What does your car say about you ?

[karatestu]

I drive a 1998 Diahatsu fourtrak ,4WD with bumps and scrapes from work. Apart from the usual tyres, exhaust, battery etc it has only needed a fuel solenoid in the 17 years that i have owned it. The original brake pads were only changed three years ago because i go so slow i hardly need to brake I could pull a cow out of a swamp no problem.

What that says about me - I am skint, do not care about image, would happily crash in to a BMW wanker on purpose if they pissed me off.

Only another 6 years and it will be a classic - no road tax to pay.

[Lindsayt]

Good for you karetestu. Although you could have saved some money by buying something that was older than 2 years old.
Roughly how many miles do you do per year?
And how many mpg do you get out of it on average?

I have a 2003 Volvo S60 and a 2005 XC90 (both D5's). Bought them when they were about 10 years old. Will keep them till they become BER.

[karatestu]

Hey Lindsay,

I only do 7,000 miles per year. It is hard to work out mpg because i do a lot of off road driving and times when the engine is running but not going anywhere. It is a 2.8 TDX so 30mpg tops.

I paid £12K for it in 2000. Very reliable and built like a tank. It wasn't called "the tractor" for nothing. Maybe i should have bought an older one ? I had one main dealer service when i bought it but did servicing myself after getting the bill and realising what little they had done. Money grabbing barstewards. I thought to hell with the warranty as they had such a good reputation and i was proved right. One breakdown (fuel solenoid) in all these years.

I like Volvo's especially their safety rating.

[Alfi]

I have an Alfa Romeo 155 which I bought at 3yrs of age, it now has 160,000 mile's on the clock.

It's still on its original clutch, had 1 cam variator and water pump changed during its last cam belt/ tensioner service and is currently on its third set of spark plugs. Awesome car, flies through its MOT every year showing perfect emissions figures. It can also "fly" on the road belying its power output figure because of the way it delivers its torque.

Whilst I do adhere to the speed limit, yes indeed I have a clean license; I enjoy a spirited drive out of town.

I must admit I also have a 1.4 Polo S hatch ( twin cam of course ) as a knockabout and strangely enough it's far more unreliable then the Alfa

Never bought a new car in my life, always enjoyed looking for a nice SH one with low miles and a huge saving for three years use by the previous owner/s.

Alfi.

[Jonty2547]

Recently sold these two.
Apart from the obscene running cost for the Subaru (7 gearboxes, 3 engines and numerous turbos) it was a nightmare to use for daily use. Wherever i parked it, i always came back to a hoard of spotty yoofs asking the 0-60, how much BHP and did i want a race.
People really do stereotype you when driving such a car.
Sadly the XR4x4 had to go as i never used it, although the attention it received was far more welcoming.






In my early 30’s i had various company cars such as S Class Mercs, Audi S4 convertible etc etc and in the S Class a guy walked up to the car whilst i was sat at traffic lights and spat on the windscreen. Who wants attention like that? Not me.
People do judge!

Now i slum it with these..
The pug is a 2003, does 60+MPG and costs peanuts to tax and insure. Almost nothing works on it, but as long as it keeps soldiering on i’ll keep it. Do i care about it’s image? No.
The 185BHP bike is a guilty pleasure and as most bikers get a bad rep anyway, who cares.

[zebbo]

I like cars, especially classics, but our daily runner is a little 2007 Renault Modus 1.5 dci.
The thing is amazing, it's like a Tardis and can carry 5 with ease even though it only has the wheelbase of a Corsa. I generally thrash the arse off it whenever we are running up and down the country and it carries Joy 20 miles to work and back every day. It has never returned less than 53 mpg and if you take it easy up the motorway that can easily get over 70 mpg. We've had it for 3 years now and I paid £1900 for it. Oh, and it's 5* NCAP rated.

For playing, I have the Daytona T595 which is a beautiful classic in it's own right.

[antonio66]

Sadly I don't own a car anymore, sold em when I emigrated, but my favourite was an Alfa 156 which the wife used daily to and from work. It was so comfortable when driving any distance, the only problem being the brakes could have done with being sharper. When I sold that I got a good deal on a Renault Clio Sport (don't know how they got that 2l. engine under the bonnet) and enjoyed its braking capability for safety reasons. Love the look of your Subaru Jonty, but all those graphics do say 'come on race me'.

[alfer]

I would love to drive but the doc says I must not and my licence is revoked/suspended. Never drove amazing cars before anyway but I miss the mobility greatly. Perhaps get a driver for my Bentley.

[savvypaul]

I had, and loved, a Volvo 940 'Torslanda' 2.3 estate when all 5 kids needed carting around together. It was a wonderful old boat but 18000 miles a year at 24mpg was unsustainable. I sold it to a chap who runs a hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands, for transporting the dogs and guns.

Now a 3 year old Golf Diesel estate that I bought 6 months ago. Just big enough for business and family. Returning 55mpg overall. Most importantly, a digital radio for listening to Test Match Special...

[Lindsayt]

A bit of spit on my windscreeen wouldn't bother me at all. Birds shit on my cars all the time.
Someone running their ring down the side of my car would bother me. I hate that type of petty, mindless, vandalism.