E46 M3 and my motoring history (inc. Motorcycles !!)
Discussion
Hello PH people,
A short history of my previous vehicles (including motorcycles !) leading up to my latest purchase.
The photos are not amazing quality, so forgive me !
My entry into the motoring world was in South Africa on a 1990 Suzuki RGV250 my parents bought me when I was 17. Cracking little bike and I was the envy of my mates. Plus I’ll owe my dad forever as he used to let me hoon round on his Mille from time to time too, which was awesome. Bear in mind in SA the law is not enforced as strictly in the UK, not that I paid much attention to it back then ! (Ignore the Aprilia RS250, this is long before I owned it.)
My first car was a 1994 Honda Civic 1.6 ESi VTEC, and I remember it being a pretty quick, fun car. It did suffer a bit of rust on the rear arches.
I didn’t have that too long, and then sold it and bought my first bike as I had a company van, a 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R which I loved to bits.
It was at about this time my Dad (in South Africa) phoned me and told me he’d found an immaculate Aprilia RS250 for sale, and did I want to go halves on it…it was a no-brainer, and it suited my Dads RSV Mille pretty well !
I was then made redundant a few months later and needed a car again sharpish, so next up was an L reg Toyota starlet 1.3 5 door, dreadfully slow, but did not let me down once in the 6 months I had it. I never took a photo of the roach-mobile, but it was the same shape as the one below, and was a very sun-faded red with a fair few dents.
I saved up a little and bought a 1996 Honda Civic 1.4. Again, fairly slow, but I thought it looked alright and I was doing long distances with work. This car too was very reliable, although the gearbox did eventually die and I had to buy a re-con unit and get it fitted.
Next up I fancied a change of bike after owning my 1st bike for a year, so I sold my ZX6R and bought a ZX6R. Not quit, as it was a 2004 ZX636R, and I still today think it was the most fun I’ve had on a bike. It was immaculate when I sold it a year later.
Sometime after this I sold my Honda Civic, and bought a Honda Civic. This time it was an EP2 1.6 VTEC. A common theme here, slow, reliable, did the job very well !
In 2009 I decided I wanted to try a different bike, so I bought a 2005 Yamaha R1 which I still have now. It is an absolute animal, and I struggle to think what I’d replace it with so I just havn’t bothered, and in all likelihood will keep it for a few more years. Not a single issue with the bike so far.
I then started a new job in 2011 which offered a company car. Insurance had always been expensive for me before, and now it was no longer my problem, so I ordered a new Volkswagen Polo GTI. I thought it was brilliant, and it surprised many cars. Based on the oil consumption, I would have been worried if I owned it myself. It needed a new radiator after 2 and a half years but was otherwise faultless.
At the same time I had the Polo and the R1 I decided I needed another toy, so I bought a 2003 Honda CRF450R for a bit of MX and endure riding. The beginning was a nightmare as the engine blew up soon after buying it, so I built an engine almost from scratch and it was great after that. I kept it for 18 months and then sold it after I had a pretty nasty off on an MX track and needed 5 weeks off work, and that was the end of my MX dreams ha ha.
After the CRF, I had a look and it turned out insurance for a private car was a lot better than it had been before. Bearing in mind I was saving up for my wedding, I started looking for a cheap, fun toy.
One late night on E-bay and many beers, and I discovered the next morning I’d bought the Subaru below. I rate this car highly, this particular one was running around 250 horsepower, and shifted pretty well. I did a fair bit of work on the car to improve it, and when I sold it in January it was going rather well. I was hoping to play with it in the snow, but where I am we only had 1 very light dusting.
So I kept the Subaru for a year, and then my wife (rightly so) said that it was time to start spending a bit of money on the house. With this in mind I figured I should buy the most bang for my buck, something fun, newer and more refined than the Subaru, and a lot of fun.
I’ve wanted an S2000 and an E46 M3 for as long as I can remember, but in the end the M3 won, I think it may be the glorious noise that it makes. I picked up this Carbon Black manual Coupe in January and it is something truly special. It has an aftermarket back-box and 8 pot calipers up front, it goes and stops like s
t off a shovel, and sounds epic in the process.
I’m taking my time to get to know the car, as it’s the most powerful car I’ve owned up to this point, and also my first RWD vehicle.
It is worlds apart from the M3, although in the wet I reckon the Subaru would leave it for dead.
I plan to keep the M3 for 2-3 years, and then I’m a bit stumped as to what next really ?
It was a pretty good week when I got it, as it was the same week my new company car was delivered, a Golf GTD 5 door DSG, and as a daily hack is pretty good. Not as quick as the Polo GTI was, but pretty good on economy, and very comfy.
Regards,
Ross
A short history of my previous vehicles (including motorcycles !) leading up to my latest purchase.
The photos are not amazing quality, so forgive me !
My entry into the motoring world was in South Africa on a 1990 Suzuki RGV250 my parents bought me when I was 17. Cracking little bike and I was the envy of my mates. Plus I’ll owe my dad forever as he used to let me hoon round on his Mille from time to time too, which was awesome. Bear in mind in SA the law is not enforced as strictly in the UK, not that I paid much attention to it back then ! (Ignore the Aprilia RS250, this is long before I owned it.)
My first car was a 1994 Honda Civic 1.6 ESi VTEC, and I remember it being a pretty quick, fun car. It did suffer a bit of rust on the rear arches.
I didn’t have that too long, and then sold it and bought my first bike as I had a company van, a 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R which I loved to bits.
It was at about this time my Dad (in South Africa) phoned me and told me he’d found an immaculate Aprilia RS250 for sale, and did I want to go halves on it…it was a no-brainer, and it suited my Dads RSV Mille pretty well !
I was then made redundant a few months later and needed a car again sharpish, so next up was an L reg Toyota starlet 1.3 5 door, dreadfully slow, but did not let me down once in the 6 months I had it. I never took a photo of the roach-mobile, but it was the same shape as the one below, and was a very sun-faded red with a fair few dents.
I saved up a little and bought a 1996 Honda Civic 1.4. Again, fairly slow, but I thought it looked alright and I was doing long distances with work. This car too was very reliable, although the gearbox did eventually die and I had to buy a re-con unit and get it fitted.
Next up I fancied a change of bike after owning my 1st bike for a year, so I sold my ZX6R and bought a ZX6R. Not quit, as it was a 2004 ZX636R, and I still today think it was the most fun I’ve had on a bike. It was immaculate when I sold it a year later.
Sometime after this I sold my Honda Civic, and bought a Honda Civic. This time it was an EP2 1.6 VTEC. A common theme here, slow, reliable, did the job very well !
In 2009 I decided I wanted to try a different bike, so I bought a 2005 Yamaha R1 which I still have now. It is an absolute animal, and I struggle to think what I’d replace it with so I just havn’t bothered, and in all likelihood will keep it for a few more years. Not a single issue with the bike so far.
I then started a new job in 2011 which offered a company car. Insurance had always been expensive for me before, and now it was no longer my problem, so I ordered a new Volkswagen Polo GTI. I thought it was brilliant, and it surprised many cars. Based on the oil consumption, I would have been worried if I owned it myself. It needed a new radiator after 2 and a half years but was otherwise faultless.
At the same time I had the Polo and the R1 I decided I needed another toy, so I bought a 2003 Honda CRF450R for a bit of MX and endure riding. The beginning was a nightmare as the engine blew up soon after buying it, so I built an engine almost from scratch and it was great after that. I kept it for 18 months and then sold it after I had a pretty nasty off on an MX track and needed 5 weeks off work, and that was the end of my MX dreams ha ha.
After the CRF, I had a look and it turned out insurance for a private car was a lot better than it had been before. Bearing in mind I was saving up for my wedding, I started looking for a cheap, fun toy.
One late night on E-bay and many beers, and I discovered the next morning I’d bought the Subaru below. I rate this car highly, this particular one was running around 250 horsepower, and shifted pretty well. I did a fair bit of work on the car to improve it, and when I sold it in January it was going rather well. I was hoping to play with it in the snow, but where I am we only had 1 very light dusting.
So I kept the Subaru for a year, and then my wife (rightly so) said that it was time to start spending a bit of money on the house. With this in mind I figured I should buy the most bang for my buck, something fun, newer and more refined than the Subaru, and a lot of fun.
I’ve wanted an S2000 and an E46 M3 for as long as I can remember, but in the end the M3 won, I think it may be the glorious noise that it makes. I picked up this Carbon Black manual Coupe in January and it is something truly special. It has an aftermarket back-box and 8 pot calipers up front, it goes and stops like s
t off a shovel, and sounds epic in the process.I’m taking my time to get to know the car, as it’s the most powerful car I’ve owned up to this point, and also my first RWD vehicle.
It is worlds apart from the M3, although in the wet I reckon the Subaru would leave it for dead.
I plan to keep the M3 for 2-3 years, and then I’m a bit stumped as to what next really ?
It was a pretty good week when I got it, as it was the same week my new company car was delivered, a Golf GTD 5 door DSG, and as a daily hack is pretty good. Not as quick as the Polo GTI was, but pretty good on economy, and very comfy.
Regards,
Ross
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