Owning a Great Car at the Wrong Time...
Discussion
Hi guys,
Sitting here thinking about the cars I've had previously and wishing I still owned some of them now.
For example...
I got a TT a few years ago and sold it because I found it boring. That was the only negative I had for it. But looking back it was a great car, it was remapped to 270bhp, accelerated really well, cruised along nicely, was some comfortable, looked good and was classed as a nice car.
So, I’m now looking through the Classifieds at Mk1 TT’s again!!!
Do you think it would be a bad idea to go back to something you didn’t previously like for whatever reason?
Have you owned a car which is great but just not what you wanted at that point in your life and have now gone back to it?
Sitting here thinking about the cars I've had previously and wishing I still owned some of them now.
For example...
I got a TT a few years ago and sold it because I found it boring. That was the only negative I had for it. But looking back it was a great car, it was remapped to 270bhp, accelerated really well, cruised along nicely, was some comfortable, looked good and was classed as a nice car.
So, I’m now looking through the Classifieds at Mk1 TT’s again!!!
Do you think it would be a bad idea to go back to something you didn’t previously like for whatever reason?
Have you owned a car which is great but just not what you wanted at that point in your life and have now gone back to it?
Yes, for years, I've driven big s-class mercs. Old 80's and 90's ones.
An MX-5 came up as a non runner for £450 which I bought on a whim. It needed an ignition module - £30 from a scrappy. Happy days.
Turned out it was quite a sorted car - suspension and brakes all uprated. Nice little tweaks and add-ons. It was a hoot and I used it for several track days and a drift.
Unfortunately, I discovered small fun sports cars at almost exactly the same time I started a family.
Back to the old s-classes then...
Will definitely have another one one day though.
An MX-5 came up as a non runner for £450 which I bought on a whim. It needed an ignition module - £30 from a scrappy. Happy days.
Turned out it was quite a sorted car - suspension and brakes all uprated. Nice little tweaks and add-ons. It was a hoot and I used it for several track days and a drift.
Unfortunately, I discovered small fun sports cars at almost exactly the same time I started a family.
Back to the old s-classes then...
Will definitely have another one one day though.
Baryonyx said:
Funny you should mention mkI Audi TT's, I've always thought there were awesome cars and very much underrated. I test drove a couple of 225's last year and they were really impressive.
They're not great drivers cars. In terms of performance (after a remap on the 225) and handling (well grip) they're great but they're not very involving.I wanted something fun at the time, like my old 106 GTI, so sold the TT.
I'm now driving a Clio 172 which is like a grown up version of my GTI but all the miles I'm doing are boring cruises down congested dual carriageways or stuck in traffic which is where the TT was excellent as it was such a nice place to be.
This could be one of those "always want what you've not got" moments and I've had my Clio for a year now too (which is a while for me)... but god I wish I still my Avus Silver TT with Red Leather on my driveway!
CampDavid said:
Not tempted with a Clio 200 on finance?
Yes and no. I like the 200 a lot, I've got used to the front end and with the spec'd up Recaro's I'm sure it's great. But it's economy is dreadful considering the performance.
And the idea of the 200 is a b road blaster. Basically what the 172 is. I'm not too keen on the dash in the 200, looks a bit basic.
I'm more leaning towards an E46 faceligted 330ci / cd or a TT... V6, 20VT, Coupe / Convertible. All can be had for under £10k and all will have depreciated a lot already so in a few years time should still be worth something.
I used to have a TT too, but then sold it for an E46 320i saloon.
Now many, many people - probably on here - would tell you the BMW is the better car and the one you should buy, but in my experience of the two examples i had the TT :
had a better interior
better quality inside
rides better
looks alot better (compared to an SE E46 saloon!)
had more equipment/toys
was faster!
better fuel economy
cheaper to service
same cost to insure
better in snow!
held it's value better
alot, lot more reliable in electric and mechanical departments
oh, and was actually more practical - folding seats, but not in BMW!
...the BMW handled better, that's it. Hardly worth it alone is it?
Now many, many people - probably on here - would tell you the BMW is the better car and the one you should buy, but in my experience of the two examples i had the TT :
had a better interior
better quality inside
rides better
looks alot better (compared to an SE E46 saloon!)
had more equipment/toys
was faster!
better fuel economy
cheaper to service
same cost to insure
better in snow!
held it's value better
alot, lot more reliable in electric and mechanical departments
oh, and was actually more practical - folding seats, but not in BMW!
...the BMW handled better, that's it. Hardly worth it alone is it?
Such is the polarisation of views these days on here, a car is either crap or brilliant. It is not "allowed" to be in the middle, i.e. "all right/pretty good/not bad". They are supposedly crap because they are not excellent.
The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not a bad car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not a bad car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
Dracoro said:
Such is the polarisation of views these days on here, a car is either crap or brilliant. It is not "allowed" to be in the middle, i.e. "all right/pretty good/not bad". They are supposedly crap because they are not excellent.
The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not *that* bad a car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
I agree with this. The Mk1 TT is a very good 'real life car' for every day use, with grip and 4wd, it's not something you would take to a track - you would have a RWD caterham or something for that!The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not *that* bad a car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
Dracoro said:
Such is the polarisation of views these days on here, a car is either crap or brilliant. It is not "allowed" to be in the middle, i.e. "all right/pretty good/not bad". They are supposedly crap because they are not excellent.
The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not *that* bad a car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
This was the problem. The TT, Z3 etc suffer from this.
Granted they are not as driver focussed as the S2000, Boxter, 350Z etc. but they aren't therefore rubbish. I drove a Z3 all round NZ and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I returned I got an S2000 which is (for me) better in nearly every way and much more fun, however I still like the Z3, it's not *that* bad a car.
I see TTs/Z3s as nice, quite competent, reasonably quick coupes/roadsters. Granted some may say there are "better" cars out there but that's not to say the cars are right or wrong for them.
I'm now more mature and I've accepted that the Clio isn't great for what I'm using it for but it's OK. It's not in your face boy racer, it's not a bad place to be... I just wish I made the comprimise when I had the TT... it's not the most fun car to drive but it is one of the nicest places to be (sub £15k imo) and it's ok!
Hot Potatoes said:
I used to have a TT too, but then sold it for an E46 320i saloon.
Now many, many people - probably on here - would tell you the BMW is the better car and the one you should buy, but in my experience of the two examples i had the TT :
had a better interior
better quality inside
rides better
looks alot better (compared to an SE E46 saloon!)
had more equipment/toys
was faster!
better fuel economy
cheaper to service
same cost to insure
better in snow!
held it's value better
alot, lot more reliable in electric and mechanical departments
oh, and was actually more practical - folding seats, but not in BMW!
...the BMW handled better, that's it. Hardly worth it alone is it?
God I miss mine soooo much!!!!!!Now many, many people - probably on here - would tell you the BMW is the better car and the one you should buy, but in my experience of the two examples i had the TT :
had a better interior
better quality inside
rides better
looks alot better (compared to an SE E46 saloon!)
had more equipment/toys
was faster!
better fuel economy
cheaper to service
same cost to insure
better in snow!
held it's value better
alot, lot more reliable in electric and mechanical departments
oh, and was actually more practical - folding seats, but not in BMW!
...the BMW handled better, that's it. Hardly worth it alone is it?
SteveS Cup said:
They're not great drivers cars. In terms of performance (after a remap on the 225) and handling (well grip) they're great but they're not very involving.
Well, I thought it suffered from the usual Audi problem of slightly wooden steering feel, but it was well planted and the 4WD lets you carry some pace through the corners. I really liked it, and I could happily have one as a day to day car. Maybe next time!Baryonyx said:
Well, I thought it suffered from the usual Audi problem of slightly wooden steering feel, but it was well planted and the 4WD lets you carry some pace through the corners. I really liked it, and I could happily have one as a day to day car. Maybe next time!
Totally agree, I could happily sit with my mate in his Integra Type R DC5 and another in a DC2 but they'd both have bigger grins on their faces than I would! Which is what I wanted so badly back then but not that bothered about now.Hell yeah.
I sold my previous TVR, for example, because I was doing a lot of track days. I bought an ex-race Caterham which was fantastic on the track but severely compromised as a road-going tourer.
Then, for reasons I'm still not really sure of, I just didn't get round to doing many track days. I only took it on two in over a year of ownership. At that point I really missed having the TVR or, for that matter, any other sports car that you could comfortably load up with stuff and disappear off for the weekend in.
I sold my previous TVR, for example, because I was doing a lot of track days. I bought an ex-race Caterham which was fantastic on the track but severely compromised as a road-going tourer.
Then, for reasons I'm still not really sure of, I just didn't get round to doing many track days. I only took it on two in over a year of ownership. At that point I really missed having the TVR or, for that matter, any other sports car that you could comfortably load up with stuff and disappear off for the weekend in.
SteveS Cup said:
Hi guys,
Sitting here thinking about the cars I've had previously and wishing I still owned some of them now.
For example...
I got a TT a few years ago and sold it because I found it boring. That was the only negative I had for it. But looking back it was a great car, it was remapped to 270bhp, accelerated really well, cruised along nicely, was some comfortable, looked good and was classed as a nice car.
So, I’m now looking through the Classifieds at Mk1 TT’s again!!!
Do you think it would be a bad idea to go back to something you didn’t previously like for whatever reason?
Have you owned a car which is great but just not what you wanted at that point in your life and have now gone back to it?
You said you sold it because you thought it was boring.. how long did you have it before selling it? If it was a while i'd be inclined to listen to your former-self or if you're more the sort to make snap decisions about liking or not liking something then I guess it could be that you judged it too harshly. Sitting here thinking about the cars I've had previously and wishing I still owned some of them now.
For example...
I got a TT a few years ago and sold it because I found it boring. That was the only negative I had for it. But looking back it was a great car, it was remapped to 270bhp, accelerated really well, cruised along nicely, was some comfortable, looked good and was classed as a nice car.
So, I’m now looking through the Classifieds at Mk1 TT’s again!!!
Do you think it would be a bad idea to go back to something you didn’t previously like for whatever reason?
Have you owned a car which is great but just not what you wanted at that point in your life and have now gone back to it?
TheRoadWarrior said:
You said you sold it because you thought it was boring.. how long did you have it before selling it? If it was a while i'd be inclined to listen to your former-self or if you're more the sort to make snap decisions about liking or not liking something then I guess it could be that you judged it too harshly.
It was the longest ownership of a car for me ever... had it nearly 2 years.The whole circumstances were... I had changed jobs and worked much closer to home, worked longer hours and wasn't going for many weekend drives with the mrs... so I wanted something fun which didn't need much refinement. (Got a 20vt 300bhp Polo GTI stripped out with 2 bucket Seats).
Change of jobs again meant I was doing more miles so I wanted something fun but more refined (I got the Clio).
I've now moved jobs again and I literally sit in traffic / speed limit congested dual carriageways, all the country roads where I live have pot holes everywhere so I don't really get to have any fun in my car anymore anyway.
So I've even been considering an Auto E46 Coupe or a DSG V6 TT just to waft about in.
Why not try and find something that will give you the thrills of the hot hatch but can still do the comfy bit well?
If you go back to the TT, you might like it again but then miss the clio for the b road blast.
What about a BMW 330ci? Handles better than the TT but can still be economical and comfortable on the commute.
If you go back to the TT, you might like it again but then miss the clio for the b road blast.
What about a BMW 330ci? Handles better than the TT but can still be economical and comfortable on the commute.
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