Pimping your own ride?

Jul 31, 2005 169 Replies

Getting onto the subject of White cars...

On the whole, and especially in this country you should avoid white cars, I agree on that. I actually also agree though that some cars look good in White.

If you go to some mediterranean countries you often see small hatchbacks in white. Fits in with their climate. I remember the old Fiat Pandas in white that you could hire on holiday decades ago in the Canary Islands, Malta, Mallorca etc

In 2002, I was in Melbourne on holiday, driving on the Great Ocean Road. A new model Toyota Corolla had just come out. I had one in front of me when I was driving for a while. A 5 door hatch, and it looked good in white.

Finally, something I have had wet dreams about on many occasion and still dream about owning. When I was really young. I must have been 6 or 7 years old something like that, the parents used to take me up to the Lake District for Summer Holidays. They had one of those long Caravans and we used to drive up there and stay for a number of weeks. At the place we stayed there was a Mechanic who lived there in a caravan. He had his own garage and had been building from scratch and testing a Lambourghini Countach. It was in Gleaming White Paint. Incredible machine, and the noise it gave out... AWESOME!

The only other thing I salivatate over is the thought of a Porsche 911 Turbo in Emerald Green Metallic Paint.

John

Ahhha but I wrote "newer."

Have you obtained quotes for any vehicle with the modifications you want to make to it?! :-/

If you're going to reckon on achieving 42 mpg from the Corolla, you'll be using the official fuel consumption figure of the 1.4, right?

For a similar price-to-buy BMW, around 25 mpg, I can think of the previous shape 728i, maybe.

No, I disagree. Those fuel costs are not huge.

Don't forget that salaries will also increase.

Eh? I don't know where you get your information from but I do know what era, and it ain't this one.

You DO have the money for all of the cars listed.

Ewwwwww wwwwwwww.

Modern A6s are the pits, man. We have half a dozen at the office. Oh, no, sorry, we have two and two Skoda Superbs.

They're over priced.

They wear the wrong badge.

They're VAG quality.

Taste.

Far to big. I don't need an Estate car. I am not keeping the Mountain Bike, Telescope and Fishing Gear all in the car at the same time. It is mainly just going to be me using the car. Most of the time I will just be commuting to and from work, just me and the car. I don't need anything bigger than the size of a Corolla/Golf. Smaller than that like an Ibiza or Mitsubishi Colt is adequate enough.

Plus, as I said the insurance is too expensive. Well over £1000 for me. And the fuel on a BMW Estate will be astronomical.

John

You'll end up with tat.

It's not quite that simple.

That's stupidity. You'd pick an inferior and more expensive car just because there are only four million on the road not ten?

What about insurance? Servicing? Repairs?

Erm... you don't get that do you?

Silver is acceptable if characterless.

I still can't figure out why you'd want to put TV into something small but not too small, first car and all that, when you're probably going to chop it in for something else in three years anyway.

[...]

See the thread: Buying an E34 5 Series

Spend less upfront on a beemer and use the depreciation savings to pay the increased fuel and insurance.

So buy a 35mpg one:

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[...]

I subsidise mine with mobility allowance - I'm paraplegic and drive using hand controls - and my 8 year old supercar costs no more to run than a new warm hatch.

Not wasting money on lottery tickets is a good start.

Not only will the second car above (

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return35mpg, it's not going to depreciate *at* *all* if properly looked after. ...won't even be silly to insure.

[...]

You see lots because they're good cars that last a *long* time...

These days Saabs are Vauxhalls done right and Volvos are Fords done right - this is not necessarily a Bad Thing.

[...]

My sympathy. :p

Not really, not flash either...

The E38 7er is a real looker IMO

Mostly it's the engineering innovations that win awards.

He likes ///Ms *lots*, even tho' a Merc/AMG loyalist...

A

It's a right bugger I can tell you. I don't know where I'd find a few hundred just like that, my bank balance is usually zero at the end of the month. But I still run 2 cars and a motorbike.

Personally I couldn't give a stuff what colour a car is, with the possible exception of pale pink. Funnily enough I reckon black cars are as hard to keep really clean as white cars.

"Blue's the only colour for an engine" said Gordon the big engine. "Nonsense" said James, "my lovely red makes me look really important"

You want as small and cheap for the first two years, then you'll know what you really want.

Go for a Corsa 1.0.

42.2 MPG is the government combined figure. It will be about 35 MPG for the urban consumption and about 52 for extra-urban.

There's no way a 1.4 litre Corolla with less than 100hp is only going to be 10 MPG better off than a 3 litre 7 series with over 250hp, when comparing like with like, i.e. combined fuel consumption with combined, urban with urban etc.

John

You'd be *very* surprised.

Mainly because you'd need to thrap the Corolla to within an inch of it's life to make reasonable forward progress, whereas in the BMW you'd only be scratching the surface of what it's capable of.

Er, millions of people can't!

Er, wtf not?

And green. And gold.

Silver shows the dirt least, but it's common.

No not really, I buy things if I have a period of affluence. Maintenance costs are low enough, usually just oil and filters, and having reliable machinery helps.

I don't want a 7 Series car. They are too big. I'm looking for something a lot lot smaller.

John

I'd spend some of it on wine, a large proportion on myself and a bit on my woman.

Douglas

Thats 4. I make half a dozen to be 6.

You're wrong. (c:

Douglas

I found that no matter what car I drive, the fuel it uses is almost the same price wherever I go.

Douglas

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