Newbie saying hello (car history included)
Discussion
Hello all. Long time lurker of PistonHeads (4+ years!) but only just got around to signing up. Thought it was about time to get involved as there always seems to be a lot of good advice here with decent humor too. Rest assured that I can take a joke at my own expense, know never to question the abilities of the all-conquering MX-5,and have a good grasp of spelling and punctuation. Hopefully that will be enough to earn your acceptance!
If not, to brighten up this otherwise dull introduction, I thought I'd include a brief rundown of my car history. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I was fortunate enough to be given my Grandfather's Ford Fiesta (the one on the left) when I turned 17:
It was never going to win any drag races, but as a car to learn the basics of driving and maintenance on it was perfect. I ended up driving this car from 2003 up to half way through university (2006) when I needed to upgrade during my placement year. In a bit of a rush for a car I headed to the auctions and hastily ended up with this:
A 2001 Citroen Xsara 2.0 LX. Although not a complete dog, it's fair to say this car wasn't quite what I was after, and it definitely taught me a valuable lesson why you must not get carried away at an auction... £1350 for a 5 year old hatch seemed good value, but upon getting the keys from the desk I soon realised the reason for the low price- it was an automatic. This was of course no DSG-type affair, rather 4 "gears" of unmatched slushness, slowness and downright unreliability. I couldn't get on with the car and after 4 months craved for something more involved. Still, I only lost £50 at trade-in...
It's telling when an upgrade in handling, performance and dynamics comes in the form of a Vauxhall Astra. However, despite this car's less than stellar reputation I thoroughly loved it. The handling wasn't the best, but the performance was half decent from the 1.8 and it proved to be thoroughly reliable. After two years of ownership things were still going great with it, until a lack of concentration from another driver resulted in this:
The oncoming driver swerved onto my side of the road when somebody pulled out in front of him, which at 40mph was only going to end one way. Needless to say the car was written off, but it did at least stand up to the impact fairly well. Still enjoying the car up until this point, and having a limited budget, I made the mistake of trying to find a direct replacement, hoping for more of the same.
The larger engine (2.2) gave a little more torque but the performance was largely similar. The problem really though was that this car just hadn't been as well looked after as my 1.8, meaning it always felt second best. After 18 months (2010) I finally swapped it for the one I'd been waiting for:
Yes it's another Astra, but names are where the similarities between these cars end. I honestly think the VXR is viewed unfairly, as although it certainly lacks finesse, the power, grip and looks more than make up for it. I've had this car 3.5 years now and I won't be changing any time soon.
If this glut of Vauxhalls has dropped my credibility too much, hopefully my "toy" car will go some way to repairing the damage...
My brother and I helped our father build this Westfield 1800 Sport in 2001. My Dad has used it ever since, but was finding that he was getting less and less use out of it in recent years. Wanting to get a more practical replacement (a Boxster!) but not wanting to sell it, he offered it to me on a loan basis as long as I took good care of it and paid the running costs. I of course jumped at the opportunity, and have now been driving it for the last 5 months. Although not substantially quicker in a straight line than the VXR, the handling couldn't be more different. I'm hoping to get on a trackday or two soon to get the most out of it.
So there we go; if you've managed to get to the end of this without nodding off I salute you. Apologies for the longest introduction in the history of PistonHeads...
If not, to brighten up this otherwise dull introduction, I thought I'd include a brief rundown of my car history. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I was fortunate enough to be given my Grandfather's Ford Fiesta (the one on the left) when I turned 17:
It was never going to win any drag races, but as a car to learn the basics of driving and maintenance on it was perfect. I ended up driving this car from 2003 up to half way through university (2006) when I needed to upgrade during my placement year. In a bit of a rush for a car I headed to the auctions and hastily ended up with this:
A 2001 Citroen Xsara 2.0 LX. Although not a complete dog, it's fair to say this car wasn't quite what I was after, and it definitely taught me a valuable lesson why you must not get carried away at an auction... £1350 for a 5 year old hatch seemed good value, but upon getting the keys from the desk I soon realised the reason for the low price- it was an automatic. This was of course no DSG-type affair, rather 4 "gears" of unmatched slushness, slowness and downright unreliability. I couldn't get on with the car and after 4 months craved for something more involved. Still, I only lost £50 at trade-in...
It's telling when an upgrade in handling, performance and dynamics comes in the form of a Vauxhall Astra. However, despite this car's less than stellar reputation I thoroughly loved it. The handling wasn't the best, but the performance was half decent from the 1.8 and it proved to be thoroughly reliable. After two years of ownership things were still going great with it, until a lack of concentration from another driver resulted in this:
The oncoming driver swerved onto my side of the road when somebody pulled out in front of him, which at 40mph was only going to end one way. Needless to say the car was written off, but it did at least stand up to the impact fairly well. Still enjoying the car up until this point, and having a limited budget, I made the mistake of trying to find a direct replacement, hoping for more of the same.
The larger engine (2.2) gave a little more torque but the performance was largely similar. The problem really though was that this car just hadn't been as well looked after as my 1.8, meaning it always felt second best. After 18 months (2010) I finally swapped it for the one I'd been waiting for:
Yes it's another Astra, but names are where the similarities between these cars end. I honestly think the VXR is viewed unfairly, as although it certainly lacks finesse, the power, grip and looks more than make up for it. I've had this car 3.5 years now and I won't be changing any time soon.
If this glut of Vauxhalls has dropped my credibility too much, hopefully my "toy" car will go some way to repairing the damage...
My brother and I helped our father build this Westfield 1800 Sport in 2001. My Dad has used it ever since, but was finding that he was getting less and less use out of it in recent years. Wanting to get a more practical replacement (a Boxster!) but not wanting to sell it, he offered it to me on a loan basis as long as I took good care of it and paid the running costs. I of course jumped at the opportunity, and have now been driving it for the last 5 months. Although not substantially quicker in a straight line than the VXR, the handling couldn't be more different. I'm hoping to get on a trackday or two soon to get the most out of it.
So there we go; if you've managed to get to the end of this without nodding off I salute you. Apologies for the longest introduction in the history of PistonHeads...
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