don't wanna drive anymore?
- Thread starter ohmygodwhathaveyoudone
- Start date
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risk taker ? once drove a bmw touring car round thruxton 
i heard this pinging noise coming from the rear wheel arches,apperently it was the tyres being riiped to shreds?
i heard this pinging noise coming from the rear wheel arches,apperently it was the tyres being riiped to shreds?
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AdamW said:I dunno, there are quite a few very quick cars on the road at the moment. One that springs to mind is the Alfa 156 GTA. On paper it is even faster than the Aero: 0-62 in 6.2s by virtue of a 3.2l V6 in a Focus-sized car. It devalues even quicker!
Had a drive in the Alfa 156 (four cylinder, twin spark) model last year and thought it was fab. Seriously thought of buying one as pending contract would have entailed a lot of mileage here and in Europe. As contract fell through so did the Alfa. The model I drove seemed so well balanced that I wonder if the V6 renders the car a bit nose heavy and would compromise handling. Don't know what the bhp is on the V6 do you, Adam? Ain't it just a bit too much for FWD? Straight line ability not in doubt though.
Coincidentally, at this very moment my neighbour has an old 164 v6 out in the street awaiting collection by the good burgers of Camden. It seems the engine has seized, as he reports oil pressure has been in the minus region on the gauge for somewhile as well as a small pool of GTX noticeable on the road beneath the sump....pity really, twas once a nice motor.
ohmygodwhathaveyoudone said:
I would opine that you are a bit timing beltist, Ohmy. Quite right though, they are a real weakspot on modern cars. Had one snap in a new hire car (Ford Taunus) in Seattle a couple of years back - engine totally wrecked.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
have not woken up yet coz i've got a really bad cold & the wife has drive.
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I feel your pain!
chainsaw_masochist said:I wonder if the V6 renders the car a bit nose heavy and would compromise handling. Don't know what the bhp is on the V6 do you, Adam? Ain't it just a bit too much for FWD? Straight line ability not in doubt though.
Many motoring journalists have described the engine as the best sounding engine ever, so perhaps it isn't too bad. The front suspension is of a specially-developed design, and handles the 250bhp rather well.
I looked into the 156GTA when my car was on it's 3rd birthday, hence my attraction to it. You can pick one up that cost around £30K new, for about £16K-£17K at a year or two old (even cheaper according to Parker's). That is still quite a bit of money, but they are excellent cars. I was a bit short, would have to take out a loan to bring my budget up to £17K. But it was worth it.
I was planning on visiting an Alfa dealership, set on test-driving one. Then I went online and got an insurance quote
I've stuck with the Astra for now! Will wait another 6 months until I am 25, then cheap(er) insurance on hot cars awaits.There is a 3.5 litre, 300bhp prototype 156 GTA that they took to shows. Never got productionised though.
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Surely the the 3.5 would require a four-wheel drive application a bit like the Rover 75 with the Yank V8? Otherwise you're genner be on the brink when the pedal's to the metal....interesting though should the tyres lose grip.
Huge drop in value for a year old motor though, isn't there? I know it ain't got the greatest reputation for reliability, but look where they put BM's in the customer satisfaction leagues: right down the toilet! As for the Audi T(otal) T(rash) that comes precisely bottom. Don't see the residuals impacted one jot regardless of this. Perhaps Alfa dealers leave a lot to be desired?
Huge drop in value for a year old motor though, isn't there? I know it ain't got the greatest reputation for reliability, but look where they put BM's in the customer satisfaction leagues: right down the toilet! As for the Audi T(otal) T(rash) that comes precisely bottom. Don't see the residuals impacted one jot regardless of this. Perhaps Alfa dealers leave a lot to be desired?
Well, I suspect it is because traditionally Italian cars do suffer from poor build quality. I am sure we have all heard jokes about Fiats being made from spaghetti tins (ironic, seeing as I doubt much tinned spaghetti gets sold in Italy!), but it is true, they were made of very thin metal. However, I have driven a Fiat Stilo and reckon it was put together just as well as a Ford Focus, possibly better.
Devaluation is largely due to perception. Something is only worth what people will pay for it. No doubt the Alfas devalue so heavily because people see it and think "Aha, Italian car, poorly built" amongst other things. Or maybe it is because people would sooner spend the money on a "prestige" brand such as BMW or Mercedes? From what I have heard, Mercedes build quality is not as good as the pricetag would suggest at the moment, however they still hold their value well.
So, I reckon that Alfas devalue so quickly because people won't pay the high prices they possibly deserve. Finding a secondhand GTA is like finding hen's teeth too, I managed to find 3, plus a crash-damaged one that had been stolen and recovered (after sliding into a lamp-post). That was for the whole country!
Not sure if the 3.5 GTA was built with 4wd, but the Rover 75/MG ZT V8 is rear-wheel drive. There are front-wheel drive 5+ litre V8-powered cars in the US, that would be *ahem* interesting to drive!
Devaluation is largely due to perception. Something is only worth what people will pay for it. No doubt the Alfas devalue so heavily because people see it and think "Aha, Italian car, poorly built" amongst other things. Or maybe it is because people would sooner spend the money on a "prestige" brand such as BMW or Mercedes? From what I have heard, Mercedes build quality is not as good as the pricetag would suggest at the moment, however they still hold their value well.
So, I reckon that Alfas devalue so quickly because people won't pay the high prices they possibly deserve. Finding a secondhand GTA is like finding hen's teeth too, I managed to find 3, plus a crash-damaged one that had been stolen and recovered (after sliding into a lamp-post). That was for the whole country!
Not sure if the 3.5 GTA was built with 4wd, but the Rover 75/MG ZT V8 is rear-wheel drive. There are front-wheel drive 5+ litre V8-powered cars in the US, that would be *ahem* interesting to drive!
o.k. then work this one out
vw passat 1.8 20v 120bhp ins group 12 £211 fully comp/protected no claims bonus.
saab 9-5 aero hot estate.
ins group 17 ........
have a quess then .
wait for it.
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only £103 more a year fully comp.protected no claims.that was a nice surprise i can tell you.
btw.vw passat saloon weighs more than the saab estate.
vw passat 1.8 20v 120bhp ins group 12 £211 fully comp/protected no claims bonus.
saab 9-5 aero hot estate.
ins group 17 ........
have a quess then .
wait for it.
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only £103 more a year fully comp.protected no claims.that was a nice surprise i can tell you.
btw.vw passat saloon weighs more than the saab estate.
Are you 50% more likely to do the same damage with your new car? Or are you just as likely to have an accident, but will cause 50% extra damage?
When I was 21 it cost me £900 a year fully comp for a 1.6 Astra, but that same year it cost £200 a year for my 28 year old ex in a similarly-sized Peugot 306. Was I 4.5 times as likely to crash as her? Well, she had made I think it was 2 claims in the last 5 years, so I would say despite me being an unknown quantity, she was a known quantity... known to have accidents! Simply by the fact she was older and a woman, her insurance cost less. Protected no claims bonus my a**e, if you have a crash you have a crash!
I will of course, totally agree with the system when I have full protected ncb, aged 50! But isn't it funny, the older you get, the more money you have, the less insurance costs you. Any of you with 17 year old sons will know that a kidney is legal tender for motor insurance when having the sheer nerve, the audacity, to dare to be young and male.
By the way, for me in a 1.6 Astra it was £900 first year (21, 0 years ncb), £650 second year, £350 third year and the fourth year has cost me £315 (although they did go up significantly before I renewed, would have been about £270 if I renewed a month earlier ) Never made a claim, had a small altercation with a kerb but I worked out that £600 repair costs were about equal to the excess+extra insurance cost over 1 year (due to losing ncb). Not worth it.
When I was 21 it cost me £900 a year fully comp for a 1.6 Astra, but that same year it cost £200 a year for my 28 year old ex in a similarly-sized Peugot 306. Was I 4.5 times as likely to crash as her? Well, she had made I think it was 2 claims in the last 5 years, so I would say despite me being an unknown quantity, she was a known quantity... known to have accidents!
Simply by the fact she was older and a woman, her insurance cost less. Protected no claims bonus my a**e, if you have a crash you have a crash! I will of course, totally agree with the system when I have full protected ncb, aged 50!
But isn't it funny, the older you get, the more money you have, the less insurance costs you. Any of you with 17 year old sons will know that a kidney is legal tender for motor insurance when having the sheer nerve, the audacity, to dare to be young and male. By the way, for me in a 1.6 Astra it was £900 first year (21, 0 years ncb), £650 second year, £350 third year and the fourth year has cost me £315 (although they did go up significantly before I renewed, would have been about £270 if I renewed a month earlier
) Never made a claim, had a small altercation with a kerb but I worked out that £600 repair costs were about equal to the excess+extra insurance cost over 1 year (due to losing ncb). Not worth it.Just remembered something. My parents are friends with a couple, where the man is a big mover in car dealers. Back in the early 90s he managed a chain of Rover dealers. So, he offered my Dad a sweet deal on a Rover. He took a few out on testdrive (including a Rover Tomcat, 2l twin turbo, based on the 200 coupe. Might have been 4wd too).
The Tomcat would have been nice, but with three rapidly-growing kids to feed he settled on a 216 GTi. There was the choice of single cam or twin cam, both 1.6l 16V engines. Price and performance differences weren't too much, so he asked why they bothered. The reply was "insurance". He rung his insurers to find out, and the next day ordered the single-cam model!
The Tomcat would have been nice, but with three rapidly-growing kids to feed he settled on a 216 GTi. There was the choice of single cam or twin cam, both 1.6l 16V engines. Price and performance differences weren't too much, so he asked why they bothered. The reply was "insurance". He rung his insurers to find out, and the next day ordered the single-cam model!
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