My Car History | Part Four

So, part four already. Now this installment brings you up to date as of the time I'm typing this and includes a bit of an insight as to what the plans are for the car too. If you haven't already guessed this part is the S3.

So I have only owned the S3 for a few months at this point in time, however, this is a car I have always wanted to own and has been on my hit list for a long time. My older brother had an A3 8P which made me appreciate these way more, and at the same time, one used to drive past me whilst on my way to school. I was lucky enough to get this S3 for an absolute steal as it was set to go to a trade auction, being the low mileage example it was, I couldn't let that happen and snapped it up for myself.

To give a bit more detail about the car, it's a 2010 Audi S3 8P facelift with the CDL 2.0 TFSI. It's a 6-speed manual and 3-door variant, something that made this car perfect to me. It keeps things simple and you can just get in this thing and go. Now since I've only had the car for a few months at the time of typing, I haven't done some crazy build or any modifications at all. Unless you class a wiper delete a mod. Instead, for the initial steps of making this car mine, it has been maintenance and upkeep. All of which will be documented and posted in good time.

What are the plans for the future? For now, getting it running with a bit more power reliably. Along with the supporting mods like bigger brakes, better cooling, and better handling. I want to keep the OEM feel as to me this car already is perfection in terms of looks and I don't want to mess with it. There are a few bits of paintwork that need addressing as well as a couple of dents too, but for the age of the car, it has been well looked after by the previous owners.

As always, plans can change. So if they do, they will be posted here and I guess we will see if my plans remain or if they go in a completely different direction in the end.

So stay tuned for the upcoming content on the S3 as there is bound to be some coming shortly. 

As always, enjoy the ride,

E.

My Car History | Part Three

So if you read the last car history post, you'll know this one is gonna be a little different. There are a few cars I had for a short space of time which I just have to mention, most of these were to see me through times when the Cupra was under the knife in a garage or just off the road awaiting work to be done.

So, let's start with a guilty pleasure of mine. The Lupo/Arosa platform. These are such a cool car and my first one was a MK1 Seat Arosa, it certainly wasn't quick with the 1.0l engine but it just had an aura about it. It turned heads (probably for the wrong reason) and was just a fun car to be behind the wheel of. I only had this a short period and it held me over for a month or so, and in the end, I sold it straight back to the mate I bought it from.

Following the Arosa, I secured a Lupo I wish I never sold. This beauty was a 1.4 16v but the 100bhp version. A rare car these days and that's partly the reason I wish I never got rid, also the fact that fetch quite the price if you do manage to find one. Again this was a car to hold me over for a short period and it did just that. It was loud and obnoxious with a straight-through exhaust but before I could fix that, I ended up selling as I needed the money at the time. 

What came next, well not another Lupo/Arosa. Instead, a 9n Polo. I was expecting to own this for a bit longer than I did however it was a cool car for what it was and I enjoyed owning it and tidying it up. When I bought it, it was clearly neglected as the guy took it as a part ex for a car he was selling. It came modified, as most of my cars seem to do. With a silly loud exhaust, set of alloys and lowered on some eBay special coilovers, it made for a fun drive but with it only having 70bhp, it left a lot to be desired. I treated the car to a new set of headlights to replace the faded and broken ones, gave it some new fluids, and then not long after that, it was time to sell as I had made the next purchase.

With all of the above, it reinforced the fact you don't have to spend crazy money to have and enjoy a car. Sometimes the most fun you can have is in a sub £1,000 car that you don't have to worry too much about the bodywork and paint. As long as it turns over on the key and has fuel, you're good to go. I love to see these kinds of cars being enjoyed as it takes away from the super serious nature the car scene seems to have at the moment. When behind the wheel of your car, you should be smiling ear to ear and enjoying it. Unless of course, something is going wrong. But we all suffer that fate at some point, don't stress, been there, done that. 

I guess the moral of the story is to enjoy what you got, and don't worry about what other people got.

Remember, enjoy the ride,

E.

My Car History | Part Two

 Part two, and this has to be the car that had the biggest impact! This was my 2014 Seat Ibiza Cupra, it had the 1.4 twin-charged engine paired to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Stock they run about 180bhp which is a respectful figure, however I couldn't just leave it at that.

The Cupra was on my hitlist after the Polo had been written off, mainly due to the fact I wanted something quicker, something I could modify more extensively and I wanted something a bit different. I had a mate who had a Bocanegra (a special edition) which definitely made it easier to know that this was the car for me. After a few weeks of searching, I found a nice example not too far from me. After a viewing and test drive, I knew it was the car for me. The following week I picked the car up and got straight to enjoying it and getting used to having an automatic. 

From purchase, the car had been tinkered with but I was limited on what had been done. I eventually got in contact with the previous owner and he ran through everything he had done with the car. From a full gearbox rebuild to each modification that was on the car. The only thing that had changed was that the remap he had, was taken off more than likely down to the ECU being reset at some point between the ownership change. 

Once I learned about the map being taken off, I got into researching who to go to for getting a remap done to take advantage of the upgraded exhaust, intercooler and intake. It was at this time I came across RTMG. If you know the Ibiza Cupra platform, you probably know these guys. If not, they do a whole host of tuning and parts for a wide range of cars however they have unmatched knowledge when it comes to the 1.4 EA111 engine in the Cupra. They hold the record (at the time of typing) for the fastest EA111, which is fitted into an Ibiza of course. Running 650hp it's certainly no slouch.

Once I learned about them I didn't hesitate to get the Cupra booked in, and sooner than later it had been mapped. I was lucky enough to meet Chris, who other than being a god amongst men was the one who mapped the car and made sure it was running perfectly and I was happy with it before I left. What was an amazing day did take a turn whilst on the way home though. Whilst heading home the waterpump decided to give up and threw all the coolant out. So what had already been an expensive day, turned into an even more expensive day. 

 

After the mapping, the car pretty much stayed the same. Apart from stripping out the majority of the interior to help with the weight and the usual servicing and maintenance. I felt the car was perfect, the power was useable and at around 240bhp, it wasn't the most powerful but it handled incredibly well and surprised a lot of people.

 

But I had an itch that needed to be scratched. Ever since I first started looking at Cupras, I always preferred the look of the pre-facelift, I'm not 100% sure what it is about them but I just think they looked better. So with this in mind, I began seeing if anyone had 'de-facelifted' an Ibiza. From all my research, I couldn't find much, people had spoken about doing it but no one seemed to have actually completed or even started to do it. So, what better way to be the guinea pig and have a go myself.

After a lengthy time of sourcing the right parts, I had a genuine Ibiza Cupra front bumper, the even harder-to-find pre-facelift xenon Cupra headlights as well as the bonnet. And that's all that was needed to make the change. Once I got it all together, I was buzzing, even though none of it was paint-matched just yet, I knew it wouldn't be long before I could finish what I had started. 

Little did I know though, this would be the end of the journey with the Cupra, it had developed the infamous mechatronic failure which is super common with these, and due to a bunch of personal circumstances at the same time, it was time to let it go. Something I wish I never had to do but it was the right thing to do.

Only recently did I notice the car up for sale on Facebook Marketplace and it was great to see the car in its former glory and the pre-facelift swap complete and all colour matched. At the time I had literally just purchased the S3, otherwise, I would probably have the Cupra sat on the drive at home instead of the S3. 

When it comes to the Cupras, I very much have unfinished business with them and likely I will own another in the future. However, for now, I am onto bigger and better things with the S3. The lesson learnt with the Cupra is sometimes you have to cut your losses with a car to get into a better situation. If I had kept it, who knows when it would've been fixed up and on the road the way I wanted it to be. If you have found yourself in a similar position, don't let your pride get in the way. Cars are replaceable but time isn't, focus on the important things in life and you'll find everything else just falls into place.

Part three is gonna be a bit different from the past car history posts, again with some more life advice if ever you should need it. 

As always, enjoy the ride,

E.

My Car History | Part One

 Like anyone in life, I have had my fair share of influences that change my opinion on certain things. If you read the very first blog post you will know that my love for cars started many years ago. More specifically when I used to watch my older brother play Need for Speed Underground. By the time I had my first car, the 'car scene' had drastically changed, and so had my life. 

As you can probably see, my first car was a 2016 Volkswagen Polo. It was an R-Line with a great spec, from the rare Night Pack to the winter pack and electronic climate control. It was a good car however there was one catch.

So with the Polo, I made a big mistake, I got in over my head with a silly finance deal, and it may not have been expensive for some people but for my situation at the time I could have got a similar car for much less. However, we live and we learn. The Polo was such a nice car and it really made me appreciate and understand about looking after a car. However, since I was shelling out so much money on the finance deal, I never had the money to modify or make any changes. Not long into ownership, I ended up being involved in an accident which in turn meant the Polo was written off by the insurer. Some would say this was unlucky however it got me out of the expensive finance deal I signed my life away to and left me with a clean slate to start again.

 

The Polo was a short-lived car however I still really love these cars and the 6r/6c Polo is the best-looking one, especially in comparison to the newer models. 

Just going back to the car finance side of things, if there's any life advice I can give you, do your research before signing anything. A lot of people talk about finance and make it out to be this big bad thing you shouldn't do, but for the right person, it can work. Just make sure you can afford all the other things that go with owning a car, like the tax, fuel, and maintenance costs. I fell into that trap and it can put you in a difficult financial spot pretty quickly! If you own your car outright, that's great. If it's on finance, that's great too. Don't let the naysayers make you feel bad if you own your car or not. 

So next time you hear someone making fun of finance, just leave them be, the car scene is full of haters, maybe that's why it feels like it's dying. But there is still good in this world of cars so let's focus on that.

Enjoy the ride,

E.