My not typical young guys car history!
Discussion
Hello chaps.
Been browsing the forums for a while but not posting much!
Thought I would post my car history as I am simply bored!
It's not very usual for a young person I don't think!
Passed my test at 17 and got first car! £1500 insurance premium on 500 car!
Hyundai Accent 1.3 I 1996 Bought standard. Fitted face lifted rear lights, Toora alloys, loud exhaust as expected from a 17 year old.
Engine went kaboom on the Accent. New car was bought. 1.0 12v Corsa B in red.
Stayed standard for 10 months I had it. Then it decided to chew one of the spark plugs.
Replaced spark plugs and sold the car.
Not my picture but exactly same car
As I needed a car to go to work and 6th form I started looking hard for anything that I could afford to buy. There was nothing local and a trader I was friends with was selling an Ford Escort.
Less than 24 hours of purchase:
Wasn't my fault. Was persuaded not to go through insurance and was given some money.
Fixed it for 50 quid including buying paint and other pain materials
Fitted second hand stainless steel exhaust
Then I got accepted to uni and I thought I would get something cheaper to have sitting on the drive as I was planning on getting train to uni from home. I went to view 6 Corsa B's as I knew it would be cheap to run and modify. All 6 were utter crap.
Spread my search a bit and found this...
Suzuki Swift 1.0 GLS 6 valve engine.
Then I found uni too easy and decided I needed a challenge - I was working 5 days a week and was at uni at same time!
Money were rolling in and I was embarrassed to drive the Swift. Spent some money on it:
Turned my attention to performance:
G13B 16v 1.3 Suzuki Swift GTi engine
About £1000 later....
Then I got lured into buying my sisters partners car.
BMW E36 323i - I sorted everything it need for MOT and sold it soon after as it was getting too expensive for me to run. I loved it when I had it though, especially with 328i Exhaust I fitted!
Replacement car was 1.9 TDI VW Bora
Lowered in a Scene way:
Did few other things and played with VAGcom as well.
It was incredibly economical (read "boring") so I started looking for another car.
Wanted diesel again but with more power - Golf or Bora with 130hp engine, BMW E46 320D, Seat or Skoda of some sort..
Then spotted a Mondeo on Ebay - put a bid in a to my horror in morning I won. ooops
It was a non runner. To get it running me and my dad rigged up this little device:
There is a wire going from ignition switch to fuse under bonnet then to relay and to ECU.
Section of wire between fuse and relay has rotted away. Easily sorted!
This quick fix turned this car into a real bargain £790 for all this!
Decided to keep it. Did major service, cleaned every inch of car. Then bonnet lock broke, windscreen cracked. All sorted and got it through MOT with only one new brake pipe. Read too much about diesel pumps and injectors going so decided to sell
Tidied it up, got new front grill from Ford, repainted alloys, sold for nice profit.
Now I had sold the Mondeo I was on the look out for a new car.
Again - fast diesel. I loved E39's for a while and really wanted one.
530D was my target. Had to be manual and that was a big task.
Luckily for my I found one on Ebay local enough. FSH, manual, leather seats, good condition and not 200k miles on clock!
Plans are to get de-cat, full M sport kit and a re-map!
Just done a 484 mile round trip and averaged out 49mpg. Was cruising at 75 miles per hour both ways!
Been browsing the forums for a while but not posting much!
Thought I would post my car history as I am simply bored!
It's not very usual for a young person I don't think!
Passed my test at 17 and got first car! £1500 insurance premium on 500 car!
Hyundai Accent 1.3 I 1996 Bought standard. Fitted face lifted rear lights, Toora alloys, loud exhaust as expected from a 17 year old.
Engine went kaboom on the Accent. New car was bought. 1.0 12v Corsa B in red.
Stayed standard for 10 months I had it. Then it decided to chew one of the spark plugs.
Replaced spark plugs and sold the car.
Not my picture but exactly same car
As I needed a car to go to work and 6th form I started looking hard for anything that I could afford to buy. There was nothing local and a trader I was friends with was selling an Ford Escort.
Less than 24 hours of purchase:
Wasn't my fault. Was persuaded not to go through insurance and was given some money.
Fixed it for 50 quid including buying paint and other pain materials
Fitted second hand stainless steel exhaust
Then I got accepted to uni and I thought I would get something cheaper to have sitting on the drive as I was planning on getting train to uni from home. I went to view 6 Corsa B's as I knew it would be cheap to run and modify. All 6 were utter crap.
Spread my search a bit and found this...
Suzuki Swift 1.0 GLS 6 valve engine.
Then I found uni too easy and decided I needed a challenge - I was working 5 days a week and was at uni at same time!
Money were rolling in and I was embarrassed to drive the Swift. Spent some money on it:
Turned my attention to performance:
G13B 16v 1.3 Suzuki Swift GTi engine
About £1000 later....
Then I got lured into buying my sisters partners car.
BMW E36 323i - I sorted everything it need for MOT and sold it soon after as it was getting too expensive for me to run. I loved it when I had it though, especially with 328i Exhaust I fitted!
Replacement car was 1.9 TDI VW Bora
Lowered in a Scene way:
Did few other things and played with VAGcom as well.
It was incredibly economical (read "boring") so I started looking for another car.
Wanted diesel again but with more power - Golf or Bora with 130hp engine, BMW E46 320D, Seat or Skoda of some sort..
Then spotted a Mondeo on Ebay - put a bid in a to my horror in morning I won. ooops
It was a non runner. To get it running me and my dad rigged up this little device:
There is a wire going from ignition switch to fuse under bonnet then to relay and to ECU.
Section of wire between fuse and relay has rotted away. Easily sorted!
This quick fix turned this car into a real bargain £790 for all this!
Decided to keep it. Did major service, cleaned every inch of car. Then bonnet lock broke, windscreen cracked. All sorted and got it through MOT with only one new brake pipe. Read too much about diesel pumps and injectors going so decided to sell
Tidied it up, got new front grill from Ford, repainted alloys, sold for nice profit.
Now I had sold the Mondeo I was on the look out for a new car.
Again - fast diesel. I loved E39's for a while and really wanted one.
530D was my target. Had to be manual and that was a big task.
Luckily for my I found one on Ebay local enough. FSH, manual, leather seats, good condition and not 200k miles on clock!
Plans are to get de-cat, full M sport kit and a re-map!
Just done a 484 mile round trip and averaged out 49mpg. Was cruising at 75 miles per hour both ways!
Edited by daymoon on Sunday 8th December 18:40
Edited by daymoon on Sunday 8th December 18:43
I've pretty much ignored your whole post except from the BM's and especially the E39 (fellow E39 owner!)
Looks pretty tidy, I'd say its a shame you have fitted pre-facelift wheels to a facelift cars but they look better than the originals.
How many miles has it done? MPG is impressive, but I guess its a Manual!
Looks pretty tidy, I'd say its a shame you have fitted pre-facelift wheels to a facelift cars but they look better than the originals.
How many miles has it done? MPG is impressive, but I guess its a Manual!
Thanks guys 
114.5k miles on the clock now. Was 104k when I bought it at the end of September '11 !!
I prefer the new alloys to be honest. Slightly wider and they are 17" instead of 16".
They haven't really cost me anything as I swapped the wheels from the BMW I am breaking.
MPG is really impressive, especially for size of car. I managed 61mpg before, cruising behind lorries at 50 mph. Never again.. I would have fallen asleep if I had a pillow
114.5k miles on the clock now. Was 104k when I bought it at the end of September '11 !!
I prefer the new alloys to be honest. Slightly wider and they are 17" instead of 16".
They haven't really cost me anything as I swapped the wheels from the BMW I am breaking.
MPG is really impressive, especially for size of car. I managed 61mpg before, cruising behind lorries at 50 mph. Never again.. I would have fallen asleep if I had a pillow
Excellent car history you have there!
I am in a similar position, had a mk3 Mondeo at 19 (utterly brilliant car) and I certainly got a few funny looks in it. Got an E46 now and I get some odd looks in that too.
It is nice to go against the grain a bit sometimes. I like the wheels you have on the E39, looks really smart
I am in a similar position, had a mk3 Mondeo at 19 (utterly brilliant car) and I certainly got a few funny looks in it. Got an E46 now and I get some odd looks in that too.
It is nice to go against the grain a bit sometimes. I like the wheels you have on the E39, looks really smart
BorkFactor said:
Excellent car history you have there!
I am in a similar position, had a mk3 Mondeo at 19 (utterly brilliant car) and I certainly got a few funny looks in it. Got an E46 now and I get some odd looks in that too.
It is nice to go against the grain a bit sometimes. I like the wheels you have on the E39, looks really smart
Thanks! I am in a similar position, had a mk3 Mondeo at 19 (utterly brilliant car) and I certainly got a few funny looks in it. Got an E46 now and I get some odd looks in that too.
It is nice to go against the grain a bit sometimes. I like the wheels you have on the E39, looks really smart
To be honest I can't comment on the Mondeo too much.
It was a pain in the back side to work on it though .
I have changed aux belt tensioner and both idler pulleys - had to drop engine on one side to do it!
Changed crankshaft bottom pulley - spent three days trying to undo one bolt! Had to weld socket to the bolt and hire an impact wrench. Again, engine had to be dropped to do that.
Windscreen cracked just for a laugh.
After replacing diesel fuel filter, me and my mate and then my dad spent about a day trying to bleed the bloody thing.
It did drive rather nicely though on the way to MOT centre. The one I had was the 130BHP one and 6 speed box. Was rather nippy! If they weren't known for weak diesel pumps I would have kept it.
Paul - I can, sort of... Bora was a way to save money. Being at uni and having no loan I couldn't warrant running the BMW any more.
Bora did it's job perfectly, was cheap to run, tax and insure!
Mondeo was bought as it was a decent model, cheap, needed work, had some power. Also I have to get permission from my parents when I buy new car (Because I don't pay rent and I park car on our drive. And that's the way our family is) and they were happy for me to get it.
E39 is fast enough with 193 BHP, RWD, loads of MPG, comfort and it has the M sport suspension - takes corners well considering...
Well... Has been a while since I updated this
Since last time I update I sold the E39
Got a new job which meant a 90 mile round trip So I decided to pursue economy route.
Let me introduce you to E46 320D M sport
Pics I seen before making bank transfer:
Drove it home - 90 mile trip. No overheating, no pulling to one side - all good.
Notice the frost
Striped - All looks fine under the damaged parts
Rebuilt with parts I ordered before paying for the car
All done (sourcing the bonnet proved difficult - was rocking about with purple bonnet for a while
4 months into my new job and long commutes I came to a conclusion that:
320d is not that good on fuel
it's much slower than I would expect
and most importantly seats were really uncomfortable for me
So I sold it.
Day before I sold it though I bought this:
Yes, another E39
530D
Manual
Heated seats
Stayed standard for all of one week
First purchase was white angel eye LED bulbs - no pics
Then came across eBay add for my current alloys - drove to London and back for them!
Bad picture of shadow line window trim fitted
New steering wheel
Eibach springs
What's this?
A spare cat converter. Dropped it off at a mates garage for it to be opened/gutted inside and re-welded.
As you may have noticed the front sits lower than back which seems to be common with any lowering springs.
So this is my solution:
KW coilovers - just rear.
Not pictured but also removed EGR valve - much more torque below 2k RPM.
Couple of services and that's it really.
Had it since April 2013 and done 20k+ miles already!
Since last time I update I sold the E39
Got a new job which meant a 90 mile round trip So I decided to pursue economy route.
Let me introduce you to E46 320D M sport
Pics I seen before making bank transfer:
Drove it home - 90 mile trip. No overheating, no pulling to one side - all good.
Notice the frost
Striped - All looks fine under the damaged parts
Rebuilt with parts I ordered before paying for the car
All done (sourcing the bonnet proved difficult - was rocking about with purple bonnet for a while
4 months into my new job and long commutes I came to a conclusion that:
320d is not that good on fuel
it's much slower than I would expect
and most importantly seats were really uncomfortable for me
So I sold it.
Day before I sold it though I bought this:
Yes, another E39
530D
Manual
Heated seats
Stayed standard for all of one week
First purchase was white angel eye LED bulbs - no pics
Then came across eBay add for my current alloys - drove to London and back for them!
Bad picture of shadow line window trim fitted
New steering wheel
Eibach springs
What's this?
A spare cat converter. Dropped it off at a mates garage for it to be opened/gutted inside and re-welded.
As you may have noticed the front sits lower than back which seems to be common with any lowering springs.
So this is my solution:
KW coilovers - just rear.
Not pictured but also removed EGR valve - much more torque below 2k RPM.
Couple of services and that's it really.
Had it since April 2013 and done 20k+ miles already!
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