It has all gone too far.

[Pete-M]

Way too far. I really must stop buying cars just because 'they're there', 'because I'd be daft not to' or 'because I fancied a change'. Dug out an old CAR magazine to read the P38 road test and on the cover is the new Range Rover and the new Jag XJ. Featured inside are the two new releases, road tests of both and a group test with the Rangie and a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

 

Makes me grin having the set, but it's a sign that I really must cut down.

 

Problem is, which ones go?

 

The XJR I used tonight for the first time this week, it's still bloody immense, and a truly brilliant thing, but it's not as useful as the Jeep or the Rangie as it doesn't have a tow bar, the boot isn't brilliant and it'll need rear shocks soon so there's no chance of just shoving a towbar on it and using it 'as is' for a while. I need to fix the dodgy connection in the radio that's stopping the cd changer from working. It could do with some cosmetic work around the rear arches and the headlining is beginning to sag. It'll need rear tyres soon. 13-25 mpg is normal.

 

The Jeep has a towbar and LPG, but the boot is shite. It'll pull things remarkably cheaply and well, but it's not quick at all and only it's really happy at 65ish on the motorway. Above that it gets a bit crude. It needs the exhaust manifold welding up (they all do that), the aircon fixing and the tracking sorted. The stereo is fantastic, the best of the lot, the seats are comfy but it's not at all quick and the boot is useless because of the LPG tank and spare wheel living in there. There's no rot on it and it's only done 121,000 miles. 14-21 mpg is normal, but because of the LPG it's the equivalent of 25-40 mpg ish.

 

The Range Rover is by far the quietest of the three. It's quicker than the Jeep, has a massive boot, no rust, a newish engine, is the best towing vehicle I can think of, but it's less wieldy than the Jeep around town (better on the motorway or A roads) and is unlikely to be as reliable as either the Jag or Jeep. 12-19 mpg seems to be about right for it. I would consider converting it to LPG provided I can do it without losing much boot space. A toroidal tank in the spare wheel well may be the way. It just means carrying a spare wheel on long trips. The stereo isn't bad, but the drivers door rattles along with the bass when the window is closed. Which is annoying. The aircon needs regassing.

 

The 604 is still in bits at the welders so I can't do anything with it at the moment anyway. Once it's done I'll do whatever it takes to MOT it, run it for a short while then it'll quite probably have to go. A shame, but I really can't think of a use for it at the moment. If I can sell a couple of the cars above, the 604 may get pressed into daily use for a while. Problem is, it doesn't have a towbar, won't do much more to the gallon than the XJR and although it should be damn comfy it's a bit oddball to use as a daily. More of a toy. I've got enough toys.

 

I think the above cars are each individually worth around £1500. So don't know what to do.

 

The Mondeo is a good car. Not quick (probably on a par with the Jeep), not brilliant on fuel - 28-40 mpg so about the same to run as the Jeep, doesn't have a towbar, but does have good aircon and a half decent stereo. It's comfy enough and handles pretty well. It's just not me, so I suppose I shouild get rid of it. I've still not got around to VIC checking the bloody thing though so buyers aren't exactly queuing up. I really should do that.

 

I'll take £500 for it if someone turns up waving cash. Cheap for a 53 plate. It's out on loan to someone, but due back tomorrow probably so if you're interested, PM me.

 

 

Doesn't help much as I need a tow car, and a 4x4 is a very useful bit of kit to me especially if it's something that'll do 2200 miles in a week towing a trailer next spring. The Jeep is the sensible car to keep as it'd more likely than not piss it, but it's not a car I love. It's just a tool. A useful bit of kit, and probably the sensible one to keep, but all the time I've had it I've been scanning ebay and the autotrader looking for something more fun. Something like the XJR. That's the car that makes me grin just looking at it. It's the one I don't want to get rid of.

 

WTF to do? if I advertise the lot then whatever goes I'll regret getting rid because they've all got their own individual charm (the Mondeo is just a car, I'm not including it in this bit), and I doubt any of them will ever be worth significantly less than they are now. They're all languishing in the "Autoshite" zone and at the bottom of that curve I always miss the 'rise' on. I buy cars when they're as cheap as they'll ever be, then flog 'em just before they get sought after.

 

Arrgh. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking like this.

[scooters]

You have a case of Compulsive Heap Buying Syndrome. There is no known cure. All you can do is embrace your condition and remember that your fleet when added together costs less to buy than a 3 year old Golf and cheaper to run together than the depreciation on a new 3 series. Just remember that even my wife reminds me.

 

Embrace your problem.

[scooters]

Furthermore...like a catholic or a calvanist..you feel guilty because you do something that society has always said is bad and a waste of money despite the raw logic actually justifying it. Recognuse that and you will reach the path of true enshitelment gwasshopper....

 

Your inspiration should be Grand Master Bickle.

 

You are a shitter of many years experience but even the best of us.has wobblys.

 

Remember....its ok to talk..

[Danblez]

I say get rid of the least practical 4x4.

 

Then you have the perfect fleet, the workhorse, the hooligan car and the toy.

 

Obviously the mondeo should go too, but that goes without saying.

[Spottedlaurel]

You're not the only one. I have four cars taxed, MoTed, insured and thoroughly useable. Three of them are 4dr saloons which arguably all do exactly the same job.

 

The Laurel stays because it's a lovely old thing, and if I sold it then I'd probably find it hard (i.e. too expensive) to get back into RWD Japanese car ownership. I would never want to use that as my daily long-term, so there'll always be a need for something else.

 

The Camry estate stays because it's the perfect daily - reliable, great drive, OK on fuel, huge boot and it's got a towbar. I cannot imagine a better car for my purposes right now.

 

This leaves the V6 and the Sport. The former still needs fettling, but it'll probably be worth bugger all whether I do that or not so I may as well keep it and enjoy its thirsty charms and get it how I'd like it. As remaining examples come off the road due to neglect, thirst and MR2 engine donation it'll probably be quite rare one day, the equivalent of a Crown. I can insure it as a classic, so that one stays for now.

 

Which regrettably leaves the Sport. As muttered in the news thread, it sailed through its MoT and is in utterly useable condition, a real pleasure to drive. It's probably more 'dynamic' than my others and is ideal for track days, but I can't justify the expense of another car especially when it's so similar-but-different to the others. The shame is it's already a fairly rare car, and again will undoubtedly become very scarce in the next few years such that I might not be able to find another, but I can't keep them all. There are other cars I want to sample...

 

As a result of the above, forthcoming insurance renewal and the new MoT means the Sport is going on Autotrader and wherever else in the next few days.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Let's start with the basics...I think it would be stupid to get rid of the 604- even if you manage to avoid losing money on it, you aren't going to get back the time and effort invested in its recommissioning. Plus I think prices are already trending upwards, so you may miss an opportunity by selling too early.

 

As Danblez said, there is no real reason for you to keep the Rage Rover. You've already got a towing/off-road vehicle in the Jeep, and that comes with the benefit of reasonable fuel consumption due to the LPG. You don't need to love a crap-hauling machine.

 

If you do like the Jag that much, you should keep that one, too. You have the Jeep for heavy-duty jobs and, compared to insurance and repairs/maintainance, fuel consumption is immaterial unless you do tens of thousands of miles per year, in which case it's time for an LPG conversion.

 

On the other hand, if you like the XJR primarily because of speed and comfort (as opposed to quirkiness and slightly overdone interior), I am sure that there used to be some stupidly quick version of the Legacy estate. Alright, the suspension may be a bit stiffer, but it would allow you to get rid of the Jeep, too, without sacrificing much in terms of either speed or utility.

[Pete-M]

As Danblez said, there is no real reason for you to keep the Rage Rover. You've already got a towing/off-road vehicle in the Jeep, and that comes with the benefit of reasonable fuel consumption due to the LPG. You don't need to love a crap-hauling machine.

 

Thing is, if I was going to pick one between the Jeep and the Rangie, it'd be the Rangie. Which means I'll have to convert it to LPG. It would be a far better tow vehicle, and I do use the 'workhorse' far more often than anything else.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

In that case, get rid of both of them and buy a Legacy.

[Cavcraft]

Know exactly what you mean Pete and another clearout is due here too.

[Pete-M]

In that case, get rid of both of them and buy a Legacy.

 

I would have a Legacy Turbo Estate, one of the very few Jap cars I'd ever consider, but it's no replacement for a Range Rover or Jeep. Nice car the Legacy, but I don't want a manual tow car as I much prefer autos for towing. The Legacy auto box is made from toffee so that's the end of that idea. Check ebay and all you'll find is dead auto Legacy Turbo imports. I've kept an eye on the things for years. The interior in them is shit as, which doesn't help, and they don't have self-levelling suspension so they're not ideal tow cars.

 

Towing with a manual box is for suckers. It's just making work for yourself needlessly.

[ashmicro]

What about an X Type? Mine's bloody brilliant, for a tenth of what Kate paid for the 911. Here's one a mate got a couple of weeks ago:

 

 

Bog basic 2.1 V6, FWD, manual with 130k miles, but a years test.

 

 

I know that a Jaaaaag without leather is about as wrong as a neon Bible, but for £1500 you can't go wrong.

[Pete-M]

What about an X Type? Mine's bloody brilliant, for a tenth of what Kate paid for the 911. Here's one a mate got a couple of weeks ago:

 

If I'm gonna go for an X-type, it'll have to be a 3.0 estate, and they're not in the £1500 range at the moment!

[ashmicro]

You'll be lucky to find a 3 litre estate at any price, the things are like hens teeth. I had a lot of hunting to do to get my 'loon. It is brilliant, though. All the grip and grunt of an Impreza, but without the wank interior. You can drive it like a maniac and it performs, or you can waft along and it's relaxing. My father has an S Type R and it'll go even more mental, yet it has that unique Jaguar thing of being a calm place until you put your boot down, and then all hell breaks loose. It's dreadful on fuel no matter how you drive, so you might as well cane it.

[Pete-M]

You'll be lucky to find a 3 litre estate at any price, the things are like hens teeth. I had a lot of hunting to do to get my 'loon. It is brilliant, though. All the grip and grunt of an Impreza, but without the wank interior. You can drive it like a maniac and it performs, or you can waft along and it's relaxing. My father has an S Type R and it'll go even more mental, yet it has that unique Jaguar thing of being a calm place until you put your boot down, and then all hell breaks loose. It's dreadful on fuel no matter how you drive, so you might as well cane it.

 

I used to drive an 02 plate 2.1 V6 auto SE one about six years ago, and a 53 plate diesel for a few months after that. The 2.1 V6 really is crap on fuel, which is one reason why I'll only buy a 3.0 They are nice enough things though.

[scooters]

Older legacy autos have a stronger non sealed box....essentially anything pre 98. Might be better off with a na 2.2 or 2.5 rather than the turbo. Less to go wrong. Its not so much a question of fragile gear box rather one of the turbo torque lunching the gear box. All boxes cope with na engines with ease.

 

I would sell the jeep....use the money to lpg the rangie. Keep the jag and the pugh and sell the mundaneo and replace it with a cheap tdi daily.

 

Essentially the problem is having two vehicles the same type. Then you could make space for some uber chod.......a samara perhaps or maybe even a sherpa!

[ashmicro]

Fuck it. Sell the whole lot and buy a DB7. Apart from being quick (esp in V12) they are strong. We got smacked by a single decker bus and we're both still alive. And it's actually a Jaaaag XJ-S. The chap from Charles Hurst Aston Martin was brilliant. He came to our house and explained to Katie that the DB7 couldn't be fixed, but he'd be able to get her any car she wanted. This wasn't just a hard sell, as he spent more time asking her how she was. Got her a V12 Vanq in the end, which was an unreliable beastie but bastard quick.

 

Even the 3.2 litre supercharged DB7 goes well, and that's a Jag engine. I have the AWD bug now, and am looking out for a Saff Cosworth, but a DB7 is a very nice place to be. Prior to that Katie had an M3 CSL, and before that a 540i, yet she really loved that DB7, a Northern Ireland colour too, Antrim Green.

 

I'd love a Sapphire Cossie, but if an MG Metro came up that wasn't a rotbox I'd be on it. Red seatbelts FTW.

[dollywobbler]

DB7 is a good call. Even V12s seem to have got what monied types call cheap. Autoshite choice would be a Speke-built TR7 with a Sprint lump in it. A breathed-on TR7 is surprisingly good fun! That doesn't cure the hideous dashboard though.

[Cavcraft]

DB7s are lush, what sort of money are the cheapest ones these days?

[Rover414]

From regularly looking on ebay at them, I would say they're around 15/6k for the cheapest now. I look often enough as the DB7 has always been my favourite car looks wise ever.

[Pete-M]

To be perfectly honest, if a DB7 was an option I'd probably just buy a later V8 XJR instead. I do love the XJR.

 

Flogging the Jeep and gassing the Rangie is looking like my preferred option. Might just keep the Rangie, flog the rest and hang on for a year to get an L322.

[RobT]

If we were approaching spring/summer and not autumn I'd suggest being bold and use the 604 as a daily for a while, with one of the others in the wings as backup.

 

It is good to have a clear out though, go on flog the lot bar the most useful and start building up a collection again.

[Pete-M]

If we were approaching spring/summer and not autumn I'd suggest being bold and use the 604 as a daily for a while, with one of the others in the wings as backup.

 

It is good to have a clear out though, go on flog the lot bar the most useful and start building up a collection again.

 

The original plan was to have the 604 sorted and useable for Chodmongly in May. Now it's for the NEC in November, maybe... The Escort is now taking priority over the 604, hence I'm not gonna keep the Pug.

[scooters]

thing is not to do anything too quickly. It's all to easy when doing a fleet clear out to end up selling a car that you immediately regret selling just because you feel that you have to do something.

 

I am a hell of a lot more circumspect these days than I every used to be - they split into three types - tools, toys and keepers...

 

tools - no sentimentality involved, minimum expenditure to run, disposable, sensible, reliable daily chod

 

toys - unreliable, wacky, daft, rare, expensvive t run etc

 

keepers - can be either of the above but are worth spending on and should not be sold as will be worth far more to you as transport, hobby etc then it is to sell it.

 

Suggest one tool per task required: ie you could have a tow car and a daily

Toys - got to be careful buying too many as resources are tied to the Law of diminishing returns

Keppers: doesn't matter how many but these are the ones your sweat and tears go into

 

my current fleet has 2 tools - the 306 and Scooby

 

1 toy turning up in a Toyota Celica Gen 3

 

No keepers currently,

 

Sounds like you have:

 

tools: rangie, Jeep, Mondeo

toys: 604

Keeper: Jag

 

....answer is you have too many tools - you need one 4x4 and one daily chod....as you say flog the Jeep, LPG the rangie - job done.

[Pete-M]

tools: rangie, Jeep, Mondeo

toys: 604

Keeper: Jag

 

....answer is you have too many tools - you need one 4x4 and one daily chod....as you say flog the Jeep, LPG the rangie - job done.

 

I think you may be on to something.

 

Rangie is the tool of choice.

Escort will be the toy of choice.

Jag will be the keeper.

 

Unless someone offers me enough money. Obviously.

[cort16]

I like these newer 3.0R legacy's with the flat six. They seems to be a bit of a bargain too and come as as autos although they're pish on fuel so none of that helps.

[RobT]

 

The original plan was to have the 604 sorted and useable for Chodmongly in May. Now it's for the NEC in November, maybe... The Escort is now taking priority over the 604, hence I'm not gonna keep the Pug.

 

On a stand or in the car park? If it's the latter I'll keep an eye out for it as I'm 99% going this year, probably the Saturday.

[Pete-M]

 

The original plan was to have the 604 sorted and useable for Chodmongly in May. Now it's for the NEC in November, maybe... The Escort is now taking priority over the 604, hence I'm not gonna keep the Pug.

 

On a stand or in the car park? If it's the latter I'll keep an eye out for it as I'm 99% going this year, probably the Saturday.

 

Outside. With a "For Sale" sign!!!

[Cavcraft]

Full agreement with you there, Scooters.

Always prefer to have two keepers and one toy personally. For example: Audi as a sort of (mostly) daily hack as ace on juice, runs on veg oil, estate space, towbar for the boat and not too arsed if it gets the odd battle scar. Cavalier for random daily use, long hauls and pleasure trips. Toys can be anything from old shite that I wanted to try to see what they were like, to faster/ supposedly posh/well built shite to welly round in for a bit.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

How much do you expect to get for the 604? It doesn't sound like the easiest thing to shift. Personally, I think I'd keep it in preference to the XJR because it will both (hopefully) appreciate quicker and because you can get rid of the Jag without waiting for ages.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

The “Scooters test†is an excellent way to determine what should be kept and why.

 

I agree the Range-Rover should be the tool of choice. Sell the Jeep and convert the Range-Rover to LPG; you spend too much time in it to go second best.

 

It’s probably true to say you’re not going to sell the Escort, which leaves the Jag and the 604. I can see reasons for keeping both/either and reasons for selling.

 

Keep the 604 at least long enough to know whether you will miss having it. I didn’t realise quite how long you have waited for it to be finished and usable – far too long to maintain the thrill of acquiring it. Any fizz has long evaporated, but the reasons you bought it in the first place may return once you have it back all shiny and on the road. Or maybe not.

 

The trouble is, the 604 is just too rare to sell on a whim or through frustration so you need to be very sure not only that you don’t want it now but also that you won’t want it in the future. If you regret selling it you will struggle to find another - and any car you do find is likely to need a lot of work.

My gut says interest is probably rising in the 604, but although its extreme rarity may drive prices up, very few four door executive cars ever become expensive so the car’s future value shouldn’t form part of the decision (I’m sure it won’t anyway!!). Finding another could be an epic journey however and that factor really should.

 

I suspect that XJR-6 prices will trend upward too, and that your Jag will ultimately be worth more than the 604 – but that time is still a while off.

 

Your supercharged XJR is a wonderful thing and sounds to be a good one – the ‘R’ attracts a different owner to other XJs and nearly all of them are completely thrashed.

I would struggle to sell it too and know I would miss the intoxicating mix of power and luxury which is really like nothing else – well nothing that is less than the price of a small house. I also know I will never sell my XJ40.

 

That said if you do sell the XJR and regret it, you will be able to find another one reasonably easily – or at least at less effort than a Knight’s quest. Finding another roadworthy 604 could involve spending the rest of your life wandering the earth.