Ecrivain
Active Member
Hi everyone,
Je suis [un] Ecrivain!
I'm a writer (dad, husband, chief bottle washer, etc.) living in East Anglia. Ecrivain is French for writer, ICYDK, and Peugeots being French and RCZs stylishly so, I couldn't think of anything better when I signed up just now...
I'm in my 50s, went to Cambridge and later Kent universities, and worked for many years in the Criminal Justice system, and then in politics as an advisor in Local Government. I also cycle, usually before breakfast, just to stay reasonably fit. Writing doesn't pay, but I like it. But I'm generally poor and impoverished, and my wife is the well-paid professional in the family.
I once had an MR2 Mark 1, long long ago, probably before some of you were even born... sigh. Cornered on rails, being mid-engined and all. Drove it all the way to the Le Mans 24 hour race one year, with the MR2 Club. Alas, life being it what it is, I moved on. Have since had a Toyota Corolla (almost racing green, but Japanese of course...), a SEAT Ibiza (Cool - black), a Focus C Max Mark 1 (also black - very good till the engine management problem arose...). Currently have a SEAT Altea XL (silver, great family hatch - £30 tax, well over 500 litres of boot space - usually used for my wife's 40km each way commute, now on 140,000 miles +), and a very elderly little Citroen C3 Auto, inherited from a female relative, but still going strong 4 years after I got it. It's reliability has been astonishing, in fact, given that part of me has rather hoped it would expire sooner...!
Anyway to get the point: I have what (for me) is a significant pot of money to draw upon, and I'd think it's time to do the sports car thing again. I'm certainly no expert on cars, but I've done a lot of research and am more or less settled on a secondhand RCZ. Whilst I have a budget, it isn't huge, and I'm no boy racer, so the 5-10 yo diesel will suit me well, I think. Part of the budget will be held back for parts, which are obviously going to be pricier than on my Citroen. Any recent evidence on how pricey parts are would be appreciated. If (when!!) I get one, it will probably be serviced by the village garage opposite my house, who have done all our cars for 12 years now, but who also seem to have considerable experience with sports cars (given the frequency with which desirable and/or historic motors are parked outside for servicing... e.g. Porsches, Morgans, etc. - and even a 70s Escort Mexico in full Monte Carlo livery a while back).
I've been pleasantly surprised so far: insurance <£100 more than the Citroen (despite being worth 10x - perhaps 20x!- as much!), because I'm getting older and haven't crashed (much)(lately)(touch wood)! Tax is cheaper than the (old, petrol) Citroen - only three-quarters as much. Quoted MPG is also better, being diesel. So hopefully this will, in part at least, offset the servicing and consumables costs. I was quoted £130 each for 235 40 R19 Avon tyres yesterday, but am told Falken would be cheaper (local garage just said they'd get a price for me) - I won't be pushing the car to its limits, but I want to be safe on the dual carriageway and live a few more years, yet, so don't want *really* cheap ones. I'd be interested to know how much folk are paying for oft replaced bits. Exhaust? DPF? That broken light? What have you had done, recently? What are the common failures? I shall obviously explore the other threads, but any pointers would be much appreciated, and hope to join the ranks of RCZ owners in the not too distant future. I have looked at many online over the past couple of months, and am now at the point of going out to view, assess and test drive. Tips welcome!
Sorry about the length of the post. As I said, I'm a writer...
Je suis [un] Ecrivain!
I'm a writer (dad, husband, chief bottle washer, etc.) living in East Anglia. Ecrivain is French for writer, ICYDK, and Peugeots being French and RCZs stylishly so, I couldn't think of anything better when I signed up just now...
I'm in my 50s, went to Cambridge and later Kent universities, and worked for many years in the Criminal Justice system, and then in politics as an advisor in Local Government. I also cycle, usually before breakfast, just to stay reasonably fit. Writing doesn't pay, but I like it. But I'm generally poor and impoverished, and my wife is the well-paid professional in the family.
I once had an MR2 Mark 1, long long ago, probably before some of you were even born... sigh. Cornered on rails, being mid-engined and all. Drove it all the way to the Le Mans 24 hour race one year, with the MR2 Club. Alas, life being it what it is, I moved on. Have since had a Toyota Corolla (almost racing green, but Japanese of course...), a SEAT Ibiza (Cool - black), a Focus C Max Mark 1 (also black - very good till the engine management problem arose...). Currently have a SEAT Altea XL (silver, great family hatch - £30 tax, well over 500 litres of boot space - usually used for my wife's 40km each way commute, now on 140,000 miles +), and a very elderly little Citroen C3 Auto, inherited from a female relative, but still going strong 4 years after I got it. It's reliability has been astonishing, in fact, given that part of me has rather hoped it would expire sooner...!
Anyway to get the point: I have what (for me) is a significant pot of money to draw upon, and I'd think it's time to do the sports car thing again. I'm certainly no expert on cars, but I've done a lot of research and am more or less settled on a secondhand RCZ. Whilst I have a budget, it isn't huge, and I'm no boy racer, so the 5-10 yo diesel will suit me well, I think. Part of the budget will be held back for parts, which are obviously going to be pricier than on my Citroen. Any recent evidence on how pricey parts are would be appreciated. If (when!!) I get one, it will probably be serviced by the village garage opposite my house, who have done all our cars for 12 years now, but who also seem to have considerable experience with sports cars (given the frequency with which desirable and/or historic motors are parked outside for servicing... e.g. Porsches, Morgans, etc. - and even a 70s Escort Mexico in full Monte Carlo livery a while back).
I've been pleasantly surprised so far: insurance <£100 more than the Citroen (despite being worth 10x - perhaps 20x!- as much!), because I'm getting older and haven't crashed (much)(lately)(touch wood)! Tax is cheaper than the (old, petrol) Citroen - only three-quarters as much. Quoted MPG is also better, being diesel. So hopefully this will, in part at least, offset the servicing and consumables costs. I was quoted £130 each for 235 40 R19 Avon tyres yesterday, but am told Falken would be cheaper (local garage just said they'd get a price for me) - I won't be pushing the car to its limits, but I want to be safe on the dual carriageway and live a few more years, yet, so don't want *really* cheap ones. I'd be interested to know how much folk are paying for oft replaced bits. Exhaust? DPF? That broken light? What have you had done, recently? What are the common failures? I shall obviously explore the other threads, but any pointers would be much appreciated, and hope to join the ranks of RCZ owners in the not too distant future. I have looked at many online over the past couple of months, and am now at the point of going out to view, assess and test drive. Tips welcome!
Sorry about the length of the post. As I said, I'm a writer...
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