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

^This. Adore them, but that one's been hit a bit too hard with the RetroRides Depreciation Stick.

History here
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/156710/another-toy-project-started-merc
I've no idea what the market rates are for a 560 SEC but it seems high, especially considering the horrible Azev wheels. But it was owned by royalty and you can see the rust has been sorted.

They're great. A guy I work with (who's 22) has inherited his dad's old one. It's a beast and very, very cool.

[Black C126 AMG Widebody]

They look so much better without a rear spoiler. Mean as hell.

Heavy VW Golf 5 GTI Crash Unfall Nordschleife Nürburgring Touristenfahrt 01.05.2014 - YouTube

Ouch

Dale from Bridge 2 Gantry reckons he lifted. Never lift!

Never lift indeed. Just had an hour long orgasm on channel 4.
Shame about the front arch gap, new cones and all that

Quite enjoyed that, nice to see them driving around my hometown too.

Yes. Megadibs

Cool, will PM tomorrow

All the car porn on here is lovely, but I've a down-to-earth question, as someone of meagre funds. Is it possible to buy a reliable estate car for a couple of grand? Or van. Basically, I want to move me and my mountain bike between London and Wales at weekends. Don't really want a car but Mrs Sparky has a C1 which is minuscule, and I can only borrow it occasionally.

My 850 cost £2,000.

I've spent many times that on it since, mind you- but I expected that.

If you buy a cheap car then be aware that it will be in need of "heavy servicing", but with that said large estate cars (especially with petrol engines) are cheap.

Get one before the emissions related VED if you go that route though.

if thats the only journey, would it be worth considering getting another mountain bicycle that you can leave in london?

sorry if i missed something.

Loads of cheap Audi A4 estates out there, handsome cars too IMO

Pretty small in the back though given the size of the car- mate had the RS4 and we really struggled to get a telly in the back.

Quite enjoyed that, nice to see them driving around my hometown too.

Should hopefully help the value a bit :)

Cheap estate car = skoda octavia mk1. VRS if you want to enjoy the drive a bit more.

if thats the only journey, would it be worth considering getting another mountain bicycle that you can leave in london?

sorry if i missed something.

I live in London and want to ride in Wales more often. Sometimes in summer I'd like to zip down Saturday morning, ride, crash in the car, ride, and back for Sunday night.

I spent yesterday driving two very different cars:

A 1964 MGB and a 2012 V12 Vantage convertible.

We went up to Yorkshire for Friday / Saturday night and did a 110 mile loop through the Yorkshire Dales. It took about 5 hours, including lunch.

What an awesome day....!

The MGB was in showroom condition and was really satisfying to drive well and the Vantage makes one hell of a noise.

Not jel at all.

Well, the Focus estate I bought from wrongcog for £300 last year has been getting us, bikes and camping gear all around the country a treat! Not really suited to this thread tho....
;-)

Now Ive been offered a Vito (sport!) ...thinking about a camper conversion....thoughts?

All the car porn on here is lovely, but I've a down-to-earth question, as someone of meagre funds. Is it possible to buy a reliable estate car for a couple of grand? Or van. Basically, I want to move me and my mountain bike between London and Wales at weekends. Don't really want a car but Mrs Sparky has a C1 which is minuscule, and I can only borrow it occasionally.

I picked this up for £750 (with the private plate included, FSH, 119,000 miles, airbag, electric windows and sunroof and no significant rust).

A 'couple of grand' would be more than enough to get something for bike moving purposes surely?

That is a bargain barge, looks clean as!

Absolutely gorgeous!
FSH on these, I have learned, is vital. But yours is very young and fresh still and a 220 has much cheaper suspension and brake parts than a 24v.
Sticking bikes in the back is easy, don't even need to remove wheels. I discovered the other week that even a boxed-up oven and hob will go straight into the boot, no hassle. A Benno CD shelf unit or a tall Billy bookcase from Ikea will go in too, but you need to fold the rear seats down, remove the front passenger headrest and fold the seat completely flat.