maurici Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 So, I’m tired of My Subaru legacy State (170hp 4WD). I would probably last an extra year, but I would love to not renew the insurance of it at the end of January, on the benefit of having something else sat on the drive for when It happens. Few premises: 1-Can’t be diesel (no flexible) 2-Can’t be front wheel drive. (unless is cool as Fxxck, then maybe can be FWD) 3-Needs to be over 170hp, or have somehow some stupid amount of torque for towing. Idealy won't have a turbo.. 4-Can’t be auto. (no flexible either) 5-needs to have the “maurici’s” main feature. Race cars aside, Every single car I’ve had, has ticked the box... Car+Mantinance at the end of its life, can’t be over £1000 a year. So any prostpective purchase, needs to have true hopes that this will work. ""As an example, I paid 1900 for my legacy, thrown a new clutch on it when bought(550),an alternator (80) two mantenainces (80) and a full set of brake pads (55). Total= £2665. Months owned now:32… that is £999 a year. That is the excel sheet in green that allows me to change it already, expecting zero return other than weight it in the scrap yard. That probably means that cars over 10 years old, and over £6k are unlikely to achieve this record (or maybe yes) that is why I ask for you opinion. I’m not particularly literate about road cars, as I’ve never own them long enough to know if they are reliable or not… and never own from new. What are your ideas? Pick ups, Estates, SUV, and even minivans considered! Quote
maurici Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 Ok. An few examples at the cars I've ben considering in the last few months... E60 BMW State 3.0 6 cylinders. A bit on the top of the budget, and unlikely to tick the maurici's feature... but worth a go, and difficult to find in manual. E46 BMW State 3.0 6 Cylinders. Difficult to find them manual, a challenge by now to find a desirable E46 Nissan Murano. (shares the engine with the 350Z super reliable... but is auto, so is mostly discarded, but is cool and weird enough to be considered)... So, along this lines... Quote
Andrew O Byrne White - Ireland AO Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 Mazda bongo? You can get the v6 petrol ones which are RWD. You can occasionally find one with a manual box. Also cool (and ridiculous) as f*ck with the pop up roof! Quote
Rhett Turner - Black Country AO Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 Not sure I'd agree with 1 and 4 had a few Turbo diesel cars that I've use for towing and as they've had loads of torque they have made great tow cars, probably better then the revy petrol engines I've towed with. Latest car is an auto an again it's a great tow car. it's an 8 speed though so has lots of gear ratios to choose from. I would not discount diesel and auto's out of hand, especially if it's based on flexibility as they are flexible. they may not be revy but you don't really need revy for toeing plenty of torque is better. Quote
maurici Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 14 minutes ago, Rhett - Joint Black Country AO said: Not sure I'd agree with 1 and 4 had a few Turbo diesel cars that I've use for towing and as they've had loads of torque they have made great tow cars, probably better then the revy petrol engines I've towed with. Latest car is an auto an again it's a great tow car. it's an 8 speed though so has lots of gear ratios to choose from. I would not discount diesel and auto's out of hand, especially if it's based on flexibility as they are flexible. they may not be revy but you don't really need revy for toeing plenty of torque is better. I should have clarified, that they wont only be my tow car... they will be my actual car, and i cant deal with diesels and autos. Rather struggle a bit on towing, but enjoying-ish the rest of the time i drive them, witch is 90% of the time. Quote
Rhett Turner - Black Country AO Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 18 minutes ago, maurici said: I should have clarified, that they wont only be my tow car... they will be my actual car, and i cant deal with diesels and autos. Rather struggle a bit on towing, but enjoying-ish the rest of the time i drive them, witch is 90% of the time. That's more understandable. happy hunting Quote
Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 I have a Skoda Octavia MK1 VRS as the family "pool" car. I have fitted a tow bar to it and have towed my Westfield Eleven on a Boro four wheel trailer without issue, as well as using the same car / trailer combination when setting up stage equipment on rallies. 180bhp 20V 1.8 litre Turbo (Golf Mk4 GTi platform) so an enjoyable motor once the rubber cap goes on the tow ball! The Mk2 VRS is also available as a petrol car and a friend of mine raved about his. VAG reliability but, should you need it, ease of parts supply, knowledge and non dealer specialists makes ownership rather straightforward. I know that you said "ideally no turbo" but this will save you fuelling a 3 litre non turbo. I normally get 30-32mpg (without the trailer, of course). It is not a "flickswitch" turbo either, just one that works with the engine to keep the "pull" going. Other than my company car, it is the only front wheel car I have and that has not been an issue as I don't go drifting! Quote
Onliest Smeg David Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 2 hours ago, maurici said: I should have clarified, that they wont only be my tow car... they will be my actual car, and i cant deal with diesels and autos. Rather struggle a bit on towing, but enjoying-ish the rest of the time i drive them, witch is 90% of the time. Totally relate to this. As thinking of changing from Octavia VRS D, despite it being a great car, for something more exciting driving wise. Buy for majority of use, not occasional use. Quote
maurici Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO said: I have a Skoda Octavia MK1 VRS as the family "pool" car. I have fitted a tow bar to it and have towed my Westfield Eleven on a Boro four wheel trailer without issue, as well as using the same car / trailer combination when setting up stage equipment on rallies. 180bhp 20V 1.8 litre Turbo (Golf Mk4 GTi platform) so an enjoyable motor once the rubber cap goes on the tow ball! The Mk2 VRS is also available as a petrol car and a friend of mine raved about his. VAG reliability but, should you need it, ease of parts supply, knowledge and non dealer specialists makes ownership rather straightforward. I know that you said "ideally no turbo" but this will save you fuelling a 3 litre non turbo. I normally get 30-32mpg (without the trailer, of course). It is not a "flickswitch" turbo either, just one that works with the engine to keep the "pull" going. Other than my company car, it is the only front wheel car I have and that has not been an issue as I don't go drifting! Thanks for sharing this. Nothing wrong with feeding a 3liter petrol engine... i do have one of those, and is by far the most efficient engine I've ever had for motorway cruising. I do work for volksvagen group, and outside my professional life, i rather use anything else. Nothing wrong for them as a daily, work or confort, they are actually by far the best, but none of the ones i can afford falls on the fun group. Turbo thing though... is true that quite limits my market to v6 or quite big 4pot cars, but that is the fun of it. Help me to hunt outside the box. About the drif thing... that is not the matter, of course i dont go sideways in every corner, and my driving is actually quite civilised on the road is more about driveability and feel. I just dont like front wheels drive. The last one I had was a saxo VTS16 a while ago, and if I ever have to come back to FWD will be with a classic french hot hatch. There is FWD at home. And i do drive them often, when i need to go shopping or whatever. Just not for me. Quote
Dommo Posted October 16, 2018 Posted October 16, 2018 I was all for saying a V8 Land Rover until it came to car and maintenance not being over £1k a year. Can't even meet that on maintenance alone with mine edit: but, you know... V8.... Quote
maurici Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 Budget is tight... but, to put a number down, lets say super tops 8k (and that would mean selling my z4, but we are here to play). But more importantly.... the "maurici's" feature, that means that if we place in the game a super reliable car, and we go for the tops budget... and mantenaince is... lets say 2k in the whole car life (an odd alternator that breaks, 2 sets of brake pads and so...) that means we are puting hopes of a life expectancy of 10 years... and that is imho very challenging for a second hand car. Of course, whitchever car i choose, i will definitely show it here an explay why my choice. Quote
Skypeller Posted October 17, 2018 Posted October 17, 2018 @Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO hi simon, I’ve also had many mk4 golfs, 150bhp 1.8t, 180bhp, v5 2.3 170bhp (epic sound but gutsy economy), v6 2.8 4motion, then a mk5 2.0tfsi gti & a3 2.0 Tfsi s-line non Quattro. I totally agree with you the engines are superb even by today’s standard, regularly got 34-38mpg from my 1.8t’s actually preferred it by a fair bit to the 2.0tfsi’s better mpg, better sense of turbo boost, just more character ! However, also have about 6 bmw’s With non turbo 3.0 straight 6 ranging from 200bhp to 271bhp and all been good on fuel, my 330ci as seen in the daily car photo post (posted yest) regularly gets me 34mpg on work commute if I refrain from racing the rep mobiles & 37 ish on motorway runs to airport or Mrs family in MK Quote
SootySport Posted October 18, 2018 Posted October 18, 2018 Only cars that fit all your needs are a BMW 3or 5 series 3.0. Saloon or estate. Merc C or E class 2.8 saloon or estate. They are about the the same price but you do need to see quite a few to find a a good one. 1 Quote
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