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

Has anyone here even heard of JDM..?

LELZ

Yeah I'd rather have a quattro but there are some nice 2WD 190s out there at the mo, S Line spec, seems to be a lot for yr money.

I'd love a 1-Series or a newer fast Golf (anything less is heresy) but our budget is modest, and it's really only a luxury purchase rather than a daily huffer

I loved my 92 525, it was a manual.

Long and great for drifting, as it broke traction so beautifully and was beautifully balanced. Only thin that killed it was suspension parts seemed to have worn through them and needed bits doing at every MOT.

danb
Thinking about a BMW 5 series to replace the Legacy at some point...

Probably an F11 530d or 535d although they only seem to have open diffs... might have to wait and try and find an Alpina D5 touring instead....

Hah, I found myself thinking about a 540 touring today, having just replaced the plugs on my Volvo.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/e39-5-series-96-04/bmw-5-series-e39-540i-touring---------------1997/3092345

Hmmmm.

My super low mileage NJS import :)
Titanium exhaust system, hi lift cams, coil overs. Like a train on rails and burns off almost anything in corners

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Very nice. I do have a soft spot for Japanese cars - I had a brief affair with an RB5.

How about a manual Sport:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201411239180669

I hate the beige interior combined with the silver trim though.

^^ Love that Integra!

Manual sport looks very nice, but VED is £500/year compared to just over £200 for the older car.

No its not. Pre 2006 cars only go up to £290 - which is what I pay for my 55 legacy. If it were 6months newer it would be £500

Ah, interesting. The manual looks much more interesting now.

Question is, would 286bhp be a bit boring, or would it be fine given how rarely you use all of it?

A remap gets it to 320, which is enough. I miss my E39 540. It was a big slidey lol barge. Endless fun this time of year when the roads are a bit slippy.

What does it weigh? Reckon around 180 bhp/ton is where the fun starts ;)

Arr. Depends what she be carryin'...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_sailing_barge

Don't know, the Volvo is around the 180 mark, maybe a little more.

What to do with the Volvo though, if I get the 540?

Punt it on. Unless you have the space for it.

It would sell for 2-2.5k, a fraction of what I have spent on the engine alone. Hard to do.

Yeah, you would have to break it to see any kind of reasonable return.... :(

Yes, ironically I'd probably get around 1.5-2k for the engine and ancillaries (turbo etc) out of the car, then £750 for the exhaust, £500-£700 for the brakes etc etc.

I'd rather lend the whole car to a friend than sell it at a massive loss, if that makes any kind of sense?

^ dunno if I mentioned it but I've always thought of you as a friend Mr Dammit.

I popped home for a quick visit this weekend and my brother was busy putting the finishing touches to this:

It's '71 Alpha 2000 Spider....

Should be all complete in early January then he's going to sell it. Very nice though.

@Dammit I'll rent the ovlov for a year for £500....

But seriously, I have finally swapped my Australian licence for a UK one. Got me thinking about maybe getting a car. I'm always renting or using zip car but it limits last minute weekend trips. Since this could be my last year in the UK figure get a car and see lots.

So, is it possible to buy a decent enough car for £1000 including mot and insurance products for a year?

Would like it to fit 2 people and 2 bikes.

Strong choice.

http://cal.cagp.com/event/marussia/#imageclose-1

f1 car anyone ?
one of their tool kits would be nice

Lovely paintjob

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