My car history, the highs and lows...
Discussion
larsson7 said:
Yes you will probably have to wait a while to get a set at a reasonable price, the biggest alloys I've had on a car are 18" and my current car is also on them, I would probably wince at the price of anything larger but if you can afford them go for it, they will definitely look better but I don't think you will enjoy driving the car more, looking back at the car after you park it definitely, but I would leave as is and just enjoy having what you have.
Absolutely, I'm not taking the car/18" wheels for granted, they're nice enough and I agree that the car will most definitely ride better on them than the larger wheels... and to be fair, the sets of 19" option wheels which I've been offered have all been north of £1200 (for a set needing tidied up!) so unless I get wind of a bargain set, I think the car will be staying on the the standard wheels during its time with me!! 
Cheers,
Grant
TotalControl said:
Excellent history. Out of all, which Jap car gave you the best ownership experience? Same for German and overall.
There's quite a few cars on that list I would like to own at some point before good examples completely disappear.
Very good question!!There's quite a few cars on that list I would like to own at some point before good examples completely disappear.
It's really difficult to pick outright winners when you've been lucky enough to own some very accomplished cars... for instance, the Integra DC2 handling was phenomenal but the performance wasn't 'quite' enough, yet the ST205 GT4 with/without Castrol Graphics was amazing in a straight line but quite a lump to navigate round the bends.
The best Japanese car I've had overall would probably be the Dark Blue MY00 Impreza Turbo. It had the peace of mind of the Newage STi 6-speed transmission, a very low lag but punchy engine set up, was lighter than the heavier Newage cars along with more direct steering and it had the very compliant UK Turbo suspension which rides bumps and cambers on Scottish Highland roads extremely well... far better than the standard STi suspension in my current MY00 STi Wagon does.
The best German car I've had is without a doubt the E46 M3 and to be honest, it actually takes top spot overall. Going from the twin turbo, tower of torque in the 123d, I was a little worried that the M3 wouldn't put a big smile on my face and feel a little 'flat' to drive... but once I left Edinburgh after collection, pulling onto the city bypass and accelerating in 3rd gear soon put those fears to rest.
Being a Subaruphile and part of the Owners Club, when they were arranging a run in the Highlands in memory of a member who passed away I decided to take the M3 along although I fully expected to find it completely out of it's depth (and suspension travel!) on such Impreza/Evo territory. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. I started by following a 2007 Hawkeye JDM STi Type 20 and he couldn't get away from me, even on a particularly bumpy undulating stretch of road leading to Glenshee Ski Centre... in fact, when we stopped for a break at the Ski Centre he asked what I had done to it because he 'usually leaves them no problem' and was quite shocked to find out it was totally standard.
It's weird given some of the very 'normal' cars on the list (Omega, Transit Connect, Rover 216 etc), but all of them have held their own charm to varying degrees, apart from the bloody 205 GTi and 335i Touring!!
Would I re-visit any of the cars on the list?? Well, I have re-visited the Subaru fold and as I think I said; despite it's lack of use I don't think I'll be selling my Blue STi anytime soon. Part of me would really like to get another E46 M3, however mine was a low mileage immaculate example and I'd be worried that anything I bought might not measure up to that one.
The only other car which think I might buy another of would be a MK1 Focus RS... I only owned that car for a few months but when I think back, having the M3 at the same time slightly took the shine off what was a very accomplished car. I also drove a c380bhp MK1 FRS the other week there, which didn't do much to put that niggling feeling to bed.
Cheers,
Grant
- 1997 Volvo 940 Turbo Estate
volvo1 by RS Grant, on Flickr
volvo2 by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Volvo 940 Readers' Cars Thread Here
I've always liked an old style square Volvo estate, there's something funny/quirky/appealing about them for me... and after spending too much time looking at the Turbobricks forum and watching big boosting Swedes doing ridiculous things on YouTube, I made my mind up that I'd have to own one at some point.
As 'luck' would have it, a friend of a friend also shared my interest in them and had a T34 turbo'd 940 Turbo Estate that was genuinely a quick car and this white one which had been half turned into a budget drift project with a welded differential, home made side-exit exhaust and grinder-spec lowering springs.
When I first collected it, the car was DIRE, running standard boost which is about 4psi. Once I'd fitted a bleed valve set to 11psi and an open cone filter made it much quicker with some comedy chatter noises on lift off. I've done very little else to it apart from fix a water leak from the rear window washer that was filling up the drivers footwell, strip the interior to look for rust (which there was none!) and let it run out of MOT and Tax.
Going to try and get in about it at some point soon because it's a waste as it stands.
- 2005 Honda S2000 GT
IMG_4934 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_4876 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_4868 by RS Grant, on Flickr
P1000954 by RS Grant, on Flickr
P1000955 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_4968 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_4971 by RS Grant, on Flickr
IMG_4974 by RS Grant, on Flickr
Honda S2000 Readers' Cars Thread Here
After selling the blue Impreza, I was left with a gap in my unit for an interesting car and given the time of year I really fancied some thing which I could drop the roof on when the sun made an appearance.. or to be more accurate, whenever the rain stopped; day/night/warm/cold the roof would be down providing it was still dry!
I had narrowed it down to either a Boxster S or an S2000 and there were a few issues with the Porsche which put me off and shifted my focus more towards the Honda.. I felt like it was more of a 'known' quantity for me and probably a bit of a safer bet reliability wise.
This car appeared a couple of hours away from me and I took my friend who's owned three S2K's with me, it was as described and drove really well, it wasn't that quick and that did concern me a little however you can still make reasonable progress in one and if I wanted to go a lot faster then I still had my Golf R to drive.. the noise (it had the UK exhaust mod done) and the ability to drop the roof within a few seconds were big selling points for me, along with great history, two of the previous owners were from the S2Ki owners club and the condition of the car reflected this.
With the way these are appreciating I don't think that I'll revisit S2K ownership which is unfortunate because they are a great little package.
- 2005 Honda Civic Type R Premier (EP3)
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
3236B32B-6BE7-460C-BEC2-4E01FD59069E by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
EP3 Premier Readers' Cars Thread Here
I had got a bit of a trackday bug after taking the Golf on a few Knockhill days and over to the Nürburgring, but I was getting increasingly worried that if I ran out of talent/had a mechanical issue/someone else had a bad day and collected me then I'd be mighty annoyed climbing out of a car worth as much as the Golf; so I decided that I would be better served with a more dedicated car for the job which I wouldn't be quite so precious about.
Having owned a few Hondas in the past I know just how much they thrive on revs and how sturdy they are given proper maintenence, added to the fact that one of my good friends has built his own Supercharged and Turbocharged EP3s previously, I was in a pretty fortunate position and went for an EP3 which I could add the required track-based modifications to.
So far I've done the basic performance modifications (exhaust, manifold, intake and Hondata KPro4 ECU and map) with coilovers and semi slicks to help the chassis and some interior removal with proper seats/harnesses. I'll see what next year holds, I'd like a useable 350bhp turbo kit, but I don't think I'll get that done over the winter so possibly something to do next year/winter.
- 2010 BMW M3 Competition Pack
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-1 by RS Grant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-3 by RS Grant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-10 by RS Grant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-18 by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
E92 M3 Competition Pack Readers' Cars Thread Here
I've had a bit of a nightmare 2017 and while I have turned a corner and continue to make a solid recovery, it's made me realise how quickly things can change.. and I definitely subscribe to the 'life's too short' way of thinking that bit more now!
One of the things I've applied that to is cars, the Golf R that I had since the start of 2015 was absolutely fantastic after the small additions which I'd made to it but while it was so competent it wasn't 'exciting' and didn't feel that special when you weren't driving quickly.. which (after owning an E46 previously) is what led me back to an M3.
While I'd love another E46, they're getting on a bit now and finding one which is still immaculate is getting harder and pretty expensive.. probably prohibitively expensive for me.
This E92 is quite a rare beasty, been told that there were only 22 manual Competition Pack cars registered in the UK and I love the colour combination of this car too because it's that little bit different to the more popular White or Black cars which I saw for sale. I'm over the moon with the car, it's given me that 'special' feeling that I was looking for and with an aftermarket exhaust it'll open up the V8 sound that bit more, which I think it's crying out for.
(Well once again that's us up to date with the old posts repaired with new image links too!! I hope that there is a very uncomfortable place in hell reserved for the a$$holes in charge of Photobucket who have deliberately made getting hold of/saving my own photos a nightmare and re-linking them to Flickr very time consuming... but it's done now and it's actually far better then PB ever was anyway, so I'm happy)
volvo1 by RS Grant, on Flickrvolvo2 by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrVolvo 940 Readers' Cars Thread Here
I've always liked an old style square Volvo estate, there's something funny/quirky/appealing about them for me... and after spending too much time looking at the Turbobricks forum and watching big boosting Swedes doing ridiculous things on YouTube, I made my mind up that I'd have to own one at some point.
As 'luck' would have it, a friend of a friend also shared my interest in them and had a T34 turbo'd 940 Turbo Estate that was genuinely a quick car and this white one which had been half turned into a budget drift project with a welded differential, home made side-exit exhaust and grinder-spec lowering springs.
When I first collected it, the car was DIRE, running standard boost which is about 4psi. Once I'd fitted a bleed valve set to 11psi and an open cone filter made it much quicker with some comedy chatter noises on lift off. I've done very little else to it apart from fix a water leak from the rear window washer that was filling up the drivers footwell, strip the interior to look for rust (which there was none!) and let it run out of MOT and Tax.
Going to try and get in about it at some point soon because it's a waste as it stands.
- 2005 Honda S2000 GT
IMG_4934 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_4876 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_4868 by RS Grant, on FlickrP1000954 by RS Grant, on FlickrP1000955 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_4968 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_4971 by RS Grant, on FlickrIMG_4974 by RS Grant, on FlickrHonda S2000 Readers' Cars Thread Here
After selling the blue Impreza, I was left with a gap in my unit for an interesting car and given the time of year I really fancied some thing which I could drop the roof on when the sun made an appearance.. or to be more accurate, whenever the rain stopped; day/night/warm/cold the roof would be down providing it was still dry!
I had narrowed it down to either a Boxster S or an S2000 and there were a few issues with the Porsche which put me off and shifted my focus more towards the Honda.. I felt like it was more of a 'known' quantity for me and probably a bit of a safer bet reliability wise.
This car appeared a couple of hours away from me and I took my friend who's owned three S2K's with me, it was as described and drove really well, it wasn't that quick and that did concern me a little however you can still make reasonable progress in one and if I wanted to go a lot faster then I still had my Golf R to drive.. the noise (it had the UK exhaust mod done) and the ability to drop the roof within a few seconds were big selling points for me, along with great history, two of the previous owners were from the S2Ki owners club and the condition of the car reflected this.
With the way these are appreciating I don't think that I'll revisit S2K ownership which is unfortunate because they are a great little package.
- 2005 Honda Civic Type R Premier (EP3)
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on Flickr3236B32B-6BE7-460C-BEC2-4E01FD59069E by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrEP3 Premier Readers' Cars Thread Here
I had got a bit of a trackday bug after taking the Golf on a few Knockhill days and over to the Nürburgring, but I was getting increasingly worried that if I ran out of talent/had a mechanical issue/someone else had a bad day and collected me then I'd be mighty annoyed climbing out of a car worth as much as the Golf; so I decided that I would be better served with a more dedicated car for the job which I wouldn't be quite so precious about.
Having owned a few Hondas in the past I know just how much they thrive on revs and how sturdy they are given proper maintenence, added to the fact that one of my good friends has built his own Supercharged and Turbocharged EP3s previously, I was in a pretty fortunate position and went for an EP3 which I could add the required track-based modifications to.
So far I've done the basic performance modifications (exhaust, manifold, intake and Hondata KPro4 ECU and map) with coilovers and semi slicks to help the chassis and some interior removal with proper seats/harnesses. I'll see what next year holds, I'd like a useable 350bhp turbo kit, but I don't think I'll get that done over the winter so possibly something to do next year/winter.
- 2010 BMW M3 Competition Pack
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-1 by RS Grant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-3 by RS Grant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-10 by RS Grant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-18 by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrE92 M3 Competition Pack Readers' Cars Thread Here
I've had a bit of a nightmare 2017 and while I have turned a corner and continue to make a solid recovery, it's made me realise how quickly things can change.. and I definitely subscribe to the 'life's too short' way of thinking that bit more now!
One of the things I've applied that to is cars, the Golf R that I had since the start of 2015 was absolutely fantastic after the small additions which I'd made to it but while it was so competent it wasn't 'exciting' and didn't feel that special when you weren't driving quickly.. which (after owning an E46 previously) is what led me back to an M3.
While I'd love another E46, they're getting on a bit now and finding one which is still immaculate is getting harder and pretty expensive.. probably prohibitively expensive for me.
This E92 is quite a rare beasty, been told that there were only 22 manual Competition Pack cars registered in the UK and I love the colour combination of this car too because it's that little bit different to the more popular White or Black cars which I saw for sale. I'm over the moon with the car, it's given me that 'special' feeling that I was looking for and with an aftermarket exhaust it'll open up the V8 sound that bit more, which I think it's crying out for.
(Well once again that's us up to date with the old posts repaired with new image links too!! I hope that there is a very uncomfortable place in hell reserved for the a$$holes in charge of Photobucket who have deliberately made getting hold of/saving my own photos a nightmare and re-linking them to Flickr very time consuming... but it's done now and it's actually far better then PB ever was anyway, so I'm happy)
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 15:24
Johnny50 said:
Tut tut 
Hope you're well!
Have to say out of them all i loved the look of the Dark Blue Impreza!
Apologies for the delayed reply, even for me this is late!! Hope you're well!
Have to say out of them all i loved the look of the Dark Blue Impreza!
I'm good thanks, hope you're well too.. long time no see!
The DB Impreza was a cracker, probably my favourite all round Impreza to be honest. If time, money, space allowed then I'd love to put together another one with similar spec... wouldn't be getting rid of it for anything other than life changing reasons either.
Fury RS said:
Good read that
.
Excellent varied car history fair play to you matey. I have owned and enjoyed several of the cars you have owned in the past. Nice Scoobies, I have never owned one but have always fancied one. I went the EVO route on 3 occasions.
Thanks mate. .Excellent varied car history fair play to you matey. I have owned and enjoyed several of the cars you have owned in the past. Nice Scoobies, I have never owned one but have always fancied one. I went the EVO route on 3 occasions.
...it's a similar situation with Evos for me, I'd love a TME Evo 6 but prices seem to be spiralling these days.. and I've found myself looking at Evo 9 GTs more and more, especially in the metallic blue colour. I wouldn't say I'll never have one but with costs rising I think I might struggle to justify one that I'd be happy with as an occasional/nice weather car, although the idea of replacing the Civic with an Evo 5 for track has crossed my mind a few times.Johnny50 said:
All these cars and still not a sniff of a Cosworth (of any type) anywhere.....
Fury RS said:
As commented earlier no Cosworths in the past???
Haha yup, I think I've well and truly missed the Cosworth boat.. I came very close to a deal with an immaculate Black Escort Cosworth about ten years ago and I still kick myself for not doing the deal. I was offered my friends White 3dr Cosworth a few years ago, same situation, an immaculate car which has now almost tripled in value since I was offered it. If I was in a position to buy a garage queen for >30 thousand then I don't think that I'd be able to put that money into an old Ford, however, I never say never and a petrolhead doesn't normally use their head to make decisions. bangerturner said:
I'll be interested to read about this having made the same mistake (buying one, not PX'ing an M3 for it!)
Main dealer car owned for seven months, four times on a breakdown lorry before I gave it back to them
Hateful hateful car with the worst ride of any car I have ever driven and I've owned some dogs!
I've updated that entry a little when I was changing the image tags, it's not a detailed account of ownership but it touches on a few of the areas which made me hate my 335i experience with a burning passion. The car was not a good example and the independent dealer was absolutely horrific, not sure they still trade in car sales by the looks of the website, but that REALLY doesn't surprise me.Main dealer car owned for seven months, four times on a breakdown lorry before I gave it back to them
Hateful hateful car with the worst ride of any car I have ever driven and I've owned some dogs!
ChickenvanGuy said:
I've just spent a very enjoyable hour with a good beer reading this.
Thanks for posting it, cracking read.
Brilliant, I'm really happy you enjoyed it... even if someone just looks at the pictures it's quite a thread to get through, but I'm glad to hear it's appreciated. Thanks for posting it, cracking read.
I like being able to look back at my history too, reminds me how fortunate I've been and brings back lots of memories for me; even if some are viewed through slightly rose-tinted glasses these days!!
- 2014 Ford Fiesta ST2 (Van)
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Fiesta ST Van Readers' Cars Thread Here
Having owned my Transit Connect for a few years and keeping on top of the mechanical stuff, the bodywork was juuust beginning to look a little rough in a couple of places; it wasn't anywhere near tatty, but I tend to freak out when I see the beginnings of any corrosion. I've got a burning hatred for rust and being a Scotsman, it's difficult to justify paying to rectify something which will (unless you go absolutely crazy and wade into a restoration) eventually come back and cause issues again.
Around the same time it just so happened that one of my friends had this wee Fiesta which he'd done the van panel conversion on, along with some Stage 3 modifications taking it to ~300bhp... and after a few conversations, a deal was struck between the Connect and the Fiesta.
I enjoyed the performance of the Fiesta, it was a genuinely quick little car and sounded great with flutters from the intake and a subtle but noticeable burble from the Milltek exhaust. I enjoyed the car so much that I decided that I would strip the Gucci parts off my EP3 Civic Type R and sell it to one of my friends, intending to use the Fiesta as a part time track car(van?) instead.
However all was not well, while I loved the actual Recaro seats, the seat height was something which I couldn't stand. Felt like I was sitting ON the car rather than IN the car and after looking into lower seat rails, it seemed that a full seat change was required to run lower/aftermarket rails; which I didn't want to do because I liked the seats, used the car daily and didn't want to lose the heated seat function too.
Another area which quickly started to annoy me was the ride quality... it was non-existent. I've read that they improved it on later cars (with the ST200 set up) but again, I didn't really want to be spending money on adjustable coilovers or shocks and springs so soon after buying the car... so settled for moaning about it at any opportunity instead.
Anyway, the car didn't last long with me, only staying a few months before I actually sold it onto a guy who works for the friend who I got it from.
- 2002 VW Golf GTi 25th Anniversary TDi
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
This is Part 1 of my current deja vu collection.. you may think that this car looks similar to the MK4 Golf Anniversary that you saw on the first page... wellllll, that's because it is the same car. I bought the car off the original owner, then sold it to my aunt, who (after her dog car took its last breath) decided that she wanted a single 'do-all' car; so I found her a late E91 320d Touring and bought the Golf back off her rather than me and/or her having to face the usual private sales rubbish which I dislike almost as much as the rust I mentioned before.
But all is not rosey and the situation is; I am really struggling to find any need or use for the car and as much as it'll pain me to let go of it and irritate me having to listen to the 'how much for a MK4 Golf?!!' and 'my brothers mates cousins friends uncle bought one for 50p' type crap... I think that selling it is unavoidable because having it sitting doing nothing will do nothing but cause issues long term and it's a waste of a really good (fairly rare) car.
- 2000 Subaru Impreza STi Version 6 Limited
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
This is Part 2 of my current deja vu collection.. Readers' Cars thread link in the previous update.
You may also think that you remember this car from earlier on in my car history and you'd be correct; it's the same car. When I sold the car to a PH member in 2016, I had said to Ian that I'd appreciate first dibs on the car if/when the time came for him to sell the car... we kept in touch during his ownership, with him letting me know about how the car was going and sending the odd picture too, which was great! But fast forward to this year and I got a message saying that once the car came out of winter hibernation it would be getting a full service and check by BHP Developments before going up for sale.. but if I was interested then he'd be really happy for me to take a look before it was advertised... he shares my dislike for private sales!
Realistically, I didn't need to view the car given I knew what a good car it was when I had it last and I knew how well Ian had taken care of the car.. so we just arranged a date for collection and unless there were any unforeseen issues which popped up then I'd be bringing the car home with me again.
I had forgotten quite how 'old school' a Classic Impreza interior was, but the way it gets down a B-road (especially after Ian switched to KYB/Eibach suspension) is absolutely brilliant.. there are very few other cars I'd like to be driving than a well sorted Classic Impreza on a Scottish B-road. I've no idea what power it's making, probably between 320-340bhp somewhere, but the reality is that I don't really care.. it could be making standard power and it wouldn't bother me. It doesn't get a hard life and provides plenty of thrust to dispatch overtakes at will when the mood takes you, which is all that matters to me.
- 2017 VW Tiguan SEL TDi
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
I'm afraid this is not very PH-ish at all, it's an 'SUV' with a 2.0TDi engine and isn't even 4Motion.. so I can't even start flinging up photos of it attempting and getting stuck greenlaning or anything exciting like that!! I parked on a soft verge whilst camping the other week there and after a rain shower I was a little concerned about whether I'd make it back to the blacktop..
What I will say is that it's an absolutely amazing daily driver, it is standard spec car (apart from the paint IIRC) but the SEL model comes with a LOT of kit as standard... panoramic sunroof, adaptive lights, massaging driver seat, active info speedo/instrument binnacle, sat nav, heated seats, etc. Anyone who has followed my E92 M3 thread will know what a 'manual gearbox diehard' I am, but I have got to say, for a daily driver which has no real involvement or offers any incentive to 'drive' the car; the DSG gearbox in it is perfectly suited, it just wafts around quietly and goes about it's business almost inperceptibly. If you need to hold it in a gear to use the torque to overtake, then the paddles work well, but at no point to I get the urge to go quickly and start banging up and down the gearbox.. which is great, it's a very relaxing car to drive.
That's the history up to date now, so at the moment I've got the Tiguan, Subaru, M3, Golf and Volvo.. but as I said, the Golf will be going sometime soon and I'm unsure about whether I can justify the Volvo sitting here doing absolutely nothing anymore as well. Granted it's not costing any money but just like the Golf, it's a shame seeing it sitting there when someone else could be using it and enjoying it... plus freeing up the space would be useful because I'd really like another car to use at Knockhill and I refuse to use either the Subaru or M3 as my track car.
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrFiesta ST Van Readers' Cars Thread Here
Having owned my Transit Connect for a few years and keeping on top of the mechanical stuff, the bodywork was juuust beginning to look a little rough in a couple of places; it wasn't anywhere near tatty, but I tend to freak out when I see the beginnings of any corrosion. I've got a burning hatred for rust and being a Scotsman, it's difficult to justify paying to rectify something which will (unless you go absolutely crazy and wade into a restoration) eventually come back and cause issues again.
Around the same time it just so happened that one of my friends had this wee Fiesta which he'd done the van panel conversion on, along with some Stage 3 modifications taking it to ~300bhp... and after a few conversations, a deal was struck between the Connect and the Fiesta.
I enjoyed the performance of the Fiesta, it was a genuinely quick little car and sounded great with flutters from the intake and a subtle but noticeable burble from the Milltek exhaust. I enjoyed the car so much that I decided that I would strip the Gucci parts off my EP3 Civic Type R and sell it to one of my friends, intending to use the Fiesta as a part time track car(van?) instead.
However all was not well, while I loved the actual Recaro seats, the seat height was something which I couldn't stand. Felt like I was sitting ON the car rather than IN the car and after looking into lower seat rails, it seemed that a full seat change was required to run lower/aftermarket rails; which I didn't want to do because I liked the seats, used the car daily and didn't want to lose the heated seat function too.
Another area which quickly started to annoy me was the ride quality... it was non-existent. I've read that they improved it on later cars (with the ST200 set up) but again, I didn't really want to be spending money on adjustable coilovers or shocks and springs so soon after buying the car... so settled for moaning about it at any opportunity instead.
Anyway, the car didn't last long with me, only staying a few months before I actually sold it onto a guy who works for the friend who I got it from.
- 2002 VW Golf GTi 25th Anniversary TDi
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrThis is Part 1 of my current deja vu collection.. you may think that this car looks similar to the MK4 Golf Anniversary that you saw on the first page... wellllll, that's because it is the same car. I bought the car off the original owner, then sold it to my aunt, who (after her dog car took its last breath) decided that she wanted a single 'do-all' car; so I found her a late E91 320d Touring and bought the Golf back off her rather than me and/or her having to face the usual private sales rubbish which I dislike almost as much as the rust I mentioned before.
But all is not rosey and the situation is; I am really struggling to find any need or use for the car and as much as it'll pain me to let go of it and irritate me having to listen to the 'how much for a MK4 Golf?!!' and 'my brothers mates cousins friends uncle bought one for 50p' type crap... I think that selling it is unavoidable because having it sitting doing nothing will do nothing but cause issues long term and it's a waste of a really good (fairly rare) car.
- 2000 Subaru Impreza STi Version 6 Limited
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrThis is Part 2 of my current deja vu collection.. Readers' Cars thread link in the previous update.
You may also think that you remember this car from earlier on in my car history and you'd be correct; it's the same car. When I sold the car to a PH member in 2016, I had said to Ian that I'd appreciate first dibs on the car if/when the time came for him to sell the car... we kept in touch during his ownership, with him letting me know about how the car was going and sending the odd picture too, which was great! But fast forward to this year and I got a message saying that once the car came out of winter hibernation it would be getting a full service and check by BHP Developments before going up for sale.. but if I was interested then he'd be really happy for me to take a look before it was advertised... he shares my dislike for private sales!
Realistically, I didn't need to view the car given I knew what a good car it was when I had it last and I knew how well Ian had taken care of the car.. so we just arranged a date for collection and unless there were any unforeseen issues which popped up then I'd be bringing the car home with me again.
I had forgotten quite how 'old school' a Classic Impreza interior was, but the way it gets down a B-road (especially after Ian switched to KYB/Eibach suspension) is absolutely brilliant.. there are very few other cars I'd like to be driving than a well sorted Classic Impreza on a Scottish B-road. I've no idea what power it's making, probably between 320-340bhp somewhere, but the reality is that I don't really care.. it could be making standard power and it wouldn't bother me. It doesn't get a hard life and provides plenty of thrust to dispatch overtakes at will when the mood takes you, which is all that matters to me.
- 2017 VW Tiguan SEL TDi
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrI'm afraid this is not very PH-ish at all, it's an 'SUV' with a 2.0TDi engine and isn't even 4Motion.. so I can't even start flinging up photos of it attempting and getting stuck greenlaning or anything exciting like that!! I parked on a soft verge whilst camping the other week there and after a rain shower I was a little concerned about whether I'd make it back to the blacktop..
What I will say is that it's an absolutely amazing daily driver, it is standard spec car (apart from the paint IIRC) but the SEL model comes with a LOT of kit as standard... panoramic sunroof, adaptive lights, massaging driver seat, active info speedo/instrument binnacle, sat nav, heated seats, etc. Anyone who has followed my E92 M3 thread will know what a 'manual gearbox diehard' I am, but I have got to say, for a daily driver which has no real involvement or offers any incentive to 'drive' the car; the DSG gearbox in it is perfectly suited, it just wafts around quietly and goes about it's business almost inperceptibly. If you need to hold it in a gear to use the torque to overtake, then the paddles work well, but at no point to I get the urge to go quickly and start banging up and down the gearbox.. which is great, it's a very relaxing car to drive.
That's the history up to date now, so at the moment I've got the Tiguan, Subaru, M3, Golf and Volvo.. but as I said, the Golf will be going sometime soon and I'm unsure about whether I can justify the Volvo sitting here doing absolutely nothing anymore as well. Granted it's not costing any money but just like the Golf, it's a shame seeing it sitting there when someone else could be using it and enjoying it... plus freeing up the space would be useful because I'd really like another car to use at Knockhill and I refuse to use either the Subaru or M3 as my track car.
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 15:32
There have been a couple of new additions recently:
- 2011 BMW E91 320d Sport Plus Edition
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
E91 320d Sport Plus Readers' Cars Thread Here
The Tiguan has gone back to VW and replacing it was going to be a bit of a tough job given the amount of toys which came fitted to the VW and how useful/practical it was for us.
As you'll know if you have read through the thread, I had an E91 335i previously which was an absolute lemon of a car and reeeally put me off getting another. However after almost nobody else I know having any issues with their similar cars, I came to the conclusion that mine had likely been a full on Friday afternoon effort and bought the E92 M3 above, which has turned out to be a fantastic decision.
Around 18 months ago, I helped my aunt find a nice low mileage E91 320d M Sport and when I collected it from Englandshire and drove it home, it made a great impression on me; frugal, nippy enough, comfy, practical enough. So when the time came to find a Tiguan replacement, a 320d Touring was right up there as a contender for me; however finding one with high spec was not a simple task... until this very high spec Sport Plus version appeared on Autotrader and I organised a viewing/flights down after talking to the owner on the same night it appeared on AT.
After viewing, the deal was completed and I couldn't have been happier. It drives really well, it's got a massive specification and ticks almost every box which I had.. apart from DAB radio, with the original owner specifying a CD changer instead.. bugger!! But from a scan of t'internet, it would seem like I can remove the CD Changer and retrofit the DAB gubbins; then have the car coded to recognise the new hardware, so it's not the end of the world. In the meantime streaming media from my phone via USB or Bluetooth is absolutely fine.
- 1989 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Sierra Sapphire Cosworth Readers' Cars Thread Here
After saying that I could never justify the cost of a Cossie after they had a sharp rise in value, I could never justify having an expensive garage ornament, etc... well I've gone and bought a Cossie.
72k miles, 3 owners from new, huge history file and running between Stage 3 and Stage 4 hardware to give somewhere between 350-380bhp depending on the set up. It's a cracker of a Saph and I'm over the moon to have bitten the bullet... even if it took me the best part of two decades to do it!!
It's going to be a bit of a garage queen with me, but it won't stop me upgrading the wiring looms and ignition set up so that when the nice weather does arrive.. I can be confident that when I turn the key the car will run and perform as it should. Aside from that, the suspension will be addressed so that the exhaust can clear much more than it can currently and I will possibly switch the wheels for something else and a bit more 'motorsporty' too.
- 2011 BMW E91 320d Sport Plus Edition
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrE91 320d Sport Plus Readers' Cars Thread Here
The Tiguan has gone back to VW and replacing it was going to be a bit of a tough job given the amount of toys which came fitted to the VW and how useful/practical it was for us.
As you'll know if you have read through the thread, I had an E91 335i previously which was an absolute lemon of a car and reeeally put me off getting another. However after almost nobody else I know having any issues with their similar cars, I came to the conclusion that mine had likely been a full on Friday afternoon effort and bought the E92 M3 above, which has turned out to be a fantastic decision.
Around 18 months ago, I helped my aunt find a nice low mileage E91 320d M Sport and when I collected it from Englandshire and drove it home, it made a great impression on me; frugal, nippy enough, comfy, practical enough. So when the time came to find a Tiguan replacement, a 320d Touring was right up there as a contender for me; however finding one with high spec was not a simple task... until this very high spec Sport Plus version appeared on Autotrader and I organised a viewing/flights down after talking to the owner on the same night it appeared on AT.
After viewing, the deal was completed and I couldn't have been happier. It drives really well, it's got a massive specification and ticks almost every box which I had.. apart from DAB radio, with the original owner specifying a CD changer instead.. bugger!! But from a scan of t'internet, it would seem like I can remove the CD Changer and retrofit the DAB gubbins; then have the car coded to recognise the new hardware, so it's not the end of the world. In the meantime streaming media from my phone via USB or Bluetooth is absolutely fine.
- 1989 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrSierra Sapphire Cosworth Readers' Cars Thread Here
After saying that I could never justify the cost of a Cossie after they had a sharp rise in value, I could never justify having an expensive garage ornament, etc... well I've gone and bought a Cossie.
72k miles, 3 owners from new, huge history file and running between Stage 3 and Stage 4 hardware to give somewhere between 350-380bhp depending on the set up. It's a cracker of a Saph and I'm over the moon to have bitten the bullet... even if it took me the best part of two decades to do it!!
It's going to be a bit of a garage queen with me, but it won't stop me upgrading the wiring looms and ignition set up so that when the nice weather does arrive.. I can be confident that when I turn the key the car will run and perform as it should. Aside from that, the suspension will be addressed so that the exhaust can clear much more than it can currently and I will possibly switch the wheels for something else and a bit more 'motorsporty' too.
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 15:37
Apologies for missing the comments, they are appreciated and it's nice to know that there are people still enjoying the journey!!
I've finally put the Golf Anniversary up for sale on a well known popular auction website, only took me a year and the realisation that it had only covered ~250miles between MOTs to nudge me into writing an advert.
I've finally put the Golf Anniversary up for sale on a well known popular auction website, only took me a year and the realisation that it had only covered ~250miles between MOTs to nudge me into writing an advert.
There has been another addition, which I obviously missed out updating before...
- 2002 Honda Civic Type R JRSC
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
JRSC EP3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
I shouldn't have sold my previous EP3 Type R Premier, which I had done plenty of good quality modifications to.. but the lure of that MK7 Fiesta ST Van as a 'do-all' solution was too great?! I need to learn my lesson there, my attempt to find a 'do-all' solution was what led me to sell my E46 M3 and buy that hellish E91 335i too.. anyway.. don't get me started on the 335i again.
Not wanting to use my M3 as a full on track car and more on an occasional lap at the Nurburgring/Spa every year or two meant that I was keeping an eye out for something to fill that gap and another EP3 seemed like the sensible way to go given that I still have a pile of modifications from my old one sitting doing nothing.
The problem is that EP3s are starting to get a bit rough these days and it's not so easy to find a car without bodywork/underside issues, never mind rough/smoky engines... and I was giving up hope a wee bit until this car popped up for sale. Higher miles at ~124k, but great condition, a mountain of receipts and lots of very high quality modifications.
With the Jackson Racing Supercharger (JRSC) and supporting modifications, the car makes around 300bhp reliably. It is also running a shorter final drive ratio in the gearbox, so it is a really quick wee car... in fact the only real issue I've got is the noise that it makes, it's almost running a straight through exhaust and even though I'm only in my 30s, I am far too old/grumpy for something this loud.
Future plans include buying a quieter exhaust, removing the Recaros and fitting my fixed back bucket seats/harnesses from my old EP3 track car and fitting the KSport 8-pot 330mm brake kit that I bought but never fitted to my old car too.
- 2002 Honda Civic Type R JRSC
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrJRSC EP3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
I shouldn't have sold my previous EP3 Type R Premier, which I had done plenty of good quality modifications to.. but the lure of that MK7 Fiesta ST Van as a 'do-all' solution was too great?! I need to learn my lesson there, my attempt to find a 'do-all' solution was what led me to sell my E46 M3 and buy that hellish E91 335i too.. anyway.. don't get me started on the 335i again.
Not wanting to use my M3 as a full on track car and more on an occasional lap at the Nurburgring/Spa every year or two meant that I was keeping an eye out for something to fill that gap and another EP3 seemed like the sensible way to go given that I still have a pile of modifications from my old one sitting doing nothing.
The problem is that EP3s are starting to get a bit rough these days and it's not so easy to find a car without bodywork/underside issues, never mind rough/smoky engines... and I was giving up hope a wee bit until this car popped up for sale. Higher miles at ~124k, but great condition, a mountain of receipts and lots of very high quality modifications.
With the Jackson Racing Supercharger (JRSC) and supporting modifications, the car makes around 300bhp reliably. It is also running a shorter final drive ratio in the gearbox, so it is a really quick wee car... in fact the only real issue I've got is the noise that it makes, it's almost running a straight through exhaust and even though I'm only in my 30s, I am far too old/grumpy for something this loud.
Future plans include buying a quieter exhaust, removing the Recaros and fitting my fixed back bucket seats/harnesses from my old EP3 track car and fitting the KSport 8-pot 330mm brake kit that I bought but never fitted to my old car too.
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 15:41
RoadRunner220 said:
Really enjoyed reading that, you've owned some great cars.
Shadow R1 said:
Enjoyed reading all the updates.
Court_S said:
You’ve owned some cool cars. The E90 M3 stands out for me and I really like the white touring too.
snoopy25 said:
Absolutely loved reading this thread!
Thats quite the car ownership history that you have had!
Thanks for all the comments, it's good to know that people are enjoying the updates. I've had some really nice cars.. if only I had the means and storage capacity to keep them all!! Thats quite the car ownership history that you have had!
andymc said:
did you keep the Cosworth?
I've still got it at the moment Andy, had a monumental number of dreamers and timewasters contacting me.. by far the worst car selling experience I've had if I'm honest. Reason behind sticking it up for sale is probably best explained if I lift a quote from the recent update I made to my E92 M3 thread:"...in the final stages of buying a property which will require some work post-purchase and the fact that things have got a wee bit out of control with the number of cars I've got at the moment. I thought that thinning down the 'fleet' (hate that term..) was a sensible way to go and taking the paths of least resistance and choosing the cars that will be easiest to sell would be the way to go and least hassle for me."
I also wrote adverts for the M3, Subaru and Civic as well as the Cosworth & Golf.. although only the last two made it to the point of being shared publically!! As the quote says, my intention was to see what did/didn't sell and once I had reduced numbers sufficiently I'd have pulled the rest of the adverts.
a11y_m said:
Superb. Recently found this thread and gradually read it start-to-end in snippets when I could. Nicely written, great history and makes me want to do similar, although mine would be very boring in comparison. My (pedal) bike history would be much more interesting, 30+ bikes and counting…
Knockhill – is it SIDC trackdays you do? Just taking a guess given the multiple Scoob’s owned.
Thank you, much appreciated.Knockhill – is it SIDC trackdays you do? Just taking a guess given the multiple Scoob’s owned.
Breaking it up into bitesize chunks is probably the best way to work through the thread to be fair, it can get a wee bit wordy in places and I've tried not to machine gun the thread with pictures too... cause even if 56k dialup internet is a thing of the past, there are only so many different angles to take a picture.
To a certain extent, the actual vehicles don't matter to me in a thread like this.. when I read through these threads then I'm more interested to see the progression from model to model, wondering why/how the person would change from X car to Y car and then reading a bit of blurb about what they thought about the change and/or the car in general.
My post-toddler/stabiliser push bike history would make for pretty quick reading; Raleigh Burner BMX, Raleigh Extreme (with the wheels covered by solid plastic moondiscs which caught a side wind beautifully!), Raleigh Activator, Carrera Gradient and Kona Fire Mountain.
It's a combination of SIDC and Track Scotland events that I do at Knockhill, I've always cared a wee bit too much about my cars to throw them into a Knockhill Hot Hatch and run the gauntlet of being out on track with some of the late braking heroes at those events. Do you head up to Knockhill much?
andymc said:
so the cossie is still up for sale?
Yep, the Cossie is still around at the moment Andy... just checked and I hadn't realised that the advert on here had expired a few days ago, but I've renewed it now. andymc said:
the Cossie is lovely, I suspect it's a bell end magnet for messers
Ohhhh yes, like you wouldn't believe! I've bought and sold most of the cars on this thread privately myself, but the Cossie has attracted a completely different level of dreamer and timewaster. In amongst the 'colourful' characters wanting to clean their money, here is an example of what I mean:A guy called Steve got his mate Lee to send me a message essentially begging me to accept Steves offer, which is hilarious and pathetic in equal measure... but the really ridiculous part is that the offer wasn't bad or unfair so I'd already accepted the offer from Steve, however after that both Steve and Lee vanished.
CF-ME2-XIAAOb-3 by Grant F, on FlickrMDMA . said:
Might be better is the RS Cosworth section. Not sure if many would search the Sierra part.
Good shout, I'll go and update that now.. appreciate the heads up!! So this thread is long overdue an update, over the past 18 months I've sold:
Sierra Sapphire Cosworth: The best example I've had of - 'Don't drive your heroes' ...I bought one 10-15 years too late.
Golf 25th Anniversary: It did less than 250 miles between MOTs, but wasn't too difficult to let it go.
E92 M3 Competition Pack: It did less than 100 miles between MOTs and was a big decision to let it go.
...which means I still currently have:
EP3 Civic Type R: Being kept for track duties at Knockhill and possibly a Nurburgring trip later on in the year. There are a few small changes that I'd like to make before trackdays restart (for me) in a few months time.
Impreza STI V6 Limited: The Impreza remains at the moment, however, I'm not sure I can justify having it sit around when I can't find the time to use it, so for the same reasons as the Golf and M3 above, it may well end up moving on this year.. and the guys at Collecting Cars seem very keen to get hold of the car, so it might well follow the M3 down the online auction route too; we'll see.
E91 320d Sport Plus: Still doing a great job of ferrying the dog around, looking good (to me anyway!) and not causing me any hassle or bother whilst doing its job.
Volvo 940 Turbo: The reason this car still remains is purely because it's stuck up at my storage unit and I've not had the time to get near it properly. Once that time comes, it'll be getting cleaned up and put up for sale.. so with or without an MOT, it's days with me are numbered.
The reason for me coming back to this thread, is to update my car history timeline and keep things ticking along in order when I buy a new car.. so in the middle of November, I bought the following car:
- 2011 Mini Cooper S
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
R56 Mini Cooper S Readers' Cars Thread Here
After my old job going in the bin with the rest of 2020, I was losing my company car and the commute to my new job was just a few miles back and forward. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for a return to shed, so I started looking at petrol non-turbo Focai and Mondeos around a decade old... until I realised that I'm only going to be doing a few miles, so why not get something a little more fun. However budget performance is rarely hassle free in my experience; I'll never forget being told 'cheap, fast and reliable; choose two' when I was younger.
I was quite picky about the spec that I was looking for and that counted a few options out before they reached my short list. There were a handful of cars which I was interested in, but this one was the closest to me and by coincidence my favorite colour combination/highest spec too... the low mileage (34k), fresh brakes and a matching set of nearly new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s were all big ticks in the box for me as well. Might even be a bit more rare than I had realised because I've already had three different people asking me if I'm thinking about selling it.
Initial thoughts are that it's a well built, well specced, nippy, brilliant handling wee thing. The grip and directness of the steering is great.. the trade off for this I guess is the ride. The MPS4 tyres fitted are (I believe) non-runflat and if I'm honest, the car is pretty stiff over broken/poor quality surfaces, so I can only imagine what it'd be like with runflat tyres fitted.
I've had the not unexpected comments from a couple of guys I know about it being a hairdressers car, my sexual orientation, etc etc... but I really don't care, I think it's great and it feels like it's going to be the fun all-rounder that I was looking for. It also averaged just over 39mpg at normal A and B road speeds after collection.
Sierra Sapphire Cosworth: The best example I've had of - 'Don't drive your heroes' ...I bought one 10-15 years too late.
Golf 25th Anniversary: It did less than 250 miles between MOTs, but wasn't too difficult to let it go.
E92 M3 Competition Pack: It did less than 100 miles between MOTs and was a big decision to let it go.
...which means I still currently have:
EP3 Civic Type R: Being kept for track duties at Knockhill and possibly a Nurburgring trip later on in the year. There are a few small changes that I'd like to make before trackdays restart (for me) in a few months time.
Impreza STI V6 Limited: The Impreza remains at the moment, however, I'm not sure I can justify having it sit around when I can't find the time to use it, so for the same reasons as the Golf and M3 above, it may well end up moving on this year.. and the guys at Collecting Cars seem very keen to get hold of the car, so it might well follow the M3 down the online auction route too; we'll see.
E91 320d Sport Plus: Still doing a great job of ferrying the dog around, looking good (to me anyway!) and not causing me any hassle or bother whilst doing its job.
Volvo 940 Turbo: The reason this car still remains is purely because it's stuck up at my storage unit and I've not had the time to get near it properly. Once that time comes, it'll be getting cleaned up and put up for sale.. so with or without an MOT, it's days with me are numbered.
The reason for me coming back to this thread, is to update my car history timeline and keep things ticking along in order when I buy a new car.. so in the middle of November, I bought the following car:
- 2011 Mini Cooper S
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrR56 Mini Cooper S Readers' Cars Thread Here
After my old job going in the bin with the rest of 2020, I was losing my company car and the commute to my new job was just a few miles back and forward. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for a return to shed, so I started looking at petrol non-turbo Focai and Mondeos around a decade old... until I realised that I'm only going to be doing a few miles, so why not get something a little more fun. However budget performance is rarely hassle free in my experience; I'll never forget being told 'cheap, fast and reliable; choose two' when I was younger.
I was quite picky about the spec that I was looking for and that counted a few options out before they reached my short list. There were a handful of cars which I was interested in, but this one was the closest to me and by coincidence my favorite colour combination/highest spec too... the low mileage (34k), fresh brakes and a matching set of nearly new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s were all big ticks in the box for me as well. Might even be a bit more rare than I had realised because I've already had three different people asking me if I'm thinking about selling it.
Initial thoughts are that it's a well built, well specced, nippy, brilliant handling wee thing. The grip and directness of the steering is great.. the trade off for this I guess is the ride. The MPS4 tyres fitted are (I believe) non-runflat and if I'm honest, the car is pretty stiff over broken/poor quality surfaces, so I can only imagine what it'd be like with runflat tyres fitted.
I've had the not unexpected comments from a couple of guys I know about it being a hairdressers car, my sexual orientation, etc etc... but I really don't care, I think it's great and it feels like it's going to be the fun all-rounder that I was looking for. It also averaged just over 39mpg at normal A and B road speeds after collection.
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 15:44
RS Grant said:
- 1997 Subaru Impreza STi Version 3
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
I guess that this was something which was inevitable, a return to Subaru ownership. After viewing a LOT of rusty and/or poorly maintained tired examples, this beauty came up for sale in the London area on eBay. After a couple of long telephone conversations with the owner, going through exactly what had been changed/cleaned/refurbished on the car I dedided to have a bid on it. Flew down to view the car and he collected me at Heathrow, I viewed the car and came away with the car happy. I fixed a couple of small niggles, new lambda, jittery speedo and a blowing (still original!) centre section and it ran like a dream, the only reason I sold the car was that my friend told me he would have sold me his V6 STi Limited if I'd asked. I found this out just after I bought this car, grrrrreat timing. ..so I sold this black STi onto another friend and bought the Version 6 STi below.
Just discovered that this car is up for sale again... for a bit more than I sold it for too; gotta love those rising import prices!!Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrI guess that this was something which was inevitable, a return to Subaru ownership. After viewing a LOT of rusty and/or poorly maintained tired examples, this beauty came up for sale in the London area on eBay. After a couple of long telephone conversations with the owner, going through exactly what had been changed/cleaned/refurbished on the car I dedided to have a bid on it. Flew down to view the car and he collected me at Heathrow, I viewed the car and came away with the car happy. I fixed a couple of small niggles, new lambda, jittery speedo and a blowing (still original!) centre section and it ran like a dream, the only reason I sold the car was that my friend told me he would have sold me his V6 STi Limited if I'd asked. I found this out just after I bought this car, grrrrreat timing.
..so I sold this black STi onto another friend and bought the Version 6 STi below. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1996-Subaru-Impreza-2-0...
Still looks immaculate to be fair and it's funny that I've still got (after selling it & buying it back from another PH'er) the Impreza which I bought to replace this black Version 3 STI too.
Cannot believe it's been over 2 years since I last updated this thread and nearly 9 years since I started it!!
So here is a long overdue rundown of what is here/what has left...
EP3 Civic Type R: Covered 21 miles between MOT's last year and it's an 18 mile round trip to the MOT station. ...these days I've got zero spare time to take it to Knockhill and enjoy it, so it'll likely be for the chop at some point.
Impreza STI V6 Limited: Sold it after getting an extremely strong offer/deal for the E90 M3 below.
E91 320d Sport Plus: Sold to fellow PH'er MDMA, who is smashing it out the park and making it one of the best E91s out there... thread here: Click Here
Volvo 940 Turbo: Sold to a friend. Who then didn't collect. So it's sat in the same place ever since.
2011 Mini Cooper S: Sold, great wee car and I would definitely have another one. In fact I looked for an N18 engined JCW version but couldn't justify the price they were fetching at the time.. so ended up with the 8P S3 below.
- 2010 8P Audi S3
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
8P S3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
After starting a new job with a short commute, running the E91 became something which I wasn't going to be comfortable doing.. so after a while of trying to justify holding onto it and looking for a new daily driver to fill it's sizeable boots; I settled on an 8P S3 as the car which ticked the most boxes for me.
This one appeared painted in very rare Audi Exclusive Java Green, with low owners, high spec, 37k miles and mega service history. I've made a few small changes and I'm trying to keep a thread/journal going on the progress with the car above.
The performance is sharper than you'd give it credit for when compared to more modern hot hatches and with a few modifications the handling can be improved on vastly as well.
- 2015 F80 M3 LCI
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
F80 M3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
With my folks having moved out to the sticks and the F80 M3 that my mum bought new in 2015 getting little to no use compared to the SUV that they had got to cope with the snow/ice/muddy lanes round by them. I bought the car from them in mid-2021 and set about some upgrades to braking, handling and small MPerformance extras.
It's a fantastic car, rare being a high spec LCI car with a manual 6 speed gearbox and obviously has a very comprehensive service history too. However I'm in the process of selling this car, deposit has been taken and once the pre-sale service at BMW has been completed then I will be waving goodbye to my third M3... and hoping that I don't look back with regret for the third time too!
- 2009 E90 M3 LCI
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
E90 M3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
As I mentioned in the Subaru update, I was offered this car in a deal with my Impreza.. and given that I wasn't using the Impreza and missing my old E92 M3, it seemed like a no brainer to give the E90 a whirl.
It's had all the preventative stuff done and is actually a Japanese import, so the underside is immaculate. It's got the DCT gearbox which is well suited to the engine but I can't help but miss the interactive experience of the (admittedly long ratio'd) manual that I had before in my E92.
...and that's us up to date again. With the F80 going in the near future, I will update with it's replacement as and when it arrives... and then try to keep on top of the updates from there!!
So here is a long overdue rundown of what is here/what has left...
EP3 Civic Type R: Covered 21 miles between MOT's last year and it's an 18 mile round trip to the MOT station.
...these days I've got zero spare time to take it to Knockhill and enjoy it, so it'll likely be for the chop at some point.Impreza STI V6 Limited: Sold it after getting an extremely strong offer/deal for the E90 M3 below.
E91 320d Sport Plus: Sold to fellow PH'er MDMA, who is smashing it out the park and making it one of the best E91s out there... thread here: Click Here
Volvo 940 Turbo: Sold to a friend. Who then didn't collect. So it's sat in the same place ever since.
2011 Mini Cooper S: Sold, great wee car and I would definitely have another one. In fact I looked for an N18 engined JCW version but couldn't justify the price they were fetching at the time.. so ended up with the 8P S3 below.
- 2010 8P Audi S3
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on Flickr8P S3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
After starting a new job with a short commute, running the E91 became something which I wasn't going to be comfortable doing.. so after a while of trying to justify holding onto it and looking for a new daily driver to fill it's sizeable boots; I settled on an 8P S3 as the car which ticked the most boxes for me.
This one appeared painted in very rare Audi Exclusive Java Green, with low owners, high spec, 37k miles and mega service history. I've made a few small changes and I'm trying to keep a thread/journal going on the progress with the car above.
The performance is sharper than you'd give it credit for when compared to more modern hot hatches and with a few modifications the handling can be improved on vastly as well.
- 2015 F80 M3 LCI
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrF80 M3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
With my folks having moved out to the sticks and the F80 M3 that my mum bought new in 2015 getting little to no use compared to the SUV that they had got to cope with the snow/ice/muddy lanes round by them. I bought the car from them in mid-2021 and set about some upgrades to braking, handling and small MPerformance extras.
It's a fantastic car, rare being a high spec LCI car with a manual 6 speed gearbox and obviously has a very comprehensive service history too. However I'm in the process of selling this car, deposit has been taken and once the pre-sale service at BMW has been completed then I will be waving goodbye to my third M3... and hoping that I don't look back with regret for the third time too!
- 2009 E90 M3 LCI
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrE90 M3 Readers' Cars Thread Here
As I mentioned in the Subaru update, I was offered this car in a deal with my Impreza.. and given that I wasn't using the Impreza and missing my old E92 M3, it seemed like a no brainer to give the E90 a whirl.
It's had all the preventative stuff done and is actually a Japanese import, so the underside is immaculate. It's got the DCT gearbox which is well suited to the engine but I can't help but miss the interactive experience of the (admittedly long ratio'd) manual that I had before in my E92.
...and that's us up to date again. With the F80 going in the near future, I will update with it's replacement as and when it arrives... and then try to keep on top of the updates from there!!
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 31st May 22:49
d_a_n1979 said:
Great selection there pal; out of all of them the E90 would be the one I'd go for personally... They're too small for me as a daily driver/for the longer road trips etc... But would love one as a second car
Maybe, when our mortgage is finally paid off in 18-24 months! Prices might be that bit lower then too
Everyone’s different I guess but I’ve had my E9x cars on some fairly hefty road trips without an issue.. however will absolutely agree that I’d have been comfier on the comfort-spec sofas fitted to my old E39. Maybe, when our mortgage is finally paid off in 18-24 months! Prices might be that bit lower then too
Haha! Prices mightttt be lower by then.. however.. with the rate people seem to be discovering rusted out UK cars, the values might have firmed up?!
Car values are almost always a gamble anyway… just roll the dice when you can and have a good time for as long as you can.
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