My Car History 2003 to Present
Discussion
After many years of browsing at other peoples cars on here I thought I would post a bit of info about my own history. I have had a quite a few in a short time and the order may not be quite right.
I learned to drive in 2003 in a 1987 1.4 Ford Escort in Thomas the Tank Engine blue, that was sadly written off by someone ploughing into me.
But was quickly replaced by this 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500. It was definitely a 10yard car and looked great from a distance, but after a fair bit of work it turned out to be a great car. I learned a huge amount from working on it and eventually sold it for a bit of a profit. (Apologies for the poor photos.)
I then moved on to a Mazda MX-5. Admittedly I dont think I chose a particularly great model, but was in superb condition and drove very well. I had it for about a year and cost me very little to run in that time.
A Renault Clio 172 followed that after I decided I needed a bit more practicality. Again a great car and I did end up at some point having another silver 182 that time.
Then with some serious man maths I managed to convince myself that I could afford a TVR which had always been my dream ever since I saw a new Griffith 500 in Starmist blue outside my school in 1995. I bought a 1998 Chimaera 400, colour combo was exactly what I was after, but it was in great nick with good history. For now at least this was what I ended up with.
I sold it for a very cheap Mazda RX-8, which went wrong weeks after buying it and sold it on quickly. Nice car to drive once you got used to the engine. The handling and gearbox were great in my opinion and it was a nice place to sit.
I then bought a VX220 Turbo. This was a daily driver for a year or so and I loved it, so much I bought another one at a later date.
Then I finally managed to buy the car of my dreams. I bought one of the first Griffith 500's in Starmist blue with cream leather. In reality I just didnt bond with the car and I didnt keep it that long. I would love to try another later example as I still think it is one of the best looking cars ever made.
After this I went to a Clio 182 which I had for a while and bought my first house so the cars had to wait for a while.
Then I bought my second VX220. It needed a fair bit of work and I rebuilt much of it over a winter and it was fantastic to drive once finished. It did a trip to Le Mans and a tour of Cornwall and was faultless throughout. Sadly I sold it recently as I just dont seem to have had the time to use it and an offer came at what felt like the right time.
That pretty much brings me up to date. I recently bought an A4 2.0TFSI Quattro for daily duties and transporting the dog around and so far I have really been impressed with it, fuel economy aside. It has all the toys I could ask for and it a nice place to sit.
I have just ordered a M135i, (along with 90% of people on Pistonheads) in Estoril Blue which should be with me at the end of March at which point my other half will take the Audi on. I hope it turns out to be a good compromise and a good all rounder.
Apologies for the lengthy post. Thanks for reading.
I learned to drive in 2003 in a 1987 1.4 Ford Escort in Thomas the Tank Engine blue, that was sadly written off by someone ploughing into me.
But was quickly replaced by this 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500. It was definitely a 10yard car and looked great from a distance, but after a fair bit of work it turned out to be a great car. I learned a huge amount from working on it and eventually sold it for a bit of a profit. (Apologies for the poor photos.)
I then moved on to a Mazda MX-5. Admittedly I dont think I chose a particularly great model, but was in superb condition and drove very well. I had it for about a year and cost me very little to run in that time.
A Renault Clio 172 followed that after I decided I needed a bit more practicality. Again a great car and I did end up at some point having another silver 182 that time.
Then with some serious man maths I managed to convince myself that I could afford a TVR which had always been my dream ever since I saw a new Griffith 500 in Starmist blue outside my school in 1995. I bought a 1998 Chimaera 400, colour combo was exactly what I was after, but it was in great nick with good history. For now at least this was what I ended up with.
I sold it for a very cheap Mazda RX-8, which went wrong weeks after buying it and sold it on quickly. Nice car to drive once you got used to the engine. The handling and gearbox were great in my opinion and it was a nice place to sit.
I then bought a VX220 Turbo. This was a daily driver for a year or so and I loved it, so much I bought another one at a later date.
Then I finally managed to buy the car of my dreams. I bought one of the first Griffith 500's in Starmist blue with cream leather. In reality I just didnt bond with the car and I didnt keep it that long. I would love to try another later example as I still think it is one of the best looking cars ever made.
After this I went to a Clio 182 which I had for a while and bought my first house so the cars had to wait for a while.
Then I bought my second VX220. It needed a fair bit of work and I rebuilt much of it over a winter and it was fantastic to drive once finished. It did a trip to Le Mans and a tour of Cornwall and was faultless throughout. Sadly I sold it recently as I just dont seem to have had the time to use it and an offer came at what felt like the right time.
That pretty much brings me up to date. I recently bought an A4 2.0TFSI Quattro for daily duties and transporting the dog around and so far I have really been impressed with it, fuel economy aside. It has all the toys I could ask for and it a nice place to sit.
I have just ordered a M135i, (along with 90% of people on Pistonheads) in Estoril Blue which should be with me at the end of March at which point my other half will take the Audi on. I hope it turns out to be a good compromise and a good all rounder.
Apologies for the lengthy post. Thanks for reading.
Edited by jimmyVX on Thursday 9th January 10:12
lewisf182 said:
I'm sure you'll love the M135i, with so many people buying it there has to be something special about it!
Yea, cheap hire prices!!Car history looks good, braver than me with two TVR's and the RX! I've had an MX5 but not yet scratched the Clio Sport itch. M135 on the way though!
Its the S-Tronic version. Its pretty good to be honest and pootling around town its very smooth and changes farily quickly down the gears with the paddles if required, but rarely used. But its not anywhere near as good as the 8 speed box in the M135i I drove recently by comparison.
Fine for the commute but compromised in my view if you want to 'properly' drive it.
Fine for the commute but compromised in my view if you want to 'properly' drive it.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff