Life before 8s - What's your story?

[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.

[Greg66]

First car, 17 years old, freshly through the driving test: Mark 1 Escort. Ropey. Held it for a year to get the NCB then had a mk I Scirocco. Loved that. It felt like a race car in comparison.

Then went to University, started work in London and neither needed nor could afford a car for a while. Eventually lined up a Mk II Golf GTi 16v. Oak green, leather and after market ac. Now that was fun.

Then late 20s, bit of cash, so went for a BMW 325i coupe on finance. First new car I bought. Swapped it at three years for a E46 328i saloon to accommodate newly arrived 66 major. Last new car I will ever buy. Found out fairly quickly that Mrs 66 doesn't do light packing and a 3 series was completely inadequate. Took a big bath selling that. Cast around and a mate suggested trying an A8 (he'd just been landed with a company 7 series but had been very tempted by an 8). Managed to find a dealer principal's car at 5m old coming up for sale. The smartest thing that salesman ever did was say "of course you ca. Have a test drive Sir. Keep it for the weekend".

Two days (one, in truth) and I was hooked. Made me realise there are cheap toy cars and there is the real thing.

Kept it for 14 years, with the kids literally growing up in it. Very sad family day when terminal gearbox failure arrived.

Now have a FFRR for Mrs 66 (which she isn't fantastically keen on, but which I like a lot and which makes an excellent family bus) and the D3 S8 for me (which she likes a lot but unfortunately doesn't get to use much BECAUSE SHE LOST HER ****ING KEY!!!)

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by Greg66

Found out fairly quickly that Mrs 66 doesn't do light packing and a 3 series was completely inadequate.

Same here. Good thing '8s have such big boots!

We set off for this year's meet with a completely full boot. Bear in mind we were only staying TWO NIGHTS and my stuff consisted of one small bag and a laptop. It's a complete mystery what was in all the other bags!

Originally Posted by Greg66

and the D3 S8 for me (which she likes a lot but unfortunately doesn't get to use much BECAUSE SHE LOST HER ****ING KEY!!!)

[tonupkid]

Quite amusing the number of Citroen XM's cropping up here, considering that the XM was the car so mercilessly chased down by the S8 in Ronin.
Seems people were watching and learning

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Quite amusing the number of Citroen XM's cropping up here, considering that the XM was the car so mercilessly chased down by the S8 in Ronin.

It is.

Funny thing is, it wasn't until after I bought my first '8 that I watched Ronin for the first time. So for me it was purely coincidental that both the main rival cars in the film consisted of one that I had owned for years and one that I now owned. You may have noticed my present avatar image is actually a screenshot from Ronin of the two cars battling it out.

I always thought the XM was an odd choice for the movie, since they were never particularly powerful cars, but an interesting choice nevertheless. XMs did have their strengths though, such as impeccable road holding, even over very rough terrain, so there are a number of times during the chase scenes that XM has the slight advantage but I think overall the S8 is the far superior vehicle.

[johnny_quattro]

1973 Mini 1.0
1987 Renault 5 Rio
1988 Renault 5 GTX 1.4
1988 Ford Orion 1.6i Ghia (cheaper insurance than XR3i, plus bigger boot for my 'sounds')
1993 Honda Prelude 2.0i-4WS-16 (one of the best cars I've owned, let down by roof leaking water in copious amounts due to blocked drainage channels - benefits of hindsight and the tinterweb)
1996 Citroen Saxo 1.4 (SWMBO was learning to drive a manual)
1994 Honda Legend saloon - great car, very comfy and quite rare.
1999 Audi A8 4.2 my car before I left the UK for Uruguay
2000 Audi A8L my current one.

Interesting note - my crazy parents decided to buy a Bedford CA ambulance (ALR 656B reg.) in the 70s and then took us all on a cross-Europe trip to Billund, Denmark to go and see the original Legoland. Looking back now, that was a bit mental. 1500cc engine and a three speed gearbox. I do remember us being stuck in a lorry park in Antwerp whilst my resourceful father went looking for someone to fix the starter motor, a problem that couldn't be fixed with the usual 'whack the starter motor with a hammer to release the stuck solenoid' fix ;-)

[Trophy885]

Car History, Hmm

1) Audi 100 C1 f/l 1976
2) Citroen CX Athena 1980
3) Triumph Acclaim L 1983
4) Triumph Acclaim HLS 1982
5) Nissan Sunny ZX Twin Cam 1988
6) Honda Concerto 1.6 1990
7) Audi 100 Quattro 2.3 1990 (Still owned)
8) Audi 100 1.8 1983 (still owned, 120000 miles from new)
9) Audi A8 3.7 2000 (Obviously still owned!!)


Best regards,
Steve