Old vs new - what car I've lost my way...
Discussion
Hi all, a what car but not your normal new euro box type of stuff etc...
Here's a quick overview of my current situation,
I run around in a version 1 impreza wrx ra, which consists of driving to work once a week, 4 miles there, 4 miles back plus once a month I may do the odd autosolo /12 car rally and have entered the national BTRDA new comers challenge, having had some good results. I bought the car as more of an investment rather than a wow I want that one kind of thing, and it's now nearing completion after a year, getting the paint sorted next month and I think I'll put the old girl up for sale. I have to say I've come to love the thing, motorway driving is a pain in the back side due to close ratio box, among other things plus I seem to spend more and more each month on sorting bits out, I know I'll get my money back so I see it as a tangible savings account rather than a waste of money, but it's still annoying me.
The question is what on earth is a suitable replacement? I generally buy cars which I can either get my money back on or make a little, that's how I like to roll rather than racking up finance bills. It needs to be a decent contender for the autosolo challenge and be able to do the 12 car back roads. This is why I'm appealing for some advise as so far my contenders are as follows:
Triumph Spitfire 1300, worried about reliability, plus it's not very quick however I don't mind some elbow grease and tlc to make it look lovely.
A Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2 looks horrific but has the quickest 0-60 times (7.9 secs for a 1.3!) could be a 12 car weapon and I may venture into a roll age so I can do an endurance rally (has to be under 1.4 and standard) this is my head talking to me cheap Japanese reliability.
A TVR s series, again reliability issues, sounds like a monster which is the biggest appeal but probably wouldn't be able to drive very far due to fuel consumption. I think this is my heart talking to me.
Budget up to 3k. I fancy some summer fun, but want some reliability and also would like to get my money back, I'll also note that I'm the big 3-0 next year and I've always said I'd buy something fancy for that, do I sit still for a year saving pennies for something fancy like a Tuscan or carry on buying cars as investments? They certainly return more than the bank is paying out in interest!
Many thanks, Alan :-)
Here's a quick overview of my current situation,
I run around in a version 1 impreza wrx ra, which consists of driving to work once a week, 4 miles there, 4 miles back plus once a month I may do the odd autosolo /12 car rally and have entered the national BTRDA new comers challenge, having had some good results. I bought the car as more of an investment rather than a wow I want that one kind of thing, and it's now nearing completion after a year, getting the paint sorted next month and I think I'll put the old girl up for sale. I have to say I've come to love the thing, motorway driving is a pain in the back side due to close ratio box, among other things plus I seem to spend more and more each month on sorting bits out, I know I'll get my money back so I see it as a tangible savings account rather than a waste of money, but it's still annoying me.
The question is what on earth is a suitable replacement? I generally buy cars which I can either get my money back on or make a little, that's how I like to roll rather than racking up finance bills. It needs to be a decent contender for the autosolo challenge and be able to do the 12 car back roads. This is why I'm appealing for some advise as so far my contenders are as follows:
Triumph Spitfire 1300, worried about reliability, plus it's not very quick however I don't mind some elbow grease and tlc to make it look lovely.
A Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2 looks horrific but has the quickest 0-60 times (7.9 secs for a 1.3!) could be a 12 car weapon and I may venture into a roll age so I can do an endurance rally (has to be under 1.4 and standard) this is my head talking to me cheap Japanese reliability.
A TVR s series, again reliability issues, sounds like a monster which is the biggest appeal but probably wouldn't be able to drive very far due to fuel consumption. I think this is my heart talking to me.
Budget up to 3k. I fancy some summer fun, but want some reliability and also would like to get my money back, I'll also note that I'm the big 3-0 next year and I've always said I'd buy something fancy for that, do I sit still for a year saving pennies for something fancy like a Tuscan or carry on buying cars as investments? They certainly return more than the bank is paying out in interest!
Many thanks, Alan :-)
A900ss said:
I'm not confident you'll find a serviceable S series for £3k....
Good luck however.
Good luck however.
But I do think a few drive them as dailies, come round to the s series tvr section and there will be some honest good advice if your interested. But you may need to stretch your budget slightly but you never know what bargains are out there if someone needs to sell.
If you can stretch a bit more you might be able to get a early BMW 840 Ci. But it could ruin your wallet too though!
The Big G said:
A900ss said:
I'm not confident you'll find a serviceable S series for £3k....
Good luck however.
Good luck however.
But I do think a few drive them as dailies, come round to the s series tvr section and there will be some honest good advice if your interested. But you may need to stretch your budget slightly but you never know what bargains are out there if someone needs to sell.
If you can stretch a bit more you might be able to get a early BMW 840 Ci. But it could ruin your wallet too though!
Debaser said:
How about PH's favourite, an MX5?
Been there done that, great for autosolos and tbh it's a superb in between as a convertible classic and Japanese reliability, so dare I say it you might actually be on to something here, I even made money on my last one... Ebay here I come kambites said:
I think I'd be looking for a mk3 MR2. It's got a better chassis than the MX5 (and than the previous two MR2s) and should be similarly reliable as long as the pre-cats have been sorted out.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do some research into them, being Japanese reliability is a winner. I did have a look for a mk1 mr2 supercharged but there aren't any about at the mo, I missed out on one a year back and kind of regret not taking the plunge, great little cars,Cheers :-)
When you say 'version 1', what actually do you mean? A Series? Theres no such thing as a version 1 anything - Subaru used the term 'Version 2' for the first series built WRX STI (there was no Version 1)and stuck with it until the Version 6, but it related to STIs and not Imprezas in general.
GC8 said:
When you say 'version 1', what actually do you mean? A Series? Theres no such thing as a version 1 anything - Subaru used the term 'Version 2' for the first series built WRX STI (there was no Version 1)and stuck with it until the Version 6, but it related to STIs and not Imprezas in general.
The first version of an RA model, just kind of picked the saying up from Type RA.com seeing as everyone else mentions a version and mine being the first it kind of made sense - but if you want to go by the book then I guess I have an 1993 WRX RA.They're production/model years and the identifier ties in with the applied model number (so: GC8A47D for your car. GC8 is 2.0l Impreza, A is the model year identifier and 47D is the code for Impreza WRX Type-RA (48D = WRX Saloon, 58D WRX 'Wagon, 4ED WRX STI & 4DD WRX STI Type-RA etc.)). To stop it from being too straightforward Subaru used C twice, for the 1995 and the 1996 model years which were both similar. The D-Series was face-lifted.
Its Vivian Red btw, to the best of my knowledge. Vivian Red on the 240PS cars and Active Red on the 260PS (C-Series) cars.
Its Vivian Red btw, to the best of my knowledge. Vivian Red on the 240PS cars and Active Red on the 260PS (C-Series) cars.
you'll be frustrated by a small engined car. MX5, MR2 - very slow after an impreza. very nice, but slow.
A mk2 turbo mr2 - not the spin monster most people believe, you just have to adapt to its character. quite nice car, very reliable still, plenty of choice. They buy a Dino bodykit and make a profit as a kit car! penty people want one, few will do one. a ready-made is a nice thing to offer.
A mk2 turbo mr2 - not the spin monster most people believe, you just have to adapt to its character. quite nice car, very reliable still, plenty of choice. They buy a Dino bodykit and make a profit as a kit car! penty people want one, few will do one. a ready-made is a nice thing to offer.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff