Paul S wrote:

MR2 - very difficult to find a good one now.

Paul S <anybody (AT) anyone (DOT) plus.com> wrote:

Fun cars. If you get one, get a front strut brace and have it slammed to
the deck..... they're even more fun when lowered 40+mm as it completely
cuts out body roll.

Most are rotten or expensive. Or both, if you're *really* unlucky.

Great cars, IMHO. I'd have one.

Nope. Cracking little engine, but the car is too big for it. Try a Punto
Sporting instead.

Nooooooo! Everyone has one, they're not as good as some people say they
are.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Paul S (anybody (AT) anyone (DOT) plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

Blimey, what an utterly mixed bag.

Focus - sensible choice for dragging the brats to school.
MR2 - fun choice for a weekend toy.

SteveH wrote:

Steve,

Although Cinq's are cheap to buy, are they maybe not so cheap to run, with
ongoing repairs etc (I know you've had one). And does it have to be yellow
! The Imola Blue ones are also nice, but I don't like that orange bumper
insert. Do all the IB ones have that ?

I went to see one a few weeks ago; it was an absolute shed, although the
interior was still OK. I like the seats.

Yes, I think it would be too hard to find an MR2 that was worthy. A friend
had one many years ago (from new) in Mica Blue ISTR - very nice.

Drove a Bravo 1.2 just before I bought the Clio. Thought it was nippy
enough. I'm not that bothered about fast, just involving. Now the Brava
1.2 I could understand if you'd said underpowered; it's a bigger car. I'd
maybe have a 1.6, but they don't appear too economical.

Paul S <anybody (AT) anyone (DOT) plus.com> wrote:

Ours was dirt cheap to run. Bought it at a year old with 15k miles on
it, sold it at 5-ish years old with 75k miles on it.

Total of unscheduled maintenance was a water pump (60 quid and an
afternoon's work), and rear brake drum backing plates.

Lots of sheds out there. Really nice ones are holding value - yellow
fades, as does red. Black looks the bollocks, IMHO - but I'm biased,
'cos mine was black ( http://www.italiancar.co.uk/cinq/Images/8.jpg ).

I'm sure all the Imola blue cars came with orange inserts, but they're
dead easy to repaint. You'll pay more for a nice Imola Blue example as
they're the most sought after colour.

The only Bravos worth having, IMHO, are the 1.8HLX (quite a nice
twin-cam lump) or the 20v HGT. HGTs have horrific fuel consumption and
maintenance costs, but the 20v engine is absolutely fantastic. (I had a
Marea HLX for a while with the same engine - Mareas are an absolute
bargain, 'cos they look terrible, pay £700-ish for a really nice 20v
HLX).

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Adrian <toomany2cvs (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

I think I'd have an MX5 instead, though. Or a Barchetta.

<checks used Barchetta prices>
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Paul S (anybody (AT) anyone (DOT) plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

Not exactly difficult to remove and spray the insert...

SteveH (steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

<boggle>
What the hell can go wrong with brake drum *backing* plates...?

Adrian <toomany2cvs (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

It's a Fiat, I'll give you one guess.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

SteveH (steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

Electrics?