Originally Posted by bikerdude666
Thanks all, I’ve given it some more thought over the last couple of days, and also gone and sat in a couple of cars. Decided I couldn’t live with the Toyota, just too bland and sensible. The XE for sale locally however was a lovely place to be and I’ve booked a test drive.
I agree that when a big bill comes my first response is get on autotrader and look for replacements. But I always ended up coming back to fix the ZT. However this time the ZT is running fine, still getting a steady 48-49 mpg on my daily drive to work, and nothing that I’m aware of that needs fixing. The money to be spent is on bodywork, and on things that at 17 years old and 200,000+ miles I feel if I don’t replace preemptively soon, I’ll be left at the side of the road. I also think part of me is just a bit bored with it, it still looks lovely, and is nice to drive, but Ive owned it for nearly 9 years now, and only ever had 3 cars, so think I want to try something different. I also crave something a bit sportier.
I think this feeling is partly driven by everything supposedly going electric, I think while I’ve got the extra money to spare, I’d like to get something a bit livelier but still partly practical. Part of a longer term plan, get this now, to last 5-6 years, then get another IC car before the cut off date, and give myself extra years of manual transmission IC fun.
The idea of getting a replacement ZT is self defeating, any replacement ZT will most likely come with the same issues as mine already has, with the added downside of not having owned it for years and know what’s already been done. I also doubt the future classic status of the diesels. Had it been a petrol then maybe more relevant, but (and happy to be proved wrong in the future) I can’t see the diesel ever being sought after.
If I had anywhere to keep the ZT, I would probably store it, and do it up a bit at a time myself, but last time I enquired about a council garage they wouldn’t even put anyone new on the waiting list!
I know I’ll regret selling the ZT, I still regret selling my Rover 25 GTi when I bought the ZT. But pending the test drive, the XE should be a happy medium between the speed and fun of the 25 and practicality of the ZT, helped by the fact the XE is a very similar shade of blue to the Tahiti blue of my 25.
It may all change after I’ve driven it, but at the moment I’m swayed towards, get something sportier and enjoy IC and manual gearbox while I can. Which is something my dad actually agreed with when I explained it to him. He’s got an old 25 and if he keeps it a few years more, then 1 more IC car will likely see out his driving days. But for me, whether it’s 2030 or 2045, I’ll end up having to have an electric car if they continue down that route, so make the most of not having to have one now.
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