Serious dilemma

[Ben H]

Last autumn, I started my first proper job having completed a Masters and sold my mint Valver. At the time, I forsaw that I would be doing bigger miles and looked into a 172 and Cup, but shied away because of the prospect of finance (I prefer the old way of saving then buying). In the end I plumped for a low mileage mint Williams with every single bill, treating it to some refurbished alloys and the general Ben H standard of cosmetic and mechanical pampering.

My Williams is - and I am not exaggerating - perfect. I am delighted with it, it is my favourite car and I dont want to sell it because I know Ill regret it. Sadly, a combination of the ever-increasing miles and the fact Im moving in to a place with no garage means I have to consider the unthinkable.

I just want to consider my options. If I did sell my Willy, I think it would probably fetch about £5k. This means that if I could get together another £2-5k I could have a smart Ph1 172 or even a Cup.

What Id like your help with is in terms of what you think, especially if youve made the move from a Willy to a 172. Whatever car I get has to be a bit more low-key than a Willy and it has to be fairly new and relatively cheap to run while still being a hot hatch (ruling out Fiat Coupe, Impreza etc).

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/286000-286999/286766_58_full.jpg

 

[MikeC]

get a Mk1 172 and you can be just like me

 

[richy]

dont sell it!!! find somewere to put it!

 

[TomS]

Ill garage it for you Ben and look after it until you want it back, no hurry!!

Just a thought!!

 

[Mark]

are u moving some where that bad that u cant leave ur car on the side of the road. is there no lock ups close buy or garages that u can leave it in and walk round the corner

 

[Ben H]

Its not a matter of garaging it - I could leave it at home. I need one car that is a compromise between the practicalities of every day use and is still a hot hatch. I cant do 20,000 miles a year in a Williams.

 

[Daz]

I cant see why putting miles on a Williams is such a bad idea?

Im gunna keep mine.. run it for as long as I want.. ignoring the miles and enjoying it.

I dont see how you cant use it every day.. heh.

 

[edde]

Id say keep the Williams it sound perfect car no rpobelms. I get the idea that 172 ist quite a Williams you dont want to take a backwards step with no MPG gains etc do you?

 

[richy]

Quote: Originally posted by Daz on 01 June 2004


I cant see why putting miles on a Williams is such a bad idea?

Im gunna keep mine.. run it for as long as I want.. ignoring the miles and enjoying it.

I dont see how you cant use it every day.. heh.

this is excactly what i thought, i dont care what milage i put on mine im using it because i love driving it, its why i got it not to sit about looking pretty

 

[S2 PTH]

well i can understand y he wudnt wanna use it every day

immaculate is an understatement. and for me, i prefere the williams to a 172 bcoz of exclusivity!

id do wat Daz has done... get a clio 1.2 and drive that round and then use the williams wen u can! keep the millage down tho, coz ures is a bit more special than most of the ones ive seen (due to its condition)

 

[Daz]

Quote: Originally posted by S2 PTH on 01 June 2004


id do wat Daz has done... get a clio 1.2 and drive that round and then use the williams wen u can! keep the millage down tho, coz ures is a bit more special than most of the ones ive seen (due to its condition)

Im selling the 1.2 tho.. Ive had it over 3 years now..

The Williams is my main car.. and when I sell the 1.2.. Ill be using the Williams all the time. The 1.2 is only being used at the moment cus my Williams is having the arches done.. heh.

 

[riplash]

They were built to be driven!!!!!!!!!



Drive them!

 

[Ben H]

Cheers guys.

Getting and running another car is out of the question. It just doesnt add up when I take account of double insurance, tax, servicing etc. Plus theres the fact that whatever I have to put towards a new car (£2-5k) wont go very far in buying a second car that would be reliable and low cost. I already cycle and take the train to work when the weather and nature of the business permit.

The last thing I want to do is to shell out for a 172 and then find Im disappointed. Unfortunately, it seems like its going to be difficult to find any car within my price range that Im going to have an attachment to.

My situation is that my girlfriend lives in the centre of Bristol with no off-street parking. I do spend a lot of time nipping back to Cardiff for work and leave the car with my parents, but its getting to the point where its stopping us getting away for the weekend because I dont want to park the car on the street. This means I have to train it over to get the car first, which is obviously a major pain. There are no lock-ups in the area that cost less than £100pcm.

 

[richy]

buy a 205gti 1.6 to run about in

 

[S2 PTH]

hmm

maybe move somewhere with her?

get a crap house with a huge and secure garage, like JC did on tg for that alfa 166!

 

[Ben H]

Jeeeez! You guys wont let me sell will you? Lol!

 

[White16valver]

LOL Not sure thats a good idea!

Why not keep the willy at your parents then get a high-mileage but still good condition valver to run about in? Almost as much fun and almost as quick, yet you wont have to worry about it so much because its not that special?

If you got one with crap bodywork but good chassis/engine, then you wouldnt have to worry about external damage. Though I dont think *I* could drive around in a car that looked like a rusty shed, no matter *how* fun it was to drive!

 

[richy]

Quote: Originally posted by Ben H on 01 June 2004

Jeeeez! You guys wont let me sell will you? Lol!

nooooo!!!!

how can u even think about it!!

 

[S2 PTH]

well babyclio would buy it off u ... (the one whos bf brought that super car to our meet!)

 

[Mike@Rentech]

Keep it, you will be real sad when its gone trust me!

 

[Dan##]

you cant sell it! imagine how sad you would be 2 see it no looked after youve treated it so well!

 

[Ben H]

Cheers for the input guys.

 

[Rich_16v]

Ben

You have exactly the same problem as me, ive got a valver not a wiliams but im considering the same 172/cup route as you. Not that i really want to coz i love my valver its just im doing 40 miles getting to work and back plus extra miles when im out and about during the day. Im a saver like yourself hate the idea of getting robbed with finance. Cant bring myself to sell the valver but feel i have to really - its a nitemare decision and i think im going to end up slightly disappointed not in terms of the cars performance just character and looks side of things - cant decide!!!!!!

 

[black kro]

KEEP IT! and

buy a dCi (start at 4K on e-bay) as an everyday car

- they really arent that bad!

@ 20K p.a., youll save a £1000 p.a on fuel + prolly £500 on insurance, tax etc. over a 172 and still have a mint Willys.

 

[black kro]

and be able to put the Willy on limited mileage (4K?) garaged overnight insurance (add your Mum on insurance to bring it down again)

it will cost next to nothing like that!

WORK OUT ALL YOUR COSTS OVER 3 YEARS - 60K IN A 172 IS A TRUCK LOAD OF DEPRECIATION AND FUEL - 60K in a second hand dCi is nowhere near as much!

£1500 p.a will easily give 4K of pleasure with your Willy!

 

[Ben H]

Cheers guys

 

[northy]

I feel the same Ben. Love driving it but feel so guilty putting the miles on.

But as my dad says - you bought the car to use it. If you dont put the miles and enjoy it. Someone else will.

Miles dont matter ben - its condition. Get it properly rust proofed and enjoy driving it. Mine is in way better condition than when i bought it, and will be fully sorted by the time i ever consider selling. What ever the mileage is.


Can you rent a garage in the area ? Local to me they are 40pw. Just a idea.

 

[Ben H]

Its not just the miles - its the fear of parking it in the city centre, of having it serviced every 6k miles, of having to go out of my way to find spare parts.

 

[northy]

Sounds like your minds made up pal.

Pm me for 1st refusal.

 

[Smokey]

Right this is gonna be short.

I swapped the Willyfied Valver for a 172 and am still happy.

Granted im not as happy as if i kept the Hybrid but its a compromise.

I only travel 7 miles to work so wasnt getting the Maximum out of the hybrid. It hated going slow, sitting in traffic etc as my whole journey was A14.

I still dont think the 172 is as quick asthe Hybrid lower down the rev range as it dont come on cam properly till 4.5-5k RPM but once it does it feels well nice.

Its a lot smoother the the Hybrid and no where near as raw to drive.

The 172 is comfort and effortless driving with 95% of the fun of the hybid.

I would say get coilovers for sure as they handle like a boat after the Hybrid.

If you want anymore info just ask Ben, asi pondered for days whether i had done the right thing, but i am still very happy. But i do still have the Hybrid here and keep taking itout for blasts to keep it running sweet.

Basicallly i dont think you will be as disapointed as you think you are going to be.

Also all the toys help like A/C, ABS etc

 

[Daz]

Quote: Originally posted by Ben H on 02 June 2004

Its not just the miles - its the fear of parking it in the city centre, of having it serviced every 6k miles, of having to go out of my way to find spare parts.

Minor services arnt expensive, really..

And as for parking it, well, Im one of these people who will enjoy the car.. use it how I want.. and why should other peoples actions (worried about vandilism?) spoil something you enjoy.

 

[Elliot]

Sell the williams.

Get something that no one will want to nick.

Sell the replacement (because you hate it and it is not a williams) and try to find a williams that is as good as the one you have now.

I can see into the future.....oooeeeeooooeeeooo.

 

[Ben H]

Im not deciding on anything straight away. The thing is that I know the Willy is a proper one off - Ill never get No.123 again or a car in such good nick, nor will any other car I buy fulfil a teenage dream. This is the problem with selling the Willy.

On the other hand, no matter how long I leave it, the practicalities of every day life are gathering strength and its more a matter of when - not if.

If I could really justify it... if I had the money, Id consider a second car. Sadly, I cant. The one hope Ive got is trying to persuade the ladyfriend to share a car (she doesnt have one), but that could be a few months in the making yet.

 

[S2 PTH]

r u living with her? coz if so then u cud do the sharing lark, although make sure u get to drive it more lol!

 

[Ben H]

I will be, yes.

 

[S2 PTH]

in that case make sure she pays for half of it, if she can. how can u bring it up in convo tho? "um, thinking of gettin another car, for both of us, wana pay half?" lol might not go down well...

 

[Ben H]

Exactly. My g/f pretty much hates all cars (especially mine!) and will be wanting a hybrid or a Smart