Wednesday 29th October 2014

£100K Garage: Gordon Laing

Ferrari, Lotus and Subaru take most of Gordon's £100K, plus a hot hatch icon from Renault

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Name: Gordon Laing
Previously owned: None of my own but I did have the honour of sharing a 1990 Nissan Micra and then 2009 Toyota Aygo.
Currently owned: 2012 BMW 116d
On the shortlist: "Currently considering changing the 1 Series for the following - it's a strange mix! BMW M235i, Renault Megane R26 230, BMW M5 E39, Subaru Impreza STI 'Hawkeye', Mercedes CLA45 AMG."

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BMW M Coupe
Cost: £13,250
Balance: £86,750
Why I chose it: "The breadvan has been one of my favourites since I was a kid. This one is at the affordable end of the scale and in Estoril Blue, which I think is best. Unfortunately the interior continues the blue theme but you can't have it all! There's something about estate aesthetics that I like, my original £100K garage had an M5 Touring in. But I'd love a C63 507, RS6 or FF with more cash to spend."

All M Coupes for sale on PH here.

Ferrari 360 Modena
Cost: £45,000
Balance: £41,750
Why I chose it: "It's a manual, red Ferrari with a loud exhaust; what's not to love? Every boy's dream. Plus I couldn't stretch to the price of a 355. I've had the F40 on my wall since I was born, unfortunately you can't get one of those for £100K..."

Manual, F1, coupe and Spider. Ferrari 360s on PH here.

Lotus Exige 190 Touring
Cost: £19,500
Balance: £22,250
Why I chose it: "Complete track weapon and bundle of fun to drive. When I drive I want to enjoy the brief opportunities where there isn't traffic and not much can do that like an Exige. I had to have an S2 purely for looks."

Prefer the S2 Exige as well? See here for all the cars on PH.

Subaru Impreza RB320
Cost: £13,875
Balance: £8,375
Why I chose it: "I'm a 90s kid so the Impreza is my rallying hero. Colin McRae and Richard Burns were my idols and I like the extra touches on the RB320 so it gets the nod. It should be sensible enough to be the day to day car."

Lurking amongst 'Impreza STI' are the RB320s. See here for each one.

Renault Clio Williams
Cost: £5,750
Balance: £2,625
Why I chose it: "Every list has to have a hot hatch! My friend has one of these which we took to Le Mans this year and it was a riot. It was a toss up between this and the 205 GTI. But the condition of this one along with the looks and rarity of the Williams get it for me."

"Remaining balance will go on parts and mods for the Impreza or a new interior for the Z3M - less blue please!"

There aren't many around now! Clio Williams on PH here.

 

[EGTE]

Nice selections.

[HonestIago]

Brilliant choices and very close to my own tastes. I have an Impreza Turbo and a Clio Trophy but a red V8 Ferrari, Lotus Exige and a breadvan-shaped BMW (M135i) are all future aspirations!

[550M]

I still haven't picked my £5k car yet...!!

Edited by 550M on Wednesday 29th October 09:36

[SpudLink]

That's a very good selection. The closest so far to what I would choose.
I guess the thing I would do differently is spend the Ferrari money on a Lotus.
In the 90s I actually had that same choice between the Clio Williams and the 205 GTi when buying new. I chose the Pug 1.9 .

[deltashad]

Keep the 360 but the other cars are spot on. Swap for the 355. Clio Williams is a great chioce, a car I always forget about

[red997]

good choices;
Im not normally an Impreza lover (despite the other half having a wrx STi!) but that one looks the dogs
could do with a family load lugger in there too....

[GreenArrow]

Some interesting choices there...I would take a Tommy Makkinen EVO 6 over the Impreza, as its further along the depreciation curve and probably wont lose a penny. The Lotus is a good choice as they don't seem to depreciate much at all and are pretty. BMW M Coupe is another eclectic choice that shouldn't drop much being already 15 years old...good selections actually..

I think I would take a 306 Rallye over the Clio, as you can get one for 2 grand and it will never lose a penny and try and hold out for a 968 Club Sport over the M Coupe. Otherwise, nice.

[Frimley111R]

GreenArrow said:

The Lotus is a good choice as they don't seem to depreciate much at all and are pretty.

Yep, residuals are very good on Lotus. Few cars and constant demand.

[fastgerman]

Great choices, especially the Breadvan. They're available with the S54/E46 M3 engine and no traction control - beast!

[smilo996]

Good classic choices. Would not pay out for the F430 though. Too much for too little. Take a TVR and a Ducati for maximum fun factor.

Always liked the look of the Clio Williams. BMW Z3M on my list.

Not bad at all.

[Swordman]

Is this the Gordon Laing off of cameralabs?

[WCZ]

absolutely fantastic way to spend 100k, best yet imo.

[gordlaing]

Swordman said:

Is this the Gordon Laing off of cameralabs?

Afraid not.

[Swordman]

gordlaing said:

Swordman said:

Is this the Gordon Laing off of cameralabs?

Afraid not.

Never mind...Cool selection of cars, though

[CNOHill]

Top list. Proper car, that Williams!

[K2iss]

Excellent stuff.

[dlockhart]

what he lacks up in history he makes up in taste. Nice to see no 4x4 or wifes car in there.

[nonsense]

Pretty much nailed it... I'd swerve the ferrari and lotus and put an old arnage and a 550 touring or similar in, plus a clio v6 and caterham for the money, but those choices look gorgeous!

[menoy]

Don't understand the prices for Williamses to be honest - especially the non-numbered ph2 and 3 cars. Have a 1.8 16V myself, dismiss the ph1 collector premium and is the Williams really 2-3x better (roughly the price difference for similar state cars)? Never driven one myself, but have a feeling it's not. Not to talk the car down - sure it's a riot and would love to have one myself!

[xRIEx]

Great selection there.

Swordman said:

off of

Please don't.