Saturday 1st August 2015

£100K Garage: Niall Walker

Another fresh-faced PHer starts building his dream fleet early

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Name: Niall Walker
Previously owned: None (I'm 17!)
Currently owned:VW Polo (Mum's)
On the shortlist: "A Ferrari, a Beetle, an Alfa, a Japanese Hero and something classic and RWD (Civic Type R or Nissan Skyline GTR). Sadly these two missed the cut."

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Ferrari F355 Berlinetta
Cost: £49,995
Balance: £50,005
Why I chose it: "As a passionate Ferrari fan I wanted a 355 but although they have rocketed in value, that didn't put me off choosing this bad boy. It may not be red or RHD but this yellow stallion with its gated shifter (apparently) is good enough for everyone. This counts as a classic too!"

Mitsubishi Evo IX Fq-360

Cost: £16,995
Balance: £33,010
Why I chose it: "This is one of my all-time dream cars. I've wanted one since I played Colin McRae Rally 3 on my PS2. Those were the days. Anyways, this car has had a few tasteful mods and an anti lag. What more could you want?"

Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe
Cost: £29,950
Balance: £3,060
Why I chose it: "I said I wanted a Beetle didn't I? I decided to go all out with this one. Yes it's only got 272hp but it has got little mileage and a six-speed manual. It also says Porsche at the back which is weird... Besides who needs a targa when you have a sunroof?" [Unfortunately Niall's Blue 993 was sold but we have replaced it with a green one with very similar spec - NA]

Alfa Romeo 147

Cost: £2,495
Balance: £565
Why I chose it: "I obviously need a daily so why not do it in style. Yes it's a diesel but it gets good mileage and it has been to the moon and back but it looked good while doing it. You'll even look good at the side of the road when it breaks down.

"To be honest I haven't got any idea what I'll do with the remaining £565. It won't pay the insurance,the car tax or the VRT when getting these home into Ireland. Ah well, I guess fuel prices are on the rise and that Alfa could go at any second."

[neil-935ql]

Great choices , best I have seen for a long time nice selection

[unseen]

Doesn't the F1 badge on that 355 make it an automatic ?

[ILoveMondeo]

neil-935ql said:

Great choices , best I have seen for a long time nice selection

Agreed, rather than trying to be let field/wacky/different/whatever... just a nice selection of cars!

I love a yellow 355 too. Best colour.

[mikEsprit]

P car and F car are redundant. I'm not much of a fan of either, but that 911 does look sharp in green.

The Alfa is a heck of a looker for that money. I wish we had them in the States.

[pirategaz]

I agree a nice selection... As for the price of the 355 yes it's gone up but think its going gain value a lot quicker over next couple of years possible good investment!!! Just look at prices of the 348 now compared to even 6 months ago!!!
Plus is one of the last really great looking Ferraris IMHO... And the last with pop up lights! 😍
Anyway good job nice garage!!!!

[Uncle John]

Nice selection.

RE the 147', a JTDm will not let you down. Great cars.

[HardtopManual]

Something smells a bit fishy about that 355. Listed as a manual, but it has F1 badging. It's also VAT qualifying, so add ten grand to the price in the ad.

[Theferrariguy5]

Yeah i knew the was something up about that 355 i really should've known the cars sold anyway so it dosn't really matter anyway i was going for a 348 and by doing this i was going to add an e30 to the collection but i just couldnt get one i liked or in budget at the time.

[ozzuk]

That Evo is tempting, seems like a good spec/price.

[Twoshoe]

unseen said:

Doesn't the F1 badge on that 355 make it an automatic ?

The ad says manual. Then again, it also says the engine is 1.4 litres!

[Champster]

Nice collection!

[SteveCal]

Theferrariguy5 said:

Yeah i knew the was something up about that 355 i really should've known the cars sold anyway so it dosn't really matter anyway i was going for a 348 and by doing this i was going to add an e30 to the collection but i just couldnt get one i liked or in budget at the time.

That would be the way I'd go ... A cheaper Ferrari and an E30. E30s are good value if you buy wisely. You could even ditch the Ferrari completely and buy an E30 M3 plus a nice 325i Convertible.

(Did I mention I own an E30?!)

Would probably spend 40K or so on a 348 as you've suggested, and balance of the money on the best maintained / lowest mileage E30 you could find. Solid investment!

Overall some great choices anyway.

[myhandle]

pirategaz said:

Plus is one of the last really great looking Ferraris IMHO... And the last with pop up lights! ??
Anyway good job nice garage!!!!

Agreed F355 is very nice, but the last Ferrari with pop up lights was the 456M, produced from 1998 until 2003. F355 production ended in 1998.

[Steve12NG]

myhandle said:

Agreed F355 is very nice, but the last Ferrari with pop up lights was the 456M, produced from 1998 until 2003. F355 production ended in 1998.

Not quite. 355 production ended in 1999.

[smilo996]

It all started so well and then the PH stereotype turned up, a 911.

Recovered slightly by having an Alfa as the daily driver.

[Theferrariguy5]

Yeah i was aware of that when making the list but i just wanted a 993 just for the sake of putting a rwb body kit on it