Wednesday 26th April 2017

£100K Garage: Roman Goroshko

More spent on the USA than Germany and a lot more on Europe than Japan - over to Roman to explain!

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Name: Roman Goroshko
Previously owned: Numerous bicycles
Currently owned: Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi (first car!)
On the shortlist: Something for everyday, something with a Toyota 1JZ engine and an E46 BMW M3

UK: Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake
Cost: £38,995
Balance: £61,005
Why I chose it: "This would be my daily driver and what better than a 'Jaaaaag' with a supercharged V8 that sounds frighteningly powerful?! I chose this particular example over the others due to the fact it's a Sportbrake. It looks fantastic to my eyes and is a little different from all the German machinery on the roads."

Germany: BMW M3 (E46)
Cost: £9,750
Balance: £51,225
Why I chose it: "Everyone (on PH, anyway) wants a car they can just take for a drive, not worry about a destination, just enjoy the thrill of driving. This is what I would have; the E46 M3, commonly regarded as one of the last proper M cars. As soon as I heard the howling inline-six on numerous YouTube videos I have yearned to own one! This one stood out for me because of three things: the matte paint, CSL alloys and the manual gearbox."

USA: Chevrolet El Camino
Cost: £14,950
Balance: £36,275
Why I chose it: "I'm a keen cyclist and what better to chuck bikes in the back that a ute? I think utes (especially with a V8) are possibly one of the coolest car niches ever, it's a real shame we don't have more in the UK. In an ideal world I would love to have an HSV Maloo with a huge whining supercharger but sadly they are rather dear; this El Camino really caught my eye, mainly because it's a rare RHD example. I live in Dorset and would love to see the look on all the OAP's faces as I drive through the little quaint new forest villages with my bike in the back and a smile on my face."

Rest of Europe: Maserati Spyder
Cost: £18,995
Balance: £17,280
Why I chose it: "This is the bit I found hardest - the rest of Europe. Living on the south coast I knew it had to be Italian and roof-less. I wanted something to enjoy the most of the English summer (the best day of the year) and this Maserati's gorgeous red interior seems like a good place to sit and watch the Dorset countryside go by. The mileage is a little higher than most examples so maybe I'll save some of the remaining balance in case of surprise repair bills. "

Japan: Nissan Skyline GT
Cost: £6,500
Balance: £10,780
Why I chose it: "I have friends who are very much into their drifting and being a passenger I've wanted a drift car of my own. My dream skid machine would be a 1JZ powered Toyota JZX100 Chaser but sadly I couldn't find any on PH. This is the next best thing, a rare four-door R34 and it's manual. I would probably sink the remaining balance on the import duties and make this a track-ready skid machine! The RB25 sounds almost as good as Toyota's 1JZ, just as much tuning potential and with four doors I can turn my mates pants brown whilst going sideways. " [Sadly Roman's chosen Skyline is no longer available - browse the rest of the non-GTR Skylines here - MB]

[Resolutionary]

That M3 seems a bit off to me. Repainted with no reason as to why, 3000 miles in two years, aftermarket exhaust photographed but not mentioned, dodgy number plates, and according to the MOT checker it's currently SORN'd.

On the basis that the seller has no idea how to punctuate I'd discard that example altogether, let alone on the finer details listed above.

[Resolutionary]

MrBennStep said:

Also no mention of the key selling points for an E46 - VANOS, boot floor, brakes. I'd avoid that one (speaking from bitter heartbreaking and expensive experience).

Love the Jaaaaag though.

I didn't even want to go there with this one - chances are it's being shifted for precisely those reasons! Good luck to the poor sod who chances it on a poorly advertised, Derry based, matte grey M3.

[Resolutionary]

dollyboy said:

Rule number one of buying used cars, never buy a car from someone who doesn't punctuate correctly.

Stick by that one rule and you'll never go wrong. Another invaluable tip from PH's forum.

It's worked perfectly for me so far and I'm 8 used cars deep now. Anyone able to string a sentence together eloquently is probably also able to maintain a vehicle with similar care and attention.

[Resolutionary]

dollyboy said:

I really hope that's a joke. I certainly can't string a sentence together eloquently, but I like to think I'm rather good at my profession as a commissoning engineer. I've always found mechanics to be quite different to English language, I'm sure there's some very talented mechanics who are illiterate.

It depends entirely on the contents of the advert. Look at all 5 car ads posted in this £100k garage and tell me that the M3 is being presented to a comparably thorough degree?

I'm not saying I'd outright discount someone for making a few spelling mistakes or missing a couple of commas but there is no way I'd part with anything close to £10k on something advertised like the M3 posted here - there are many more sellers out there who present their adverts in a way that helps you to get an understanding of a cars history without you even having to pick up the phone. As I say, my (somewhat odd, perhaps) approach to used car purchasing has steered me towards some absolute gems so far, and some genuinely lovely people to boot.

P.s. you clearly can put a coherent sentence together - and I'd happily buy a car off you