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

Idk what the tracks are like in Catalonia as I've only been on the road. But as my experience of driving in Spain has included lots of very dull motorway and A roads I'd definitely want something comfortable for eating those miles, rather than agricultural.

For that reason I'm going to stick with my crossover SUV suggestion with two sets of wheels. The XC70 or an A6 allroad(?) would be the sort of thing I'd go for.

How easy is it to import cars from other European countries?

We looked at A6 allroads and I avoided due to the air suspension being riddled with age related issues.

Should point him towards the E30Zone and facebook groups
Old Skool Zimmers
Bavarian pre 90's :)
E30 Owners UK - we had over 80 E30's at their last meet :)

Yeah I hear you, I really don't want an audi. So crossover is subaru or volvo, depends which I can find first really. If I could find an outback id get one tomorrow.

I guess the issue with scoobys in Europe is the high fuel cost. Whereas a diesel Volvo will probably be reasonable.

What's the stock of xc90 like? In the UK they are pretty common due to the fact that they're one of the few 7 seaters where it's not unsafe to have kids in the boot seats? So I'd imagine here they'd be an easier find than a XC70.

I can absorb fuel cost of a petrol subaru as I'm sure maintenence would be better, plus no diesel bullshit to go wrong.

Fuel is ok here. 1.15 diesel and 1.25 petrol. Eur.

If I was going xc90 I'd go jeep and get the 3.0 merc diesel engine one.

I've got searches for all and it'll be whichever I can find a decent one within 200km, supply is that bad.

We looked at A6 allroads and I avoided due to the air suspension being riddled with age related issues.

Can you replace it with conventional struts?

I've always liked this version.

By conventional struts you mean lifted, fitted with underbody skid plates, and A/T tyres right?

You can but it you lose the additional ride height without the airbags, so you end up with an Audi A6 with a black nose cone and not much else

I like the a6 all road. It ticks a lot of boxes

As a total newb to car ownership would you go for a 2014 VW Golf with 50,000 miles on the clock or a 2017 model with 80,000 for the same price (£9.5k) Both have a FSH and similar trim level. The older one is a 1.4l TSI petrol engine and the newer a 1.0l version with similar performance but lower emissions.

I doubt I’ll do more than 5,000 miles per year and plan to keep the car for a good few years.

Just picked this up... love it.

Does mean I need to get rid of my 54 plate cooper, some advisories but a lot of fun, if someone is after something to fiddle with on the cheap...

How cheap and does it have air con.

Pandino is dead....Panda drivers side rear corners do not survive being hit by stupid ford us SUVs.

EDIT No need to be concerned about me, I wasn't in the Panda, Panda was parked in a marked parking bay.

You can but it you lose the additional ride height without the airbags, so you end up with an Audi A6 with a black nose cone and not much else

I was envisaging more what TRA suggests, making it permanently in a higher position.

Although I, personally, would fix the airbags.

no air con....

If I'm being realistic, £5-600 odd.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284376950766

Me and my wife are planning a France road trip next year and I’m toying with the idea of buying a cheapest used convertible for it. Lots of mid-2000s cars seem to go for sensible money and I shouldn’t lose much selling it on.

What else is worth looking at besides:

CLK
BMW 3 series
Saab 9-3

Audi A4 cab. The prettiest Audi.

80,000 miles on a 4 year old car would be a red flag for me. That's a lot of miles.
But I'm sure others will be able to give you better advice.

is the 2017 inside the cutoff for the facelift (Mk 7.5) or is it also a mk 7?

It's 20k a year. If it's been minicabbed, avoid (and you don't see many Golf minicabs); if it's been on long motorway runs all the time, no problem.

4 years old sounds like it might be the end of a lease term, in which case it should have been (mostly) properly maintained.

Google if the ‘14 has the notorious engine that spits out it’s guts because VW skimped on the cam chain.

Volvo convertibles?

Sports car or more comfortable? Do you need four seats?