Why you're not allowed to park next to fire hydrants...

Actually no. In this country for example, if you park somewhere marked " Keep Clear for Emergency Access", a fire engine can quite legally ram you out of the way. You wont be covered by your insurance either.

 

they would probably get astrixed out...

 

Well, no actually. You said that you were pleased that I'd been ripped off, which was nice.

 

316i Compacts are NOT fast as well you know

330D Sports on the other hand.....

Actually, talking of beamers, one thing to watch if buying an approved used one - part of their spec/promise is that tyre tread depth must be at least 3mm - that is pretty low - in fact some bodies recommend you change tyres when they get down to 3mm!

The reason I know is that I was surprised to find the rears on my used 330 (255/35/18s!) needed replacing after only 3 months - and no I haven't been doing wheel spins. I shall be dropping BMW UK a line to complain about this - 3mm is a joke really. In fact you can bet that if you were trading a car in with tyre wear that low they would the valuation down a bit!

As it happens I got a pair of Bridgestone Potenza RE050s for a great price off mytyres.co.uk but it was still £300 odd I could have done without spending.

Matt.

 

Nice car, Matt. Mine's a 9 year old 100,000 mile 328i sport coupe, still drives like a dream.

 

It's hard to tell from the photo. To me it looks like the outlet is angled sufficiently towards the road that the bend is less tight going through the window. Again, I really doubt they would have smashed the windows if it hadn't been necessary.

Michael.

 

i wonder what would happen if you parked next to a fire hydrant but left the windows open - would you still get a fine?

 

err, not quite...
I was pointing out, that imo BMWs are over-priced - you saying how much it was proved my point somewhat.
You're very welcome to join the BMW herd, and I hope you're happy knowing the majority of your compadres are shallow enough to only want one for the image... If it was about the driving experience alone you could get something better handling with more oomph for less than £15k for a 4 year old motor - like a Scooby, or Skoda VRs.
Btw, why is it that whenever I see one I'm stuck behind it at 30mph as soon as the road gets twisty? And why do they always accelerate up to whatever the speed limit is as soon as it gets straight so you can only overtake illegally? And if it's a 30 limit why do they take no notice of that?

However, if someone were to give me a 70s 3.0CSi I'd be quite a happy fella.. I'd have to customise it into an estate so I could get my chain saws and kango hammers in, but hey, it's free!

And if all this sounds like an anti-BMW rant, it's not...
What I don't like is the fact that only certain things are seen as an indicator of having "made it" - if you haven't got a beemer or merc (or something even more expensive!) you're some sort of loser.
Materialist nonsense is what I say (and I fully realise the irony of saying this on a hifi website!)

 

You think I'm swanking about in a nine year old BMW? I bought it because I wanted a fast, well-engineered RWD car. It was the Beemer or a Porsche 944/968. The BM won because of rear room for the children.

The Subaru has an atrocious ride, and very poor interior - absolutely useless on a long run. The Skoda is FWD, and is also a pile of shite.

I can't comment on other people's reasons for buying BMW - frankly I don't care. I also can't comment on other peoples' driving, but you give the impression of being a very dangerous man behind the wheel: somebody with something to prove.

Best,

 

And what do you base your assessment of the Skoda being a "pile of shite" on? Sounds like badge obsession to me.. (Though I'm a fine one to talk, being obsessed with Skodas and Moto Guzzis due to their unfashionability, and hence reasonable price/performance ratio)

And I am a very dangerous man behind the wheel - 20 years motorcycling with one crash (high side on diesel), and 15 years in a car without a single crash.
I like to "make progress", as the policerider I did advanced training with called it. Nowt worse than someone who slows you up, then doesn't let you overtake when there's an opportunity - sounds like that person has the "I've got a BMW and there's no way you're getting past me" mentality.
They're usually on the phone, reading the paper or holding forth to their unfortunate passenger, often with both hands waving about.
Still, Merc drivers are even worse

And you can't beat a good generalisation...

 

I really don't see why I should have to justify my car choice to you, nor anyone else. I've had five and a half good fun years out of it, it still goes like stink if required, it's comfortable, etc etc.

The Skoda looks like a crap car to me, but if you like it, that's fair enough.

Regarding yourself as an expert driver is dangerously complacent, IMO, but do carry on by all means.

 

I would regard myself as possibly the best driver there is at my home address, barring perhaps the Missus.
I spose that's helped by the fact that our dogs don't drive..
And I'm certainly the best driver of our ancient Land Rover, as the Missus is a bit worried by it's agricultural-ness; same with the Guzzi.
And with the Landy I attempt to break the speed limit at all times, apart from in a 30.

And you may dismiss Skodas without having tried them (where have I heard that before, perhaps related to the M*** word ), but even Top Gear like my one..

And it'll fit 2 sofas in the back..

 

There is no earth you could call modern skodas a piece of shite. As for rear wheel drive well my dads Lada was.

Also my uncles had loads of brand new Mercs and BMW 740s but he says his basic spec Skoda is the best car he has ever had becuase it costs virtualy nothing in Diesel and nothing ever goes wrong with it, its done above 100k and still drives like new. Ok it might not be much of a drivers car but its certainly not shite.

 

I used to have a Lada Niva 4wd many years ago...
Grand motor, in council orange with green hammerite highlights.
Great when it went, and darned heavy to push when it frequently didn't.
Still, it only cost £500, was brilliant off-road (when it went!), and I sold it for £550 a year later..

 

No, because there is no such thing as a modern Skoda. They are just last year's VWs with a Skoda badge on them.

Michael.

 

From what I gathered, they're next year's VW, with a Skoda badge on it, assembled where they make the best lager.
And of course a happy working environment means a better product.

And of course, Skoda weren't always made-by-committee transport-for-the-masses.
Check THIS

Even in the 70s they were winning F2 rallies with old Stig...

 

hasn;t skoda won an obscene number of class vitories in world rallying?

 

Who cares, I want a practical road car, not a rally monster. Mitsubishi Evo/Subaru would be king for rallying, I would have thought.

 

Nothing wrong with skoda's, I'd buy another one. In fact I like to see the prejudice against them as it will keep the price of my next one down. The Octavia is based on the new Golf, the Favorit is based on the same platform as the Polo, the only Superb is a bit behind the times, it's based on the Passat limousine that was designed for I think China, though I'm willing to be corrected. I've done 40k in 2 years in mine, and it's had 2 days off the road just for servicing, and does 55mpg. Can't possibly grumble at that.
If they're that awful why do they always do so well in JD Power? Weren't they one of the top manufacturers for the umpteenth year running again this year?