Practically Classics Forum

thanks terry! love the estate wifey wants lhd..... my budget for the new car is €0.00.... ive been looking at ford ranger/mazda pickups but until i get a regular run of work, all cars are off the list..
meanwhile i was drooling over this..
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

I suspect if you look on ebay.de you will find an e30 325i with the steering wheel on the wrong side for a bargain price.
What happened to the tranny tipper you have? have you killed it already?

tranny tipper is working fine, though it lacks seats, last year when van galaxy broke wifey would ride in the back of the van or take mr 2 & kids would ride in the van with me..

Have you had a look at the crew cab version? they are surprisingly nice to drive, the 2.4tdci is quite a nice engine.

liking the crew cab tranny but im looking for a second car..wifey wants to be able to drive it when we get rid of the galaxy or when its broken... any love for the nissan xtrail thing chaps?

rich. wrote:.....any love for the nissan xtrail thing chaps?

No straight male should ever be seen in an Xtrail. They're Nissans, so they probably work well enough unless they share the gutless and surprisingly troublesome 1500cc 3 cylinder Diesel engine found in the Cashcow, Dacia Duster, various Renaults and the Mercedes A class but seriously, just buy a Figaro and have it painted pink because that would be a cheaper way of putting across the same message.


Rich, are you after something newish and modern or oldish and with a retro/classic vibe going on?
If the former then just find something that fits and shop around for one in a colour that you can live with, if the latter then buy something that doesn't have loads of serious rust and whose dynamo or alternator isn't too difficult to change.

If you are looking at a 2nd car then I still vote E30 325 touring (or a 316 if you can't afford to put fuel in and can tolerate the 0-60 time being measured on a calendar). If they are looked after they are bomb proof. Even treated like a banger reviving them is not difficult or overly expensive.

TerryG wrote:If you are looking at a 2nd car then I still vote E30 325 touring (or a 316 if you can't afford to put fuel in and can tolerate the 0-60 time being measured on a calendar). If they are looked after they are bomb proof. Even treated like a banger reviving them is not difficult or overly expensive.

He's got a very good point there, Rich, and hardly anyone will mistake you for a hairdresser or someone who's otherwise good with colours if you drive about in a BMW, especially not if it's an E30, one of their most tasteful efforts ever though forget the 316, far too low geared (to enhance its acceleration ) so economy suffers. A 320 can be far more efficient and they have an economy gauge to make you a paranoid, gibbering wreck!

im looking for something cheap & cheerful loads of space,loads of seats, reliable, cheap to run with sliding doors & pop up headlights & i can jump in & drive 800km & not have square bum syndrome after 5km can also be used for towing mini diggers etc, does about 200mph & 500mpg.. im not fussy.. oh and did i mention reliable??
have considered a figaro, but registering them is about €2500..

rich. wrote: im looking for something cheap & cheerful loads of space,loads of seats, reliable, cheap to run with sliding doors & pop up headlights & i can jump in & drive 800km & not have square bum syndrome after 5km can also be used for towing mini diggers etc, does about 200mph & 500mpg.. im not fussy.. oh and did i mention reliable??
have considered a figaro, but registering them is about €2500..

A phase 1 Volvo V70 meets most of those criteria, except the pop-up headlights which you'll only want if you're gay. And it won't rust. Ever.

In fact I think it meets the criteria better than any BMW, but then I would say that as I have one .....