Car #14 2015 Audi RS3 8V

 Car #14 2015 Audi RS3 8V - Name: Vera

So, the 728i Replacement, is a 2015 Audi RS3 8V, this was a long long process of not only finding the money but also making a decision on what car I/We wanted as we had ultimately decided the next car would have to be shared between myself and my fiancé as it just wasn't financially sensible to be running 2 cars when we both work from home.

There were a few cars in the running, Audi RS3, Audi RS4 Avant, BMW M3 (E92) & BMW M3 (E46)

We whittled it down to the RS3 & E92 M3 in the end ; we felt the RS4 would be too big for everyday life as well as being too big for Em to drive, the E46 met the same fate in that it was an older car and being RWD would have less 'safety' if em were to drive it and lose the back end.

I felt as if an E92 M3 may have enough electrical helpy bits to stop her from losing the back end but ultimately maintenance bills and preventative maintenance (Rod bearings, throttle actuator replacements) were going to be too much for a sensible daily driver this coupled with the yearly tax bill of over £700 was just not justifiable.

The decision was made to look for an Audi RS3 -  for me, I like a strange spec car and eventually I found one and it was only 11 miles away from our house!

We both went and looked at it and ultimately fell in love, the seller had looked after her so well, it comes with a very cool spec, 5 door, Sportback, pearl white interior with Daytona grey paint, alongside this were a couple of nice to haves optional extras such as SuperSport Seats, Audi Sports Exhaust and the all important Bang & Olufsen sound system.

We paid £21,000 for this fantastic example and this would be considered a bargain with just 59,000 miles on the clock.

I do still intend to acquire myself a V8 E92 M3 at some point in my life, just not yet...

  

An update on Car #12 2001 BMW 7 Series (E38) 728i

 An update on Car #12 2001 BMW 7 Series (E38) 728i

Unfortunately, not a good update to bring to the blog but at the back end of July 2025, I attended a classic car show in Torbay of which the 728i was selected to take part in, we had a fantastic day with loads of people asking questions & admiring the condition as well as beauty of the car.

Unfortunately on the way home, she was involved in a crash where her brakes unexpectedly failed on a wet and slippy road and we collided with another car, the car slid and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

The car sat in the garage in a very sorry state while the insurance company decided its fate in the form of what category write off it was going to be and ultimately it was deemed to be a Category B write off which meant it was picked up and sent to the crusher.

So bitterly upsetting and disappointing, this ultimately lead to me purchasing something else and in turn led to the decision to sell the Orange Mini. 

My first ever car accident and it had to be the cleanest vintage BMW.

Car #13 F56 Mini Cooper S (JCW Pack)

 Car #13 F56 Mini Cooper S (JCW Pack) -  Name: Clive

This purchase came after we sold the R56 Mini and was justified alongside the purchase of my 728i, due to us needing a reliable daily driver, we made the decision to get yet ANOTHER Mini.

Of course, the sensible decision was to get a bright orange mini and make it a cooper s, because that's exactly what sensible people do, right?

Bought this from a very elderly gentlemen in Dover, 2 previous owners (The seller) who bought it from Mini as an Approved used MINI and the original owner, the car came with just 46,000 miles on the clock and had been very well looked after and was purchased for just £9500 (a bargain if I say so myself)

Overall - Fantastic car and wanted for very little, as i write this belated blog post the car itself is up for sale due to us upgrading and buying a shared car, there will be 2 more blog posts to follow this that explain the timeline and why we have come to sell this lovely example.

Car #12 2001 BMW 7 Series (E38) 728i *BMW Individual Spec*

 Car #12 2001 BMW 7 Series (E38) 728i *BMW Individual Spec*

So, I am very excited and proud to present my latest purchase:

A 2001 E38 BMW 728i in BMW Individual Spec (Paint colour is Mora Metallic) of which there were only ever 198 7 Series' painted in Mora Metallic from factory and only 30 as a 728i meaning this car is a 1/30 and VERY Rare, with this car being a 2001 (end of production) it could well be one of the last to ever roll out of the factory in this colour. It was also this generation of 7 Series that Tupac was killed in aswell as it being a bond car in the film Tomorrow Never Dies.

The car has an immaculate chauffeur spec cream interior with purple piping that matches the stunning paintwork and sits on original Alpina B12 wheels, this beautiful example has covered just 97,000 miles in 24 years and only ~11k miles between 2010-2025.

I always promised myself once i had gotten myself a garage, I'd buy an older classic car to drive in the summer months and this is it.

 

Car #11 Mini Cooper S R56

 Car #11 Mini Cooper S R56 - Name: Lucy

Well, this was a bit of a weird one..

I was scrolling through eBay one day and saw this for bidding ending soon after, so i put a bid in for £1800 and won it! A 57 reg R56 Cooper S with i think 83k on the clock and it was only up the road.

Went and had a look (kind of had to buy it as we'd won the auction) had no real purpose for it but it seemed a good buy at the time, gave the car to my partner to replace her awful Ford Focus.

The mini has turnt into a bit of a Triggers broom situation, We've had it 2 years and in that time it has had the following: Refurb gearbox, new clutch, new fuel pump and a host of other bits not to mention the work it had before my ownership, Its an okay car, very fun to drive (as all minis are) and suits my missus' needs currently.

House Move! New home for the cars!

 

A new home! After quite some time we have moved into our new home, a 3 Bed Semi with a double garage..

Hoping to be able to turn the garage into a small home workshop with the ability to work on my own cars!

This however means that the C43 will be up for sale in the new year with my eyes being set on something older and a bit more of a classic feel to it.

I'll upload a garage picture once we've managed to get it spruced up!

10 Cars in, whats the costings?

So here we are, 10 cars in and 28 years old.

After some feedback on the blog, i thought I'd try and put together a costings post i.e. what i paid what i sold for (if i can remember, but I'll try if not they'll be approx.)

A lot of my car sales are private sales because believe i can sell ice to the eskimos me and i just love the whole idea of selling cars to be honest :)

I must add that not a single one of these cars have ever been purchased with finance, contrary to popular belief..

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Car #1 2001 Peugeot 106

Purchased: £500 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £350 (Private Sale)

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Car #2 2004 Mini Cooper 1.6

Purchased: £1800 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £2250 (Private Sale)

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Car #3 Volvo C30 2.0D

Purchased: £3000 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £2500 (Private Sale)

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Car #5 Volvo C30 T5

Purchased: £6000 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £4250 (Private Sale)

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Car #6 Volkswagen Golf GTD

Purchased: £10,500 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £10,500 + £2000 (for the Audi S3) (Private Sale)

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Car #7 Audi S3 8V

Purchased: Effectively £12,500 (Private Purchase)

Sold: £18500 (To WBAC)

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Car #8 Mercedes A45 AMG (W176)

Purchased: £25,000 (Dealership Purchase)

Sold: £18500 PX

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Car #9 BMW M4

Purchased: £24,995 (Dealership Purchase)

Sold: £21,000 (Private Sale)

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Car #10 Mercedes C43 AMG Estate

Purchased: £21,750 (Private Purchase)

Sold: TBC

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Total Spent: £106,050

Total Sold:£75,850

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Net: -£30,200 

For 8 years of driving, thats £3775 per year cost

I reckon people have hobbies that cost more than that p/a....

Car #10 Mercedes C43 AMG Estate

 Car #10 Mercedes C43 AMG Estate - Name: Fraser

So following on from my last post regarding practicality and the M4 came this car, the C43 Estate.

Back to private sales for this one because i couldn't find a decent example of a Premium+ C43 Estate from any dealers at all, travelled to somewhere in London for this one again (i forget where, but very close to Tottenham's training ground)

With a 3 litre 6 cyl V6, this car certainly has some poke to it, but nowhere near the M4, but has more of the practicality element to it, big boot for festivals, dog guard for the dog and it has 5 seats!

I've not spent a lot of money on this so far, as I'm not sure i actually connect with it enough to want to spend money on it, I've had all 4 wheels refurbed in Metallic Silver and 4 new Accelera PHI/PHI-R tyres.

I have also installed the facelift rear diffuser with quad pipes for that more sporty feel to it, the MPG is okay i get around 25mpg around town and mid 30s on a long run (usually airport runs)

Circumstances in my life now dictate that we are moving closer to our immediate family and i will soon have a double garage which means i am weighing up the idea of getting an older car that i can work on myself and store away because i'll be doing even less miles than i currently do (i'll be doing a whats next/dream cars post next up which will offer more detail on this) 

  

Car #9 BMW M4 (F82)

 Car #9 BMW M4 - Name: Zoe

So on from a world of FWD & AWD Cars, we move onto something proper RWD baby.

After learning of the fate that the A45 would soon succumb to, its potential gearbox issues and me getting a promotion at work i thought what better way to seal a promotion than to buy myself a new to me car.

Similar to the A45 i spent a fair while looking for a nice example but again only finding 'Birmingham spec' cars, until i stumbled on one from a dealership called 'Hamptons of Surrey' very regal i know, this place had it all.. Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Porsche's you name it, they had it and for someone from my background and childhood to even step foot into a dealership like this was a big deal for me really.

Traded the A45 in with them and got a respectable amount of money back from it, i probably overpaid for this M4 at £24,995 but it was just a sort, with only 39k miles on the clock and full service history it had to be done.

Purchased it and the drive home was something else, utterly amazing or as BMW would describe it, the Ultimate Driving Machine, i took this car to meets, shows and all sorts, I could not stop taking pictures of the darn thing, the body lines, the interior, the 437m style wheels were just wonderful.

Soon came the modifications, carbon spoiler lip, carbon diffuser, carbon interior panels what not, again it was given the best treatment not at BMW mind you because I'm not a fan of main dealer servicing instead it was maintained by a local chap down the road from me who owns Jacks Motor Works, they specialise in BMWs.

Now my partner and i are festival goers, campers & adventurists, my partner owns a mini it was about 4-5 months into this purchase i began to realise the true impracticality of this car. It had a carbon fibre roof that could not hold roof rails (and therefore a roof box) without being drilled into, so we ended up 3 of us going to a music festival gear and all in the M4 (terrible idea) car wheel span in the mud, boot was rammed and no one had bugger all leg room, it was this seed that led to its inevitable sale but not before i did some skids and burnout or two.

The car was an absolute minter, unreal condition, amazing paintwork and a spotless interior this is still my favourite car to date.

      

Car #8 Mercedes A45 AMG (W176)

 Car #8 Mercedes A45 AMG - Name: Victoria / Vicky

Right then, following on from my S3 and we really do have the bug for speedy cars now and we are still working from home with minimal shifts required in the office meaning that a fuel bill is still not an issue.

So after making a few quid in profit from my Audi S3, i decide i need something faster and 4 doors, i was looking out for an A45 for quite a while as again, its a little bit different to the conventional S3 / Golf R / M140i / RS3 Gang, but most of the examples i could find were shall we say 'Birmingham Spec'.

A dealership kept cropping up on forums that know their stuff on A45s and specialised in them, this would turn out to be my first ever dealership purchase from Church's Performance in a village of butt fuck nowhere, i must also add this was my first ever AUTOMATIC.

The A45 i found had the 'Aero Pack' which means spoiler, canards and what not the full works shall we say, i think it set me back about £25,000 at the time and had about 40k miles on it. Modifications were few and far between on this because it had everything already if that makes sense? I had a new android unit installed for Car Play, Waze and the rest of it, couple of cosmetic bits such as the premium shifter and an alcantara steering wheel.

The car went like shit off a shovel, handled amazingly, fantastic car, okay MPG (talking mid 20s, very early 30s) attracted a bit of attention and most importantly had bucket seats

Video here

Unfortunately, had i done my research properly before i purchased, i'd have known that the pre facelift A45s are susceptible to a gearbox failure, it just happened that i noticed the starting symptoms (gearbox crunch when entering reverse on cold starts) of this before it would happen (the repair bill would likely have been north of £7,000 from MB)  and so she went into part exchange.

 

Car #7 Audi S3 8V

 Car #7 Audi S3 8V - Name: Philomena

Right then, this is where it starts to get a bit juicy, you can start to tell my career trajectory from the cars that proceed this and lack of expenditure compared to salary income.

I had the Golf GTD at the time and i had just got a new job working as a civil servant, lockdown was in swing and we had just bought our first house within reasonable commuting distance to my work and therefore a petrol bill was a pill i was willing to swallow once more.

I put the GTD up for sale and a gentlemen that worked for the ambulance service, this gentlemen was essentially in the opposite situation to me, was driving all over and needed something more economical so he proposed a swap, i was initially dubious but test drove the car and all was well, it was remapped and had an upgraded clutch to compensate for this, the work was done by Northloop Autohaus before i owned it i believe.

I got the S3 and by jove was it quick 300bhp (without the map) and about 370bhp with the map on, baring in mind my previous cars topped the power charts at 230bhp with the Volvo, i soon had the map removed as the insurance didn't know and it was FAR too quick for me at the time, this unfortunately started the bug that i am now caught in of buying fast cars.

I was so immensely proud of this car at the time, pop up media screen, manual gearbox, QUAD exhausts and some decent noise. She got the works and treated to full Audi service history in my ownership, she wanted for nothing until the end of my ownership where she wanted it all....

Towards the end of my ownership she required a new water-pump (common issue on these 8vs) and potentially a new gearbox/clutch and i didn't wanna spend this sorta money on here anymore due to boredom setting in.

This is where it starts to get interesting money wise, as i mentioned this car was part of a swap deal involving the |£10,500 golf gtd, i put £2000 (iirc) to this deal leaving me £12,500 deep, i sold it to WeBuyAnyCar during the lockdown-ish times when the price of used cars was through the roof due to the semi-conductor shortage, meaning i got around £18,500 back for this car leaving me in profit!

This car was also the inspiration behind my first private plate purchase of S13 AOR, which has a little bit of a double meaning, the last half being my initials and the first being somewhat representative of the car S13 (S3) and 13 being my favourite number and the day of my birth.