For me it was funny, i wrote my fisrt car off and was looking for something to buy for around ?1500, looked at a 420SLI wedge, but was veoted by the parents who were acting as the bank role - family loans much cheaper than banks!
but that wa what opened my eyes to MGR
anyhoo, got a derv 205 puglet with 58 bhp and did about 500million mpg even when trashing the nuts off it, so decided that my next car would be a diesel.
Went to the thruxton BTCC while still at uni must have been 19 or 20 at the time and saw the stand there, with a trophy blue MK1 sat there in all it's glory and i fell in love.
for my 21st birthday my parents bought me an experince day at thruxton - i put off the present of cash towrads a new car till i could buy summit better - and got to drive the 180 round a track.
Did a year in industry, lived with the parents for that, came into some money due to death in the family and also the delayed money from my parents meant that just before my 22nd birthday - walked into a MGR dealer near my parents told them i wanted:
a diesel ZS + hatch model, any colour but yellow (sorry Peter, I did not like it on the MK1 and the MKII wasn't out) but needed to be a 115, under 1 year old but mileage not an issue.
the salesman nmade a few calls, while i wandered round the yard, and let me know he found one in birmingham, 9 months old demonstrator with 15k on the clock. it even had the full body kit, monaco part leather seats and 17" wheels but not the fogs - i got them fitted later.
put a deposit down without seeing the car and went back on my birthday to pick it and pay the balance - which i paid via a cheque and then drove the car away. that was 6 years 2 months and 14 days ago.
the car has done over 83,000 and I have done nearly 70,000 miles myself in the car, even with it being off the road more than on recently i never ever get tired of it. Hell i have driven 3000 miles in it with HGF and now i know how to drive round it, has not let me down!
I still hanker after a 180, but can't justify the running costs - even tho if i had bought one, i would not have sunk as much cash into the car as i have the derv... ah well. Maybe i will treat myself and get me a 260 instead at some point
