My Car History
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm Sharif, 21 from North London.
Here are the cars I have had since I passed my test.
1st car - 1997 VW Polo 16v 100 bhp - This was a lot of fun, bought the car at 16, fixed it up, put some wheels on it, once I passed my test, only drove it for a month before selling it.
2nd car - 2002 Polo 9N 16V - Shared this with my sister whilst I was looking for a new car after I sold the old polo, this was standard and I have no pictures.
3rd car - 2002 Polo 9N 1.4 Tdi Sport Edition - I purchased the car as it is, with the full Votex kit and 17" Audi TT Competition alloys. This was a lovely car and was very good on fuel. I ended up selling this as I was planning on buying a MK4 Golf Tdi, but I ended up in another Polo!
4th car: 2002 Polo 9N 1.4 Tdi - I bought this car as a CAT-D for £1k. Was off ebay and was told it wouldn't start and was just an electrical fault. Turned out it needed a new engine, so got that sorted, bought some bbs replicas for it, bought some smoothed front and rear bumpers. I soon got bored of the car, put it back to standard and sold it to a family member.
5th car - 2002 Audi A3 1.6 SE - I found the car for sale on Pistonheads with very low mileage for the age (37k), picked it up, kept it for a few months and then sold it.
6th car - Bought a cheap 2000 Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25 (definitley the worst car I have ever owned). I only had this for a few months.
7th car - 2000 Mazda MX-5 Isola. Such a fun car to drive and was my first rear wheel drive car. Had to sell it due to someone crashing into the back of me and my insurance increasing even though it was a non fault accident.
8th car - 2002 Ford Fiesta 1.4 LX. I bought this as a run around after I couldn't reinsure the MX-5 which was left sat on the drive for a fair time. Used this for seven months, then when I sold the MX-5, I put this up for sale and sold it within 2 days.
I then started looking at Golf's again...
9th car - 2004 Volkswagen Golf GT TDI. I bought this car in March 2011 after I sold the MX-5 and Fiesta. The main reason I went for the car was due to the colour, it was Candy White from the factory and it is very hard to find one of the early Golf's in this colour from the factory. I'd always wanted to modify a MK5 and did so as follows.
I bought the car like this:
And converted it to this by May 2011:
So I was enjoying driving the car after I got it looking right, then shortly after finishing modifying it disaster struck! Was moving the car on my break at work and the turbo blew. Got recovered home and the car wouldn't start. Mechanics looked at the car and said there was a possibility the engine seized. I had a warranty on the car, and after 11 months of messing me about, they decided not to pay out. So I kept on saving from work and after a year of the car being off the road, I got it repaired. Turned out it didn't need a rebuild but needed a new turbo, intercooler and a few other components, so I got those sorted and had the car back in June 2012.
I fitted the ED30 GTI headlights I had, got the car booked in to the bodyshop to get the bonnet smoothed, and get a few niggles in the bodywork sorted. I then fitted new coilover suspension as the old ones were seized badly, a GTI interior and R32 Valeo L.E.D rear lights.
Car then looked like this:
I was happy with the car, and then some unforeseen circumstances arose which meant I had to sell my pride and joy!
10th car - 2003 Mazda MX-5 Sport SV-T. I sold my car on the Saturday the 4th of August, and picked this up on Sunday the 5th of August. I was thinking what car could I purchase for around the £3k mark, which would be fun to drive, and instantly thought of another MX-5. The car was in Newcastle, so I spoke to the seller on the phone, asked about the overall condition etc, ensured there was no rust etc and booked a flight to Newcastle for Sunday morning.
As soon as I looked under the car, there was rust on the rear arches and sills. I was gutted as I had travelled a fair distance for the car and lead to believe there was no rust. I managed to knock a fair amount off the agreed price due to the condition. Main reason I chose this particular car was the mileage was very low and had just passed 30k. I went for the Sport SV-T as they have Blistein suspension as standard, 6 speed gear box, LSD etc.
The car needed a fair amount of work due to the rust, so had it sorted at a body shop and gave it a good service.
Pictures:
Thanks for reading,
Sharif
I'm Sharif, 21 from North London.
Here are the cars I have had since I passed my test.
1st car - 1997 VW Polo 16v 100 bhp - This was a lot of fun, bought the car at 16, fixed it up, put some wheels on it, once I passed my test, only drove it for a month before selling it.
2nd car - 2002 Polo 9N 16V - Shared this with my sister whilst I was looking for a new car after I sold the old polo, this was standard and I have no pictures.
3rd car - 2002 Polo 9N 1.4 Tdi Sport Edition - I purchased the car as it is, with the full Votex kit and 17" Audi TT Competition alloys. This was a lovely car and was very good on fuel. I ended up selling this as I was planning on buying a MK4 Golf Tdi, but I ended up in another Polo!
4th car: 2002 Polo 9N 1.4 Tdi - I bought this car as a CAT-D for £1k. Was off ebay and was told it wouldn't start and was just an electrical fault. Turned out it needed a new engine, so got that sorted, bought some bbs replicas for it, bought some smoothed front and rear bumpers. I soon got bored of the car, put it back to standard and sold it to a family member.
5th car - 2002 Audi A3 1.6 SE - I found the car for sale on Pistonheads with very low mileage for the age (37k), picked it up, kept it for a few months and then sold it.
6th car - Bought a cheap 2000 Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25 (definitley the worst car I have ever owned). I only had this for a few months.
7th car - 2000 Mazda MX-5 Isola. Such a fun car to drive and was my first rear wheel drive car. Had to sell it due to someone crashing into the back of me and my insurance increasing even though it was a non fault accident.
8th car - 2002 Ford Fiesta 1.4 LX. I bought this as a run around after I couldn't reinsure the MX-5 which was left sat on the drive for a fair time. Used this for seven months, then when I sold the MX-5, I put this up for sale and sold it within 2 days.
I then started looking at Golf's again...
9th car - 2004 Volkswagen Golf GT TDI. I bought this car in March 2011 after I sold the MX-5 and Fiesta. The main reason I went for the car was due to the colour, it was Candy White from the factory and it is very hard to find one of the early Golf's in this colour from the factory. I'd always wanted to modify a MK5 and did so as follows.
I bought the car like this:
And converted it to this by May 2011:
So I was enjoying driving the car after I got it looking right, then shortly after finishing modifying it disaster struck! Was moving the car on my break at work and the turbo blew. Got recovered home and the car wouldn't start. Mechanics looked at the car and said there was a possibility the engine seized. I had a warranty on the car, and after 11 months of messing me about, they decided not to pay out. So I kept on saving from work and after a year of the car being off the road, I got it repaired. Turned out it didn't need a rebuild but needed a new turbo, intercooler and a few other components, so I got those sorted and had the car back in June 2012.
I fitted the ED30 GTI headlights I had, got the car booked in to the bodyshop to get the bonnet smoothed, and get a few niggles in the bodywork sorted. I then fitted new coilover suspension as the old ones were seized badly, a GTI interior and R32 Valeo L.E.D rear lights.
Car then looked like this:
I was happy with the car, and then some unforeseen circumstances arose which meant I had to sell my pride and joy!
10th car - 2003 Mazda MX-5 Sport SV-T. I sold my car on the Saturday the 4th of August, and picked this up on Sunday the 5th of August. I was thinking what car could I purchase for around the £3k mark, which would be fun to drive, and instantly thought of another MX-5. The car was in Newcastle, so I spoke to the seller on the phone, asked about the overall condition etc, ensured there was no rust etc and booked a flight to Newcastle for Sunday morning.
As soon as I looked under the car, there was rust on the rear arches and sills. I was gutted as I had travelled a fair distance for the car and lead to believe there was no rust. I managed to knock a fair amount off the agreed price due to the condition. Main reason I chose this particular car was the mileage was very low and had just passed 30k. I went for the Sport SV-T as they have Blistein suspension as standard, 6 speed gear box, LSD etc.
The car needed a fair amount of work due to the rust, so had it sorted at a body shop and gave it a good service.
Pictures:
Thanks for reading,
Sharif
Edited by sharifr1 on Sunday 19th April 13:19
Nice! The Polo's are very good first cars.
I'm dropping the MX5 to a friends bodyshop tonight, going to get all the rust sorted on it, considering getting the front bumper smoothed out too. Then when it's back its going in for a full service, cambelt and waterpump, change all the fluids, then I'll order a new headunit and connect the mazda soundboard up to gain two more speakers and then it's MOT time in September.
I'm dropping the MX5 to a friends bodyshop tonight, going to get all the rust sorted on it, considering getting the front bumper smoothed out too. Then when it's back its going in for a full service, cambelt and waterpump, change all the fluids, then I'll order a new headunit and connect the mazda soundboard up to gain two more speakers and then it's MOT time in September.
Slight update.
The Mazda went within a month of owning it, had to spend around £1k on repairing it, so put it up for sale and got asking price.
Was then looking at what car to purchase next and decided on a 2005 Cosmic Grey EP3 Civic Type R Premier Edition.
Picture from the advert:
The car needed a fair amount of work. Had it fully serviced, all oils changed, wheels were badly damaged so I had them refurbed, window regualtor was replaced, new tyres, new brakes. But now it is running perfect.
The wheels were meant to be a lighter shade, but the refurber colour coded them, they look a lot better in the flesh than the pictures.
On my to do list is to remove all the dents and possibly change the stereo and door speakers as they are pretty bad and sell the private number plate as I have no use for it.
Pictures of it now:
And one with my cousins toy:
The Mazda went within a month of owning it, had to spend around £1k on repairing it, so put it up for sale and got asking price.
Was then looking at what car to purchase next and decided on a 2005 Cosmic Grey EP3 Civic Type R Premier Edition.
Picture from the advert:
The car needed a fair amount of work. Had it fully serviced, all oils changed, wheels were badly damaged so I had them refurbed, window regualtor was replaced, new tyres, new brakes. But now it is running perfect.
The wheels were meant to be a lighter shade, but the refurber colour coded them, they look a lot better in the flesh than the pictures.
On my to do list is to remove all the dents and possibly change the stereo and door speakers as they are pretty bad and sell the private number plate as I have no use for it.
Pictures of it now:
And one with my cousins toy:
Edited by sharifr1 on Thursday 11th October 12:29
Thanks. It is an old car and does need a fair amount of work, but slowly I'll get there. It was a big kick not getting anything back, and having to start from scratch again, but I'm determined to get a full time job asap now that I have finished university, and start getting back the money I lost.
No I understand. Long story short, I was trying to sell the car, it got stolen after the test drive, and that's that. Police may have found it but it has been stripped to bits. Don't really want to clog up the thread with what happened etc, as I said, I am trying to put it behind me and move on.
No I understand. Long story short, I was trying to sell the car, it got stolen after the test drive, and that's that. Police may have found it but it has been stripped to bits. Don't really want to clog up the thread with what happened etc, as I said, I am trying to put it behind me and move on.
Some more pictures of the Eunos:
Sadly the car is now for sale. I wanted to take this car further (forced induction), but can't justify the costs, I'd rather save the money towards a new car.
I am possibly replacing this with a Brabus Smart ForTwo. Plan is to keep the Brabus for a year and then hopefully next year I will finally get my dream car, a nice AP2 Honda S2000.
Sadly the car is now for sale. I wanted to take this car further (forced induction), but can't justify the costs, I'd rather save the money towards a new car.
I am possibly replacing this with a Brabus Smart ForTwo. Plan is to keep the Brabus for a year and then hopefully next year I will finally get my dream car, a nice AP2 Honda S2000.
Yes pal, it's not a nice feeling at all.
Guys need some advice.
The Brabus I was going to buy developed some problems so I am not getting it now.
Ideally I need a car for next Friday.
I have a £5k budget. Looking for something with max 75-80k miles, and no bigger than a 2 litre.
Any suggestions?
I also have the option to buy back my old Golf.
Guys need some advice.
The Brabus I was going to buy developed some problems so I am not getting it now.
Ideally I need a car for next Friday.
I have a £5k budget. Looking for something with max 75-80k miles, and no bigger than a 2 litre.
Any suggestions?
I also have the option to buy back my old Golf.
Slight update.
I got a tax rebate from work, so my budget increased.
I put a deposit down on an facelift Moonrock Grey Honda S2000.
Should be collecting it next Friday.
This has been my dream car since I first drove one when I was 18. I cannot wait to pick it up!
I got a tax rebate from work, so my budget increased.
I put a deposit down on an facelift Moonrock Grey Honda S2000.
Should be collecting it next Friday.
This has been my dream car since I first drove one when I was 18. I cannot wait to pick it up!
Edited by sharifr1 on Sunday 19th April 13:22
So I finally picked up my dream car yesterday 
A 2004 Honda S2000 GT in Moonrock Grey, with full red leather interior.
The car has 84k on it, but is runnning great.
I am going to get it booked in for a full service and chain replacement with TGM to be on the safe side.
One picture from the advert:
And a few at my friend's garage, these pictures don't do it any justice, I will get some better ones next week after a good clean!
Long term plans are possibly coilovers and new wheels.
Short term plans are a nice Alpine headunit with ipod connectivity.
Other than that, just to enjoy it
A 2004 Honda S2000 GT in Moonrock Grey, with full red leather interior.
The car has 84k on it, but is runnning great.
I am going to get it booked in for a full service and chain replacement with TGM to be on the safe side.
One picture from the advert:
And a few at my friend's garage, these pictures don't do it any justice, I will get some better ones next week after a good clean!
Long term plans are possibly coilovers and new wheels.
Short term plans are a nice Alpine headunit with ipod connectivity.
Other than that, just to enjoy it
Took the car to TGM yesterday for a full service.
Some pictures:
The guys at TGM did a really great job.
Tom even commented on how good the condition of the car is, which is good news for me
Bad news is the clutch is probably going to need changing soon, so that and undersealing the car are the next things on my list.
I also have a spare Moonrock Grey Hard Top for sale if anyone is interested.
Some pictures:
The guys at TGM did a really great job.
Tom even commented on how good the condition of the car is, which is good news for me
Bad news is the clutch is probably going to need changing soon, so that and undersealing the car are the next things on my list.
I also have a spare Moonrock Grey Hard Top for sale if anyone is interested.
Thanks
I took the car back to TGM last Friday to get the clutch changed. What a big difference it has made!
Tom called me over as he was taking the clutch out and here's a few pictures:
Old clutch:
New clutch:
The old clutch was on it's last legs. Changing it has made such a big difference, I can finally drive it properly lol!
I took the car back to TGM last Friday to get the clutch changed. What a big difference it has made!
Tom called me over as he was taking the clutch out and here's a few pictures:
Old clutch:
New clutch:
The old clutch was on it's last legs. Changing it has made such a big difference, I can finally drive it properly lol!
Has been a while and a lot has happened so thought I'd update this.
The S2000 was my dream car and I was over the moon with it.
A few pictures of it from when I had done a few additional bits:
Sadly in October 2014, I decided to sell the car. Was a sad day seeing the new owner drive off but he was a genuine enthusiast and I could tell the car would continued to be looked after.
I was then looking for a cheap run around and ended up buying a 2005 VW Passat 1.9 Tdi 130 Highline Estate:
The car was really economical and it was handy having an estate, I could always move things around and not have to worry about space!
Late 2014 I started looking for a new job and managed to secure one in the city with a start date of January 15. Since I would be getting the train to work, I had no reason to have a diesel. I ended up selling this and bought a 2003 Seat Leon Cupra R:
So the spec was a 2003 Seat Leon Cupra R (AMK 210bhp). The car had a few decent modifications, stage 1 remap, Jabbasport induction kit and heatshield, KW V1 coilovers, MK4 Golf top mounts, Neuspeed front and rear arb's, Miltek catback etc.
Car was running perfect when I bought it. Fast forward to the middle of February, I was taking my friend to Northampton so he could buy a new car for his wife. On the way back on the M1 the engine light starts flashing, theres a heavy metallic banging noise coming from the engine. The car was misfiring but we couldn't tell what the banging noise was. Got recovered home by the AA, left the car parked up for 2 weeks as my mechanic was on holiday.
Upon his return, he had a look at it and stated the dual mass flyhweel had gone. So £650 later, changed the clutch and dual mass flywheel but the car was misfiring still. A compression test was done and there was no compression in cylinder 2, we suspected the head had gone. I was a bit gutted as the mechanic should really have compression tested the engine first but at the same time the dual mass had indeed failed.
Long story short, I ended up dropping a replacement BAM engine in the car and have had to change a load of other bits on it.
I have decided to sell the car as I have just completely fallen out of love with it.
A few updated pictures:
This leads me onto my next potential purchase. If all goes well I should be picking up a 2003 E46 M3 SMG Convertible in carbon black with red leather.
The S2000 was my dream car and I was over the moon with it.
A few pictures of it from when I had done a few additional bits:
Sadly in October 2014, I decided to sell the car. Was a sad day seeing the new owner drive off but he was a genuine enthusiast and I could tell the car would continued to be looked after.
I was then looking for a cheap run around and ended up buying a 2005 VW Passat 1.9 Tdi 130 Highline Estate:
The car was really economical and it was handy having an estate, I could always move things around and not have to worry about space!
Late 2014 I started looking for a new job and managed to secure one in the city with a start date of January 15. Since I would be getting the train to work, I had no reason to have a diesel. I ended up selling this and bought a 2003 Seat Leon Cupra R:
So the spec was a 2003 Seat Leon Cupra R (AMK 210bhp). The car had a few decent modifications, stage 1 remap, Jabbasport induction kit and heatshield, KW V1 coilovers, MK4 Golf top mounts, Neuspeed front and rear arb's, Miltek catback etc.
Car was running perfect when I bought it. Fast forward to the middle of February, I was taking my friend to Northampton so he could buy a new car for his wife. On the way back on the M1 the engine light starts flashing, theres a heavy metallic banging noise coming from the engine. The car was misfiring but we couldn't tell what the banging noise was. Got recovered home by the AA, left the car parked up for 2 weeks as my mechanic was on holiday.
Upon his return, he had a look at it and stated the dual mass flyhweel had gone. So £650 later, changed the clutch and dual mass flywheel but the car was misfiring still. A compression test was done and there was no compression in cylinder 2, we suspected the head had gone. I was a bit gutted as the mechanic should really have compression tested the engine first but at the same time the dual mass had indeed failed.
Long story short, I ended up dropping a replacement BAM engine in the car and have had to change a load of other bits on it.
I have decided to sell the car as I have just completely fallen out of love with it.
A few updated pictures:
This leads me onto my next potential purchase. If all goes well I should be picking up a 2003 E46 M3 SMG Convertible in carbon black with red leather.
JJ55 said:
Can't believe how many cars you've got through at your young age & how much bad luck you've had with some of them! Hope all goes well with the new m3 (a lovely car) & post some pics when you get it
Yes, I haven't had the best of luck, hoping things sail smoothly here onwards. I will post pictures up on the weekend. Darko92 said:
OP by any chance did you live near/around the Kingsbury area in North London? Pretty sure I've seen that golf around many a few times and always admired it.
I live in Enfield, North London. I went to Brunel in Uxbridge so you may have spotted the Golf up and down the A40/A406. Sold the car back in 2012, the guy that bought it was from Devon. I believe it changed hands again and was last in Wales. Not sure where it is now. I do miss that car. Well unfortunately things with the M3 didn't work out.
I was then thinking with my head rather than my heart and thought I'd rather save more towards a house deposit than have all my money tied up in a car.
Started thinking what I could get which would be cheap and fun to drive. MX5's instantly popped back in my head. I started browsing for a MK1 and after missing out on three lovely ones, I came across one and picked it up this morning.
First fill up:
One at home:
She's a 1994 Mazda Eunos Roadster S Special (Jap import) which I found for sale on Pistonheads.
It's had a few nice modifications done and is ready for the track. This will be an interesting daily as the car is ridicously loud and very very low.
I was then thinking with my head rather than my heart and thought I'd rather save more towards a house deposit than have all my money tied up in a car.
Started thinking what I could get which would be cheap and fun to drive. MX5's instantly popped back in my head. I started browsing for a MK1 and after missing out on three lovely ones, I came across one and picked it up this morning.
First fill up:
One at home:
She's a 1994 Mazda Eunos Roadster S Special (Jap import) which I found for sale on Pistonheads.
It's had a few nice modifications done and is ready for the track. This will be an interesting daily as the car is ridicously loud and very very low.
I'm not too keen on dealers and I've had warranties in the past where they refuse to pay out.
I ended up buying a bike to commute to work to:
Since I bought the bike, I've hardly been using the MX5 and decided to put it up for sale.
Plan is to sell the car, buy a cheap run around and save the rest towards a house deposit.
One picture I took on my way home today:
Once the house is all sorted I will then get another fun car.
I ended up buying a bike to commute to work to:
Since I bought the bike, I've hardly been using the MX5 and decided to put it up for sale.
Plan is to sell the car, buy a cheap run around and save the rest towards a house deposit.
One picture I took on my way home today:
Once the house is all sorted I will then get another fun car.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I took a deposit on the Eunos this morning, it will be collected next week.
Looking to get a new run around with a budget of £1.5k max. Any suggestions? Looking to get a manual petrol, engine size isn't too much of an issue. Just want to ensure the car is reliable.
I took a deposit on the Eunos this morning, it will be collected next week.
Looking to get a new run around with a budget of £1.5k max. Any suggestions? Looking to get a manual petrol, engine size isn't too much of an issue. Just want to ensure the car is reliable.
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