Ownership Verified: Snow White grew old and fat

I've been pondering about this me+beater equation. In the end I'm saving money driving this, that's a fact, but what about the need for a proper car, is that fulfilled? At the moment I'd be forced to answer no.

I mean, for a 20-year-old the E34 is amazingly comfortable and stable, it takes me to work and back without any hassle. However, I'm such a restless mind that I need a road trip every now and then, and I don't trust the E34 enough and don't feel enough safe and comfortable in it to take it to, say, Lapland which is 1000km North. My daily commute is 90km, which the E34 takes care of without any problem. But is the car meant for that sort of travelling considering its age, reliability and all that?

I was driving my fianc?'s 2000 VW Bora yesterday and was astonished at how stable and firm it felt. The gear changes were like from a rally car, the lights showed the road and the steering worked. This got me thinking, what am I doing? Before it was the Bora that was our beater and now it's clearly the better car.

I had decided that I'll save money driving the E34 and then get a motorcycle along side it in the summer. I started to re-evaluate that decision: it would just not be cool if I had a car and a bike and still wouldn't be able to drive North with my own means of transport and besides, as my fianc? pointed it out, what use is a motorcycle to me next summer when I'm on the Mongolia-road trip for a month and a half.

Based on these thoughts I started considering taking a new car loan and getting something newer, better equipped, safer and more useful. Only the insurance costs and taxes need to be waaaaay smaller than in the E81. I went through a few options and the costs on them were equivalent to those of the E34. I've still had a useful time in the E34: I got to enjoy the rest of the winter in a RWD, and got to try a beater and based on that try I'm now wiser about what I want and need. I learned that the need is greater than the want in my case. I'm just going to try and see the amount of interest by putting it for sale.

We washed and waxed her today with a friend of mine, this is the result after the drive home:

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I'm not going to lie, the thought of buying it back has crossed my mind several times over by now. But currently the Polo is the only car in my fleet that can get away with a solid rear seat. About the Bora, I know what you mean: the Xantia has a direct, slopless gearchange and there's just no lurch when the road camber changes, when you take to the oncoming lane and return to yours. But at the ice track, having driven the 518i there, there were fleeting moments where I wished I would've been driving it instead of the Xantia. At the track a year ago, there were barely any reasons for me to come away from the track. With the FWD, front-handbrake Citro?n, there were barely any reasons to take it to the track surface in the first place.

And I couldn't escape the damned starter swap. :lol:

Edit: The thing about driving a beater is kind of viewed from opposite directions here. With the mess I went through, trying to fit the E38 wheels and all, I was trying to make it as clean as possible, somewhat of a pearl amongst all the run-down E34:s. Surely, there are a bunch of issues that the car still shows, but at the BTCF thing last summer the white whale was amongst the cleanest, most well-kept, least beaten, least scruffy E34:s that entered the happening. Probably slowest too. But it was the odd one out, the Niles Crane at a hillbilly festival. Despite it getting dirty and oily and mucky later on, the entire ownership stint I did with it was about that.
 
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public said:
I'm not going to lie, the thought of buying it back has crossed my mind several times over by now.
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Do it! :mrgreen:
public said:
But at the ice track, having driven the 518i there, there were fleeting moments where I wished I would've been driving it instead of the Xantia. At the track a year ago, there were barely any reasons for me to come away from the track. With the FWD, front-handbrake Citro?n, there were barely any reasons to take it to the track surface in the first place.

And I couldn't escape the damned starter swap. :lol:

Edit: The thing about driving a beater is kind of viewed from opposite directions here. With the mess I went through, trying to fit the E38 wheels and all, I was trying to make it as clean as possible, somewhat of a pearl amongst all the run-down E34:s. Surely, there are a bunch of issues that the car still shows, but at the BTCF thing last summer the white whale was amongst the cleanest, most well-kept, least beaten, least scruffy E34:s that entered the happening. Probably slowest too. But it was the odd one out, the Niles Crane at a hillbilly festival. Despite it getting dirty and oily and mucky later on, the entire ownership stint I did with it was about that.
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Starter motors and you have some unfinished, unknown grudge. It might be better to solve that before any new car.

Yep, I know what you mean when talking about the 518i on ice. It's very amusing indeed, you could spend a day going sideways and read a newspaper meanwhile. I respect your aim of making it the cleanest one out there, that's what it is. I've tried to obey that style also, but that just doesn't fit my wallet. And I know my bad habit of getting hugely frustrated every time even the smallest thing breaks on a car, so that makes living with a beater quite stressful :p

I've somewhat decided already on upgrading to a newer car. The 518i just doesn't feel at home when doing 120+ kmh on the highway in a saltshitstorm - it's more of a cruiser to the sunset, and a damn good looking one too.
 
Top tip: when putting it up for sale, please ask for more than I did :p
 
After some proper test driving I found my next car. It only requires me to get this one sold during the following week for me to get the monies as another buyer is coming to get it next weekend...

Not talking more about the potential follower, but 140hp, all options from the list and amazing handling...mmm...

homer-drooling.png
 
Mondeo?
 
sad, sad day :( I wouldn't hesitate taking my e34 on a trip to the 'ring for example. done a couple of ~1400km weekend road trips, never any trouble!
 
Haha, nice guesses :mrgreen: I'll tell more about it if/when there's something to tell. Only the test drive has been done for now.

Smurfen said:
sad, sad day :( I wouldn't hesitate taking my e34 on a trip to the 'ring for example. done a couple of ~1400km weekend road trips, never any trouble!
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We did a ~4-5 hour/260km road trip on Saturday, mostly on highways with 120km/h speed limits. I was dead tired after that trip and happy to get out of the driver's seat. As a comparison: with my E81 I drove 1000km to Lapland in 10 hours and only had three short breaks.
 
Ooooh, those are nice! They're in the right size range, but way too expensive.

A new test sit (another test drive isn't necessary) has been arranged for Friday morning. As soon as that goes as planned, money and car keys will change owners. Somebody asked about the BMW today, which is nice. I wouldn't want to be trapped between two cars for too long.
 
Polkky said:
I wouldn't want to be trapped between two cars for too long.
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If you do, I'll offer you 1000 ? blindly for the BMW. :p
 
I'll be doing the old Kokkola-Helsinki-Kokkola 1000+ km drive this weekend with the Cit. It'll be interesting to see how fresh I emerge out of it with the stops at the exact same places as always with the BMW. I have to say the seats aren't as good in this as in that.
 
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luokyio said:
If you do, I'll offer you 1000 ? blindly for the BMW. :p
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I might make you redeem that promise, be careful :p

public said:
I'll be doing the old Kokkola-Helsinki-Kokkola 1000+ km drive this weekend with the Cit. It'll be interesting to see how fresh I emerge out of it with the stops at the exact same places as always with the BMW. I have to say the seats aren't as good in this as in that.
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Are you here through the whole weekend or just a couple of hours? Would it be the place for a miniminimeet, especially if I get the newcomer? The frenchy had a trailer hitch, didn't it? Take a trailer with you and go home with two cars, what an idea! ;)

Brother Michael said:
http://www.nettiauto.com/citroen/c4/4158381

Surely not....?
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:rofl: I hope you won't be too disappointed on Friday.
 
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Polkky said:
Are you here through the whole weekend or just a couple of hours? Would it be the place for a miniminimeet, especially if I get the newcomer? The frenchy had a trailer hitch, didn't it? Take a trailer with you and go home with two cars, what an idea! ;)
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There's some talk of gear.fi going for a coffee or something on Saturday 13:00, but we haven't finalised the place yet.
 
I have to be in Lohja from 14:30 to about 16:30. Around that schedule I'm in.
 
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