Tired of Sports Car ownership, living in London
Discussion
David87 said:
What is the deal with us Vantage owners?! 
I think it's because whilst it's very pretty indeed, and nice enough to drive and be in, it doesn't feel special enough. Also the gearboxes (manual and automated) are both a bit rubbish. The heavier than necessary clutch and baulky shift on mine are a pain in town when you need to change constantly. By contrast, the shift in my Morgans were a joy, the clutch light and frankly the BMW V8 was more fun than the Aston's, as it had so much low down urge, compered to the Vantage's need to be revved and propensity for stalling. Also, they made a better noise, especially the Series 1 on its Librands exhaust - it sounded like a WW2 fighter plane on low approach, and had a muscle car burble at low revs, whereby the whole car would rock at idle. The Aston needs to be at high engine speeds to sound good.Also, I think a convertible would just be a bit more fun at the speeds you do in town. I was frequently to be found in the Morgans, roof down and woolly hat on in midwinter. I never bother taking the Aston out in the winter at all.
TVR or Morgan really do the low speed drama thing better than Aston or Porsche, frankly.
Anyone want a mint V8V 4.3 with new brakes and suspension? Will take a Tuscan 2 convertible as a swap.
O, wait. I'm having a kid in August. Damn it.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 8th June 13:13
I don't envy anyone that lives in London and has a nice and/or expensive car. I'm in Manchester, which is bad enough at times, but London just appears to be a different end of the spectrum. Cars cost money either way, so it all depends on if it's worth it for you, in the end. I can certainly understand the frustration.
The Selfish Gene said:
SidewaysSi said:
I lived in London for 10 years and had 4 cars. Elise, Caterham, W124 and E36. They were kept in an underground car park in Woolwich and no issues at all.
Never entered my mind to sell and I wasn't far from a thrash into Kent.
surely a long time ago?Never entered my mind to sell and I wasn't far from a thrash into Kent.
I don't even like driving through Woolwich these days - bloody hell hole
Harry Flashman said:
All to do with wearing flash watches and nothing to do with the car though.More generally, south-east England is one of the most densely populated areas of Europe. There will be hardly any fun roads around which will be quiet all the time, so the issue of having nice roads to drive a nice car on is as much to do with the time you do it as where in SE England you are.
For me it involves a 40 minute drive on early weekend mornings to get out in the countryside for a driving fix. I am perfectly happy to do that because I don't want to live in the countryside or outer 'burbs.
I think the OP should consider a newish supercharged Elise for a test drive.
braddo said:
All to do with wearing flash watches and nothing to do with the car though.
I wonder if the car attracted them to himself and his watch in the first place? I mean I'm not about to do an experiment in my MX-5 (and I only have a cheapy old Breitling) but the RX-5 does stand out in traffic as someone who might have a nice watch ..
What is an RX-5?
This is what you guys have done to me...from my other thread.
After all of this...I'm thinking of getting an R8! But then i think, get the 911 996. It so much cheaper. But then I think, god the 996 is ugly. Then i think, ok, get the 997. But then I think, but the engine is made of fudge. Get the 997.2. But then i think, if I'm spending that much, I might as well keep the Aston. Which leads me to thinking, well, if i'm going to keep all that money in the car with the Aston, I might as well put some more cash in and buy an R8.
This is what you guys have done to me...from my other thread.
After all of this...I'm thinking of getting an R8! But then i think, get the 911 996. It so much cheaper. But then I think, god the 996 is ugly. Then i think, ok, get the 997. But then I think, but the engine is made of fudge. Get the 997.2. But then i think, if I'm spending that much, I might as well keep the Aston. Which leads me to thinking, well, if i'm going to keep all that money in the car with the Aston, I might as well put some more cash in and buy an R8.
rossyl said:
What is an RX-5?
This is what you guys have done to me...from my other thread.
After all of this...I'm thinking of getting an R8! But then i think, get the 911 996. It so much cheaper. But then I think, god the 996 is ugly. Then i think, ok, get the 997. But then I think, but the engine is made of fudge. Get the 997.2. But then i think, if I'm spending that much, I might as well keep the Aston. Which leads me to thinking, well, if i'm going to keep all that money in the car with the Aston, I might as well put some more cash in and buy an R8.
Sorry i may have misunderstood - wasnt the original complaint about having an amv and not being to use it properly? This is what you guys have done to me...from my other thread.
After all of this...I'm thinking of getting an R8! But then i think, get the 911 996. It so much cheaper. But then I think, god the 996 is ugly. Then i think, ok, get the 997. But then I think, but the engine is made of fudge. Get the 997.2. But then i think, if I'm spending that much, I might as well keep the Aston. Which leads me to thinking, well, if i'm going to keep all that money in the car with the Aston, I might as well put some more cash in and buy an R8.
Daniel1 said:
Sorry i may have misunderstood - wasnt the original complaint about having an amv and not being to use it properly?
Yes - and then I read too much Pistonheads. It is ridiculous though. Looking at my calendar, unless I go for early drive to nowhere I will not be driving it until 24 June at the earliest.
rossyl said:
Daniel1 said:
Sorry i may have misunderstood - wasnt the original complaint about having an amv and not being to use it properly?
Yes - and then I read too much Pistonheads. It is ridiculous though. Looking at my calendar, unless I go for early drive to nowhere I will not be driving it until 24 June at the earliest.
FYI - I rented a 542BHP Supercharged convertible FType for 600 quid a couple of weeks ago. That was Friday afternoon to Sunday night.
Avis Prestige.
They have 911s etc - there are other places.
If you aren't hugely attached to it - A cheeky Abarth 595 for zooming on shopping trips and for urgent stuff - and then 3 or 4 weekends in Avis cars.............could be an option
rossyl said:
SidewaysSi said:
Just do the right thing and get an Elise. It is an event at all speeds with the best steering bar none, is usable, reasonably practical, cheap and a good laugh on track.
An Elise parked outside in the rain, snow and sun. Won't the paint delaminate and the car leak?
Been following with interest. I lived in Clapham for many years and just had a motorbike. With marriage and kids we bought a car and the only use the bike got subsequently was for my trip over the river to Ebury Street. 10 minutes door to office.
My view now is that a fast car anywhere around the M25 is a total waste of money. I used to be able to make the journey up to North Yorkshire in our Alfa 164 at 100-110 in the outside lane. Those days are gone - even the outside lane on the M1 rarely moves at over 80 now. So whatever you drive has to be enjoyable at low speeds which to me means it has to sound great which means a minimum of 6 cylinders. Lotus is a good call; I have never owned one and I find myself tempted by an Evora. I also like the CSR 996 Porsche by RPMtechnik. I think you're just in the wrong motor OP.
My view now is that a fast car anywhere around the M25 is a total waste of money. I used to be able to make the journey up to North Yorkshire in our Alfa 164 at 100-110 in the outside lane. Those days are gone - even the outside lane on the M1 rarely moves at over 80 now. So whatever you drive has to be enjoyable at low speeds which to me means it has to sound great which means a minimum of 6 cylinders. Lotus is a good call; I have never owned one and I find myself tempted by an Evora. I also like the CSR 996 Porsche by RPMtechnik. I think you're just in the wrong motor OP.
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