Friday: What's the blinginest item you own

daniel_b

I have a boring reliable Nissan estate for those bike related and shopping duties, it's a good pairing.

We won't mention my currently SORNED Citroen sitting in the garage awaiting some attention...... :oops:

On the plus side with the slightly older Rover engined Elises:
Tax is 'only' £155 per year
MPG is stupendous, even when 'progressing with vigour' you will struggle to get less than 35mpg out of her.
Servicing is very reasonable at an independent, though new brakes and discs did set me back £600 last year
And boggo standard supermarket fuel is also fine.

Agree with you though Rolf, not very much out there in the mainstream that appeals, although I do like the Aston vantage V8, and the Evora is quite pleasant, as is the new Exige.
Liking the look of the Alfa 4C should it ever materialise as well.

Europa is a bit of a marmite car - though I do like them, hardly any sold, and values have held rather well as a result.

veronese68

A mate stopped by in a Ferrari 599GTO the other day. Unfortunately not his. Lorks a Lordy, it was insane. Sounded incredible, I followed him down the road for a bit until I got bored of waiting. The heat coming out the back was incredible, no need for extra layers in winter if you follow one of those everywhere.
Bit pricey though.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Rolf F wrote:

A mate of mine has just offered me his Elise at garage trade in price. A couple of years back I'd have snapped his hand off but I struggle to justify it now since the Saab is entertainingly silly enough and fits a bike in the back and I do few miles as it is.

Always hankered after the recent Europa as well.

Nothing else modern appeals to me!

Drive it, then decide.

Three years ago a mate of mine hired an Elise for the weekend. We took that and his S2000 to the Brecon Beacons for a weekend.

Holy mother of God, it was fun.

Also drove one years ago at Silverstone on a supercar package event. The Esprits (tells you how long ago it was) were leaking stuff, so the organisers subbed in Elises. I felt a bit cheated when I heard that, but it all seriousness it was the most fun of the cars I drove that day. The only thing that came close was the 348. You leave it as late as you dare to brake, then a bit longer, then a bit longer again. Unreal.

The Elise is an amazing package. It's a car that will make you want to use it when otherwise you might have done something else completely. You can have a complete lark at non-licence endangering speeds.

Seriously - drive it, then decide.

daniel_b

Greg66 wrote:

Drive it, then decide.

Three years ago a mate of mine hired an Elise for the weekend. We took that and his S2000 to the Brecon Beacons for a weekend.

Holy mother of God, it was fun.

The Elise is an amazing package. It's a car that will make you want to use it when otherwise you might have done something else completely. You can have a complete lark at non-licence endangering speeds.

Seriously - drive it, then decide.

Nail on the head there Greg 8)

Driving at legal speeds through villages even, still feels like a special event in an Elise, it's a lovely place to be, and the feedback is phenomenal.
In contrast, as complete a vehicle as something like an Impreza is, to have fun, you have to be going at far from legal speeds, and that no longer appeals to me in the same way it used to.

Additionally, these little cars are not really depreciating much, so if your getting a deal at trade in price, probably 1.5K to 2K under book price, you could easily run it for a year, and probably sell it on for either no loss or a small profit next year.

Out of interest Greg, what colour was the one your friend hired?
The one my gf hired was a yellow 02 plate IIRC, the stock 118bhp K series engined one - company seems to longer exist now though, so just curious, as had a look a few years ago for a friend who wanted to hire one, and options seemed non existent.

snooks

Most blingy thing I wear

My Tag


Most blingy thing I own

My Yacht

greg66_tri_v2.0

Daniel B wrote:

Out of interest Greg, what colour was the one your friend hired?
The one my gf hired was a yellow 02 plate IIRC, the stock 118bhp K series engined one - company seems to longer exist now though, so just curious, as had a look a few years ago for a friend who wanted to hire one, and options seemed non existent.

Sounds familiar. Yellow 111R it was. Company was based in London, I think. Can't remember the reg though.

daniel_b

Ah ok, being an R means it is 2004 at the earliest and the 190bhp Toyota engine, so not the same car.

Never driven a Yota engined one, but I hear the second cam can be quite entertaining, though an equal proportion of folks seem to prefer the drivability of the VVC engines 111S that I have.

The place we used were hiring out of Cirencester way.

Paul E

Daniel B wrote:

Ah ok, being an R means it is 2004 at the earliest and the 190bhp Toyota engine, so not the same car.

Never driven a Yota engined one, but I hear the second cam can be quite entertaining, though an equal proportion of folks seem to prefer the drivability of the VVC engines 111S that I have.

The place we used were hiring out of Cirencester way.

Quickest thing I have been in is an exige, that thing was bonkers and then even more so when presented with a corner too

lost_in_thought

So Greg, how are you coping with the transition from the legal profession to hairdressing?

greg66_tri_v2.0

lost_in_thought wrote:

So Greg, how are you coping with the transition from the legal profession to hairdressing?

It's ok. The tips are surprisingly good, and it's always nice to find out what people are planning to do with their weekends... :P

Besides. It's turbo. That means I cut men's hair, I'll have you know.


If I had been planning to track it on a regular basis I would have looked more closely at the coupe, or an Exige. But if I track it once a year, I'll be surprised, whereas the top goes down more often than something you'd find in an inappropriate metaphor.

Wheelspinner

Rolf F wrote:

As for the carbon wheels; that was a rookie error - low profile carbon is far too subtle for bling. Why buy what in reality is, for 90% of us, the functionally ideal wheel when you can buy a flashier deep section rim and get blown all over the place for the same money? And even 50mm wheels without stickers aren't really bling because we all know you got them from Carbonzone.

Who you calling a rookie? I have spending habits that in relative terms make the average African dictator look like an amateur cheapskate. Four cars, one motorcycle and 7 bicycles is just a sample of the evidence M'Lud! I already have a set of 50mm deep section carbon wheels, de-stickered Mavics, and don't like them much. My new ones (FFWD) have nice glossy clearcoat *over* the decals. I am assured they will carry my lardy butt just fine, as long as I don't attempt escape velocity runs downhill and want to stop before the pads vaporise and the tyres melt or some such. Whatever.

I like them so much I've just ordered extra spacers and a spare cassette to cannibalise so I can fit them easily to the single speed for more pointless posing.

Nice Porsche Greg66. Surely that counts as "useless" bling in the UK, with your climate???

mudcow007

Daniel B wrote:

The one my gf hired was a yellow 02 plate IIRC, the stock 118bhp K series engined one -

Didnt those K series engines have a tendency to "blow a gasket"? im pretty sure it was something to do with rubber used in the gasket would melt or crack or something...

daniel_b

mudcow007 wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

The one my gf hired was a yellow 02 plate IIRC, the stock 118bhp K series engined one -

Didnt those K series engines have a tendency to "blow a gasket"? im pretty sure it was something to do with rubber used in the gasket would melt or crack or something...

The K series engine does have this reputation, or rather it does have in Elises, however I went on a driver training day with a chap who uses one as his tuition vehicle, and that has gone over 100,000 miles, with no hgf - he believed a lot of people either do not let the engine warm up properly, and or do not let them cool down sufficiently on their way back home.

This is effectivelt the same engine as fitted in a raft f Hondas, Metro's, Rover 214/6's, and the 4 series ones as well, so it is very widely used powerplant.

I try and look after mine, we'll see how it goes........

seataltea

Am I the only person here from Yorkshire ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

veronese68

Daniel B wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

The one my gf hired was a yellow 02 plate IIRC, the stock 118bhp K series engined one -

Didnt those K series engines have a tendency to "blow a gasket"? im pretty sure it was something to do with rubber used in the gasket would melt or crack or something...

The K series engine does have this reputation, or rather it does have in Elises, however I went on a driver training day with a chap who uses one as his tuition vehicle, and that has gone over 100,000 miles, with no hgf - he believed a lot of people either do not let the engine warm up properly, and or do not let them cool down sufficiently on their way back home.

This is effectivelt the same engine as fitted in a raft f Hondas, Metro's, Rover 214/6's, and the 4 series ones as well, so it is very widely used powerplant.

I try and look after mine, we'll see how it goes........

Don't think the K series was used in Hondas. Problems arise in 1600cc and larger engines . Caused by expansion on the exhaust side of the head. The block flexing and the head moving as the plastic dowels used to hold it in place go soft.
The engine is held together by long bolts going from the head through the block to an oil rail in the sump. The fix is to use a multi layer steel gasket with steel dowels and a stiffer oil rail in the bottom. All clamped together with new bolts. The fix was developed by Land Rover for the Freelander engine. If the head is warped you use a headsaver shim that comes with the gasket.
Did it on the EPO's Rover 216 a couple of years ago. Not difficult, but access isn't a problem like it is on the Elise.

owenlars

snooks wrote:

Most blingy thing I wear

My Tag


Most blingy thing I own

My Yacht

Yacht parked outside a distillery I notice. Islay if I am not mistaken.