RE: £100K Garage: James Green
Wednesday 17th September 2014
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
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."1-t.jpg "Click to enlarge")
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..."
£100K Garage: James Green
James wanted a fun car, a family car, a classic and a convertible; here are his choices!
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?!)"
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."
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."
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."
1-L.jpg "Click to enlarge")
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..."
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