£100K Garage: Gary Reid
Luxury is the aim for Gary with a Bentley, Quattroporte and a Fiat Dino. Oh, and a Jimny.
Previously owned: Vauxhall Astra MkII 1.3, Rover 600, Ford Fiesta 1.3, Alfa Romeo 155 2.0-litre Twin Spark Widebody, Mercedes E240 W210, Audi A4 Cabriolet, Fiat Punto 1.2 2nd Gen, Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.9 DDIS, Suzuki Swift 1.3 DDIS, Alfa Romeo GTV 3.2 V6 Phase 3
On the shortlist: "Alfa 166 2.0TS as my daily."
Cost: £44,995
Balance: £55,005
Why I chose it: "The weekend car. To me the seller is a bit optimistic on their price, but are correct in calling this an appreciating classic. I sat in one at Brooklands Auto Italia and it has become my holy grail car. Later 2.4 models are probably more desirable but this looks in pretty good nick and will need little work. The engine was shared with the Ferrari Dino of the same era as well as many of the other components. The engine is pretty robust with a good specialist network, so not too much of a headache to run. I just think the Bertone design is beautiful."
Maserati Quattroporte
Cost: £7,930
Balance: £47,075
Why I chose it: "The car for daily and family duties. Not an obvious choice, particularly when the fabulous QP V is looking such good value these days. I do however have a soft spot for the unassuming and rare Gandini designed QP IV. This one has got good history and looks in pretty good condition. I'd still get a specialist check before purchase though! It's the last iteration of the inconsistent Biturbo era but this one has been built post-Ferrari takeover (so it should be pretty well screwed together) and has a fabulous twin-turbo V8. They did however remove the oval gold clock and replace with a really cheap looking digital display Shocking.
"It's a bit of a Q car and it would be quite cool driving around in something most people have never seen before. Plus its fast - very fast!"
Cost: £39,950
Balance: £7,250
Why I chose it: "For impressing the relatives. I have always loved these despite the negative footballer image. This one doesn't look too tarty and has a top spec. No photos of the interior so I would need to check that but in general it looks pretty good value. Reliability can be awful so will need a very good check before purchase. Even then I'll be in for some big bills and not just at the fuel pump!"
[Gary's original GT so we've had to substitute this similarly priced car. No worries on the interior here, looks good!]
Suzuki Jimny
Cost: £5,995
Balance: £1,255
Why I chose it: "For total trust. They say after the apocalypse only two things will survive: cockroaches and Suzuki Jimmys! This thing hasn't changed in design or construction in 20 years. Every weak point has been addressed and my wife's hairdryer has more complex electrics. Its got old school 4WD with low range, basic suspension and breakover angles that would make a Range Rover blush. If I were to cross the African subcontinent unsupported this would be my choice. It's slow, uncomfortable and you would look like a knob driving one but, hey, you can look like a knob driving a Ferrari. While the rest of the fleet is in the garage being fixed, my Jimny will be available come snow, floods or, heaven forbid, the apocalypse!
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1. How did that (gorgeous) Dino end up with an 87/88 UK registration?
2. 3 things would survive the Apocolypse: you forgot Nissan Micras.
Completely agree about the Jimny though - I used to sell them and although deeply unfashionable they tended to get bought by people who were actually going to use them off-road, unlike most larger 4x4s.
Interesting selection - thumbs up from me!
"Originally registered in Milan this lovely example was exported to the USA in 1990 with approximately 80,000 miles recorded. The car was then treated to a specialist engine rebuild and dry stored until 2012, when recommissioned and sold to its only UK owner."
DVLA gaffe? I remember a 944 with an "R" plate a few years ago - apparently once done it can't be undone.
1. How did that (gorgeous) Dino end up with an 87/88 UK registration?
My guess is DVLA cock up - the car is a 1967 model which would correspond to an "E" suffix registration plat (Jan - July 67), whereas it has been issued with a "E" prefix plate.
Great choices by the way - always looking at the QP IV myself.
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