ChrisW
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 10:34 AM |
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Road car - to modify or replace?
Faced with a difficult choice re: my road car (a 95M 306 Cabrio with 92k on the clock). I'm thinking of taking out a loan for £6k which will
either get me...
1. 2000W Cabrio, leather, power hood, 30k on the clock.
2. 3.0 V6 engine & gearbox transplant (with <30k) from a 406 coupe (210bhp), 4 pot brakes & coupe master cylinder, uprated shocks, 2nd hand
leather interior, 2000 spec bonnet and headlights, and a 'blow over' to make the paint look new again.
Keep in mind the new cabrios only have a 1.8 in them (mine is a 2.0 8v).
I'm basing this on owning the car 3 years and therefore assuming both options will cost me roughly the same over that time.
Chris
My gaff my rules
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Terrapin_racing
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 10:45 AM |
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Chris, the modification will give you the most fun if you plan on keeping the car long term. However, if you come to sell it don't expect a
rush. Most people stay clear of other peoples mods.
Best investment would be newer cabr.
Just my views
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200mph
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 10:47 AM |
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will you be able to do without your car while its in the garage getting everything fixed?
plus, there will be problems, lots of them. There always are.
am probably 50:50 on that one,
cheers
Mark
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ijohnston99
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 10:54 AM |
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Peugeot Ecosse have done a few of these
Unless you fancy the technical challenge of doing the conversion. I'd look at buying one already done. Less hassle and less cash, and you can
drive it now!
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ned
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 11:02 AM |
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i would keep well clear of modding it. you're insurance will go up - a lot, it will loose all resale value - you'd probably have to break
it to get the money back when it comes to selling it. get a new car - does it have to be a pug cabrio? you could get a lot more nicer things that
would be faster for the money you're talking about. does it have to be a cabrio or just coupe?
will the cabrio with no roof be rigid or safe enough for a big v6. are you planing on seam welding the engine bay?
all imho.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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nick205
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 11:07 AM |
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Chris,
A couple of thoughts....
1. How well will the cabrio's chassis cope with nearly twice the power?
I haven't driven one, so don't know how stiff they are to start with by the way.
2. As mentioned above, conversions are always problematic, usually never fully finished, immediately worth less than they cost and can be hard to sell
on.
Other than that go for it - it would be a beast of car.
Nick
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 11:16 AM |
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get an alfa,you know it makes sence
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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JoelP
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 01:13 PM |
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leave the v6 in the 406 exec, and keep it! u know that makes sense!
i sold an R reg (1997) 406 v6 exec with 77k last week for £1625, admittedly to a friend, but market value was only realistically up to 2k. Bear in
mind that that version is only 197bhp though. Still a glorious drive though!
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 01:55 PM |
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you will end up with an old unstandard car....
get the W one
atb
steve
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timf
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 02:26 PM |
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of course chris you could do somthing really daft like build a small opentoped car which is nimble and exiting to drive like say a locost
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 03:04 PM |
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who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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ChrisW
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 03:43 PM |
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To answer a few questions...
1. The standard chassis flexes a fair bit. Not as bad as the old Escorts and similar but it's certainly not as rigid as the hatchback. It
doesn't bother me really - I'll have the Viento for the back roads and this to get me to work and road and about the rest of the time.
2. I appreciate with the mods I'll loose the money straight away whereas buying newer means I loose it over time. If I keep the car for 3-4
years I expect to be in the same position whichever route I take
3. I can do without the car for a month and drive my other half's Fiesta. She's not passed her test yet
4. Insurance - £187 increase based on this year's premium (£787 as opposed to £600). £81 to pay to take me to the end of this year's
policy then I'll have another years NCB (hopefully!). Not bad at all me thinks!
5. I'm not going to convert it myself so hopefully a lot of the problems have been thought about already. Thought of using Ecosse but
they're a bit far away so have been speaking to Pug Performance (www.pug-performance.co.uk). They've done 6 so far this year and looking
at the one in their workshop their work is top class. Looks like Peugeot put it in there themselves! Should also help resell if I do decide to sell
it as I'll have a receipt for the work from a well known Pug specialist.
6. What else could I buy for £10k? Really want a cabriolet, 4 seats, reasonably reliable (for the daily drive to work). All I can think of is the
old shape Audi Cabrio, a Saab 9-3 Convertible (ugly as hell!) or a (rare) RX-7 soft top, or one of the old Porsches (worried about reliability).
Failing that, I've always fancied a Skyline but £10k is a bit cheap and they're a nightmare to get serviced.
Any more comments/suggestions/votes?
Chris
My gaff my rules
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ned
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 04:04 PM |
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older celica soft top
astra convertible/coupe
still thinking..
Ned.
mr2
punto
[Edited on 25/3/04 by ned]
beware, I've got yellow skin
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ChrisW
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 05:04 PM |
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I thought u were on the side of replacing it Ned? So far you're suggestions of alternatives are not doing a very good job of persuading me!!
Chris
My gaff my rules
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ned
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 05:10 PM |
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ok then, the v6 will be less fuel efficient, a 1.8 on a newer car will get you better mpg and reduce your running costs, then there's the
insurance increase. you're more likely to get pulled cruising if they see you have a modded motor too. a new standard motor would be much more
discreet.
I would also disagree with your theory that after 3 years a w reg cabrio would be worth the same as an m/n? reg cabrio which is heavily modded.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 05:37 PM |
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just get an alfa,you know you want to
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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ChrisW
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 06:53 PM |
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Just an expensive Punto Conrod!!
Chris
My gaff my rules
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chrisg
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 07:04 PM |
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I thought you worked in IT Chris?
I had no idea you were a hairdresser.....................  
Cheers
Porsche drivin' man
Note to all: I really don't know when to leave well alone. I tried to get clever with the mods, then when they gave me a lifeline to see the
error of my ways, I tried to incite more trouble via u2u. So now I'm banned, never to return again. They should have done it years ago!
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 25/3/04 at 09:08 PM |
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my grandad used to be an mot tester.
He told me that he saw no end of wrecks that had hi fi and improvements worth more than the car!
So, if you take a 3k car, and add 3k of mods to it, cos its unstd it prob worth less than you started with.
not a good investment, but if you do it for you and keep it years (which yer prob wont) you will get the value.
atb
steve
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ned
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| posted on 26/3/04 at 09:58 AM |
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bmw 3 series convertible, golf convertible (was thinking on the train on way in this morning)
does it have to be a 4 seater/2+2 as the rear seats must be tiny and not very useful for your mates. supra targa top?
also, your situation might change and you might want to change your car within 3 years.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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