Life before 8s - What's your story?

[Johnmed]

Great thread.

I've had many many cars, more recently a Renault Clio four cyl. 2 litre 172 for 6 years, BMW 323i straight 6 and then I decided to own an A2. I'd always wanted an A2, with its aluminium space frame and I loved the little 3 cyl. 1.4 TDi.

The interior rattled and squeaked, and when finances allowed, about 18 months after I bought it and with a heavy heart I said goodbye to 60+ MPG and bought another car I'd always wanted to own, the 8 I have now.

The 8 is fabulous. No squeaks, no rattles and it eats the miles in huge chunks without breaking a sweat. It's everything I hoped it would be, and it's my first AWD car. Refinement, interior space, (I'm 6'4") build quality, AWD, aluminium space frame all in one car.

Yet still, I can't really judge the size of this thing too well, and 30-35 MPG does make me think twice before jumping in the thing (where the A2 didn't).

I wish Audi had made an A4/A6 sized AWD aluminium car, if that makes sense (I know it doesn't for many reasons) cos it would probably be a car I'd buy and keep for ever.

A mid sized AWD, aluminium with a DSG 'box and torquey TDi would suit me down to the ground.

[tonupkid]

To many to list, but started with a Singer Chamois (Hillman Imp). Many head gaskets later moved to minis 1 & 2. Thence Capri ll, Cortinas, Granadas, Audi 100 & 200, Vaux Royale/Senators, Renault 25's, 730 & 750's Beemers. Plus many others.
Finaly, in the pub, a lot of beer and me crying about how much I hated my Lexus LS400, led to one of those conversations about what would get you the most bang for few bucks. I went for XJR and some more enlightened gentlemen said S8. Next day checked them out and here I am today. Two 8's in and still being amazed, delighted and sometimes frightened

[Norretal]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Two 8's in and still being amazed, delighted and sometimes frightened

Pretty much sums it up for me too

[Sir WIll]

Escort, Orion, Granada....

C4 100 2.8 Quattro

C4 UR S6

E39 M5

D2 3.7 FL

D3 4.2 PF

D2 S8 FL

[HPsauce]

D2 FTW. :d

(I too was thinking of a Jag, glad I got the S8)

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Singer Chamois (Hillman Imp).

My Dad had an Imp for several years. I have a lot of fond memories of going on family holidays, car and roof-rack full of cases and my sister and I squashed up in the back. I remember one time a hole appeared in the floor (due to rust) where I was sat. Until my Dad was able to fix it (which he did by pop-riveting a sheet over it), I can remember sitting with my feet either side of the hole, watching the road below. At times, I felt like sticking my legs through it, Flintstones-style, to assist the tiny engine.

One thing the Imp had in common with AWD Audis (and possibly the only thing they had in common) was good traction in snow and ice. I can remember snowy days cruising by stranding vehicles in our Imp, thanks to its rear-engined RWD layout, at a time when most vehicles were front-engined RWD.

Originally Posted by The_Laird

My first car was a 1965 mini, bought when I first went to university in 1972.

My sister's first car was a mini of a similar vintage, an early 70's model I think, a mixture of bright orange and rust (my Dad warned her how rusty it was before she bought it, but she insisted on buying it because she liked the colour). Until I was old enough to drive, a couple of years later, I did a few repair jobs on it for her and fitted radios, etc, in exchange for the occasional lift. One thing I remember about those old Minis, and something which probably applied to a lot of the cars of that era, was how poor the lock security was. On one occasion, she came out of a pub and got in the wrong car. Her keys fitted the door and started the engine; it was only as she was about to drive off, when she noticed the car had a more sportier steering wheel then her car had, that she realised there was something amiss.

[tersono]

My car history is way too long to list, but the XMs in the OP's post lead me to mention that I was a major Citroen CX fanatic back in the day - I owned 5 of 'em in succession - the last being a GTi. Lovely old things they were - incredibly comfortable and quite entertaining to drive as well.

Highlights from the rest include an early Aston DBS (back when they could be had for fairly sensible money - running it was another matter, however ), a BMW M635csi, a couple of Datsun/Nissan Z sportscars (280zx targa and a 300 twin turbo), several Saabs (another long-term obsession of mine - first being a 96v4, the last a 9-5) and a Lexus GS. The Saab 9-5 and the GS were what filled the gap between my first A8 and my current one.

The CXs and the Lexus were the only things that came close to being as comfortable as an 8.

[PsYcHe]

Had a couple of mingers.. mostly medium-term hires waiting on company cars when starting a new job..

Mk1 Astra 1.3 LS (in pine green metallic with hideous interior, which I mostly swapped for a GTE one, before someone ran into the side of it).
Austin Montego 2.0 More rust than paint

Then on to company cars..
Mk1 Mondeo 1,8TDI (possibly the worst engine I've ever driven)
Cavalier SRi 130
MK 3 Astra 1.8 Estate
Rover 620Ti
Renault Laguna 2.0 Exec
Passat 1.8T Sport
Passat 1.8T Sport (yes.. another one.. we liked them so much, we bought the missus one too)
Astra H Sri 200

Then on to '8s..
D2 PF 4.2 Sport (which became SWMBO's car for a bit)
D3 PF 4.2
D3 FL 4.2TDi

And then it all went a bit wrong and I bought an A7

[mannyo]

I've had so many cars, oddly also including a G Reg XM (pre facelift one). I went with the 2.0SEi, and it was a great car to look at. However I sold it after 8 months, it let me down twice in big ways. 1st time, total failure of the hydraulics caused by one of the pipes supplying the brake lines. Drove the remaining 10 miles to work, and by the time I got there the suspension was on the decks and the brakes almost non existent, car recovered by the AA back home for repair. 2nd time the heater matrix decided to fail and fill the cabin with steam at 70mph on the M25, could not see anything out the windscreen, this time the AA bypassed the heater matrix to get me going again. The day it went in P/ex. the LHM fluid was once again leaking out from under the car. I suspect an issue with one of the green accumulators and the relief valve causing to much pressure.

Car history
Number, year of car, make/model.
1. 1974 Austin Mini 1000
2. 1985 Austin Metro City 1.0
3. 1986 Vauxhall Astra Merit 1.2
4. 1988 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 Celebrity 88 Special Edition
5. 1978 BMW 320i Auto
6. 1988 Rover 216 Vanden Plas SEi
7. 1985 Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia Auto
8. 1987 Jaguar XJ6 2.9 Auto LHD
9. 1990 Citroen XM 2.0 SEi Auto
10. 1989 Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet
11. 1988 BMW 520i SE
12. 1992 BMW 320i SE
13. 1997 Mercedes C180 Classic
14. 2001 Skoda Octavia vRS (Track car), 1994 Ford Mondeo Ghia (Commuter)
15. 2000 Porsche Boxster S (Fun car), 1997 Ford Mondeo Ghia X Auto (Commuter)
16. 2005 Skoda Octavia MK2 2.0 TDi Estate
17. 2008 Skoda Superb MK2 2.0 TDi.
18. 2001 Audi A8 3.7
19. 2004 Audi A8 3.7

So that's 21 cars since passing my driving test.

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by mannyo

also including a G Reg XM (pre facelift one). I went with the 2.0SEi

My first XM was a pre-facelift too and, now that I think of it, I think it was also an SEi. I know for certain it was high-spec' 2.0 Turbo petrol, just not sure exactly which (though I've probably still got some paperwork for it somewhere).

Mine was an L Reg, dark green paint and black leather interior. Lovely car and in great condition when I sold it (to a friend of a friend). Unfortunately he lived in not-so-desirable part of Manchester and the car was torched outside his house just a few weeks later.

The pre-facelift XMs did have a few extra reliability issues, especially the earlier ones. By the time the facelift models were released, most of the reliability issues were fixed, but they'd already gained a poor reputation so sales plummeted.

Personally, I preferred the interior or the pre-facelift XMs, it was more suited to the exterior styling I think. It was less modern, but somehow more futuristic.