Motors and Me

Time to explain the silence on here, me thinks. :) In short: I’ve sold the Mini and now have the red 350Z. Result! The long version’s a little less clear cut in its joyfulness. First, I sold the Mini to a dealer for £6500 (now being sold for £9000). A week or so back, it would’ve been painful to even type that (hence the lack of posts), but now, I’m pretty much over it. Yes, I got a lot less than the car was worth, but: The car needed a fair bit of work doing, They didn’t quibble about the rattles that would’ve put off a private buyer, and It meant I was able to go and buy the Zed All in all, it was still a positive move that ended 2 weeks of the worst car-related stress I’ve ever known. Hell, it was so bad that I’d broken out in absolutely manic itching in my hands, feet, forearms and shins. It drove me absolutely nuts and was affecting my sleep. Anyway, with the cash safely banked, I took a half day off work ...

Oh, man, what a day. My stomach doesn't know which way to flip. At lunchtime, I took the car back to the dealer that had offered me £7k for it. Today? £6500, no more. Damn! Turns out they'd watched my auction on Ebay and decided that they could get away with offering less. They even bidded on the thing, apparently. Anyway, I'd feared this would happen and walked away without doing a deal. The Zed was thrown into jeopardy. :-( All afternoon, I've been doing my best to ignore frustration that bordered on blind rage. I told the owner of the Nissan that I had to re-think things and requested again that he drop his price by £250 to help clinch the deal. He offered a £100 drop. Pissing in the wind, really. Anyway, I've just let it stew since then, giving myself time to think it over. I no longer feel the same pressure to get things resolved, at least. In fact, I even started reconsidering that 135R. And then, out of the blue, the Zed was handed a lifeline. Within...

This post could well end up being a painful read in a few weeks’ time. That’s because I’m about to count my chickens before they’ve hatched. I went to view that 350Z yesterday and... well, I want it badly . It seemed to be in pretty good condition (allowing for the odd mark consistent with its age) and was thoroughly unmodified. Apparently, it hadn’t been out on track either, but I wouldn’t have held it against the guy if it had. Just because it hasn’t been on track, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been driven by a hooligan on the roads. Upshot of all of this is that I need to sell the Mini ASAP to get the cash for the Zed. To this end, I’ve dropped the price on Pistonheads to £7750 and have listed the car on Ebay too. I’ve had another couple of part-ex offers come through on PH (neither of which was what I wanted) and, while the actual bidding’s still very low on Ebay, I’ve had 3 people send me questions...

Right, sod that yellow S2000 — I've got a new object of desire . Right car, right price for its age, right location. Hell, it's even the right colour for trackdays. Only one thing's missing: the offer of a part-ex. So, this week I've currently got off work has suddenly turned into a sell-my-car-f***ing-quickly week. Think I'm gonna have to get pimping it round the local dealers looking for the best price I can get and playing them off against each other. I just wish the damned roads were dry; the Mini gets dirty in less than a mile!

Is colour a valid consideration when buying a second-hand car? The more I browse the Pistonheads classifieds, the fussier I seem to become about the colour of car I'll accept. And I'm not just talking about dismissing the odd pink Boxster here (odd being the operative word). There's such a wealth of quality used cars on that site, it almost encourages you to be choosy. But is it going too far when you're reluctant to take on a fairly standard silver car? Thing is, the more I see of graphite and medium silver-coloured cars, the more I think “Hmmmm... I'm not going to catch the eye in that.” And that's not a vanity thing. It's all about the trackdays. If I'm pushing someone, but not quite fast enough to get past cleanly, I at least want to be sure that they see me. To that end, the Mini's been great and I'd be more than happy to get another red car. The yellow S2000 (that I'm not getting, honest) would be great too. But cars that blen...

Well, a couple more part-ex offers came in this week, but still nothing that really grabs me. One was for a relatively basic Holden Commodore — a V6, but with surprisingly little power at just 203bhp. Given that this car is rebadged as the Monaro in the UK, I was expecting more. Even then, it's too big and heavy for my liking. The second offer was a Boxster, but its owner (I suspect it's a dealer) gave so little info that I had no way of knowing which advert it was on Pistonheads. And they've not responded to my request for more info, so sod 'em. Truth be told, I've spent most of the week lusting after that yellow S2000. But it's just too damned expensive. I could stretch myself to get it, but I know the depreciation would be heart-breaking — it's already lost £10k in its first 2 years of life. As a final nail in its coffin, I only realised a day or two back that the current-gen S2000 gets a measly 3.5 stars out of 5 in the Knowledge section of Evo . Tha...

Two weeks in and still the car’s not sold. But it’s not all bad. So far, I’ve had 7 people contact me about the Mini, despite it only being advertised on Pistonheads . That’s already 6 people more than ever enquired about the Puma when I put it on Autotrader . Anyway, of the 7, the breakdown is as follows: 2 dealers: one offered too little and had nothing of interest in stock; the other had interesting-but-not-perfect cars, so I decided to hold out 1 scam merchant, at least according to an email I subsequently received from PH 4 people offering part-ex: an ‘05 S2000; a 1990 Elan SE; a highly-tuned TT; and a Y-reg S2000. Of the part-ex deals, I’ve been most tempted by the S2000’s. The first was too expensive (but nice enough to make me want to stretch my finances) and the second is possibly a little old. And maybe a little too Kev’d up, albeit only with exhaust, alloys and adjustable suspension. I’ve yet to reply to ...

Well, I've finally done it. The Mini is now officially for sale . Let the fun and games begin.

Nearly there with these reviews, honest. Next up, the Porsche Boxster S. So... the Porsche for people who can’t afford a 911. Or people who like to be seen. While I’ve long considered each car I’ve bought as a step on the ladder to a 911, the Boxster had never really been on my radar. Unlike the Elise and VX220, the soft-top on a Porsche felt more like a shop window for hairdressers than a practical ease-of-entry thing. In fact, in general, I’m fairly prejudiced against soft-tops and soft-top owners. But here’s where I’ll reel it in a bit. Last year, a good friend bought a Boxster S... for just £18k. I was, at once, both seriously impressed and hugely disappointed. Rather childishly, I’d wanted to be the first of my mates to own a Porsche. Me, me, me! ;-) Anyway, once I’d got over this and been taken for a drive, I had to investigate further. Turns out I can even fit in a Boxster with a helmet on — bonus! That, combined wi...

Today, I shall mostly be writing about: the Honda S2000 Of all the cars I’m considering, this is the one I’ve come closest to owning in the past. Earlier this year, I extracted a wedge of cash from the bank and headed off to the Scottish border to do a part-ex. Problem is, it wasn’t in as good condition as it looked in the advert. It was a bit shabby inside and had well-rusted engine mounts and rust creeping into the bodywork. Add in the excessive wind noise from the hood (way worse than any other cabrio I’ve been in) and it was enough to make me back out. Not sure whether that’s endemic to S2000’s, mind. Guess I need more test drives. Still, I did get to drive the car, and at a pace that let me learn a bit about it. Engine and handling-wise, it was sound. The engine felt strong, the steering was nicely weighted and the brakes nice and progressive. Also high on the list of positives was the car’s appearance (provided you ignored the rust). A...

Another day, another car. This time out, it’s the Lotus Elise. For my budget, the Elise is arguably the definitive road-friendly trackday toy. Relatively low on power, but far lighter than most cars, they’re everything a sportscar should be. Not only that, but the car’s lack of bulk gives it reasonable fuel economy figures. Where’s the downside?!? Well, clearly, it’s not a very practical car. Easily the smallest I’m considering, the passenger seat and footwell would no doubt be the primary luggage space. It’s also the hardest to get in and out of. The first time I tried it with the roof on, I strained a muscle in my groin. Seriously, it’s like posting yourself through a letterbox. Plus, it has the same problem as the VX220 for trackdays: my head would be the highest point on the car. Unsettling. :-/ Still, I do find myself tempted by the prospects of trackday fun and planet-friendly fuel consumption. The only question becomes which m...

From one outsider (the Legnum) to another: the Clio V6. There’s something that attracts me to nutter cars. Legnum, BMW M Coupe, Clio V6. They’re all hooligans that care more about having a wild time than about their looks. And yet, those brutish looks still put a smile on your face. Actually, I love the way the V6 Clios are styled. As Rick Dagless would no doubt remark, they’re compact and muscular — like corned beef. In fact, they’re both of those things and aggressive with it. A great example of form reflecting function. And that function, of course, is to provide the driver with a lot of fun. I’ve read, however, that in the case of the Clio V6, one man’s fun is often another man’s fright. The original is said to be wild to the point of being uncontrollable, although the 2nd generation model apparently calmed things down a bit. If I were to go for a V6 then, it would have to be the 2nd generation. Unfortunately, this restricts my ch...

Right, time for something of a wildcard. ;-) For those not familiar with the name, a Legnum is the estate version of a Mitsubishi Galant. And the VR4 is the meanest Legnum going; a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 0-100km/h? 6.0secs. Or better . Actually, there’s another video on there of a Legnum out-dragging a BMW M3. No mean feat. Blistering straight-line performance aside, what else can one of these beasts offer? Well, for starters, there’s its trump card: size. It is a massive estate car. Very B&Q friendly. In fact, it’s this combination of size, stealth and performance that gets it on the list of candidates in the first place. Throw in the fact that you can pick them up for between 4 and 6 grand, and we could be looking at a genuine contender. The thing even looks pretty good. On the downside, its size is likely to also work against it. On track, I would be worried that the back end would throw me about all over the place, but without trying ...

So, the VX220 ticked all of the ’fun’ boxes, but neither of the sensible-shoes boxes. How will the 350Z fare? On the surface, the strongest card the 350Z holds is its kerb appeal. It’s subjective, but to me, the car is a work of art. Perfectly proportioned, and beautiful from every angle. Its attractiveness is not the only string to its bow, however. It’s pretty quick too, even if it is just shy of my ideal 6.0secs to 100km/h. It holds the road pretty nicely too, based on my 2 test-drives. And it’s a tin-top, which is definitely my preference; greater structural rigidity and no faffing with a leaky and/or awkard roof. Crucially, I can even get in the 350Z with a helmet on - a requirement that’s ruled out plenty of other contenders. When it comes to practicality, however, it’s another compromise. The boot is suitable for long weekends away, but that’s about it. Just as with the VX220, you can forget about trips to B&Q. But then, I...

As promised, here’s the first of many cars to which I’m considering upgrading: the Vauxhall VX220. Or VX220 Turbo. I’m not fussy. In the Vauxhall’s favour are its most obvious attributes: it’s fast and light. Although I’ve yet to drive one, I suspect I could have a lot of fun in one of these, both on the open road and on trackdays. The light weight, in particular, is a great attraction. The closer I can get to a go-kart on trackdays, the better. One other attraction that’s a little more subjective is the car’s looks. I swear, if it didn’t have a Vauxhall badge on the front, it would get far more positive reviews for its looks. ‘Razor-sharp’ is the phrase that comes to mind for me; I love it. On the downside, the VX would cause me to be a little unnerved on trackdays, due to the fact I’d have to take the roof off. I simply can’t fit in one with a helmet on. Not only that, but with the helmet on and the roo...

Another week goes by and I’m still a Mini owner. This isn’t how I planned it. This past week, I was off work. I hesitate to say on holiday. The first day was spent... at work. And the rest was spent either being ill or decorating the house. And to think I had plans for getting a new car instead. Despite this, at least I’m making progress toward the next purchase. The front bumper is looking great following its respray. The exhaust’s all sorted. I even think I found the source of a persistent rattle coming from the back of the car. On top of this, I’ve made the car a little more photogenic, sprucing up the wheels and taking the opportunity to even the tyre wear by swapping front to back. The photos I’ll take could well be called upon soon too. I’ve contacted 3 private sellers about doing a part-ex on their cars, although I’ve only heard back from one so far. And that was a negative. The cars, by the way, are a mixed bag: an S2 Elise 135...

It’s started again. I’ve started out on the test drives. Five years ago, I took a week off work to test drive a load of different cars in an attempt to decide what I would get next. This weekend, I took my first proper test-drives in five years. I can barely believe it’s been that long, but I guess it must be. Even when trying to negotiate a deal on a Clio Trophy, I don’t think I took a test drive. Stupid, or what? Regardless, Saturday saw me searching (fruitlessly) for a particular garage in the Benton area that had a VX220. Clearly, map-reading’s not as much of a strength of mine as I thought. Never mind. I did, however, find and drive a couple of 350Z’s. :) The first was an import with a stupid nosecone and an equally stupid price tag: 16k for an 03 import is just daft. The dealer was pretty close to home too, so I got to try it out on roads I know well. While it felt just as planted as the Mini, it failed to blow me away. Acceleration was on...

Shopping trolley + weekend fun = £12k. Solve for x. Now that I’m getting a place with a garage and a driveway, I can seriously think about owning 2 cars and not worry about where I would keep them. As I’d like to reduce my carbon footprint, one car has to be a fuel-efficient shopping trolley for commuting and... well, shopping. The other would provide the fun. I reckon I’ve got a budget of the Mini plus £2.5k, making a total of £12k. The question is, where do I spend the money? Here are a few options I’m considering: Option 1 would be to go for an ultra-cheap banger and couple it with an aging S2000, VX220, Elise, or similar. On the up-side, I would get to own a proper RWD sports car. The fun car would even be practical enough to use day to day, should I need to. On the downside, the fun car would be getting into the high-maintenance phase of its life and there’s a good chance the banger would give me a load of grief too. Option 2...