USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
First up was an 850cc mini in maroon, shared between my sister and I. Flat out, foot to the floor and you'd see 50 mph, maybe. Maroon vinyl seats heated up to a million degrees in the sun. It had hub caps that fell off if you cornered too enthusiastically. Used to have to stop, and go find them. No easy task as the brakes were rubbish. Rust killed it in the end. Sold it for £20.
First car bought with my own money, a Fiesta 1.1 popular plus in red. Got knows what extras it had on it over the base model, because there wasn't much kit in it. Topped out at about 85, and took all day to get there. Had it for 9 months, then sold it on for a.....
Ford Sierra, 2.0 Ghia in white. I had huge fun in this car, pulling J turns, and doing burn outs, etc. Used to love drifting it around roundabouts. I used to get 20 mpg tops, and went every where at 100 miles an hour. Got done for speeding twice, but it should have been way more. My Dad likened being in this to low flying when he was in the air force. Every time it rained, the boot would fill up with water. Typical Ford really. Crashed it twice. Rust killed this one too, combined with never being serviced in 5 years of ownership.
Audi Coupe 2.2GT in red. Best car I ever owned. Got it two weeks before my 25th birthday, and had to wait until I was 25 to insure it. Had to plan routes to avoid speed humps, as it would ground going over a pencil. Used to get 5k miles out of a set of Pirelli P6 tyres. Fantastic seats, covered in what looked like brown carpet. Crashed this one twice too. Wrote it off coming out of a pub car park at 3 mph (the guy I hit was doing considerably more than this).
Spent the write off money on a Rover P5B 3500 V8 in blue, with a grey roof. This thing did not corner at all, and as a result was great fun to drive, especially in the wet. This was a car that made you smile, even when you weren't moving. Sat in a massive leather arm chair, listening to the V8 rumble, blipping the throttle, just to hear the noise. I love V8s. Tax exempt, but I spent so much on petrol, spare parts and welding that it would have been a lot cheaper to run something more modern. General rot killed this one due to neglect after I bought....
A 3.0 CDXi Vauxhall Carlton estate in blue. Very comfy, stupid quick for a big car, and terrible stodgy handling (well, it was a Vauxhall, what did I expect?). This had the major advantage over the Rover, in that you knew it would start when the key was turned. It actually would get me to work on time, as long as I didn't mind smelling of petrol. I spent 5 years chasing leaks, and never fixed it. 200k miles, and then in a fit of pique when the boot wouldn't lock, I kicked the proverbial out of every external panel, and had to scrap it. Looked like a mad axe man had attacked it. Wife not impressed (but not surprised either). WD40 sorted the lock out though.
Replaced with a Mercedes 300 turbo diesel estate in metallic green. Oddly it always looked either black, or blue according to the light, but never green. Handled brilliantly, and was my first car since the fiesta to get more than 20 mpg. Loved this car. Could get 3 mountain bikes in the boot, easily. It was cheap to run too. Pretty much nothing went wrong on it in 7 years + of ownership, and 200k+ miles. All the way to that final, fateful MOT. Way beyond economical repair, and rusty as only a very rusty thing can be. Sold it for £200, and bought the hearse.
Chrysler 300C touring 3.0CRD in black. Silly car this one. Comfy (very), fast (enough), well equipped, quiet and big. Did anyone mention big? This is huge, and ugly (in a nice way). Back to shocking handling though. Does not do corners, at all. Or parking spaces. Or car parks in general really. The boot isn't even that big (might just about get a coffin in there at a push). For all it's faults, I love it though. It has character.
First car bought with my own money, a Fiesta 1.1 popular plus in red. Got knows what extras it had on it over the base model, because there wasn't much kit in it. Topped out at about 85, and took all day to get there. Had it for 9 months, then sold it on for a.....
Ford Sierra, 2.0 Ghia in white. I had huge fun in this car, pulling J turns, and doing burn outs, etc. Used to love drifting it around roundabouts. I used to get 20 mpg tops, and went every where at 100 miles an hour. Got done for speeding twice, but it should have been way more. My Dad likened being in this to low flying when he was in the air force. Every time it rained, the boot would fill up with water. Typical Ford really. Crashed it twice. Rust killed this one too, combined with never being serviced in 5 years of ownership.
Audi Coupe 2.2GT in red. Best car I ever owned. Got it two weeks before my 25th birthday, and had to wait until I was 25 to insure it. Had to plan routes to avoid speed humps, as it would ground going over a pencil. Used to get 5k miles out of a set of Pirelli P6 tyres. Fantastic seats, covered in what looked like brown carpet. Crashed this one twice too. Wrote it off coming out of a pub car park at 3 mph (the guy I hit was doing considerably more than this).
Spent the write off money on a Rover P5B 3500 V8 in blue, with a grey roof. This thing did not corner at all, and as a result was great fun to drive, especially in the wet. This was a car that made you smile, even when you weren't moving. Sat in a massive leather arm chair, listening to the V8 rumble, blipping the throttle, just to hear the noise. I love V8s. Tax exempt, but I spent so much on petrol, spare parts and welding that it would have been a lot cheaper to run something more modern. General rot killed this one due to neglect after I bought....
A 3.0 CDXi Vauxhall Carlton estate in blue. Very comfy, stupid quick for a big car, and terrible stodgy handling (well, it was a Vauxhall, what did I expect?). This had the major advantage over the Rover, in that you knew it would start when the key was turned. It actually would get me to work on time, as long as I didn't mind smelling of petrol. I spent 5 years chasing leaks, and never fixed it. 200k miles, and then in a fit of pique when the boot wouldn't lock, I kicked the proverbial out of every external panel, and had to scrap it. Looked like a mad axe man had attacked it. Wife not impressed (but not surprised either). WD40 sorted the lock out though.
Replaced with a Mercedes 300 turbo diesel estate in metallic green. Oddly it always looked either black, or blue according to the light, but never green. Handled brilliantly, and was my first car since the fiesta to get more than 20 mpg. Loved this car. Could get 3 mountain bikes in the boot, easily. It was cheap to run too. Pretty much nothing went wrong on it in 7 years + of ownership, and 200k+ miles. All the way to that final, fateful MOT. Way beyond economical repair, and rusty as only a very rusty thing can be. Sold it for £200, and bought the hearse.
Chrysler 300C touring 3.0CRD in black. Silly car this one. Comfy (very), fast (enough), well equipped, quiet and big. Did anyone mention big? This is huge, and ugly (in a nice way). Back to shocking handling though. Does not do corners, at all. Or parking spaces. Or car parks in general really. The boot isn't even that big (might just about get a coffin in there at a push). For all it's faults, I love it though. It has character.
