£100K Garage: Euan Milne
An MX-5 lover shows PH how he would fill his garage!
Previously owned: Alfa Romeo Spider 3.2 V6 Q4, BMW Z4 Roadster M-Sport 2.0i Sdrive, BMW E46 M3, BMW 318iS Coupe ,Ford Ka 1.3, Honda SMX, Lexus LS400, Lexus IS200 SE, Lotus Elise S3, Mazda Eunos Supercharged Mk1, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 1.8 Eunos, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 BRSCC Race Car, Mazda MX-5 1.6 S-Limited, Mazda MX-5 Supercharged Mk1, Mazda MX-5 Mk2.5 1.8 SVT Sport, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 RS-Ltd, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 1.6 Import, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 1.6 Eunos, Mazda Eunos V-Special Type 2, Mazda MX-5 Mk2.5 1.6i Phoenix, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 1.8 S-Special Type II, Mazda MX-5 Mk1 1.6i UK car, Mazda MX-5 S-Ltd, Mazda RX7 FD Twin Turbo, Mercedes E320 Estate, Mercedes W124 260E, Mercedes E430 Avantgarde, MINI Cooper SD Coupe Sport Chili, Suzuki SV650 Naked K3, Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Energy 16v, Vauxhall Astra 1.8 SRI, Vauxhall Monaro 5.7 VXR, Volkswagen Golf Gti Mk2
Currently owned: Toyota GT86
On the shortlist: "As you can tell I've had a rather varied selection of cars over the years! Including road cars, track cars, a motorbike and even a race car. Growing up in the Gran Turismo era, a big chunk of my passion has always been Japanese cars, especially as you can see, the odd MX-5 or two! They make such a perfect cheap base to have some fun in on the road or even as I was luckily enough to do last year, race around Spa with 30 others bouncing off you.
My dream car has, and probably always will be a Honda NSX. I was luckily enough to hire one for the day in Japan last month and we took it to the togue runs featured on InitialD. That's a memory I will never forget, the howl of the V6, the balance of the chassis and the incredible, tactile feedback was just perfect. It's a shame the rest of the market knows this and prices, like so many other future classics, are climbing rapidly."
Honda NSX
Cost: £39,000
Balance: £61,000
Why I chose it: "Naturally, after all I've just spouted about how fabulous these are, I couldn't start off my dream garage with anything else. This example has obviously been used properly so will hopefully be nicely run in, and not so immaculate that you wouldn't mind getting it out in all weather and enjoying... like these cars were designed and built for!"
Cost: £4,994
Balance: £56,006
Why I chose it: "Now even the most hardcore enthusiast is always going to need something useful around when the weather gets bad, you need to move some stuff around or on those cold mornings when you just want to cruise to work with a coffee. I don't think there's a more useful or dependable vehicle than an old Land Cruiser. It'd also be the perfect tow car for the race car."
Triumph Thruxton
Cost: £7,195
Balance: £48,811
Why I chose it: "Ever since I sold my SV650 I've always had a hankering for another bike. I used to sell Triumphs a few years back and always loved the Thurxton. It would be my perfect bike to cruise to the shops on a summer Sunday morning. And as a piece of art the rest of the time."
Cost: £28,000
Balance: £20,811
Why I chose it: "Having run a race season with a few friends in 2015 with a Mk1 MX-5, I'd love another race car in my life! This M3 was driven by a chap I used to race with in the MX-5s and have always ogled over it when it popped up on my Facebook wall! After having an E46 M3 road car I imagine the race versions much be fantastic fun to slide around in."
Rover Mini
Cost: £9495
Balance: £11316
Why I chose it: "One of the big motoring boxes I've still got to tick is a Mini. I'd love a late car (I know I'm sorry purists), and this blue one really caught my eye."
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But seriously, would anyone really pay £39k for a 119k NSX? Madness
And I actually thought that Ron Hodgson, who always seem to have massively overpriced stuff, had actually got a decent price point for the Land Cruiser. Until is saw the mileage. Again, stupid money for a big miles 4x4, even though they do seem to cope well with big miles.
However, the other choices are spot on, love the BMW and Mini, and even the motorbike (even though I'm not a biker!!)
In terms of my choices I'm pretty happy that's a garage that would cover all my motoring needs. I appreciate the comments about the mileages but in my experience I've always found cars used and maintained properly to be much more reliable and dependable than those tucked away for the odd weekend blast.
Myself and a few friends have just returned from a Japan holiday during which we had an NSX (among others) for the day. This one sailed past 100k miles years ago and is well on its way to 200k. The car felt tight enough to defy its age and miles, and perhaps more importantly, didn't feel like it had to mollycoddled because of it.
Anyway that could fill a whole other thread
Here's me with the car that made me fall in love.
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