got sick of me borrowing the skyline and I got sick of borrowing it too - not the car's fault (nice to drive) but more its not my car, don't want to do this or that because its not my car.
I was meant to buy dad's 1994 Benz C280 Sport which he bought cheap but hadn't been driven in a few years... So naturally needed money spending.
|
Lovely car, loved driving it when I could. Had the sports seats, carbon-look trim and lower than usual C classes. Oh dad was selling it to me as he was returning to the UK permanently
Anyway about a week before his flight, this happened:
Insurance write off
Some cow went straight into the back of him, no brakes applied (dad was just turning into his mates workshop and his mate saw everything). Said cow then refused to give her details and disappeared before the cops came.
No matter, dad was OK and his mates managed to find out who she was, forwarded these details to the insurance company and then successfully got paid out just before he flew out. That was a relief BUT I WANTED THE CAR!! Inspection revealed twisted chassis so not worth the repair
Truly gutted, had enough power, handled well and wasn't too big whilst being all sorted. Argh! I began the hunt for another but couldn't find another for sale anywhere, let alone a good one. Sigh.
Next best thing then.
Literally an hour ago, I just parked this in the drive... And I absolutely adore it!
Apologies for the pics, best I could do with my ageing iphone4. I promise I will get better ones to truly show how stunning it is .
Yes I know its only a C200 but that doesn't concern me in the slightest. Its almost immaculate outside (one door and boot trim needs a bit of paint) and immaculate inside. The previous owners have had it 13 years! Whilst its not low km, 235km, it drives like far, far less and presents like far less too. It was the wife's car and his job by trade, is a Benz / BMW mechanic! So very well looked after by them and I will do my best to ensure it remains the same.
The reason for sale?
C280 is his (he simply won't sell - not identical spec wise to my dad's old one, C280 Elegance - he had to go to Sydney for it and has had it for years too) and the CLK was just bought for his wife as the replacement. Quite simply, no need for 3 cars so the C200 had to go. Fine by me!
Oh yes, it cost only a tad more than the CRV. Truly, I will write this here and now. If it passes my mechanic's tests, this will be the permanent daily driver. Economical, comfortable, (hopefully) reliable and cheap-ish to run.
Unfortunately the tyres are near new, so won't be replacing the steel wheels for a while.
And that's bang up to date! Hope you enjoyed the read. I will be back with some nice pictures of my pair in the future!
So summer was here and the swift needed en entire AC overhaul (read above 1k) so that was a no go; put it for sale to see if there was any interest... and well, no not really. I had a couple come see and offer me half of what I was after.... So I kept it and just had to endure the 40degree days... Yeah that wasn't fun.
A few weeks later I had 3 calls at once which resulted in one gent from SYDNEY buying the car for asking, sight unseen and transferring cash into my account the next morning! Turns out he already has one, but he wants two... Only 200 were ever imported into Australia apparently. I've only seen one other one in Perth.
So now I was down to one car and no FT job, manageable except I ended up stealing mums car which doesn't really work because she needs it too. Fine, I'd buy a cheap thing to get me around. Wasn't really fussed at this point as long as it was A) reliable, B) cheap to buy and C) not a fuel guzzler.
Sent dad off to view one car because it was local to him.... Should've known better, ended up with this magnificent turd:
Cause you know, I do serious off roading! This one time, I mounted a curb!
Well its a 1998 green-ish Honda CRV, 5spd manual. It was also an oil leaky turd with several dents and scratches (pics don't tell half the story..) Thanks dad.
Brought it to the mechanics and had to spent a fair few bob to get it mechanically right.
And I still hated how slow it was, how unnecessarily heavy the clutch was. The good part was a rear that had flat folding seats and separate tailgate.. So quite useful.
I drove this for a while then put it for sale... Just felt like a machine and I had no love for it. Had many time wasters surprisingly but sold it eventually for a small loss.
Back to borrowing mums car.
NSX update - well not much really. I did get another laundry driving job for a competitor so been doing that for a while. At least its enabled me to spend all I've earned on the NSX... Yep, finally ordered that timing belt / water pump stuff so I'll finally be able to drive it soon. Its currently en route from the USA. What pushed me over the edge to get it done, was my mechanic saying it sounded nice. Yep. Haha
Now mum got sick of me borrowing the skyline and I got sick of borrowing it too - not the car's fault (nice to drive) but more its not my car, don't want to do this or that because its not my car.
I was meant to buy dad's 1994 Benz C280 Sport which he bought cheap but hadn't been driven in a few years... So naturally needed money spending.
|Lovely car, loved driving it when I could. Had the sports seats, carbon-look trim and lower than usual C classes. Oh dad was selling it to me as he was returning to the UK permanently
Anyway about a week before his flight, this happened:
Insurance write off
Some cow went straight into the back of him, no brakes applied (dad was just turning into his mates workshop and his mate saw everything). Said cow then refused to give her details and disappeared before the cops came.
No matter, dad was OK and his mates managed to find out who she was, forwarded these details to the insurance company and then successfully got paid out just before he flew out. That was a relief BUT I WANTED THE CAR!! Inspection revealed twisted chassis so not worth the repair
Truly gutted, had enough power, handled well and wasn't too big whilst being all sorted. Argh! I began the hunt for another but couldn't find another for sale anywhere, let alone a good one. Sigh.
Next best thing then.
Literally an hour ago, I just parked this in the drive... And I absolutely adore it!
Apologies for the pics, best I could do with my ageing iphone4. I promise I will get better ones to truly show how stunning it is
.Yes I know its only a C200 but that doesn't concern me in the slightest. Its almost immaculate outside (one door and boot trim needs a bit of paint) and immaculate inside. The previous owners have had it 13 years! Whilst its not low km, 235km, it drives like far, far less and presents like far less too. It was the wife's car and his job by trade, is a Benz / BMW mechanic! So very well looked after by them and I will do my best to ensure it remains the same.
The reason for sale?
C280 is his (he simply won't sell - not identical spec wise to my dad's old one, C280 Elegance - he had to go to Sydney for it and has had it for years too) and the CLK was just bought for his wife as the replacement. Quite simply, no need for 3 cars so the C200 had to go. Fine by me!
Oh yes, it cost only a tad more than the CRV. Truly, I will write this here and now. If it passes my mechanic's tests, this will be the permanent daily driver. Economical, comfortable, (hopefully) reliable and cheap-ish to run.
Unfortunately the tyres are near new, so won't be replacing the steel wheels for a while.
And that's bang up to date! Hope you enjoyed the read. I will be back with some nice pictures of my pair in the future!
Edited by Ten Four on Saturday 25th April 11:17
Loving the Benz so far. Already done about 180kms in it. Loved all of it!
Sucker for 90s cars I think... Here's a few more pics, you're going to have to trust me on driver's seat condition... Its as good as the passenger cause I think I'll be keeping the sheepskin cover
Warning, pics inbound.
The real test is when it visits my mechanics place.. Fingers crossed.
Update time, not much has happened really...
Benz passed the mechanic test with flying colours! Only requiring brake lines... So I bought some braided ones . Oh and the rear speakers were crackling so they got replaced. The OEM-ness is fantastic, the factory speaker grills and mounts have been retained so it looks like nothing ever happened there . The only downside is my cousin managed to reverse into the rear quarter leaving an indent and paint loss. This will be staying as he's jobless (uni student) and I've told him not to worry about it.
I've done a few trips in it now, its faultless and returns 9.3-10.3L/100km or 27-30MPG everywhere. Suits me perfectly. It could use a bit more power for those longer country runs but will happily sit at whatever speed I set cruise at.
NSX news, well I finally saved up enough from odd jobs and got the timing belt, water pump and other major service items done. Yay! . The old belt looked nearly new (11 years, 21k kms old) but hey ho. Water pump was original. Mechanic says he will never do another one with engine in because he doesn't have small Japanese hands 
. No other updates here apart from driving it now without worry. Would love some wheels, tyres and suspension but budget doesn't come close to allowing any... So I bought a bike.
Yes its a baby bike but its all about that redline!
Its a 1989 CBR250R inline 4 that'll hit limiter at 19,000rpm
. Its been to my bike mechanic and apart from a leaking brake seal (fixed), its got no issues apart from a slightly dodgy temp gauge. Yes its the gauge as the thermostat was tested in boiling water... Its so much fun.
Plans? Get license (daunting + lessons aren't cheap) and fit a loud pipe
.
I need to get a picture of all 3 together.. Yes running 2 cars and a bike isn't cheap but oh well. I will also try get an NSX driving video together sometime for those interested.
Oh and a few fancy photos a mate took of the NSX are in the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.16251838...
Thanks!
Benz passed the mechanic test with flying colours! Only requiring brake lines... So I bought some braided ones
. Oh and the rear speakers were crackling so they got replaced. The OEM-ness is fantastic, the factory speaker grills and mounts have been retained so it looks like nothing ever happened there . The only downside is my cousin managed to reverse into the rear quarter leaving an indent and paint loss. This will be staying as he's jobless (uni student) and I've told him not to worry about it.I've done a few trips in it now, its faultless and returns 9.3-10.3L/100km or 27-30MPG everywhere. Suits me perfectly. It could use a bit more power for those longer country runs but will happily sit at whatever speed I set cruise at.
NSX news, well I finally saved up enough from odd jobs and got the timing belt, water pump and other major service items done. Yay!
. The old belt looked nearly new (11 years, 21k kms old) but hey ho. Water pump was original. Mechanic says he will never do another one with engine in because he doesn't have small Japanese hands . No other updates here apart from driving it now without worry. Would love some wheels, tyres and suspension but budget doesn't come close to allowing any... So I bought a bike.Yes its a baby bike but its all about that redline!
Its a 1989 CBR250R inline 4 that'll hit limiter at 19,000rpm
. Its been to my bike mechanic and apart from a leaking brake seal (fixed), its got no issues apart from a slightly dodgy temp gauge. Yes its the gauge as the thermostat was tested in boiling water... Its so much fun.Plans? Get license (daunting + lessons aren't cheap) and fit a loud pipe
. I need to get a picture of all 3 together.. Yes running 2 cars and a bike isn't cheap but oh well. I will also try get an NSX driving video together sometime for those interested.
Oh and a few fancy photos a mate took of the NSX are in the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.16251838...
Thanks!
Edited by Ten Four on Wednesday 29th July 09:23
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