Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Colour could be better. And no bonnet star!?

Bonnet star is 30 bob, not really an issue

And there's far more important factors than colour when getting these.

Stop raining on my parade!

If it's anything like the W201 (and it is), check:

-How it starts cold
-Whether the heater blower works
-The windscreen wiper motor (try it on all speeds and see if it 'stutters' at all)
-The electric windows.

All of which I know from the sorry experience of <1 month ownership

Do it do it do it do it do it.

And then save hard and work harder. Shit's gonna get spendy.

Which model is the Porsche on the right?

Looks like a variant (bagged) of infamous James Dean 'Little Bastard' 550 Spyder?

On subject of death cars...I found it fascinating watching Lightweight doc that a refurbed 'fatality' motor was all good to race at the aerodrome whereas a new 'unraced' replica was not. (Both factory cars) Lord March is a stickler alright...

I think the owner said something about a car not being at fault. Worth a fair bob too...

nice merc, nice colour, what's the spec?

There we go, much better.

1994, 220E.

2 owners since new, current owner had it for 14 years. 124k miles ish on the clock. Lots of wear parts changed recently, manual, drivetrain works fine.

No electrics part from wing mirrors, so nothing that can break. Soft close though, that still works.

25000 sek = £1900

I agree. Some sort of fatted up kit car 550 replica.

barg, and at 124k, just run in... grab it!

You're going to have fun with a manual gear box, hills, and that fucking stupid parking brake

One of the avengers have gone. Guess which.

So to replace it with something big and barge like. Citroen C5 estate.

C5 as it is cheaper than the XM i wanted to get and they are cheap and need a load carrier foir two months and more france building work trips so should I buy a van or a big estate car with self levelling suspension?

Is no one going to discuss the end of citroen and hydraulic system?

Looks like the C5 is the last of the line. Well of the hydraulic suspension, usually the green LHM system powered the brakes and the power steering too. The DS brand looks like it is being split off in to it's own right and is keep nothing from the original DS apart from the two letters.

Why not a C6?

Because it's French and therefore destined to fail.

Meanwhile...

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/06/24/exclusive-first-porsche-911-targa-restored-by-singer/

124k miles - It may well be in better condition than one that's not been used much. If major wear parts have been replaced, go for it. Although make sure it comes with a fresh tank of fuel.

been looking at bmw z8's recently ... not to buy i hasten to add
i am sure in the early naughties there was an alpina version for sale on bloomberg classifieds for about £15k - 20k or so
i looked hard at it at the time and thought what a car that would have been to own, at the price i was very tempted, saw an article in one of the motoring magazines yesterday about the current price, jesus that would have been some investment
the alpina's are rarer too so might hold a little premium

hindsight hey !

total rhetoric bumf...
Nothing wrong with French engineering, a few rough phases in build quality over the years. But nothing more than other makers.

Rubbish! Every car that is not German is certain to explode!

I am not sure I like the bigger arches. I like the colour.

Peugeot built a legendary diesel engine and stuck to pretty much the same design for decades, so much so, I believe Nissan created something extremely similar but significantly more efficient.

Citroen haven't built a decent car for years and had a period in the 90's where the finishing on the car was substandard even when compared to British cars produced in the midlands in the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Renault - after the Sport Spider there's been nothing of any real note.

I accept that their concept cars have been interesting over the years, but their cars are abominations.

Burn the heretic!