My car history and latest acquisition (pic heavy)
Discussion
Having finally taken some photos of my latest car I thought I would make a thread of my car history to date.
During the second year of Uni I finally had enough time and money to pass my test. Three days later I got on the bus and went to buy my first car, a 1995 Fiesta Si 1.6. This was a great little car, small & light with fantastic buckety seats and a grunty little 1.6l 16V twin cam engine to punt it along. To me at the time it felt rocket propelled and it really did go quite well. I don't have many great pictures of it but here it is:
Many happy miles and experiences were had before it started breaking so often I had sense of humour failure with it. After two years (at the age of 21) I then went and bought my Clio 182.
This was a fantastic car. For 3 years and over 30k miles it performed faultlessly and was a joy to drive. For me the 182 is the best hot hatch ever made, it took all the ingredients of the best early hot hatches and made them even better. After the 182 the Clio became fat and heavy and just lost any appeal to me.
This car did two European roadtrips, probably over 5000 miles in total and performed faultlessly. I should probably never have sold this car as it was the best car I ever owned
.
After 18 months or so of owning the Clio I finally succumbed to the lure of a big V8 barge and added this to the fleet: a 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC in LA pimp white with chocolate leather
. It was a truly decadent thing, sumptuous comfort with electric everything and a stonking V8 engine. 300bhp is a lot even now given the car weighed 1750kg which isn't so far off many hatchbacks nowadays. In 1988 it must have been otherworldly, it had some serious go for such a barge. When the exhaust rotted out I got a full custom stainless system built for it which emitted a lovely rumble at idle and a truly filthy noise at full chat.
After a while I realised I wanted a 4x4 and there was only one choice, the daddy of them all. This was then added to the fleet (bringing it to 3), my 1995 Landcruiser HDJ80 4.2td manual. These really are the king of 4x4s, the axles are the strongest fitted to any regular passenger 4x4, triple locking differentials and everything built to an agricultural level of indestructibility. The 4.2td engine is completely different to a regular car diesel, it might be only rated at about 170bhp but it makes that power at a little over 2000rpm and will happily run flat out all day for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Unfortunately I was in too much of a rush to buy one and mine wasn't the best example ever, it had clearly seen a lot of abuse. Nevertheless it was a beast of a vehicle and we went quite a few miles together, including round the pyrenees and right across France.
Towards the end of the summer of 2013 I was coming to the sad realisation that this fleet was costing me an enormous and unsustainable amount of money and something had to be done. Over the next few months I sold all three and started looking for my next wagon, I wanted a big 4x4 as I really like them, I first looked at 100 series Landcruiser amazons, then tried a Jeep Commander. The diesel one was excellent but then I tried the petrol one they also had which unfortunately turned out to be even better.
A bout of weapons grade excel man-maths ensued after which I had proved that the V8 was in fact the sensible answer and I bought this: a Jeep Commander 5.7 Hemi Limited.
This was a magnificently ridiculous car, it did 0-60 in 7.2s (as fast as a 4.2 supercharged Range Rover) with no effort or talent whatsover yet was supremely comfortable, quiet and refined. It could also do some serious offroading when required and had all the practicality of a big 4x4. Much pleasure was had wafting around in it and childishly out-dragging angry diesel drivers .
After a few months I realised that a mistake had been made in the man-maths: I was not doing 8-10000 miles a year, in fact I was well on course for 20000 miles a year. At the consistent 18mpg the Jeep was averaging that was an awful lot of petrol, plus the £490 tax and servicing with special very expensive oil etc etc. This meant it had to go hence the purchase of my current car: a Mk5 Golf GTI.
This was purchased after doing some actual maths (rather than man-maths) and compared to the various other options under consideration it seemed the best compromise of desire/cost/practicality. I really like it so far, it is all the car you need and nothing you don't. The performance is strong but not ballistic, the grip on its new Pilot Sport 3s is excellent, the handling seems pretty good so far, the interior space is outstanding and on the motorway it is extremely good (after fitting cruise control).
The Golf is doing everything I really need a car to do and actually allowing me to save some money which is nice. It will be going on my summer roadtrip in August and hopefully fitted with winter tyres and taken skiing this winter. If I can source some Monza 17s to replace the 18s then I shall be doing that but otherwise it will be remaining completely standard.
So that's my car history from age 19 to 25, somewhat eclectic but they've all been great fun in different ways. If you've got this far then thanks for reading.
During the second year of Uni I finally had enough time and money to pass my test. Three days later I got on the bus and went to buy my first car, a 1995 Fiesta Si 1.6. This was a great little car, small & light with fantastic buckety seats and a grunty little 1.6l 16V twin cam engine to punt it along. To me at the time it felt rocket propelled and it really did go quite well. I don't have many great pictures of it but here it is:
Many happy miles and experiences were had before it started breaking so often I had sense of humour failure with it. After two years (at the age of 21) I then went and bought my Clio 182.
This was a fantastic car. For 3 years and over 30k miles it performed faultlessly and was a joy to drive. For me the 182 is the best hot hatch ever made, it took all the ingredients of the best early hot hatches and made them even better. After the 182 the Clio became fat and heavy and just lost any appeal to me.
This car did two European roadtrips, probably over 5000 miles in total and performed faultlessly. I should probably never have sold this car as it was the best car I ever owned
.After 18 months or so of owning the Clio I finally succumbed to the lure of a big V8 barge and added this to the fleet: a 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC in LA pimp white with chocolate leather
. It was a truly decadent thing, sumptuous comfort with electric everything and a stonking V8 engine. 300bhp is a lot even now given the car weighed 1750kg which isn't so far off many hatchbacks nowadays. In 1988 it must have been otherworldly, it had some serious go for such a barge. When the exhaust rotted out I got a full custom stainless system built for it which emitted a lovely rumble at idle and a truly filthy noise at full chat.After a while I realised I wanted a 4x4 and there was only one choice, the daddy of them all. This was then added to the fleet (bringing it to 3), my 1995 Landcruiser HDJ80 4.2td manual. These really are the king of 4x4s, the axles are the strongest fitted to any regular passenger 4x4, triple locking differentials and everything built to an agricultural level of indestructibility. The 4.2td engine is completely different to a regular car diesel, it might be only rated at about 170bhp but it makes that power at a little over 2000rpm and will happily run flat out all day for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Unfortunately I was in too much of a rush to buy one and mine wasn't the best example ever, it had clearly seen a lot of abuse. Nevertheless it was a beast of a vehicle and we went quite a few miles together, including round the pyrenees and right across France.
Towards the end of the summer of 2013 I was coming to the sad realisation that this fleet was costing me an enormous and unsustainable amount of money and something had to be done. Over the next few months I sold all three and started looking for my next wagon, I wanted a big 4x4 as I really like them, I first looked at 100 series Landcruiser amazons, then tried a Jeep Commander. The diesel one was excellent but then I tried the petrol one they also had which unfortunately turned out to be even better.
A bout of weapons grade excel man-maths ensued after which I had proved that the V8 was in fact the sensible answer and I bought this: a Jeep Commander 5.7 Hemi Limited.
This was a magnificently ridiculous car, it did 0-60 in 7.2s (as fast as a 4.2 supercharged Range Rover) with no effort or talent whatsover yet was supremely comfortable, quiet and refined. It could also do some serious offroading when required and had all the practicality of a big 4x4. Much pleasure was had wafting around in it and childishly out-dragging angry diesel drivers .
After a few months I realised that a mistake had been made in the man-maths: I was not doing 8-10000 miles a year, in fact I was well on course for 20000 miles a year. At the consistent 18mpg the Jeep was averaging that was an awful lot of petrol, plus the £490 tax and servicing with special very expensive oil etc etc. This meant it had to go hence the purchase of my current car: a Mk5 Golf GTI.
This was purchased after doing some actual maths (rather than man-maths) and compared to the various other options under consideration it seemed the best compromise of desire/cost/practicality. I really like it so far, it is all the car you need and nothing you don't. The performance is strong but not ballistic, the grip on its new Pilot Sport 3s is excellent, the handling seems pretty good so far, the interior space is outstanding and on the motorway it is extremely good (after fitting cruise control).
The Golf is doing everything I really need a car to do and actually allowing me to save some money which is nice. It will be going on my summer roadtrip in August and hopefully fitted with winter tyres and taken skiing this winter. If I can source some Monza 17s to replace the 18s then I shall be doing that but otherwise it will be remaining completely standard.
So that's my car history from age 19 to 25, somewhat eclectic but they've all been great fun in different ways. If you've got this far then thanks for reading.
shalmaneser said:
Interesting fleet, although that Jeep Hemi is hideous!
It isn't a vision of sleek automotive beauty no, but it was very nice to drive and looks don't matter when you're sat in it! There is something very comical about a car that looks like that going quite so fast, nobody expects it at all.Thanks for the positive comments.
.
aka_kerrly said:
The Mercedes is class, I've been tempted by them a few times mostly as I love the pillarless look, a 300CE also appeals for the same reason but without quite such extreme running costs.
The Golf is as you say an excellent all rounder, plus tornado red looks great!
The Mercedes is a quality car, the pillarless windows are lovely on a sunny day and the sliding sunroof makes it even better (apart from the leaks). The running costs aren't as extreme as you might imagine, obviously a 5.6l V8 auto from the 80s is never going to be frugal but I averaged 22-23 mpg and once managed 25 on a long slow motorway cruise. Parts are all available from Mercedes, some reasonably priced and some not so reasonable but they are mechanically reliable and fairly solid body-wise apart from some rusting arches.The Golf is as you say an excellent all rounder, plus tornado red looks great!
iacabu said:
Very interesting collection there. Definitely like the Merc and Landcruiser. Never been keen on the body of the Commander but I guess the engine makes up for it.
lewisf182 said:
Interesting history so far! Very varied. Love the commander, it does look hideous but you just would not expect a 5.7 hemi in there! Must have sounded decent too.
The commander does look rather like a ghastly mummy bus but unlike most it is a properly capable off-roader and goes like a sports car! It isn't loud but when given the beans made rather a tasty rumble.ST150HB said:
Golf looks tidy! Love how your man maths have worked so far!
The Golf is indeed a very nice example. Man maths is a real problem for me and has caused no end of damage to my back account .yes awesome, approve of the last car and draw similarities to your early small hot hatches. I did a similar car history thread with mine and just returned from a faultless 2000 mile road trip from the south of France which I will writ up and add soon.
The merc is lovely too, interesting colour combo, bet you got a few strange looks wafting around in that!
The merc is lovely too, interesting colour combo, bet you got a few strange looks wafting around in that!
Well the Golf is still proving itself to be excellent. The 18" wheels have been replaced by 17" with Goodyear Asymmetric 2s which has improved the ride, reduced road noise and made me less paranoid about kerbing them. I've now driven it over 12,000 miles and it has been faultless, comfy and relaxing when you want it to be and a giggle when not. It also took three people on a road trip round Europe right down the the Italian Riviera which was great.
A few weeks back I was walking to the beach and I spotted this in someones driveway with a for sale notice in the window. It had 7 months MOT, seemed clean and drove well so it seemed rude not to buy it even though I have no need for it. For the mighty sum of £275 this beast is now mine:
I've been using it as my local pottering around car and it's a great little thing for the price. It has Goodyear tyres all round and runs really sweetly. Everything works apart from the rev counter and I think it was an absolute bargain. It is for sale to the first person that gives me enough to make a little profit as due to the following events I now have three cars again
.
Yesterday my brother asked me if I wanted to accompany him to the auctions as he was on the lookout for a 4x4 or project car of some kind. I thought it would be fun so along we went and I spotted a very nice looking Hilux in the lot. It duly came through and seemed to run really well, he didn't want to start the bidding at which point I may have lost my common sense and started bidding on it myself. One thing led to another and voila, I am now the proud owner of this beast:
It's a 1996 Toyota Hilux Surf 3.0td manual (Gen 3). Being from an auction I had no idea what it would be like and took a gamble but it's actually brilliant! It's in lovely condition inside and out and drives superbly. There's loads of history, mostly Toyota main dealer including a new clutch and flywheel a few years back, it has General Grabber AT tyres all round, the 4x4 and centre diff lock all work perfectly and it just has that gut feeling of being a good'un. I'll leave you lot to guess how much I paid for it but suffice to say I couldn't be more chuffed so far.
I had no intention at all of coming home with a car for me but never mind, it was an amusing experience and now that's my winter transport sorted
.
A few weeks back I was walking to the beach and I spotted this in someones driveway with a for sale notice in the window. It had 7 months MOT, seemed clean and drove well so it seemed rude not to buy it even though I have no need for it. For the mighty sum of £275 this beast is now mine:
I've been using it as my local pottering around car and it's a great little thing for the price. It has Goodyear tyres all round and runs really sweetly. Everything works apart from the rev counter and I think it was an absolute bargain. It is for sale to the first person that gives me enough to make a little profit as due to the following events I now have three cars again
.Yesterday my brother asked me if I wanted to accompany him to the auctions as he was on the lookout for a 4x4 or project car of some kind. I thought it would be fun so along we went and I spotted a very nice looking Hilux in the lot. It duly came through and seemed to run really well, he didn't want to start the bidding at which point I may have lost my common sense and started bidding on it myself. One thing led to another and voila, I am now the proud owner of this beast:
It's a 1996 Toyota Hilux Surf 3.0td manual (Gen 3). Being from an auction I had no idea what it would be like and took a gamble but it's actually brilliant! It's in lovely condition inside and out and drives superbly. There's loads of history, mostly Toyota main dealer including a new clutch and flywheel a few years back, it has General Grabber AT tyres all round, the 4x4 and centre diff lock all work perfectly and it just has that gut feeling of being a good'un. I'll leave you lot to guess how much I paid for it but suffice to say I couldn't be more chuffed so far.
I had no intention at all of coming home with a car for me but never mind, it was an amusing experience and now that's my winter transport sorted
.Love the car history! Very varied.
Big fan of the ol' Toyotas incredibly tough pieces of machinery, they can take some punishment. The Hilux seems to be very tidy considering it's age, looks like a good buy! I have to admit that I do love it when people just 'accidentally' buy cars, always makes me chuckle. Let's hope we get some exciting weather so you can put it to good use!
Big fan of the ol' Toyotas incredibly tough pieces of machinery, they can take some punishment. The Hilux seems to be very tidy considering it's age, looks like a good buy! I have to admit that I do love it when people just 'accidentally' buy cars, always makes me chuckle. Let's hope we get some exciting weather so you can put it to good use!
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