My car history!

[plumbly]

I've been reading up on other peoples car lists so thought I'd show you some of mine

I'll start at age 20 as the other cars were only stepping stones to build up the ncb!
My first car love, a cheeky 172 cup.





Decided I wanted some more torque, and refinement, so sold the clio and got a 225 tt (soon got remapped etc etc)




Got a proper car after that...





And now, at the tender age of 24 I've done a full circle and I'm in a tinny little blue thing again. I didn't want to get rid of the M, but I needed to save money for a house so it had to be done




It's been a journey, I've learned a lot about what I want/need in a car from each example so no regrets Hope you like.

Chris.

[GGibbo]

Good work, I had an M3 when I was in my early twenties and it hurt my house buying account more than I had hoped..! The wheels(from new style TT) update the old model nicely.

[cris654321]

nice cars, just wondering does the clio feel boring/disapointing/too much of a step down after the other two?

[mwstewart]

Ahh, I did exactly the same as you; I had an E46 M3 in my early 20's and it went to be replaced by some Diesel M Sport variants. They were a serious disappointment. I've no doubt your Clio will be more fun.

I'm back on track now and I'm sure you will be soon enough.

[chris182]

A man of taste I see. I like the idea of an E46 M3 but the cost of running one sounds just too high to justify against other things. Renaultsport is the way forward!

[plumbly]

Thanks for all the comments

Gibo - They're actually 'votex' wheels, an option for the mk1, bit of a touch tbh as I would have bought the car anyway as I was planning on some BBS lms but ended up falling in love with them! They're rare, and very lightweight; perfect for reducing the lardy Audis unsprung weight

[plumbly]

Cris - Obviously the clio is a downgrade, but I knew what I was doing and knew what to expect.

In terms of driving enjoyment, when you're giving it the beans it's 85% as fun as the M3. It doesn't have the low end grunt, or the godly noise of the straight 6, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in character, the handling is so involving you can chuck it into the corners without too much worry, much more margin for error than the ///M!

The Audi on the other hand was a huge disappointment, the way I always described it is 'perfect for the girlfriend!' On paper they're terrific, 4wd, mid range torque from the turbo, well built, look good (imo!) what's not to like? Short answer, lots! Mind numbingly boring, you can make good progress in one, but you'd have more fun watching Univercity challenge.

[plumbly]

stuart/chris - Cheers. Yeah she'll be going on track when I get round to it! Snetterton when the weather picks up.
M3s are great, a brilliant all rounder. The running costs aren't too bad, but if things go wrong you're in trouble! Luckily mine was a minter and treated me well, I know the new owner will be tacking it to the Burg, I hope it survives!