how many cars have you owned?

[TdC]

including your current one. I'm trying to build a picture of how many times you've had to trade up to get to what you're driving today.

Myself, I've owned exactly one car, which I sold quickly because I really don't need one. Also I used a ford fiesta for a year when it's owner was in Australia, and didn't take that out more than once a week and then maybe

 

[Brynn]

Two

A slagheap of a 18 year old Mircra(had for 2 years)
A tractor of a 1.9 DTurbo 306 Pug

 

[TdC]

got a poll up heh. go for it

 

[Brynn]

got a poll up heh. go for it

I posted before the poll was put up

 

[TdC]

I know. sorry about that, I'm slow as a very slow thing today

 

[Insane]

Im currently on my 3rd car, looking at changing it already after a year
my current car isnt a family hatchback yet, its more a "mini MPV" or as some people refer to it as a "van with windows"
I'll take a pic of it some time tonight and post it in the car thread so you can laugh at it

 

[Bodhi]

Currently on my 4th

1st - Fiat Cinquecento Sporting, traded it in for....
2nd - VW Golf GTI 8v, which I wrote off. Replaced with
3rd - VW Golf GTI 16v, which I also wrote off.....Replaced it with
4th - VW Golf GTI 16v.

As you can see, I'm highly original when it comes to choice of cars.

 

[Panda On Smack]

Heh, me to. Im on my 3rd 205

 

[Dakkath]

Car progression to date, see if you can spot a trend here...

Old T reg Ford Escort 1.3 - Mk2 - 1.5 years - KIA by a woman driver with no clue about which side of the road she should be on (I guess my side of the road looked better)

Old Y reg Vauxhaull Cavalier 1.3 - 3 months (Horrible damn car) - KIA by a bloke driving a tractor while parked

B reg Ford Sierra 1.8 ghia - 1 year - KIA by some bastard who hit it in an ASDA car park and drove off without leaving details

E reg 2.0 Ford Sierra Sapphire - 1.5 years - KIA by a new driver who hit it from behind the day after they passed their test

F reg 2.0 Ford Sierra Sapphire GLSi - 1 year - Great fun to drive with a very lively rear end. Yep, you guessed it... KIA by a younger brother who 'borowed' it while I was asleep and introduced it to a tree...

J reg 2.0 Ford Sierra hatchback... 2 years - OMG this one survived!!!

R reg Subaru Impreza Catalunya Turbo - 1999 to present (almost time for a new car)

 

[Malcolm]

No option for saying "none" - so i'm saying it here

NONE

 

[Gumbo]

I voted 4 or more, but I have found the perfect one for me

 

[Turamber]

4+ here. Not sure if this is the complete list but.... have had a knackered old mini, a couple of Metro's (worked for Rover for a bit after all), VW Golf Synchro, a couple of different Tigra's, a 206 GTi and now a C3 Pluriel.

I loved my first Tigra, mostly because they were quite rare on the roads originally, and my 206 the most. The Pluriel looks great with the top down but I find I don't do that too much. Still I wanted to experience convertible driving and that was a (very) inexpensive way of trying it out.

Not really bothered when it comes to cars, though, as long as they are reliable and take me where I need to go.

 

[Doh_boy]

Only the one, a Rover 416. Had for 3months. Not bad for a first car but the gears are all fucked :/

 

[old.user4556]

four cars by the time i was 25, sheesh

1) Fiesta 1.1
2) Fiesta Zetec-S 1.6
3) Clio 182 (both cup packs)
4) BMW M Roadster

 

[Rubber Bullets]

The fist car I had use of, after passing my test was my mum's Morris Minor Traveller (the one with the wood on). Drove like a bus, but good fun.

2nd, Again my mum's Fiat 127. Lime green, the least said the better.

3rd, my first owned, Vauxhall Astra 1.6 mkI. Pretty good drive tbh, at least at that age.

4th Peugeot 405GTX the 1.9i engine from the 205 GTi. Went pretty well and was comfy but the boot leaked.

5th Nissan 200SX MkI. Till now the best car I ever owned, and the fastest. Cheap to insure and maintain. Boring interior but fantastic apart from that.

6th really shite Audi 80. bad mistake

7th Honda Civic CRX. Small, nippy, suited me at the time, but nothing special.

8th VW Golf VR6, could do with the power from the corado VR6 and better, stiffer, ride. That said it suited me , and was quite fun the drive

9th Subaru Imprezza Turbo Faster than the Nissan, still got a boring interior, but with more supportive seats. Standard UK car, no mods so not startlingly quick, and seen off by some of the recent crop of hot hatches (Cupra R etc) but more than enough to keep a grin on my face.

RB

 

[Tom]

In order, since 1997:

1993 Vauxhall Carlton Estate, 2.0 club
1994 Volvo 850 2.0
1999 Volvo V70 2.5
1998 Audi A4 1.9Tdi SE
2001 Audi TT 225 coupe (shit)
1994 TVR Chimaera 4.0

 

[Trem]

I have had well over 20 cars. I did try to list them all once on FH but I missed out shitloads.....so I won't try again.

Most fun car so far was a Mitsubishi Colt Cyborg Type R, 1.6 normally aspirated engine and it fucking flew, 185bhp and it revved forever. I remember driving it back from Liverpool(traded in my Intergrale for it), I laughed for most of the way back.

Most unfun car I have ever had was the above Intergrale, everytime I drove it the engine blew up.....or so it seemed, at the end I was left a broken man, was so pleased to see the back of it.

 

[Dweller]

In order, since 1997:

1993 Vauxhall Carlton Estate, 2.0 club
1994 Volvo 850 2.0
1999 Volvo V70 2.5
1998 Audi A4 1.9Tdi SE
2001 Audi TT 225 coupe (shit)
1994 TVR Chimaera 4.0

Either your TVR is a time machine, or you meant 2004 at the end

 

[Dakkath]

I'm guessing those were the years the cars were registeted...

Question time:

How does the Chimera behave?

I've been thinking about going for a Cerbera but don't really know any TVR owners to ask about how they behave on a day to day basis (reliability, running costs etc)

 

[DaGaffer]

Most unfun car I have ever had was the above Intergrale, everytime I drove it the engine blew up.....or so it seemed, at the end I was left a broken man, was so pleased to see the back of it.

That's Italian cars for ya. They beguile you with their looks and performance and sheer...Italianness, and then they make you their bitch.

I'm so tempted by the Brera though, it's so damn fine looking, I just feel it calling to me, despite the years of Alfa-related pain I've suffered already.

 

[Lazarus]

Ford Fiesta 997 cc
Vauxhall astra 1200 cc
Vauxhall Nova 1.3SR
Rover Metro 1.4 GTA
Ford Escort Eclipse 1.3
For Escort Ghia 1.6
Volvo 440 1.7
Honda Civic 1.4
Mitsubishi Spacewagon 2.0
Vauxhall Corsa 1.2

 

[GDW]

1976 Mini Clubman 1275 GT
1985 Peugot 205 1.6 GTI
1991 Rover 216 GTI
1993 Renault Clio 1.4
1995 Renault Clio 1.4
1997 Volkswagon Passat
2004 Jeep Cherokee 3.7

..and a shed load of motorbikes in between

 

[Jupitus]

Started out with obligatory Mini - modded that to have an 1100 engine (retaining 1000 block so insurers wouldn't know ), cooper exhaust manifold, cooper cylinder head, mg metro inlet manifold, cooper disk brakes, home-made straight through exhaust, piper magnum camshaft and cooper offset rim steel wheels.... it flew

Got boring after that:

Fiat Tipo 1.4 (piece of shit)
Mondeo for a while (company car) - only nice thing about it was heated front window.
Vectra 2.0 SRi - started as company car but I bought it, and I still have it for station runs. Done 140,000 miles and is good as gold normally, still pulls pretty well for a 'repmobile'.
Golf 1800 CL Estate - bought off my sister with low mileage, ran solidly without problems and held value pretty well... shitty green colour though.
BMW 323i Touring - Goddess of a car tbh, for eating miles on a long journey with family. Has a 2.5 litre engine and pulls like crazy - fantastic but a bit unwieldy to drive due to it's weight, but I still love it enough to have shelled out 840 quid on it today... ouch!

 

[Trem]

That's Italian cars for ya. They beguile you with their looks and performance and sheer...Italianness, and then they make you their bitch.

I'm so tempted by the Brera though, it's so damn fine looking, I just feel it calling to me, despite the years of Alfa-related pain I've suffered already.

Agreed, total and pure sex.

I've had Alfa's and they never let me down, I love my Alfa's. I had my dads 3.0 litre V6 when he died and that was a lord of a car, couldn't fault it.

 

[Embattle]

0...but I can't select an option that doesn't exist

 

[DaGaffer]

Agreed, total and pure sex.

I've had Alfa's and they never let me down, I love my Alfa's. I had my dads 3.0 litre V6 when he died and that was a lord of a car, couldn't fault it.

Unfortunately I can't say the same; sudden clutch failure on my GTV, loads of Selespeed problems with my 156 and a catastrophic cambelt failure at 18000 miles. Thing is, I'd still forgive if it wasn't for the awfulness of the dealers when I had these problems.

 

[old.user4556]

Alfa's, gorgeous cars, just unreliable; although i've never owned one, i've read some horror stories.

Great second hand bargains because they depreciate so badly.

 

[Tom]

I'm guessing those were the years the cars were registeted...

Question time:

How does the Chimera behave?

I've been thinking about going for a Cerbera but don't really know any TVR owners to ask about how they behave on a day to day basis (reliability, running costs etc)

Correct....

Chimaera and Griffiths are the most reliable TVRs ever made. Far more reliable than the TVR-engined Tuscans, T350s, Tamoras, Cerberas, etc.

As for running, they ain't cheap - its an extremely fast car, weighs nothing, sounds amazing, and looks gorgeous - but all that comes at a price. Expect £2000-£3000 a year running costs.

Modern TVRs use the Speed 6 engine, designed by AJ Melling. They have a poor reputation, probably undeserved. The Chimaera/Griffith has the Rover V8 engine, in either 4.0, 4.3, 4.5, or 5.0 forms. Very very reliable engine, and easy to get bits for.

If you're thinking of a Cerbera, think the following:

Purchase price £15000
First year's running (mainly putting things right) £5000
Thereafter (per year) £2000

If you can't afford the above, forget it - you cannot run a TVR on a budget, its just not possible full stop.

Probably best to go for the AJP8 engine, rather than the Speed 6. The AJP8 is a V8, sounds better, and is reckoned to be a bit more reliable.

Not a cheap car to run, but you'll be secure in the knowledge that nothing, I mean nothing will be able to get away from you, or keep up with you. Except perhaps about 10 supercars, but its not often you'll see them.

Go to www.pistonheads.com forums, massive TVR community in there.

 

[Ypnos]

Agreed, total and pure sex.

I've had Alfa's and they never let me down, I love my Alfa's. I had my dads 3.0 litre V6 when he died and that was a lord of a car, couldn't fault it.

Hear hear!

I've had 3 BMWs and couldn't ditch them fast enough.
Then I bought a silver Alfa 156 1.8TS. Fun, powerful for a 1.8, insanely good cornering, never let me down once. That wasn't enough so I sold her and bought a 2.4JTD. Remapped her to 202bhp and have been burning off every chav and BMW I could find. Then I blew the turbo up (my fault). Replaced it and still loving it!

I'm half way to buying an Alfa 156 3.2 GTA, 250bhp of naturally aspirated Italian roarness!!

In the immortal words of Jeremy Clarkson:'You're not a proper petrolhead unless you've driven at least one Alfa'.

Pardon me, I'm off to go hug her

 

[old.user4556]

Alfas are a bit like Renaults in the reliability stakes: if you get a good one, you fall in love with it and it's relatively problem free. Get a bad one, and every-fucking-thing goes wrong with it.

With the Clio, I was back and forth to the dealers so many times for niggling faults; yet some people never had a single problem.