A newbie's hello and a car history (apologies in advance!)
Discussion
Hi All
I only recently stumbled across PH, and since have been reading and following with interest! The level of knowledge and passion on this site is incredible, and puts me to shame!
I have always had an interest in cars, but to be honest it is only really relatively recently that it has gone beyond that. The discovery of PH has sort of pushed me forward, for instance I had never even heard of claying a car until I saw it mentioned on here. I have since bought and used my first clay bar set (Megs) on the OH's car. Even she was impressed with the results!
If I'm honest (as you will see from my car history in a minute!), I don't honestly think that I can claim to be a proper pistonhead as yet. Certainly my mechanical understanding (or rather my utter absence of any!) would suggest that I am not one! However, if it's ok with you guys, I'd like to thought of as an aspiring PH?!
So a car history, as I understand that this is the custom for a first post on here. Apologies in advance for the uninspiring list, and also the lack of pictures of my own cars!
1st car - Ford Fiesta popluar plus (Red G reg)
A 'fantastic' car shared by my brother and I (you have to understand that this was our first ever car, so we had limit levels of comparison to go by!). Ours had a rear windscreen wiper, a radio (but no tape player), four gears and offered us our first ever taste of freedom! We went to Unis in Hull and York, so the 'beast' was shuttled forwards and backwards between the two places. Rumoured to have topped a ton once, downhill with a following gale, but these rumours were often dismissed as the stuff of fantasy. I gave my half of the car to my brother once I bought my focus, and he continued to run it until the engine basically ate itself in about 2004.
2nd car - (3 door Ford Focus Zetec. Black S reg)
This was a superb car. I can honestly understand how and why the focus is the most popular car on the road. I purchased this car from my old man's company as it had been used by one of the wives of the directors. It had been meticulously looked after for its early life, with only ford servicing and OEM parts used on it. I loved it to pieces, as it actually increased in speed in a way that able to be seen with the naked eye (unlike the fiesta!). This is the car that I kept for the longest, and I massively piled the miles on. Towards the end of it's life several things started to go wrong with it, including the alternator dieing, the prop shaft leaking oil and the speed sensor on the gearbox failing (which meant that the speedo registered 0 all the time! I learnt what speeds the revs in different gears equated to, and drove according to this for a while!).
Was used in p/x for my next car as I needed a more economical car (I had changed jobs and would be driving twice the distance. Blokenomics meant that I felt it more prudent to spend several thousand pounds on a new car, rather than a liitle more on petrol on this one!)
3rd Car - (Smart Roadster Speedsilver, Silver 54 reg)
The car that I loved most of all of all that I have owned previously. For those of you that have never driven one of these, they are tremendous little cars. Yes, they do leak, and yes they do only have a 700cc engine. However they only weigh 700kgs, so its basically 100bhp/tonne, which isnt bad. They also return over 50mpg (I could easily squeeze 60 out of mine if I ever drove it carefully - which happened rarely!). It is as close to a sports car as I have ever owned, and I would love to get another one. (My brother has just bought one in yellow, and I am insanely jealous!). Was exchanged for a BMW as we had acquired a dog (much to my confusion and surprise - but that's another story!), and also we were trying to start a family. I chopped her in two weeks before my 30th birthday, and never have I felt so sad about getting rid of a car (not that I have done it much!)
4th car - (BMW E46 320d touring, silver 03)
My first ever 'prestige' car this. Also my first ever estate car. During my childhood my old man had a succession of estates (an a reg sierra, then 3 volvos, culminating with a T5 beast, which was car jacked outside a pub in knutsford!) so I have a real fondness for the shape. Also with a dog, and imminently child+paraphinalia to cram in, the space was essential! . Bought it from a shonky dealer in birmingham, who sold cars out of his front 'garden', I was somewhat blinded by my desire to own a Beemer. As a consequence of this, soon after buying the car the bills started to mount up. Very soon after the purchase the accelerator pedal snapped off, leading to an 'interesting' drive home. Said 'dealer' wasn't interested, so I took it to BMW in Peterborough, where it turned out that the rear coils had also gone, along with a couple of other issues = an aditional bill for about 1k. I kept the car for 3 years, and piled on about 50k in that time but towards the end several things went wrong. First, on my way from my brothers once a warning light came on. Turned out the expansion tank had blown, and I needed a new one and also a new rad too. Then my wife was driving home from a jewellery show (she makes and sells her own), when the head gasket blew. When the garage finally got round to repairing it it seems it was caused by a failed thermostat. However the garage cocked up the repair (they used someone they hadn't used before to regrind the head, and he apparently cocked it up twice, leading to oil being pumped around the whole engine - to be fair to them, they absorbed the cost of the clean up, etc - cost them more than it cosr me for the repair!). During the rebuild they highlighted that the intercooler had a small leak and needed replacing, but at the time there was no way I could stretch to it. They said it would be ok for a couple of months, and then it would have to be replaced. Once that was done felt that enough was enough so decided to p/x it for my current car.
Current car - (Saab 9-3 1.9 diesel Vector Turbo estate, blue 06)
My current motor. I love it! It has half cream leather and all the gizmos a chap could need! Doesnt stop me desiring another roadster though (a brabus I think!)
I hope people havent been too put off by the mass of text on this post. I will try to find some pics of the various motors and add them on here.
Nadger
I only recently stumbled across PH, and since have been reading and following with interest! The level of knowledge and passion on this site is incredible, and puts me to shame!
I have always had an interest in cars, but to be honest it is only really relatively recently that it has gone beyond that. The discovery of PH has sort of pushed me forward, for instance I had never even heard of claying a car until I saw it mentioned on here. I have since bought and used my first clay bar set (Megs) on the OH's car. Even she was impressed with the results!
If I'm honest (as you will see from my car history in a minute!), I don't honestly think that I can claim to be a proper pistonhead as yet. Certainly my mechanical understanding (or rather my utter absence of any!) would suggest that I am not one! However, if it's ok with you guys, I'd like to thought of as an aspiring PH?!
So a car history, as I understand that this is the custom for a first post on here. Apologies in advance for the uninspiring list, and also the lack of pictures of my own cars!
1st car - Ford Fiesta popluar plus (Red G reg)
A 'fantastic' car shared by my brother and I (you have to understand that this was our first ever car, so we had limit levels of comparison to go by!). Ours had a rear windscreen wiper, a radio (but no tape player), four gears and offered us our first ever taste of freedom! We went to Unis in Hull and York, so the 'beast' was shuttled forwards and backwards between the two places. Rumoured to have topped a ton once, downhill with a following gale, but these rumours were often dismissed as the stuff of fantasy. I gave my half of the car to my brother once I bought my focus, and he continued to run it until the engine basically ate itself in about 2004.
2nd car - (3 door Ford Focus Zetec. Black S reg)
This was a superb car. I can honestly understand how and why the focus is the most popular car on the road. I purchased this car from my old man's company as it had been used by one of the wives of the directors. It had been meticulously looked after for its early life, with only ford servicing and OEM parts used on it. I loved it to pieces, as it actually increased in speed in a way that able to be seen with the naked eye (unlike the fiesta!). This is the car that I kept for the longest, and I massively piled the miles on. Towards the end of it's life several things started to go wrong with it, including the alternator dieing, the prop shaft leaking oil and the speed sensor on the gearbox failing (which meant that the speedo registered 0 all the time! I learnt what speeds the revs in different gears equated to, and drove according to this for a while!).
Was used in p/x for my next car as I needed a more economical car (I had changed jobs and would be driving twice the distance. Blokenomics meant that I felt it more prudent to spend several thousand pounds on a new car, rather than a liitle more on petrol on this one!)
3rd Car - (Smart Roadster Speedsilver, Silver 54 reg)
The car that I loved most of all of all that I have owned previously. For those of you that have never driven one of these, they are tremendous little cars. Yes, they do leak, and yes they do only have a 700cc engine. However they only weigh 700kgs, so its basically 100bhp/tonne, which isnt bad. They also return over 50mpg (I could easily squeeze 60 out of mine if I ever drove it carefully - which happened rarely!). It is as close to a sports car as I have ever owned, and I would love to get another one. (My brother has just bought one in yellow, and I am insanely jealous!). Was exchanged for a BMW as we had acquired a dog (much to my confusion and surprise - but that's another story!), and also we were trying to start a family. I chopped her in two weeks before my 30th birthday, and never have I felt so sad about getting rid of a car (not that I have done it much!)
4th car - (BMW E46 320d touring, silver 03)
My first ever 'prestige' car this. Also my first ever estate car. During my childhood my old man had a succession of estates (an a reg sierra, then 3 volvos, culminating with a T5 beast, which was car jacked outside a pub in knutsford!) so I have a real fondness for the shape. Also with a dog, and imminently child+paraphinalia to cram in, the space was essential! . Bought it from a shonky dealer in birmingham, who sold cars out of his front 'garden', I was somewhat blinded by my desire to own a Beemer. As a consequence of this, soon after buying the car the bills started to mount up. Very soon after the purchase the accelerator pedal snapped off, leading to an 'interesting' drive home. Said 'dealer' wasn't interested, so I took it to BMW in Peterborough, where it turned out that the rear coils had also gone, along with a couple of other issues = an aditional bill for about 1k. I kept the car for 3 years, and piled on about 50k in that time but towards the end several things went wrong. First, on my way from my brothers once a warning light came on. Turned out the expansion tank had blown, and I needed a new one and also a new rad too. Then my wife was driving home from a jewellery show (she makes and sells her own), when the head gasket blew. When the garage finally got round to repairing it it seems it was caused by a failed thermostat. However the garage cocked up the repair (they used someone they hadn't used before to regrind the head, and he apparently cocked it up twice, leading to oil being pumped around the whole engine - to be fair to them, they absorbed the cost of the clean up, etc - cost them more than it cosr me for the repair!). During the rebuild they highlighted that the intercooler had a small leak and needed replacing, but at the time there was no way I could stretch to it. They said it would be ok for a couple of months, and then it would have to be replaced. Once that was done felt that enough was enough so decided to p/x it for my current car.
Current car - (Saab 9-3 1.9 diesel Vector Turbo estate, blue 06)
My current motor. I love it! It has half cream leather and all the gizmos a chap could need! Doesnt stop me desiring another roadster though (a brabus I think!)
I hope people havent been too put off by the mass of text on this post. I will try to find some pics of the various motors and add them on here.
Nadger
Welcome aboard and enjoy the road.:thumb:
I too stumbled across PH when I was having trouble keeping my old Wedge on the road. Found PH and the fun began - must have saved me thousands over the ten years I've been here.
Use the many forums to help and be helped in any advice you need. There's more to PH than motors.
Oh and don't be put off by the piss taking you will get from time to time
I too stumbled across PH when I was having trouble keeping my old Wedge on the road. Found PH and the fun began - must have saved me thousands over the ten years I've been here.
Use the many forums to help and be helped in any advice you need. There's more to PH than motors.
Oh and don't be put off by the piss taking you will get from time to time
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