Lost The Love For The 205...

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

I have just lost lost the love for my old 205. I have had the old girl for 12 year, and it was one of the first eaton supercharged 205 around. I use to love driving it, tinkering with it, it was great. Now I only drive it because its there, tax'd and insured so feel I should make use of it. OK, I did a track day in it earlier in the year and that was great - but I could help but thinking RWD would be better. I cant have more than one 'play', so if I want to scratch any other car itches the 205 has to go.

 

I have put the car up for sale (not got around to listing it here yet!), but at the same time I'm thinking what could I do to reignite my love for the car. Its not a spur of the moment thing, I had hoped that Pugfest would spur me on, but it didn't. Do I make it more track focused and do more track days, or try a different engine swap... Or just put a cover on it and take up golf!

 

So any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Clive.

 

 

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

I was in the same position, I stuck it in the garage and forgot about it. Now I'm ready to start working on it again and feeling the love once more

[Toddy 7]

What don't you like about it anymore?

 

imo track focused - you will use it even less

 

Is it a project that you have gone as far as possible with, therefore need to move onto something different?

[welshpug 1,657]

fit trumpets, use it more

[Batfink 201]

Dont track focus it. I had an AE86 with only two seats and a cage. If you are like me and have children I have found my use of the car is extremely limited to time by myself (which is not often). I sold my car and bought another with a full interior and less extreme suspension simply because I will have more opportunity to use it.

From past experience I'd only swap the drivers seat for a bucket seat, if the car is primarily used on the road, then the stripped out race look does not make you faster, it just makes your car look and feel a bit s*it.

 

It may be time to start looking around at other cars as you will be able to drive the 205 to each test drive and directly compare. You may find another car appeals, or you may realise what attracted you to the 205 in the first place.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Batfink

[Anthony 1,003]

Some very good points above, especially regarding likely decreased usage if you make it a track focused car.

 

That said though, 12 years is a long time and given the likely changes in your situation and outlook in that time, perhaps you do need a change? Work out what you ultimately want from a "fun" car and shortlist some cars that meet those criteria and go take a closer look at them - you might find that they're exactly what you want or as Kev said it might well highlight just what you loved about the 205 that made you keep it for 12 years in the first place.

 

Whatever you decide, think carefully before selling - good 205's are getting harder to come by and prices shooting upwards, so you don't want to be one of the many people that have sold up only to end up buying another a few months later.

[ciarandeery1 22]

Dont track focus it. I had an AE86 with only two seats and a cage. If you are like me and have children I have found my use of the car is extremely limited to time by myself (which is not often). I sold my car and bought another with a full interior and less extreme suspension simply because I will have more opportunity to use it.

From past experience I'd only swap the drivers seat for a bucket seat, if the car is primarily used on the road, then the stripped out race look does not make you faster, it just makes your car look and feel a bit s*it.

 

It may be time to start looking around at other cars as you will be able to drive the 205 to each test drive and directly compare. You may find another car appeals, or you may realise what attracted you to the 205 in the first place.

did you sell caged AE86 and buy another with full interior? would love to see some pics. had one myself.

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

Thank you for your replies. Certainly given me something to think about.

 

One of the issues now is that I have a octavia vrs as a daily driver instead of a derv 306... The octavia is fantastic and I love driving it, where as the 306 was just a work horse.

 

what I loved was the tweaking of the 205. Adding the supercharger to be different, a challenge. Now it's a car that just works.

There is no challenge, Ok I the handling may need tweaking.. But I have no motivation, no reason to, no goal seemingly no reason to keep it.

Edited September 15, 2015 by madspikes

[speno 239 2 Cars]

Sell it and move on , you can always build another one when the spark returns

[Ramigojag 19 1 Cars]

Why not find somewhere to dry store it? and look for something like an MX5/MR2 etc. the 205 hopefully will just increase in value whilst it's safe and dry off the road not costing you money, and if you decide in a couple of years you won't put it back on the road because you have a new toy then it could be a nice little pay packet.

 

Alot of could's and shoulds there, but it has certainly crossed my mind with regards to mine.

[commievid 8]

I'm at a crossroads with mine too.

 

It's always been treated as a rolling restoration, fix here, new bit there. I got her a little over three years ago, got some of the rust fixed, and some of it is coming up again. There's also bits on a long to-do list.

 

So it's not at this stage going to be sold for as much as I'd want (at least I don't think), and there'll probably be an upper limit given its a GTI6, so I don't know what to do right now. I also don't prioritise the exterior bodywork, so it's got the dents and mismatched colouring one would expect from a circa 1991 car.

 

My other car's a Lotus Elise, so the irony is that the more "practical" car, with its rear seats and boot, costs more to fuel and tax, and it's hardly the definition of practical (though I have found it remarkable how much it can hold), so it's not as polar an opposite to the Elise as I would want I think.

 

Maybe its just the massive piles of spares and wanting to free some physical space.

 

Dunno.

[Batfink 201]

did you sell caged AE86 and buy another with full interior? would love to see some pics. had one myself.

 

Ive not got the new car yet. Its on a boat coming from Japan. I'd do a build thread when it arrives

[Andy_C 50]

Shut the garage door and forget it until the mojo returns. It's working for me at the moment; my car's at a full stop for various reasons but it isn't going anywhere and it's not losing any money so I'm happy.

 

I'm sorting out all the spare parts and stuff which has been removed and storing neatly out of harm's way which will be a project in itself and when I'm motivated I'll start on the car again.

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

The wife wants a camper... I want an mx5..

[jackherer 543]

With just one or two tiny compromises you can both have what you want:

 

[barneys66 122 1 Cars]

If you can only have one toy at a time then sell it and move on - you can always buy another and the last thing you want to do is resent it just sitting there.

 

Sell it to a mate perhaps, with an agreement that you get first refusal if/when your love is rekindled.

 

 

jackherer - penalty points for that abomination !!

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

My CTI is in a barn unused, though I do have another 205 to play with. Probably best to find somewhere to store it and buy yourself some time to see how much you miss it.

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Go roadtripping with some other 205's.

 

We go twice a year on roadtrip abroad.

We just returned from a 1250 mile roadtrip on secondary roads through french and german mountains/hills and it was great! 205's are so much fun on those roads....

And then look for a dry storage during the winter and improve the handling if you feel you want to mod something.

[calvinhorse 870]

The answer is obvious.. Put the engine in the back?

[Batfink 201]

At my work I store a number of cars for friends who for many reasons need to hide the car away as their lives currently do not warrant having one sitting on the driveway taking up space. I charge a little bit more than the cost of tax per month so its hardly a big expense. Short term, hiding it away and seeing if you miss it will allow you to think about whether it should be sold with a clearer head.

[Wurzel 16]

I sold my 205's back in 2007'ish I can still feel the gut feeling I had when I saw it drive away!! For a long time I stayed away and didn't look back but every now and then I keep coming back and viewing the forum. I still miss the cars now.

 

They kind of grow on you. Like many things you get fed up and move on but there is always a niggle that keeps you coming back. 205's are becoming rare, especially in a decent condition. I'd be inclined to store it then resurrect it later. Each to their own though.

 

Nearly ten years on I'm still on the look out!

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

So no one has offered me the large pile of cash I want for the car, so I've booked another trackday! :-)

[eddie bullit 37]

The wife wants a camper... I want an mx5..

We've got a T4 camper and a MX5. Both great! MX5 mk 2.5 with a diff .

[Batfink 201]

So no one has offered me the large pile of cash I want for the car, so I've booked another trackday! :-)

 

Great to hear. The reality is its only going to appreciate in value