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

£350,000

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282121672666?clk_rvr_id=1070865458442&lgeo=1&vectorid=229508&item=282121672666&rmvSB=true

As you say check suspension, CV joint rubbers, scored discs and rear wiper motor. The motors are notoriously bad at letting water down the shaft into itself and the tailgate. If the wiper doesn't work or parks itself wrongly it is fucked. Good cars other than that and prettier than these LED bedecked newer jobs.

I've got a 1.8T quattro on 130000km, they sludge up if not properly maintained apparently, I've replaced a wheel bearing and the head gasket's showing early signs of going, and I can hear a whiring which I suspect is a quattro thing although it's not come up on the last two MOTS/services

Hindsight and foresight are wonderful things. Nice that you got to own and use it properly for a little bit though. I suspect had you still owned it, given the rising values, you'd be less inclined to use it as it should be.

Yes, had a car with the dukes of hazard horn, I was 19 and it was an orange marina coupe.

There is a switch to make the horn legal or play the tune.

Yeah.

If I hadn't sold it at £25k I definitely would have once they got to £35k.

The real one I should have kept was a Guards Red 996 GT2. No one wanted them for ages. I could probably retire now if I'd kept it.

Paul Stephens currently has one for sale for about a billion pounds.

Yep. My dad had a Silver 996 GT2 for sale a few years back. It was reasonably priced and it sat for ages. Just seemed like nobody wanted to know. Now those and 996 Turbos are gaining traction. The 996 GT3 RS he sold at around the same time was snapped up though. However thats probably doubled in value since!

Thanks for the info. I'll have a very careful look over the car - right now is not the time for a massive gamble as it's going to be the sole family car.

@Constable_Savage - good tip for the wiper, wouldn't have ever checked that.
Luckily the car is a manual so it has not of the auto and CVT issues.

It's either the A4 avant or a new/demonstrator base model Pug 308 - the 3 cylinder turbo engine is a very nice little engine but over here the interior is basic black plastic which is a bit drab.

OK I'm going to put this out there, you've owned some pretty punchy cars, have they all been personally owned or some sort of business connection, or did you just throw more money at cars when you were younger and have got more conservative now?

Hmmm.

Everybody wants to be an A4 Avant?

CV joints and their rubber boots are on all four corners of a Quattro. They're not its achilles heel as such but they're worth checking as there are so many of them.

Yep, will be checking the cv joints... All of em! Just to clear, was referring to the CVT auto before, not joints.
Just wish it wasn't grey... So many grey audis is aus. Almost as common as a soul red mazda 3

Yeah. I guess I was a semi-pro. I bought cars, mostly Porsches, I liked and wanted to own but that had a potential margin in them, then sold them within a few months via a mate with a showroom, he took a cut and covered me on his insurance.

It worked ok and was fun times in some ways but it sort of spoiled my hobby a bit as after a while even pretty special cars start to feel run of the mill. I collected a brand new GT3 RS 3.8 in 2010 to sell it on immediately to a bloke in HK. He said it must have under 200 miles when it got to him, but I only bothered driving it the 30 miles from the Porsche centre to the storage place, I wasn't that interested, it was just a car. :(

I saw this on a transporter/trailer today. I have no idea what it is.

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Ford C Max.

Looks yank anyway?

:oP

Anyone here owned a hillman IMP?

I'm feinding for one and they still seem pretty affordable.

Rear engine goodness

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Nope but always wanted one. Drove a Clan Crusader a few years ago which had an Imp engine in it - absolute screamer! Love the engine and love the look of Imps so still want to own.

Exactly this has happened to my rear wiper.

I thought it was a split hose but interesting to learn the motor just destroys itself.

I have had a look on ebay for replacement motors but not pulled trigger yet.

YOUTUBE IS YOUR HOMIE?

Co-owned one in 1978 which was fun to drive. Surprisingly heavy to push any distance which happened a couple of times. Once was the gearstick snapping off whilst selecting reverse, probably not a common occurrence. Second time was the dreaded head gasket issue that they were notorious for. If any Imp has survived this long I'm sure it will have had that issue resolved.

I have a car mate called Tim who has quite a quick and nicely sorted 1970s 911 on EFI. But he hankers after the Imp he sold to buy it, says it was the better car to drive...

Used to hillclimb/autocross an Imp with my Dad, I was the ballast. Surprised to find that there are still any left.

they are suposedly amazing on a circuit.

Birthdays would have been today...