My car history and new(old) car

[GGibbo]

Hi all,

I've been lurking on PH for a while, so I thought it's time for me to post up my car history so here goes...

First disclaimer; any photos that are at all arty/interesting weren't taken by myself, but the awful camera phone ones were.

Right, first car. Unfortunately this was so long ago it pre dates my first digital camera, so heres a file photo. Escort 1.4 LX, I thought it was awesome at the time, even wanted to put some OZ Superturismos on it(thank god I couldn't afford them). It obviously had a big stereo put in (and then stolen) almost straight away. By the time I got rid, one of the back doors wouldnt open, the boot filled with water when it rained, and the engine stalled if you took your foot off the floor...Hmmm.

(Mine did have colour coded wing mirrors!)

I was doing a few miles at uni, and needed something a bit less flaky, so I got this:






Escort 1.8 SI
At the time the 115 zetecy horsepower made it seem like the fastest thing in the world. To be fair, despite all the Escort build quality horror stories, this one was actually quite good.
Anyway, in my final year of uni I came into some money from a bereavement dividend and traded in the Escort(at a massive loss) for this:


Skoda Octavia VRs

The only car I really regret selling. Rapid, huge inside, cheap to run and fun. A coil broke on it, that was all it cost me in 18 months. Took it when some uni mates and I did 3 peaks challenge and I'm pretty sure it was the only thing that kept me awake in Snowdonia! Only downside was the colour of the seats; they look cool, but as I found out to my detriment, if you fall in a pond when drunk then sleep in your car they're almost impossible to clean.

Moving on, I left uni, got a job and decided to get my first silly car. Trading the Octy in (at a huge loss..)



TVR Chimaera

I had just turned 22 at the time, and I nearly made myself bankrupt buying super unleaded in the first week! It was 'only' a 4.0, but still scared me enough and gave me a summer of awesome motoring. I did swear at it a bit when it overheated on the dartford bridge and caused me to coast down the other side, engine off. I managed to get to the toll booth without restarting though...
Unfortunately I had to work in Gibraltar for a while, so the car was relegated to sitting on my dads drive occasionly being driven by him. In retrospect I would have driven it out there and blasted up and down the Ronda road all weekend, but nevermind.

So the Trev was sold back to the dealer(at a catastrophic loss) and when I was back in the UK I got this:


BMW E46 M3

I got this all wrong, bought the first car I looked at, in a spec I didn't really want. But it was epically fun. Once I'd sorted out some suspension issues(I say 'I', I mean the thiefs at a BMW dealer) it was brilliant. Manual, on 18s it taught me a lot about driving.

However, all my mates had soft tops, so 6 moths later(at the end of the summer!!) I traded the M3 (you guessed it....) for this:


Nissan 350Z Cab
Never really got on with the Zed. I can see why people like them, but I found it noisy, thirsty and uncomfartable, with neither the poise of the M3 or the manliness of the Chimaera.

So, 4 months later, the 350 moved on (actually for a fair price), for this:


Another BMW E46 M3


Yes I know it's almost the same as the other one, but I missed the Straight 6 noise and the general sharpness of it. This one was good spec(although who specs an electric rear privacy blind on an M3?) with SMG. Although SMG did have flaws, I actually found this made it more interesting to drive, although I would have a manual in the future.

I was living in North Wales, so, having done my bike licence a while back( in Gibraltar- comedy..!), I gave into temptaion and got this:


Suzuki SV650S

This was an awesome first bike. Cheap, made me feel safe but fast really quickly and made an epic noise.

So unfortunately, the M3 got relegated from fun toy to mainly motorway stuff. I'd always wanted to spec/buy a brand new car, so having sorted a reasonable discount, I traded in the M3(Oct 2008- not the best time to trade in a sportscar) for this:


BMW E92 320D

This was a brilliant car- I kept it 2 and a half years, my record thus far! It was mega comfy, did 55 mpg on a run, and was fun to hustle along and not too slow. I got it on a balloon payment so could spec it like I wanted (prof nav, leather etc) without breaking the bank too much.

At the same time, all my mates had bikes that went faster in a straight line than mine, so, being a suggestible idiot, I got this:


Kawasaki ZX6R 636

It took so much longer to get used to than the SV, I think I've still not really got to terms with it. But it looks cool(I think) and is actually more comfy than the Suzuki.

So, to finalise this unexpectedly long trawl, I'll bring things up to date. I had an oppurtunity to move the E92 on and get a little bit of money out of it, and am due to go abroad with work again at the end of the summer, so I thought I'd get a cheap car to enjoy over the summer then leave at home for when I get back( hate the idea of paying loads ofr a car I can't use). I then decided to get one of the cars I'd lusted over, and thought I could almost afford when I was 17. I looked at Mk3 Golf GTIs, Alfa 156 V6s and E30 BMWs. I then made a snap decision and got this:



I really like it. Its an E36 328i, non sport. Done 135K, but thi engine feels tight as a nut, although it rattles a bit, the gearbox is comedy and it's taking a while to get used to the scuttle shake!

That's all, apologies for the essay/poor photos. Hopefully soon to be added is something that starts with P, ends with e and sounds like something you'd have at the front of your house!

Edited by GGibbo on Wednesday 22 June 11:31

Edited by GGibbo on Wednesday 22 June 12:40

[Benten]

Nice motors mate.

[soad]

Nice progression from those old fords!
Good to see 636 in other colour than lime green!

[oedo]

Interesting your comments on the 350z... I've had mine (albeit a coupe) for 4 months and would echo what you've said about it being noisy and uncomfortable. I find it a chore to drive on any broken road surfaces, which includes most of them up in Scotland! Sadly I think mine will also be moving along soon.

Like the Octy, I had red mk1 (remapped) and is also one of the cars I most regret selling.

[Lets Torque]

Nice cars mate!

[GGibbo]

oedo, yeah I found the zed hard work. I lived up in Scotland until late last summer, and the roads were pretty nightmareish with the runflats on the 320D, it must be awful anything worse. Runflats+ 3 ft of snow makes for pretty comedy driving as well.

soad- cheers, I quite like the race rep look on the 636, I quite liked the old 'scorts though....

[CypherP]

Excellent write-up and a fantastic car history so far. It puts my own car history to shame. You're definitely on the right track to something more expensive now you've downgraded temporarily to the E36!

[GGibbo]

I dunno now, I'm really enjoying the E36, I'm tempted to keep it, or get another cheapish fun car. 90% of the time it's pretty much as good anything I've owned, so I can't really justify spending 15 times as much in a boxster s... Thoughts?

[CaptainSensib1e]

oedo said:

Interesting your comments on the 350z... I've had mine (albeit a coupe) for 4 months and would echo what you've said about it being noisy and uncomfortable. I find it a chore to drive on any broken road surfaces, which includes most of them up in Scotland! Sadly I think mine will also be moving along soon.

Like the Octy, I had red mk1 (remapped) and is also one of the cars I most regret selling.

Are you mad? Its just a giant go-kart! Mega fun!

[GGibbo]

CaptainSensib1e said:

Are you mad? Its just a giant go-kart! Mega fun!

You must be built like Arnie if that's true! They are fun, just I found it a bit grating as an everyday car.

[CaptainSensib1e]

GGibbo said:

You must be built like Arnie if that's true! They are fun, just I found it a bit grating as an everyday car.

Funny you should say that, too much time down at the gym perhaps