What you've had and how good it's been.

RobAMerc

How about a quick thread about what have you owned :
A quick note about whats important to you ( car wise ) and how you rate them (keep it short)
I will start it off.....................

I rate cars by enjoyment - not overly worried about reliability but do care they do what they aim to do.

1: Mini - great fun
2: Ford fiesta 1.0: - nothing special
3: Opel Corsa 1.2: - crap
4: Renault 5 gt turbo : Brilliant brilliant brilliant B R I L L I A N T.
5: Lancia Fulvia coupe : Fun but broke my heart
6: Renault 19 16v:Far higher speeds for the kicks the 5GT provided but nice
7: Peugeot 106 gti : Fab fab fab, fun, brilliant
8: Honda Crx - Crap crap crap
9: Ford Puma 1.4 : Excellent, sweet chassis, great steering, wanted 1.7
10: Volvo 460 : Don't ask
11: Subaru 2.0 Sport 4x4- Fab grip particularly good for Ireland, guzzler
12: Renault Laguna Sport : They lied ( sport ?)
13: Mazda 929 2. v6 - Air suspension was sublime, fun toys, rest crap
14: Merc 280ce :Comfy,fast, cool, not made like this anymore,fab engineering
15: Citroen Xsara - good chassis, held together with sticky tape
16: Fiat Cinquecento sx - great fun but I am to big for it
17: A Toyota Cresida: tank but couldn't kill it

(not necessarily in chronological order)

Soon to come: Alfa Spider or MX5 - dunno which, know I should buy MX5 - Girlfriend tells me Alfa Spider

Thats it lets see whats been owned by you lot.

No bullsh*tters ruining the thread again please :mad:

Rob

gyppo

The cars I've owned in chronological order:

1982 Ford Escort - Muck.
1984 Toyota Corolla - Excellent compared to the previous!
1989 Mitsubishi Lancer - Very underrated, comfortable, reliable, bit more power would have been nice.
1992 Mazda 626 - I fell in love with this car! Reliable, extremely economical considering its size, smooth, comfortable.
1996 Opel Vectra - 2nd worst mistake in my choice of cars. Drank oil from day 1, drove like a badly maintained massey ferguson, engine management light was on every 2nd day.
1997 Mazda 626 - see 1992 entry.
2000 Volvo S40 - I thought nothing could be worse than the vectra - I was wrong! Changed it after 12 weeks.
2002 Ford Mondeo - Excellent excellent car!

franksm

1. Ford Sierra 1.6 (1985) - great, loved it, but very thirsty. Mom & Dad's car before I got it. Looked great in "Lacquer red" (kind of a dark red colour). Brought it to a Mazda dealer in good working order and arranged a trade in for my next car. On the way home from signing that deal, it was blowing smoke and running on 3 cylinders. "only" had 140,000 miles on it. Traded this in for...

2. Mazda MX5 1.8 (1996)- absolutely storming. I have put 113,000 miles on this since new. The only things that have gone wrong are all my own fault - clutch, fuel system (I upgraded these after fitting a turbo), and the roof (slashed by skumbags). Still my daily driver, I travel Belfast/Dublin/Belfast very frequently. Really love this car - very fast.

3. Vauxhall Omega 2.5TD (1995) - bought this cheap in 2002 with 115,000 miles on it. Has 143,000 miles now. Great cruise-mobile, quite fast. No problems with it at all even after spinning it on ice, wiping the plastic off the front and back and replacing same myself. Great car, has all the toys and straight-6 diesel engine is powerful. Holds the road much better than any Vectra (which always seemed "top heavy" to me).

4. Triumph Stag 3.0V8 1973 manual - bought this in 2004 in fairly good nick. I brought the brakes and mechanicals up-to-date and sold it in 2005. Fantastic car.

5. Triumph Stag 3.0V8 1976 auto - bought this in 2005 and it's my current project car. Working on the engine and interior at the moment but needs more engine work and bodywork. Not a bad car, thought I would enjoy the auto-box but I don't (has three speeds and is doing 3,000 rpm by 50mph so drinks the petrol). Think I'll move it on once I've done my work to it and buy another manual. Or might convert it to manual... Still, nice car.

All rear-wheel-drive; I have tried going front-wheel-drive but just can't do it.

Eoin

Only 4 so far:

1989 Mini 998cc: bumpy ride, cramped but the most fun to drive ever. One of the few cars you can tart up without looking like a boy racer. High up on the list for the day I can afford a weekend drive.

2001 Peugeot 206 1.1 - well specced, very reliable but slow wallowy ride.

1999 1.4 Golf - quite unreliable, cheap interior, under powered and over priced.

2000 Alfa 156 1.6 - slightly underpowered and pretty thirsty, but fantastic handling and very comfortable. No problems whatsoever in 2 years of ownership.

Gatster

In chronological order of running from 1990 (had some gaps where I didn't run anything)

1987 Renault 5 Campus: Quality, learned to drive in it, red, then driveshafts went
1985 BMW 320i 2dr (full Alpina kit): Dream car at the time (18), black, seemed very fast, assisted with attracting the opposite sex, couldn't afford to run it, got me hooked on RWD (and beemers)
1979 Mini 1380 Howley: Stupidly fast death trap
1992 Citroen AX 1.0: Still the best/most fun small car I've ever driven. Very light, black, cruised at 80 all over the UK and never broke. Always wanted the GTI one (still do!)
1993 Honda Prelude 2.2 Vtec: Gorgeous looking, black, amazing engine, just the right balance of power for fwd. Sold it to buy apartment (gutted)
1998 Ford Fiesta 1.1 Classic: Nicely equipped but very slow with no power steering (which I liked). Good chassis and very reliable, green.
2004 Ford Fiesta 3dr: Black, looked top, bought it for the missus (who loved it) but boring to drive, although comfy
1998 VW Passat 1.6 Comfortline: Very comfy, silver, very well equipped, never let me down once
2000 VW Polo 1.0: Very slow, very basic, very well made, glad to see the back of it (temporary measure)
1996 BMW 323i Coupe: My current baby, fast enough, great looking (in silver with subtle Alpina/Mtec bits), beautifully built, never missed a beat. Gutted to see it go soon as I have to get a newer car to qualify for my co. car scheme.

Coming soon either: '02 Saab 9-5 Aero (Hot) 250bhp OR BMW '00-'01 528i/530i Sport OR '00 BMW 728i Sport OR '00 Range Rover (long shot, too much cash methinks). Veering towards the Saab to be a bit different...

michaelanthony

1993 Peugeot 106 - a lot of fun to drive but kept breaking down.
1998 Renault Clio - handling was ****e and the driving position was too high.
1995 Peugeot 205 - good fun to drive but the steering was too heavy.
1996 BMW 316i automatic coupe - the best car I've had to drive, though a bit impractical because it had lowered suspension and it wouldn't go over a lot of ramps.
2000 Toyota Yaris - cheap to run and that's all. The driving position is uncomfortable compared to the BMW.

Kermitt

I'm only a baby,

1st - 1994 Renault Clio - A piece of dirt, almost fell off the road

2nd - 1998 VW polo - Fantastic car - never any trouble, built like a tank. sad to see it leave.

Now - 02 VW Golf 1.4 - I LOVE this car, charcoal grey, supreme comfort. comfortline with more extras than it should have he he.

COme back in 10 yrs when i'm old and have had 10 cars!

Joeface

I have very short history as i Drove them all till they died

1.)Toyota Starlet 1.0 1989 I think , learned to drive in it Good fun , peppy little engine, really my younger brothers car but i borrowed it so much it was mine lol

2.)1991 Mitsubshi Mirage 1.3 (imp) AC EW PS,Tried as i did I could not kill the Engine , Very relialbe , never broke down , got it with 120,000km put 134,000+ on it .
Not very econcomical at all ,Terrible Ride...very bouncy.best thing was really the engine.
3.) 1994 VW GOLD 1.4 CL Said i would add this one as I was driving it for a month , ...the worst car I have ever drivin, Was in good con , but had no confidence in any thing , the breaks were crap , Ride was crap , Soft spungey , 40miles an hour felt like 80 , just a horrible horrilbe car , Gave it back to my sister and told her to dump it

4.) (Current Car)1994 Honda Integra 1.6 Dual Carb. Not the best car I have ever drove , But still I love it , 12years old still looks good , Not very quick off the mark. Good Midrange all the same , Handles Pretty good as well , Ride is ok aswell. Reasonalbe econimcy 36 or so miles to a Gallon.

ambro25

Starting 1988 as 16 yr-old on French equivalent to a provisional, drove my Dad's Renault 25 V6 Auto & my Mum's AX (14TZS, below). Then from 1990:

#01 - Citroën C35 (circa '81): Pug 504 mechanics, a shoebox has better aesthetics and aerodynamics, twice as big as a Transit. It taught me to park and to use wingmirrors.

#02 - Pug 205 1,0L (1988): anaemic, but indestructible and tail-happy. It taught me how much owning a car costs.

#03 - Citroën BX 1,9D Enterprise (1987): anaemic, but again indestructible and oh-so-comfortable. 'Enterprise' edition was what Fiesta mini-van would be like nowadays: standard Hatch body, but front seats only. The back was flat (fake rear doors :rolleyes:) and big enough for a queen size mattress...he he he

#04 - Citroën BX 1,9 TZD (1991): 190 kph turbo-diesel, fast, reliable, clocked 160.000+ miles in that without ever missing a beat. An old man's car for a lad at the time, but by God I miss it

#05 - Citroën AX 1,4 TZS (1987): the GT version in bourgeois garments. Stupidly fast (clocked 210 kph on m'way, downhill, everything incl. my teeth was shaking!), stupidly light, thirsty little number under a heavy foot. It taught me lots about understeer.

#06 - Lancia Delta 1500 (1987): the most unreliable Italian ever. Falling electric windows, short-cutting wipers, total temporary death at the most inopportune moments, etc, etc. But the alcantara seats were so comfortable!
It didn't put me off so much because I then got a...

#07 - Lancia Delta HF Integrale (Mk.1) (1989): that was an error that nearly cost me my life. But how beautiful the error was. Brutal, sh1t-eating-grin-inducing machine. It taught me about 4WD dynamics - any prospective 4WD owner should undergo training.

#08 - Citroën CX 25 GTI Turbo (Mk.1) (1987): what I really wanted the Delta for, but didn't know it (;)). 240 kph motorway cruising on-rails, Porsche/BMW/Merc eater in sheep's clothing. Thirstiest car ever (bar 5.0L V8s and the like), but my God what monster had the Aulnay guys birthed with that!

#09 - Hyundai S-Coupe SEI (factory-lowered ltd ed.) (1995): the sheep in wolf's clothing. One of the best chassis ever (I believe Lotus tech guys had something to do with it at the time ), vastly let down by anaemic 1,5L power plant. Could have happily taken a 2,0L and then some... Fantastic cornering, very economical, built like a Panzer and more reliable than anything built either side of the Ruhr. In view of the next one, converted me to Asian cars 'in hindsight'.

#10 - Fiat Brava 1,6 SX (1996): coulda, shoulda, wasnt Good built quality, reasonably economic yet happy sporting it up a bit under a heavy foot, really sound road manners, good equipment, etc. But electrics went tits-up pretty early and were never sorted, there was always 2 or 3 gremlins going on at some point.

#11 and current - Mazda MX5 1,8 Berekeley (1998): the best yet, bar none. Best built quality, as sporty as you dare make it or as comfortable as you want it, the same goes for fuel efficiency. As reliable as you could ever dream a car to be. It converted me to RWD, couldn't imagine going back to FWD ever, and finished converting me to Asian cars.

#12 and current - Subaru Impreza 2,0L Sport (1997): spartan but so many facets to this car: sporty, family, utilitarian, motorway cruising etc. Whatever I need to do with a car and whatever the circumstances, this can do anything and more. Scoob reliability is legendary and this one has not let the brand/image down. It's comfortable enough but equipment is quite 'spare', in true Jap fashion. It's very thirsty though. It converted me to Subaru for the family, can't imagine going to any other brand tbh.

phoenix_nights

1. 1989 Nissan Sunny. Basic first car. Economical and did the job

2. 1991 Lancer GTI. Sweet 1.8 engine. Low gear ratios. Dont know how i never crashed it

3. 1991 Merc 190E. Comfortable but blew the engine at the airport roundabout. Touchy subject.

4. 1973 Merc 280CE. Dont make them like they did anymore. Heavy on juice though. Chassis rusted thru.

5. 1987 BMW 520. Crap. Was a cheap second car but abandoned it after a couple of weeks.

6. 1998 Ford Falcon (aussie). 500,000K ex taxi. Auto. LPG. Fun to drive as 6 cyclinder. Blew the engine.

7. 1987 SAAB 900 EMS. Lovely quirky car but mechanics and electrics are awful.

8. 1994 Merc E200T. Can carry a couch or 7 people. Very practical. Will keep it as a second car as long as possible. Safe, comfortable, easy to maintain and fairly economical. Last of the hand-built mercs.

Anan1

1. 1969 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 Sport Zagato - A wonderful car, shame I didn't have the money to restore it.

2. 1984 Fiat Uno 70s - Brought myself & 3 friends all around Europe. A very competent & fun car, by the standards of the time.

3. 1987 Opel Astra 1.3 - A company car, absolute muck. Not even reliable.

4. 1989 VW Golf GTI 16v - Solid, reassuring & quick, it would cruise at 200km/h all day. (in Germany) The only problem I had with this car was that it wasn't a 205GTI 1.9..

5. 1986 Audi 200 turbo - This was a lovely car, so relaxing to drive that I ended up putting it over a roundabout at 60mph. End of car, although it still brought me home afterwards.

6. 1988 Lancia Delta HF integrale - If God made cars, this is the car he'd make. I still have it. It's cost me around a Euro per kilometre driven, and I still have no regrets whatsoever.

7. 1990 Nissan Maxima 3.0 - Everyone who drove this car loved it, so underrated.

8. 1996 Peugeot 406 2.0 - A mediocre engine in a great chassis.

9. 1993 Mercedes 320E 5spd auto - Imperiously fast, solid as a rock. Had the optional individual seating front & rear, like a 500E.

10. 1994 Mercedes C280 auto - The perfect car for today's road & traffic conditions. Needs traction control.

drdre

1995 vw polo- was my 1st car and was good for cheap insurance and cheap on petrol.was realible but before i sold it the battery kept dying every week for some reason:rolleyes: .

2005-vw golf sportline 1.4 - its so nice that i have done nearly 20000km in less than 10 months.its so smooth.and got quoted good insurance and is also alright on petrol.quite unreliable with leather interior, under powered and as usual over priced.:mad:

next car- hopefully want to get a vw 2005/2006 gti or bmw 3 series sports coupe.not yet but will get it in 2007.i just have to keep saving.

bazz26

1. 1991 Nissan Sunny 1.4 LX - First car, economical but the heater was broke. Fond memories of it though.
2. 1997 Toyota Corolla 1.3 XLi Plus - Very nippy, ultra reliable but very light on the road. Sold after 10 months due to company car.
3. 1994 Honda Accord 2.0 LSi - (company car) Very fast, reliable, solid and 100k miles on the clock when it went back.
4. 1999 Opel Vectra 1.8 CD - My first new car, complete rubish, numerous electrical faults, climate control failed and very expensive to replace out of warranty, underpowered, heavy on fuel, shocking resale value almost made me cry. It was solid though.
5. 2001 Toyota Avensis 1.8 Luna - 3 month old demo model, plenty of zip, very economical (compared to the Vectra), good standard kit (being an ex-demo), ultra reliable, comfortable on long journeys and has excellent brakes.
6. 2003 Toyota Avensis 1.8 Luna - (new model) Bought new and still have it today with 83k trouble free miles, better than the old model in almost every department, fit and finish is excellent, economy is ok, standard kit is also excellent, not as nippy as the old one, 5 star safety rating including driver's knee air bag.

7. Next car - I fancy a change but will not totally rule out another Toyota.

MR DAZ

Well let me see..

first - '87 Fiat Uno White - This was some heap of ****e ..it went through more springs than a bad trampoleen.

second -'89 Nova - This was actually a nice little car to drive...was only a 1litre but we had the sri alloys on it ..myself and the older brother kinda shared this car...then the younger brother came of age and rolled it ..oh well

thrid - '92 1.4 astra hatchback - I loved this car...this was my first actual car as the previous two were shared with my brother. The car itself originally came from leeds and had a blue dash ..which was cool .....but then disaster struck..i decided to go back to collage full time...so i had to sell

fourth - '89 1.3 corrolla saloon (ex cop car) Not pretty!! Enough said.

Fifth - '99 1.2 corsa sport - Finally finished collage..started work so i bought my first brand new car..infairness it was a lovely car to drive..had all the mod cons ..but i admit it was abit cramped.

Sixth - '02 1.4 307 (company car) This was as dead as a twenty year old corpse, but all the fancy gadgets nearly made up for it.. automatic lights,auotmatic wipers and trip computer...really comfortable to drive...nice high seating postion esp if your a short arse like me.

Seventh - '05 1.6 Touring Mazda 3 saloon(company car) - Really nice car...fast..and the interior is class.


thats me done.

Daz

richardson2525

This is what I have owned since 2004 in chronological order;

1st Honda Civic 1.5 (Japanese Import) -Very reliable, very good
2nd Mercedes 190E 2.0 -Built like a tank but a thirsty beast, rwd very good fun!
3rd Nissan Sunny 1.4 lx -No extras, very bland, boring but still something I liked about it!
4th Toyota Starlet 1.0 -Really opened my eyes as to how much fun you can have in a small engined car
5th Toyota Carina II Executive 2.0i -Brilliant, fast, reliable looks like an old mans car!
6th Mitsubishi Mirage 1.3 (Japanese Import)- OK, didn't do much for me though
7th Nissan Bluebird Executive 2.0i -Brilliant brilliant brilliant
8th Mazda Capella Wagon 1.8i (Japanese Import) -pretty good, my current runabout until I can afford buying an '80s classic from England

I've loved each one of these in their own different way. The one that is/was definitely my favourite was the Bluebird until it was stolen last summer. The least exciting was the Mirage closely followed by the Sunny.
Currently looking for a late '80's Bluebird ZX Turbo Hatchback in England

spidersonmars

(2000) -(2001) 1994 Astra 1.4 Petrol Green Saloon, First car Bought it for €700 sold for €850, The selling price was the highlight of ownership.

(2003) - Present 2000 Skoda Fabia 1.4 16V Still have it, Kills overweight VW golfs everyday.......all they see the skoda badge fly by!!!!

2006 - Present 1974 Rover P6 2200SC. Another Golf slayer...Just cause it old doent mean it does not move. The same colour etc as Vinnie Jones Rover P6 in Lock Stock. Get this tax €42 yearly...insurance €432 fully comp. Full lincence 1 Yr. :cool:

Guy:Incognito

Only 4 cars for me so far.

Bought a new clio in feb 2000 and drove that for 2 1/2 years Really liked it. Very reliable and reasonably quick for a 1.2. Sold it to my mother and it's still going perfectly, never given even a bit of trouble.

Stopped drivign for 2 years as I was working in town so getting the bus.

May last year, bought a 94 Accord2.0i. Great car, bomb proof and leccy windows/mirrors /sunroof.

In September my dad then needed a new car to haul his plumbing gear around and he bought a 94 rover 620i (rebadged accord, exactly teh same car as above) but it had cream interior so we swapped (it's now for sale)

Current car is 93 safrane 2.0RT. Only have it a week and I love it. Electric everything, leather seats. Soooo comfy.massive boot. Thats me for the moment.

Planning on driving the safrane for a year at least, then passing it on to the father (no plumbing gear is going near it tho:) ) and getting myself either a 99 safrane (or a 2000 if i can find one) from the uk or a honda Legend.

Bettyboop

now dont laugh my first car
89 mini metro (dustbin with wing mirrors):D
1990 mitsubishi colt (import) great car hi spec for the year
1997 another new shape colt another import no problems with it
2002 toyota yaris cheap to run and reliable (wish I had gone for an import):(
miss all the specs my other colts had.
my next car will definitely be an import.

Fey!

Mammys Cars before I graduated to my own!!!

'84 Austin Maestro 1.3 - learnt to drive in this. Enough said.
'84 Nissan Cherry 1.3 - the boxy one. Good car. Got hit by drunk driver.
'88 VW Jetta 1.3 - no power, 4 gears. Was actually a lovely looking car. Written off when a guy went head-on into my mother.
'93 Rover 214 Si - Quick, nice looking at the time, no real problems (I think it was the Honda engine rather than the K-series). Had a choice between this and my fathers car when I bought my own first car - my fathers one was cheaper!!!

My Cars

'89 Peugeot 405 GLD Estate - Was originally my fathers, then I bought it off him and had it for 18 months, first car of my own. Diesel and an absolute miser. A lot of electrical issues (plus I blew the clutch plate). About 30k miles done in it. Could have done with a turbo.

'95 Honda Civic Coupe 1.5 LSi - 7 years on, and I still miss it. Was black with a light tint and 17" alloys; got admiring looks from everyone (wasn't like the boy-racered ones you see now). Drove a '99 one recently, but wasn't near as good. Went through 2 cv joints in 2 1/2 years (36k miles!)

'95 Honda Accord Coupe 2.0 LSi - not as much fun to drive as the civic, and wasn't as eye catching. Again, in 2 years all I had to replace was a CV joint (30k miles). Introduced me to cruise control (a license saver!)

'00 Fiat Marea 1.6sx Weekend - well designed load bay, and a good engine. Was my mothers car, which I took as a gap filler and which my uncle now drives (ideal for him, as his wife is in a wheelchair, and the boot door splits for flat loading). Due to my size, I found it a bit cramped on long runs. Fairly economical, though (although a bit slow after the Hondas).

'98 BMW 520i SE - had a lot of teething problems at the start (March 1st 2005), but I absolutely love it now. Would have come out of the factory with 150bhp, but got it remapped a few weeks ago (improved economy and throttle response). Have a proper AC Schnitzer bodykit fitted, as well as ACS 17" wheels, M5 Mirrors, Eibach springs, and a UUC SSK (short shifter). Bring it to Mondello with www.bmwcarclubireland.com twice a year - great fun! Still one or two little things to be done to it, but not much. Would love the 2.5 litre 523, but has more than enough get-up-and-go for day to day driving. Have 12k miles put up on it (had 69k when I got it). A few pictures on here - http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=26264&KW=fey+pictures (pre springs and mirrors!)

Others I've test driven and passed on.

'98 Subaru Impreza 2.0 4WD Estate - had more space in the back of the civic for passengers; ran it for a weekend and found it cramped to drive.

'94 Camry 2.0TD with Intercooler (Import) - belonged to a friend and I drove it a lot. Fantastic. Got smashed in Enfield whilst stopped in traffic (hit from behind and pushed into car in front - 5 cars written off in total, incl 2 mercs, a new (at the time) civic, and the transit that hit them all)

'01 Audi A4 TD red i - nice, quick, but prefer my RWD BMW!

'02 Kia Sedona Combi 2.9TD - work van. Not too bad to drive, and holds a lot of gear! They were built to beat the VRT at the time (crewcab).

'95 Rover 800 Vitesse 2.0 Turbo - OMG! Amazing car owned by a friend. I couldn't afford the insurance!

'92 Audi 100 Sport 2.0 - fabulous car.

Mickk

Toyota celica 2 litre 1990 with the pop up lights. My first car at 18 I loved every minute of it. Beautiful car with the lights down but ugly with them up. Police took it off me...

Volvo T5 2.3 litre turbo petrol 225bhp. Got put on mates insurance for 10 months and loved every minute of it. Still my favourite car barr the hummer.
After 10 months I tried to get insured on own insurance but couldn't. Sold it to mate.

Toyota Carina II Needed something after T5 went belly up.
Mitsibushi Galant Same again just a run around.

Saab 900 Nice solid car that never had any problems. I got 94 which was the same model right up till 99 I think. Good looking car for year.

Mazda Xedos 9 Lovely car 2.5l v6 auto with all the extras, electric leather seats, climate control, all elecs. Really enjoyed driving this car liked the auto.

Mitsibushi Galant New model '99 bought ordinary car, found crashed v6 24v in breakers and got all elec beige leather seats, carpet, dash, leather gearstick, wooden stearing wheel and beige back shelf and brake light for 300euro!
Took a full two days striping and putting it in but completely transformed car. Ended up with a very nice Galant.

Volvo T5 Bought same T5 back off mate when insurance company said they would quote me! Got it freshly sprayed and put 4 new tires on it and drove it like its ment to be driven. I really love this car so so fast and so big and dangerous looking. Still get done up puntos pulling up beside me at lights revving up.

Hummer H2 Two weeks ago got a hummer H2! Black with black tinted windows and all the extras. 6litre petrol auto its lovely to drive and has a good bit of power if you need it. I love pulling up beside X5's and Range rovers ect. and dwarfing them.

Next car 2008 Dodge Challenger, classic styling, modern technology, 6l hemi, what more could you want. The day its released I'm buying one and importing it.

kdevitt

88 Civic Si - 1.DOHC . Great car, fast and reliable. Written off by some dozy cow who couldn't understand the difference between the accelerator and brake pedals.

91 Civic Si - 1.6 DOHC. Not quite as good as the 88 - perferred the pre-facelift Civic, the engine seems to run like a bag of shi t till my dad got the motoring engineering department in Bolton St to work on it. Sold it because it was white.

95 Civic - 1.3 - and decided to get a captiva Blue EG Civic. The car was lovely - about 10k on the clock, was spotless inside, and was bought so I could move out onto my own insurance. Was stolen two weeks later - and then crashed three weeks after that on my way to a body shop to get a quote to repair the theft damage. Sold it on, cost me a fortune.

91 Civic VTi (jap) - fantastic car. Most of my neighbours didn't even realise I'd had an enforced change of car as it looked identical to the previous one. Kept if for years - never really let me down. Quite nippy for a 1.5, ran out of steam quickly enough though. Still see it around, the new owner put blue seat covers on which I don't approve of

94 320i Coupe - probably my favourite car so far if I'm honest. Was jet black with basic cloth interior and ok-ish alloys. Changed almost everything on it, had a mag feature - my dad is still driving it at the moment. Car received plenty of attention, despite looking basically like a normal coupe.

88 320i - Had this at the same time as the E36 320i - was going to do it up - but needed more done with it than I had the time or money for - sold it after three months of so.

92 CRX Del Sol - didn't want to run the BMW into the ground with a new job I had - so went for the CRX. Had wanted one for ages - very happy to have gotten it out of my system. Car was ok - had the optional ABS and LSD so it handled quite well. 1.5 engine again ran out of steam very quickly. Whoever designed the seals on the roof and door should have been flogged - got drenched evrytime there was heavy rain. And I looked for more like a hairdresser than I wanted to. Like the Civics - a tin can on wheels. Never once felt safe in it having just stepped down from the BMW.

00 328ci - without a doubt the best car all-round I've driven. Perfect compromise between performance and luxury. Unfortunately getting hit 2 weeks after buying it by an uninsured driver didn't help matters, but it's slowly but surely getting moulded to be the car I want. Won't be selling it anytime soon.

89 325i SE - got it 2 weeks ago. Nice car and great to look at - but anyone (imo) who says an E30 BMW is a better drive than either the E36 or E46 is dellusional. Will be lovely when I'm finished playing with it.

Kersh

Ok, here here we go :
First car was in `1996, so In chronological order -
86 Suzuki Swift, first car, did the job.
89 Fiat Tipo, bought cos it had a digital dash!!
90 Toyota Celica, black, which was great craic, traded it in for a
91 Mitsubishi GTO Na which blew the autobox within a month and then snapped the timing belt so while I rebuilt the engine I got a
92 Honda Prelude Vtec, which I blew the box in too (autoboxes dont like left foot braking), but by then the Gto was ready.
90 300zx twin turbo, which I ran on a rotating basis with the GTO
1979 Porsche 911, which has given no trouble at all,which i rotated between the GTO and the 300zx.
1991 300zx twin turbo, the GTO now sold I still have 2 300zx tts, and the 911, all rotated on a 3 monthly basis.

crosstownk

I've driven nearly everything there is out there.

The best I ever had was a 2001 Volvo S60 T5. Oh yes, baby!:D

I've 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe at the moment *yawns*

I'd an Alfa 159 at the weekend and I was not really impressed with it.......:rolleyes:

byte

Hmm, short list for me when I exclude work vehicles!

For 3 years, I drove around in a '95 1.2L Corsa. Despite being small with no power steering, it was one of few cars fo that size to have a 6 speaker audio system, and the car never once gave any mechanical trouble over the 40,000 miles I'd taken it. Timing belt, Bearings, brakepads and tyres is all I had to buy for it, excluding oil changing etc.

Sold it, and now driving a 2000 Seat Leon SE 1.4L. Lovely car with all the electrics, but mpg is fair bit worse than the Corsa, which I guess is to be expected. Lovely ride though. Too soon to discuss reliability.

peasant

Just a few from a large-ish selection:

1st ever car: 1980 Renault four van: slow, soft, cheap and rusted while you were watching. But you could buy all parts for a fiver and repair it on your kitchen table. Also the back made a nice "camper":D conversion.

one and only new car: 89 Mini Maifair 998 cc. Everthing on it screwed together wrongly (ended up being friends with the dealer, saw him so much) But the engine was possibly the best 998 cc ever built. Massive pull and top speed of around 120 mph (to the end of the speedo and beyooooond). Ridiculous amount of fun on twisty back roads. Want one again !!

89 Saab 900 turbo Automatic: Kick down at 50 mph and the combination of kickdown and turbo was something else ...working out the delay for the kickdown and the turbo lag was crucial ...but once you got it right, you didn't just overtake ...you simply flew by from behind.
Suspension not made for Irish roads though ...used almost as much suspension components as it used fuel.

83 VW Van 1.6 diesel non turbo. 50 BHP for 2 tons ...no acceleration, just momentum. No deceleration either due to non servo breaks (steering wheel pull out kind of a job) Tought me the meaning of defensive driving and watching the traffic ahead.

92 Saab 9000 CSE eco turbo: Fast without being racy, extremely comfy, bags and bags of room. The perfect cruiser. Fitted with leather and all the gimmicks ...to big for back roads.

The current pot hole jumper: 99 Suzuki Jimny. A great laugh on short runs, brill offroad, great around town, reliable, cheap to run. Doing 50 (km/h) feels like a 100 (mp/h) hence it keeps me smiling and occupied on my 6 mile borreen commute. 4 WD comes in very handy when yet again I had to escape from an oncoming truck into the ditches and the muck. Great also for pulling out the other drivers which had to do the same:D

CJhaughey

1967 Holden HR Stationwagon two-tone pale blue over white, classic car , had a 2 stage automatic and a 186ci engine, smooth as butter but quite thirsty around town,was stolen and I got rid of it.
Toyota KE36 3 Dr station wagon 1.2 litre needed little attention and got less, great car.
1969 Landrover series IIa LWB had a 3 litre engine but with 16" wheels and no powersteering plus no synchro 1st and 2nd was a bit of a handful to drive and park
Ex Airport fire tender so it was pretty fast for an old LR.
1987 Toyota Hi-lux crewcab
had a 2.4l diesel and was slow and gutless but unsurprisingly very reliable, Tailhappy in the wet.
1986 VW Golf Mk2 1.6L
Great Car , fantastic reliability and simple to service, I fitted power steering to it, and shortly after a german motorist crashed into me writing it off.
1993 Toyota Carina E 1.6l
Nice enough car did everything a toyota is meant to do, but was backed into by a 20t Volvo BM offroad dumper and totalled, I was lucky to escape alive!
1997 Toyota Landcruiser 3.0td SWB KZJ90
got it with 108k and have put another 80k on it with no problems apart from a starter motor, fantastic driving position and apart from somewhat weak seats highly recommended.

Hotwheels

first car 77 Fiesta 957cc, burnt valves out :rolleyes:
79 Opel kadett, great reliable car
85 MK3 XR3i, this was fun to drive, was sad to let it go.
90 Vectra GT, fast but handled like a bag of nails
99 Punto Fun car to drive (first new car I bought)
02 Punto Speedgear, Rally Box:D even more fun to drive
04 Alfa 156... what a machine, sadly was W/O in accident poor baby
06 Alfa 159 1.9 16V JTDm, will have this next Monday....:) Can't wait....

roughan

87 d ->> Opel Corsa 1.0 --->i was 17 and i got on my mothers insurance and for2 years daily redlined this car ..it was simply indestructable
and could do 95 mph with the wing mirrors folded in on the hill just before the ballymount turnoff southbound on the m50 !!!

then i upgraded and got a 92 Nova SR 1.4 trin choke from the North
not a bad car close ratio gear box lowered suspenion ,white dials etc total chav car /......LOVED IT .. bought it for 2300 had it for 2 years and sold it for 2000 !!!!!

then i bought a tigra ........ HATED IT all mates slagged me
dont get me wrong there was no problems with it but i jujst hated it !

then i bought a 2001 VW polo GTi 125 bhp xenon lights every extra
the performace is amazing in it 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and because there is only about 50 of them in the country i loved tearing past other boy racers and looking at there faces as they pull in behind you to see what kind of car it was ???
out grew the Boy racer years and am now looking for a Boxster !!!
only prob with that car is what im going to get after it !!

matt cork

i didnt start driving until i was 24, lazy you see as friends did it for me:D however when i did

April 1998 Rover Metro 1.4 Gti (16v) bought for the pricely sum of £2,995 and a hoot to drive. at 6ft 6" i must have looked a right spanner driving it. stopped by the police and me and brother asked to step outside the vehicle. my brothers 6ft 8" and after clambering out the police officer just fell about laughing - saved me 3 pts and £60 mind. Had 34,000 miles on it when i bought it, had only 34,412 miles when i crashed and rolled it 5 weeks later

July 1998 Ford Escort 1.6 Sport - for the years when the xr3i wasnt being sold. bought from a friend for £2,600. lasted just over 9 months before it was stolen one night from an NCP car park. nothing really memorable about it at all, although i recall the stereo was very good

May 1999 Peugeot 205 Gti (1.9:D ) the car was a hoot to drive but in all fairness an absolute bucket. went through 3 driver seats as they couldn't handle my weight. sold it for the princely sum of £100! had a good night out with that

didn't need a car for 18 month however back on the scene in

December 2001 Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo. Sprint blue and very hairdresser looking but a fabulous car to own and drive. had it until there was 58,000 miles on the clock and didnt fancy the £3,000 cambelt change and service

July 2004 Peugeot 206 Gti. Got me and all my crap here to Ireland in one journey and since arriving has been driven by the missus. had an argument with a deer one night in tipperary, lost....... still on the drive and her little runabout

September 2005 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - absolutely bonkers! stunning looking car inside and out but upn arrival of our new born this Feburary something more family orrientated had to be purchased

February 2006 BMW E46. had to get the family car and a perfect choice. I say it is anyway but already getting it in the ear about practicality

Future.........

who knows (not fiat uno's) but a TVR is very much top ofthe list. A Tuscan S

Gerry

90 peugeot 405 GRD estate - This was my dads car. Needed a turbo, but very good handling.
99 peugeot 406 Hdi - Again, still couldn't afford my own, so was insured on my dads car. Nice pull up to about 3200rpm, then not a whole lot. Really comfy and relaxed though. Fair bit heavier than the 405, but excellent handling all the same.

My first car: 93 Nissan Sunny 1.4lx. Brilliant japanese engineering, excellent 1.4 twin cam engine, and reasonable gearing. No rev counter, so judged them by the speedo, could get 30 out of 1st, and 55 out of second Terrible, terrible handling though, steering is far too light, no feel at all, and loads of roll and understeer. Never felt like spending any time or money on this car apart from basic servicing, so gave this to my sister
Saab 900 1991 3dr lpt - Love this car, and have done a lot of work on it. Extremely reliable, but the clutch master cylinder needs replacing, so its currently off the road.
Saab 900 1991 T16S - Bought this car supposedly for parts to put into my other 900, but its so good that it can't be scrapped 185hp, 210ft/lb of torque, basically goes like a rocket. Has a modern mitsubishi turbocharger, so has very little of the turbo lag that older 900's have.
Longer gearing than lpt, so nicer for cruising. Has leather interior, all the electrics - seats,sunroof,mirrors etc , cruise control, so its pretty much what I'm looking for. Lived most of its 15 years in england, so has some rust which will be attended to shortly hopefully. Mpg on these cars is about 33 if you take it easy.

full forward

1989 Open Kadett in early 90s Reliable but slow and ugly
1991 Opel Vectra, nice car, reliable,ugly
1999 Puegeot 206 1.4 glx grand little car if forgetable. wrote it off.
2000 Peugeot 206 1.4 glx. grand little car yawn.
1998 Peugeot 406 Coupé. Slow but beautifull. Still miss it.
Got married had baby
priority now safty, reliability, mpg , depriecation
2003 Audi A4 1.9 TDi 130bhp. 50mpg diesel family saloon
next car, new shape 520D or next model Volvo S60.

pontovic

1st car: 1995 Ford Fiesta
This is a 1.1l car I shared with my younger brother and prerry much learned to drive in it. It was fun to drive and solidly built, although a little basic compared to what I have now. I liked it. Fiesta's are great first cars and cost little to maintain.

2nd car: 1997 VW Polo
I got this 1.0l base model 6 months after I started driving because it had a solid reputation and was cheap to insure. I needed my own car to get to work. It was great at first but I quickly got bored of it and didnt like the fact that it had no standard safety features like airbags or antilock breaks. It also had no power steering. At around Christmas time the gearbox started acting up so I had to trade her into the mechanics and get another car.

3rd and current car: 1999 VW Bora comfortline 1.6
Great car, although it does cost a little more than the previous cars to fill up with petrol, it has overall good fuel economy especially since I get a clear run with it on the motorway in the mornings going into work before all the rush hour traffic. They're very solidly built cars and comfortable to drive. Ill be sad to see her go in June when I will sell her.I'm moving out of Ireland to London, where you don't need a car.