Car (or bike) Chat!

[Marco]

Wow - nice one, erm, Jon!

Could you please alter your profile to reflect your real name?

Anyway, that sounds like a cool plan and a lot of fun with your ST, so I hope it goes well. I understand, and to an extent agree with your point on modifications devaluing 'desirable' cars. Sometimes that's the case, but IME not when its done right, using the highest quality parts, from specialist companies well known by car enthusiasts, and which fundamentally improve a car's performance.

For me, that would not deter the right kind of buyer for the right car, in the same way as a sympathetically and professionally modified pair of vintage loudspeakers wouldn't deter a discerning hi-fi enthusiast, who ultimately values sound quality more than originality...

I mean, you're not going to tell me that the remap, bigger intercooler and improved exhaust system you're having done is going to 'devalue' your ST? Therefore, IMO, neither would a set of bigger (bad-ass black) alloy rims, from the likes of BBS...

But then, I never buy cars for investment purposes, or worry about losing money on them. I buy them to fulfil a specific purpose, mod them if necessary, and most importantly to have some fun in them, making sure I get my money's worth in the process, before (undoubtedly) eventually selling them on at a 'loss'.

But what price could I put on all the years of pleasure I've had out of the mods, in terms of how they fundamentally improved the car's performance, and just driving it in general? In that respect, I don't give a toss how much I've 'lost'. The gains, especially in terms of all the FUN I've had, completely outweigh the money I'll eventually lose. It's only money! That certainly applies with my Brabster. Anyway, keep us posted on your exploits with the ST, as we like hearing about such projects!

Marco.

[InThe Sticks]

Horses for courses with anything one is buying/selling.
Yes, some people want a ready made car with all the right bits on, but a lot don’t. Especially with anything thats becoming or is desirable. For instance, i sold my Sierra XR4x4 a short while ago which was mint and standard bar the Cosworth wheels i had on it. Some of the first questions i was asked were “do you have the original wheels and is the head unit original”.
Yes, bigger wheels/tyres and a more hi tech stereo perform better, but imo they do deduct value. A lot of value imo.
My brother sold his £3800 Capri two and half years after buying it for 12K, mainly because it was original, i.e no speaker holes cut into the parcel shelf or door cards etc. Try getting that return from money in the bank!
I bought the ST because it’s bog standard and hasn’t been mapped beyond its capability. For £350 one can get a stage 3 map installed which will (on a std car) destroy the clutch/flywheel, crack the cylinder liners and generally weaken everything else if the supporting mods aren’t done at the same time. Might be fun for the owner at the time, but you wouldn’t want to buy that car a few years later.
When it came time to sell my track car i couldn’t give it away, despite spending an eye watering amount of money on it. In the end i got 3 times my asking price by breaking it for the separate parts.
But..
As you say, you can’t put a price on the fun one has in ones car. I’ve made life long friends from all the track days, ring trips etc that i wouldn’t have done if i hadn’t chosen that path on modding that car and spending what i did.
I stopped counting at well (well) over £30K on the mods and track time/travel, but given the chance to rewind and not do it, would i..

Fuck no, just no!

Also i noticed you got some grief from some morons for modding your Merc, but as far as i’m concerned , if you’re enjoying it and not hurting anyone else, then fair play, fill your boots. We only have one (short) chance to have fun, so make the most of it and fuck the naysayers opinions.

[Marco]

Horses for courses with anything one is buying/selling.
Yes, some people want a ready made car with all the right bits on, but a lot don’t. Especially with anything thats becoming or is desirable. For instance, i sold my Sierra XR4x4 a short while ago which was mint and standard bar the Cosworth wheels i had on it. Some of the first questions i was asked were “do you have the original wheels and is the head unit original”.
Yes, bigger wheels/tyres and a more hi tech stereo perform better, but imo they do deduct value. A lot of value imo.

You're absolutely right, but it's only because some buyers are obsessed with originality (often for no logical reason), and crucially, worried about affecting the resale value of their purchase!

For me, that's not what owning cars is about, but each to his or her own, and I feel exactly the same with hi-fi equipment. Almost all my gear, both modern and vintage, has been [professionally and sympathetically] modified in some way, so as to fundamentally improve its sonic performance, and I don't give a damn if that adversely affects its resale value, because aside from anything else, chances are I'll never sell it.

I'm not a box-swapper, or for that matter a car-swapper. I like buying nice things that are a bit different from the norm, and which I consider 'punch above their weight', as it were, even as standard, then make no-brainer improvements to them, simply for my own personal satisfaction. That's just me!

And when it comes to preserving originality, yes I like certain things, particularly if they're vintage, to remain in their original condition - if that's something genuinely worth cherishing - but am not averse to buying the likes of a vintage car, which I know has been sympathetically and professionally modified or restored, providing the core parts that make it desirable are still intact.

A relevant example, in reference to audio, is my 1960s 15" Tannoy MGs, in Lockwood cabinets. The core bits which make them good/desirable (the drivers themselves and the cabinets) are still fully intact, but the internal wiring, speaker terminals and crossover components have all been replaced (and vastly improved) with the best modern components, the combination of which has MASSIVELY improved their performance.

And I see that as being exactly the same as what you're going to be doing to your ST, in a car sense, and what I've done with my Merc. Every modification undertaken has been carried out by experts, so that what's been fitted instead is fundamentally no-brainer better than what it replaced. And any car enthusiast who saw it or drove it, would know it!

Do I give a fuck whether my car or speakers (or anything else I own that's been modified) has been 'devalued' in the process? Of course not, as it's fulfilled a purpose. The subsequent cost is simply filed under fun-factor!

I'm not a collector of cars or hi-fi equipment for originality or investment. That's not my hobby. I'm a car enthusiast and music lover, so the enjoyment for me is in USING and APPRECIATING, and often not selling what I've bought. Therefore its resale value is a virtual non-issue.

As you say, you can’t put a price on the fun one has in ones car. I’ve made life long friends from all the track days, ring trips etc that i wouldn’t have done if i hadn’t chosen that path on modding that car and spending what i did.

I stopped counting at well (well) over £30K on the mods and track time/travel, but given the chance to rewind and not do it, would i..

Fuck no, just no!

Exactly, and ditto!

Aside from all the fun I've had doing up my car, I've made good friends with the mechanic [he's really rather more than just a mechanic, more of an engine-tuning/modifying specialist, writes his own software for maps, etc], and who's carried out all the work on my car to date. I met him through another friend of mine, and consequently he always looks after me really well when I want something done to my car.

He loves it that I'm as into the whole process of judiciously modifying cars as he is, extracting every last ounce of performance, and crucially love doing a job RIGHT, and it costing what it costs, rather than carrying out bodges on the cheap, which he loathes. He actively discourages having customers with that type of mentality!

Basically, he's one of these guys who's a complete perfectionist/diehard enthusiast, and so takes a real pride in his work. I've sat and watched him up close and know what he's about, plus I've experienced the fundamental improvements to my car his advice and skills have resulted in, so for me it'a all win-win...

And everyone who's driven my car, or been a passenger in it, has commented on it being a 'rocket ship', but a safe one, as it handles brilliantly - and that's largely because of how well balanced it is, as a result of the modifications (both Brabus and those I've had carried out), especially the important bits you don't see!

Trust me, it wouldn't have been capable of that level of performance when it originally left the Merc factory, as a standard C350 CDI Elegance..... But you know that yourself from having done similar things to other cars.

On our recent holiday to France and Italy, where I'd taken the car, numerous people took pictures of it, or stopped to admire it where it was parked [I watched them from across the road, whilst having a drink or a meal at a bar or restaurant], or if I was with the car, asked me what it was, if they were unaware of Brabus [often folk are familiar with AMG, but not Brabus], or how exactly the car had been modified. And in terms of that, well when I bought the car secondhand for £16k, just under three years ago, the previous owner had spent nearly the same amount on fitting it with Brabus parts!!

I have all the original receipts from the Mercedes dealership who carried out the modification work. It was all sorts, including bespoke alloy wheels, exhaust system, sports suspension, engine tuning, steering wheel, illuminated gear-shift stick [see below], door fobs, floor mats, illuminated door sills and sports control pedals [see below] and more! All original Brabus parts.





Me being me though, and wanting to push the envelope further, I replaced some of them for items from other specialist manufacturers I considered were better [e.g. wheels and stainless-steel quad exhaust system] and got good money for the Brabus ones, the sale of which partly funded the cost of their replacements.

The best was the D6 'tuning box', I replaced with a bespoke remap, which in the end produced far superior results. I made a packet from that, simply because of the Brabus badge!

Also i noticed you got some grief from some morons for modding your Merc, but as far as i’m concerned , if you’re enjoying it and not hurting anyone else, then fair play, fill your boots. We only have one (short) chance to have fun, so make the most of it and fuck the naysayers opinions.

Spot on again. I give less than the slightest flying fuck what said morons think; in fact much of their clueless bile is beyond comical!

But I won't go there, as it would give those inadequates the satisfaction of acknowledging their pitiful existence.

Marco.

[Batty]

Bought the wife an ex demo Mazda 3 Maxx Sport 2 litre last week, Nov 18 build with 2065 km on the clock.
NIce car with way too many toys.

[Marco]

Nice one, Steve. I quite like Mazdas, especially the engines

Marco.

[Batty]

We have 3 Mazda 3s atm
Mine is a 2006 2.0 Maxx Sport manual, The wife's old one is a 2006 SP23 auto plus the new one which is also auto.
Mine is going in for some work, so I'll be driving the SP23 for a while, once mine is done, the SP23 will be going to the step son as I prefer manual.

[Pigmy Pony]

Prior to the Honda Civic we had a Mazda 323 2.0 sport, and that car (we had it for 4 years) never missed a beat. And it was so quiet, when at lights you couldn't hear it running. I bet I could have stood a 50p on the engine while ticking over, no problem. We would probably have gone for another Mazda, but this was eight years ago and I didn't like the way the newer ones looked.

Mazda MX5 was voted most reliable car by Which? readers.

[struth]

bought this one new.. an octavia top spec. was a superb motor.

[IMG]5 by , on Flickr[/IMG]

[Marco]

Skoda's are good cars now, essentially VWs!

Marco.

[struth]

Skoda's are good cars now, essentially VWs!

Marco.

yeah, it was much higher rated than the equ vw etc at time. build quality was very good, and everything worked as it should. alas the wife had another bad turn and was pretty much bed bound and it wasnt doing enough mileage so i moved it and had to take a hit. Biggish Deisels need to be run enough to stop them going wrong.