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Sept 16, 2016 14:49:02 GMT
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We used to have an Audi A2 which isn't retro but has a massive fan base due to the Aluminum chassis and fuel sipping engines - maybe as a definite future classic that would be a good starting point for spares specialism. Or is one model too niche? You could spread the risk over two models, but then you'd be less able to buy inventory for the same cash, not to mention the space. It's hard to say which model to pick, but the A2 is not a bad shout, it's already sort of a cult car, I think they're fascinating personally, I love both these and the A8. You do want to pick a niche model, there's no point trying to compete with something already well catered for, like Fords or MX5s, there are people who do that really well. Better to be the big fish in the small pond. THE guy for one model, just like now there are people who only do parts for Triumph TRs or RWD Alfas, which is niche, but on a global level, a sustainable business. You won't get rich, but it could be a nice top up to your income, while being involved with the retro community. I think you also need to weigh up how well a model will be supported by the manufacturer in future. Some manufacturers are brilliant with heritage, some are truly awful. For example, with Mercedes, you could probably almost still buy parts for a Daimler Patent Wagen so there would be less demand for a specialists unless they can undercut on price, but Toyota like I mentioned discontinue and clear out things very rapidly so parts for AE86s and starlets, especially trim and bodywork are sought after. I'm not sure what VAG are like, because I've limited exposure to their cars, but that's worth weighing up too.
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Last Edit: Sept 16, 2016 14:49:24 GMT by crankcase
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Sept 16, 2016 13:18:00 GMT
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Fill a barn with cars and you just end up one of those mad old fellas with a barn full cars looking sorry for themselves that everyone just thinks is a crying shame.
One thing that I think could be a low physical work business to supplement a pension (again, this is a low key business, not an investment in the conventional sense), if you had a large, dry shed, would be to pick a specific marque or even model of car or motorcycle that may have a following in time, but isn't massively catered to already, and do you your homework on it, then buy as many parts cheaply as you can. Dealers having a clearout of old stock especially, but also auto jumbles or buying cars that aren't worth repairing to break. Carefully catalogue each part, seperating new-old-stock from used. Refurbish the used parts to a saleable quality and wait til you've built up a comprehensive range of parts.
Then, as your regular career is winding down, you could then start trading. Parts can sit on your shelf for years, but if you're the go-to guy and deliver good service, including international shipping, someone will want those parts. There is an element of risk of course, but I think it could be a low day to day cost, and low physical work business once you've got a nice inventory of parts which you would top over time.
It'd probably be a better steady money maker and actually be a great contribution to the retro community if done right, helping people keep cars on the road in a few years. A lot of cars that aren't even that old, like 80s toyotas can be quite hard to get good parts for, and some parts can be surprisingly expensive as a result.
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Last Edit: Sept 16, 2016 13:18:54 GMT by crankcase
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Sept 16, 2016 11:16:03 GMT
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Cars are rarely an investment except at the top end, and usually that's just people getting lucky, like buy a Ferrari 250 GTO when values were much lower.
Even if you had a car that was worth very little, and worth 10k in five years, it would be offset by having to store it. Even if storage is "free", you still need to look after the car. If you don't use it.. which would be a shame, it can be worst than actually using it, stuff decays quite alarmingly in anything other than perfect conditions. If you do use it, you need to replace bits. It all adds up.
To me the best you can usually hope for is breaking even overall having had the enjoyment of owning it.
Maybe as a retirement hobby/business, where you buy things, put a bit of work into them and sell on, you might supplement a pension as an ongoing thing if you were physically able to, but the idea that you can buy these and sit on them like property/shares/bonds doesn't really work out.
I think a lot of people are buying classics due to low interests rates, simply because their savings aren't doing much and may as well enjoy themselves now.
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Sept 15, 2016 16:36:25 GMT
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^^ this exactly Good MX5 NA's are now hard to find and thin on the ground,i spent three months finding a good one.There are a lot that look ok on photos but are absolute dogs when you get up close and personal and won't be long for the road. Agree with this, just in the process of getting my 97 MK1 Eunos 1.8 B2 Limited on the road after a year of it being off the road. It needed sills doing and some minor bits, and the classic bodyshop that did it said it was by far the most solid one he'd seen in a long time! That should give an idea how many are rustbuckets. MX5s are going to go very rapidly from "common as muck" to where did they all go, and don't think you can just move up the years to a MK2 either, they're worse due to the double skinned chassis rails rotting from the inside out. Get a solid one though and they're just pure joy. Not just in terms of being fun to drive, but how easy they are to own in terms of getting parts or tapping into other peoples knowledge. There's no wrong answer to the original question, both the MX5 and Sierra are cool in their own way, but I think the MX5 is a car we just take for granted. It's only when you spend a lot of time around them, picking up on the little details of them you realize how much thought went into them, I mean they didn't need to give such a cheap sports car an aluminium bonnet, but they did.
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The 3rd gen MR2 has the option of an SMT box (sequential manual transmission), which is an robotised manual gearbox with actual cogs rather than a slushmatic, so probably suits enthusiastic driving better. It's the next best thing to having a clutch pedal. The thing is its one of those early single clutch ones, so won't probably won't be smooth in its changes (I had a manual one). Research 1zz oil consumption / premature wear / pre-cats before buying one though.
Surely a Smart Roadster would be worth considering if you're looking for a small automatic/semi-automatic sports car?
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Thoroughly recommend them. Owned 2 mk1's so far, and the first one we kept for 3 years. Reckon you'd need some patience with a 2 seater and it was your daily Use mine as a daily and occasionally as a trackday toy, it's my only car but does both things brilliantly. Here's a pic alongside a Suzuki Cappucino
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I have these same wheels on my MK2 MX5, they came with the car, but I have no idea what they are. What are these called? who makes them? If anyone knows it'd be greatly appreciated! Quite like them but they're a bit rough looking so have been weighing up refurbing them vs. getting something else,.
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Managed to blag an extended test drive of a 2.8 V6 version a few months ago, and was expecting to be underwhelmed, but came away really, really impressed. I figured the 2.8 would be weedy in such a big car, but it felt surprisingly sprightly. I also expected nasty FWD torque steer, lacking quattro, but no, it steered nicely. I was pretty impressed with the handling, really nimble for a car its size (this coming from someone who drives an MX5), and the gearbox is so flexible and smooth, you can see why they never bothered offer a manual in the UK. There's a real sense of rigidity to the car, no sense of it being shaken by b road bumps. Really liked it, and if I could justify two cars, I think I'd have bought it. It was a particularly well looked after example, but I reckon, go for it, even the 2.8 is good.
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Congrats on the purchase. My advice is keep a close eye on the oil level, even when working as they should, the 1zz likes to consume oil apparently (though mine didn't use much post rebuild) and save for a 2zz engine swap (or maybe a Camry V6 if you're so inclined)
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Mar 22, 2011 21:21:16 GMT
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I used to own one of these, not sure I'd wholeheartedly reccomend one though, had a real love-hate relationship with it! The good bits are light weight, ride, handling, steering and brakes. Proper mid engined handling, you won't find better this side of an Elise (I've driven an exige by comparison) but very friendly with it. Mild understeer if pushed hard, but unlike a lot of mid engine cars, you can hang the tail out a little on the exit without ending up in the ditch. It rides quite well too, I'm drivng an NB MX5 1.8 RS now and it's not as compliant over bumpy roads. Depending on spec, these can weigh less than 1000kg so feels lively enough off the line despite the weedy 138bhp engine, which sounds curse word and doesn't feel particularly special, though adding a TTE/Remus exhaust does improve things. The steering is great, it's extremely light, but if you're tuned into its subtlety it provides quite accurate and detailed feedback. Does tend to follow cambers in the road, but not a problem if you're awake. The cabin is comfortable and spacious, plain and functional but very pleasant, great driving position, more room than an MX5. Standard brakes are great, at least on road. Overall, it's massive fun and hugely under rated as a drivers car. ..but now the bad. The horror stories you hear about premature engine wear are absolutely true and not entirely down to the precat thing either. The pre-cat issue is merely something that aggravates an underlying issue with the engine design of these cars. Sometimes the pre-cats do break up of their own accord, but mine failed without any evidence of pre-cat breakdown. Toyota specified the 1zz engine with under-sized piston rings to enable easy break in. Unfortunately this can lead on some cars, to excessive oil consumption, cylider liner breakdown and engine failure. To aggravate things further, this can contribute to pre-cat wear, which causes engine wear, creating a vicious circle. You'll hear a lot of contradictory stories on the internet, because it's not a simple issue, but rather, an overall design flaw of the 1zz short block that was corrected around 2002/2003. My advice is either to not buy pre-2003, or get one that's already had an engine rebuild with new liners/piston rings, etc. or had its short block replaced (available exchange re-con from toyota for about €3k, I'm in the republic of Ireland so can't tell you the sterling cost, check locally) I also had to have the gearbox rebuilt later, but this is probably not typical of these cars. It gave me the opportunity to fit a proper TRD 1.5 way LSD which makes the car even more fun, which brings me to another thing to be aware of, UK vs. JDM spec. UK cars tend to be better specced, with a Torsen LSD as standard not all JDM cars did, especially early models. Bear in ming though that a Torsen LSD never locks, just redistributes torque, it does a pretty good job but a proper mechanical LSD is better so I wouldn't stress too much over having a JDM spec car with an open diff. Even with an open diff, there is lots of traction, and you can always add a superior aftermarket item. It also lacks much in the way of storage space, cubbyholes behind the seats but they are so utterly awkward to use as to be completely useless. Also, if you have a puncture, there is a space saver in the front, but nowhere to put the full size wheel other than in the passenger seat, it won't fit where the space saver normally lives. These sort of impracticalities get a little tedious in something that is supposed to be an everyday roadster, I'd forgive it in something more hardcore like an Elise or Caterham, but these things are just daft. An MX5 is much easier to live with. To summarise, it's a bit different, loadsa fun, but potential engine issues and impracticality means that unless you are absolutely dead set on having a mid-engined car, there is nothing to reccomend it over an MX5. It's not significantly faster, it's harder to live with and there's less aftermarket/tuning support. Some pics (sorry they're a bit small)...
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Jun 18, 2009 14:17:37 GMT
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Howdy, another Irish member, the best Irish site to advertise it on would be www.octane.ie bound to get some interest there.
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Last Edit: Jun 18, 2009 14:18:17 GMT by crankcase
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That's brilliant! I'm in Ireland myself, living in north west Dublin. Ring of Kerry is a nice drive! The nearby healy pass is regarded as a fantastic driving road too. If you want to raise awareness of these runs locally, feel free to post up a thread on www.octane.ie
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From personal experience, these are epic fun: AW11 Toyota MR2 - a little prone to swapping ends, but that makes it fun, keeps you on your toes! Peugeot 205 GTI - most fun FWD car I've ever driven, FWD can oversteer! Nissan 180sx/200sx/Silvia S13 - sideways fun, S14 is supposed to be even better but I've not driven one. Cheaper than an AE86 and realistically, with more power and torque, a far easier car to begin drifting, if thats your thing MX5 - you just can't go wrong with these really. ZZW30 MR2 (mk3/spyder) - despite the hairdresser image, I reckon its the best chassis of all MR2s. Not retro, but getting very cheap now. Just do some research on "oil consumption issues" and "precats" before considering purchase, especially on 2002 or earlier cars. Alfa 75 T-Spark - most beautifully balanced and neutral chassis of any car I've ever driven. A Lotus Exige is the most fun thing I've ever driven, but I think thats a bit beyond the reach of most of us here!
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Apr 22, 2009 12:29:22 GMT
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Sarah Cracknell - Anymore ...features an Alfa Bertone Coupe and s couple of other retro motors I don't recognise. Morris Oxford I think, and a retro scooter too. Anyone spot and recognise what they are?
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La Roux = awesome. Some more... Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive. Beastie boys - Sabotage Lush - 500
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Last Edit: Apr 22, 2009 7:27:01 GMT by crankcase
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the CA18DET is just a SR20 with less displacement, SR20 is a different generation of engine, CA18 is more closely related to the RB engines found in the Nissan Skyline R32 onwards, but with two less cylinders. The reason all the mountings are the same is both found their way into the S13 180sx/200sx (and silvia too I think), early JDM and uk spec cars had CA18s, but the JDM cars got SR20DETs, like the 180sx I used to own. Power is similar but the CA18 is iron block and the SR20 is alloy block, making the SR20 lighter. The SR20 is generally regarded as being a bit more reliable and robust for tuning purposes.
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I borrowed this for a few weeks from a friend while my MR2 was off the road (still is, but I'm driving a borrowed Citroen GS at the moment, talk about a contrast!) It's a 2 litre executive model. It's got decent performance, handles OK, but not what you'd call fun. Comfortable, spacious and reliable, can probably take more abuse than the average euro repmobile. They start to get a little more interesting if you look to the JDM equivalent badged the Caldina. The GT-T version has the turbo engine and running gear from the Celica GT4 I believe
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Welcome crankcase those new MR2's are fun just like the oldies Thanks for the welcome The new MR2s are indeed great fun. The original MK1 was my childhood dream car and having had the wonderful opportunity to compare both the new and original MR2 (a JDM Super Charger version no less) and its clear the mk3 is one the of the few relatively modern cars that captures much of what made the retro version great while improving on it further. If only they had a super charger. ;D But the trick is knowing which 100 quid tat cars will be 5 grands worth of win in 10 years time. I kinda wish I'd bought Corolla AE86 10 years ago, though prices have dropped here compared to the madness of 3 years ago when they were selling for €10,000 in some cases! Bedford Rascal TWO MR2's and a Camry!! Go figure?? You have no idea how envious I am of that collection. Thats like my dream garage, right there.
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Mar 19, 2009 15:27:48 GMT
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Hi, I'm one of those lurking everyday, never posting members. Gotta say I love this site. I've got something fun, but not "retro", a 2000 JDM Toyota MR-S (MR2), which is currently off the road awaiting a gearbox rebuild. (Currently getting around in a friends 1996 Carina E, does that count as retro or just old? haha) I'd love to buy something retro cool with back seats to cruise around in, sadly I'm living in the republic of Ireland which has an insanely expensive road tax system even compared to the UK and incredibly blinkered insurers who don't do multi-car policies or let you use your no-claims on a second car, which makes owning a second car, even a cheap shed, prohibitively expensive. ..but I'm not here to moan, we still have rolling exemption on classics here, provided its over thirty years old and can get cheap classic insurance on most stuff over 20 years old. As soon as I get my gearbox sorted, I'm gonna try and get some cash together for 30 year old (or small engined 20 year old) classic and join the retro fun.
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