embarrassed by your car??

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

well off enough to afford a Merc I would have thought. In relative terms I would have thought the affordability of fuel would be less today but I was only a kid in the '80s so maybe I missed a lot.

Even in the current economic downturn we're wealthy out of all proportion to where we were in the '80s. Fuel was relatively cheap, but nobody had any money.

I had a white e34 that used to belong to RoverJames and this was probably the most embarassing car I had, no thanks to the OH. It was a big white estate and the missus was always jibing it was what the ghostbusters drove around in!

Having said it was the most embarassing, I still wouldn't not drive it, coiuldn't really give a toss what the neighbours or people in general thought!

Anan1 wrote: »

Even in the current economic downturn we're wealthy out of all proportion to where we were in the '80s. Fuel was relatively cheap, but nobody had any money.

Yet the pubs were jammers!

Now this is one car from the olden days which I would be quite happy to be seen in, I used to think it was so cool when I was a young wan!

My Dad said it was a Datsun 160 J sss coupe but I am not so sure the ones on google look a little bit different, it's a Datsun of some description anyway!

datsun 1.jpg

datsun .jpg

RoverJames wrote: »

I used to like that (except for the blue interior)
Two or three people approached me when I had it saying it was great to see one of them about :cool:
........... is she still alive do you know?

I sold it to a buck from Wexford who was planning on driving it around while he restored another e34 touring he had. AFAIK, he bought a few other touring bits off a bmw-driver.net member not far from me for his project car at the same time so I say he had the boot of it filled with parts!

After that, I swore I'd never buy another car with a blue interior until I saw this one - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2799326

This was her in the snow last year, the e46 was parked up and this was the daily hack - it's great having a car that you're not afraid of getting a few prangs (not that it suffered any :cool:)

I have a 13 year old lekkie gs300, and I am not embarassed.In fact I goddam love that car, and it's killing me having to part company with it now due to the lovely motor tax rates in this country.
I feel like I'm letting her down- something she NEVER did to me.

This thread taps into how I feel about my car right now.

Its a '98 Nissan 200sx, in pink (aka red) with the laquer peeling off. It has a hole in the exhaust, its been slightly rear ended the paint has been taken off the offside front corner by my elderly neighbour. It also uses more fuel than an apollo mission.

In truth I am a bit embarrassed by it and I take a good bit of flak in work etc. but the problem is that there is nothing out there that is nearly as much fun to drive at that tax level, other than the same car in better condition.

Looks like it going to have to do until the GT 86 is launched here.

This guy was embarrassed by his car! :pac:

*** what people think. Many of them are happy with being enslaved by debt to keep up with the Jones'. Dont get me wrong, I like "nice" cars, but I'm not willing to get into debt for them and I'm lucky enough to have the skills to repair my own stuff. Of course the cost\benefit of this changes as my career progresses but I still don't see myself at a point where I will take out a loan to buy a car. Or anything for that matter, other than a house and even that can be precarious.

Each to their own as they say. If you are happy to stay in debt for a car or feel you have no choice, fair enough. But to me pi$$ing your heard earned money away to a bank for your life on a depreciating asset, to impress people that you don't know or like represents the ultimate in embarrassment.

Checkout the vid on this page. http://www.daveramsey.com/media/flash/elearning/drive-free/player.html
Its very US-centric of course and exaggerated to some degree but it gives food for thought when you are considering taking a loan against a car.

/edit. Actually another consideration of course, especially if you have a family is crash rating. One could argue that the price of debt is worth it. I guess that's a judgement call that you can only make for yourself and family. From the research I've done, out '99 S80 fairs pretty decent against most new and nearly new cars.

At the moment I drive a 1995 Polo. I love it. I remember the day my dad bought it. He drove a really, really old Fiat Ritmo up to that point. Almost the whole bonnet was gone because of rust. Anyway I cried the day he bought the new Polo. I hated it. I was only 5 to be fair.

Ever since that day I've spent almost my whole time in that car. From getting lifts to and from school, lifts to soccer matches/training and so on. Then a few years ago I progressed on to driving it. It's only then that I realised how much I love it.

I don't bother with drives that are too far so it's a beauty for nipping around town. It fits through gaps that a lot of other cars won't be able to. It's easy-ish on the petrol. What it lacks in overall speed it more than makes up for in taking off. When you drive on your own it's a beast. Even when you have 5 lads going to a soccer match in it it still handles well.

Back 2 years ago my brother and I were given it pretty much. My parents reckoned they'd get nothing trying to sell it so it was easier just to give it to us. My dad moved up to a far nicer '10 Golf while we were stuck with the blue beast.

He has a lot problems with the Golf. He can't get used to the diesel and it cuts out a lot on him. Not as much as before but more than usual. I've never once had a problem with the Polo. It's almost impossible to stall it. I even started it one day in 3rd gear by accident. It went off without a hitch.

I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. I'll be gone off for the next two years to Wales/England and when I come back I expect to see the Polo in the driveway still. I won't be able to buy another car for about 3 years I reckon so I'm hoping they don't sell it in the meantime.

Here's a picture of an English version of my car. Not the manliest of colours. It has slightly faded over the years to become more purple than blue, but **** it I love it. The car has been in the family for 17 years (it's the same age as my sister) and I hope to keep it for another few years at least.

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Was always fairly embarrassed being dropped off to school in my mother's Austin Metro...



It didn't help that she had to cram in me, my sister, three neighboring kids & 2 of our cousins in on school runs
In retrospect, it was lethal, but this was before the country was rich and we couldn't really afford a people carrier, so we had to make do.

Did she have to pump up the suspension after each run! My dad had quite a lot of these pass through his garage. The pump was always in constant use!

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Don't remember that,

It was a box kinda like a tool box with an arm on it and it has a tube with fluid and the mechanic in our garage used to pump up the suspension with it. Maybe im day dreaming and thinking of something totally different!

I'm in a 99 Corolla liftback with the ugly headlights and plenty of dings and scrapes. It's hideous but it goes.

For the 20k I've put on the clock and not counting the petrol, I've spent a grand total of €750 on her (including a new set of tyres and a post-passing the NCT service!).

Well I think I will be on the other side of the fence here.

I got last year a 98" mondeo for 500eu. Spent 200eu to get ncted and full service with few bushings done. I jumped in to it after skyline which went offroad. It's a grand car even now. We haven't spend a penny on it so far all year. It is driven everyday and it eats up miles like a tank! Great car, but when I was driving it ( after Nissan ) the only thing I wanted to do: put a gun in to my mouth... It's bland, boring and feels like a brick, I am not evan talking about 20 horses, which left in the stables since 98... I don't like to take it if I meet new people as it looks like a scrapyard on wheels.

I was going to Carlow 2 weeks ago to pick up a puppy dachshund. I really did not wanted to take ford, as the seller would have second thoughs about us and to what sort of home will puppy go if people drive such a crap on wheels. ( i know i would second thoughts )No matter what anyone will say, but car can make opinion about you. I am not saying car has to be a top of the range merc. I am just saying that car should be nice, clean looking and tidy.

For now I still love my bargonics ford. It saved us a ton of money last year. If it will pass nct this year with no big investments, then we might squizze one more year out of it. Though I will try to talk in misses to buy something nicer this year. She was kind enough to give me back my mx5, as ford was just making me depressed as hell, but I really want her to drive something nicer.

I guess most of you will call me stupid, but hey... I am petrol head, and I do love nice cars. For me A to B cars are the biggest tourcher you can ever do to me.

Sleepy wrote: »

Meh, I take a perverse pride in the Corolla. It's like a badge of honour in recession time Ireland. I'll buy something nice when I can afford something nice but having a family it's a fairly low priority. Would rather be able to bring the missus and kids on a family holiday than upgrade the car...

Well I would buy a better car for misses instead of holiday. Holiday is only for 1-2 weeks max, where's you will be sitting in car everyday for years. She would be safer in better car, have better quality of drive, better mood.

In fact misses was in car accsident. She crashed head on with another car after sharp ****y corner. Medics, Garda were saying in one voice: the only reason she walked out of this crash with just few bruises was that Mercedes clk. it had more airbags then then screws in it. If she would be in one of those tiny little old bangornics yoke I might have no misses shadowhearth.

Everyone has their own way of spending money. And fair play to anyone who can drive bangornics. Fair play to them, for me it's just torture.

Found out today that the hinge on my passenger door is broken. My sister opened the door too quickly a while back that must have done the trick.

Only a week after the window got stuck as well. Awfully embarrassing pulling up to a car park and having to get out of the car to get the ticket because you can't roll down the window at all.

I think this song will sum up most cars in this thread, including mine.

Sample lyrics:

I've paid for it about 9 times, different mechanics
Too much of a job, some say they just couldn't handle it
I need some shocks on the back, I need some works on the brakes
My passenger side window sometimes it just don't wanna raise
I hear bumps and crunks, pings and ticks and things
I got a hole in my muffler and other minor things
Like my electrical rear view mirror don't move like it 'posed ta
Even the objects in that motha****a need to be closer
I'm satisfied with my ride I don't ask much
But people talk and they diss, they heckle it loud
But

[Chorus]
I'm rollin
Car not stolen
Probably never will be it's much to old and
Smokin weed and feelin fine
In my Lacville 79
I'm rollin
Gas runnin low
But I try to keep it white and Vogue's like foldin
Hopin freaks will get inside of my Lacville 79

I went looking for a trade-in but they called my shít a bucket
Got back in that hoe, and cranked it up and said fúck it

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

It's the whiteness of the car, if it was any other colour I wouldn't have gotten any sh*t over it!

White tends to work with '80s German metal, IMO at least.