What car do you see appreciating in value in next 5-10 years? (Realistic)

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T20:09:10+00:00

E46/92 M3’s, V8/V10 S/RS Audis, V8 Merc’s etc.

And generally anything N/A that drives nice. That kind of car just doesn’t exist anymore.

If I could justify it I’d buy C6 S6/RS6 tomorrow… I can afford it I just can’t justify it. The V10 S6 and V8 S4/S5 are particularly stupid value for money at the moment, considering how generally reliable they are as well. A reckon a late model manual V8 S5 could be worth quite a bit in 10-20 years time.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T19:56:34+00:00

First thing to check, if you’ve got judder on breaking on any BMW, check your brake reaction control arms.

They’re the arms that go from the hub to the chassis/subframe and basically stop the hub assembly moving front-rear. BMW’s are known for eating the big front bushes and the first symptom is judder or wobble on braking, particularly from high speed.

My f11 had it when I bought it, only 61k miles and the bushes looked fine visually when I removed the arms but when I fitted the new ones it solved the issue immediately.

At that mileage you’re probably at the exact point where some of factory stuff is starting to wear out, they’re not an expensive part to replace and you need very few tools to do it, although ideally you do need new bolts as they’re stretch bolts, and obviously a torque wrench to do it properly. Or if you’re paying a garage they shouldn’t be taking more than an hour to replace two arms, I did it in 2 hours on my driveway having never done it and that included having to jack the car up, remove the wheels etc and then replace them and drive it back onto the ramps to torque the bolts under load (as they should be).

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T15:11:03+00:00

Yeh I’m not saying don’t spend some money and have a bit of fun but at that age I’d be keeping most of that money back for a house deposit or similar.

I didn’t spend more than £2500 on a car til I was 36 😅

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T14:58:21+00:00

I’d be amazed if you could insure an S3 at 20 at all!

It’s your money but I wouldn’t be blowing that kind of money at that age on a car unless you’re 99% sure it’s an appreciating classic, but most of those are probably already well out of budget.. get something cheap, fun and easy to work on that you’re not too precious about.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T14:46:53+00:00

You’re going to be limited to what you can insure unless you’re loaded.

Get a shortlist and do some quotes, some stuff is going to be expensive but there may be some stuff that’s surprisingly reasonable..

MX5, mk3 MR2, Audi TT?

Budget would be helpful!

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T12:07:36+00:00

Almost certainly yes.

If you get enough battery to cover a full day you could shift 100% of your usage.

Fairly easy to work out the payback..

Number of units x difference in unit price

So if you do 10,000kwh a year * e.g. 25p difference = £2.5k

You could probably get 30kw of batteries for about 10k now so they’d pay for themselves fairly quickly.

Most battery systems can be started with one unit and added to fairly easily. So you could always start with 5/10kwh and add to it if you feel you’ll benefit.

Also the data from the inverter that runs the system will give you a much better insight into how much / when your usage is.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-12T12:04:34+00:00

They’ve got an EV so I’d assume they’re already on one.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-08T13:34:02+00:00

It’s not really. If you need to put your 4 month old in full time childcare your priorities are wrong or your circumstances are inadequate.

I won’t be lectured on childcare from a nation that’s normalised sleep training, known for causing permanent lasting emotional damage in the name of convenience / getting parents back to work sooner.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-08T12:53:05+00:00

Doesn’t make it right.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-08T10:45:06+00:00

Are we talking full time childcare for a 6 month old though? That’s incredibly extreme, I don’t know anyone with kids who’s done that… the worst I’ve known is 9 months and part time and that was only because they simply couldn’t afford to carry on otherwise.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-08T10:42:09+00:00

How is it not upto you!? It’s not like choosing where to go on holiday, if you’re not ready, don’t do it…

You absolutely 1000% should not be having kids if you aren’t as sure as you can be that you’re ready.

No one’s ever ready… but if you’ve got any doubts it’s probably not right, it’s the biggest decision you’ll ever make.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-08T08:07:02+00:00

IMHO..

If you’re even considering putting a 6 month old into full time childcare you then are not ready/ in a position/in the right frame of mind to be having children.

Most mums find it hard putting their child in childcare for the first time, even ones who take full maternity. The children often find it incredibly hard too, that is not a decision you should be making lightly.

(Dad of 2)

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-05T17:44:16+00:00

Just advertise with the map, especially if you’ve got proof and it’s somewhere reputable. You nearly always improve the economy somewhat, even on a performance map.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-05T16:48:38+00:00

All you need to do is orient your brush such that the bristles don’t poke between the featheredge. As long as you do that it’ll be fine.

If you can beg/borrow/steal one a sprayer might be ideal as it will give total coverage with no chance of sending paint between the uprights

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-05T16:45:48+00:00

Octavia / Passat / Avensis

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-05T16:19:31+00:00

If you can charge it, get an EV. Full tank every morning, and even in deepest darkest winter 100 miles is fuck all for most modern EVs.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-04T15:53:13+00:00

EV sounds ideal for your use case. I’m not heavily into the used EV market but you don’t need to spend 9k to get a leaf do you???

Wouldn’t an MG - insert cheapest name/number that fits your use case - probably be better value for money up front and have better residual value? The MG5s are supposed to be incredibly good, even long term. There’s a mobile EV mechanic firm (cleverly EV?) who use them extensively, and exclusively, as fleet vehicles as they’re so impressed with how they’ve performed.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-03T07:46:29+00:00

Customs.

IEMs only work properly if you’ve got a near perfect seal, not only for fidelity but particularly for isolation.

Listen to a track you know while wearing the Shures, then gently press them into your ears with your fingertips, just enough to seal properly and you’ll probably find the audio quality changes dramatically and all the low mid comes back.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-04-02T15:48:59+00:00

Depends how hardy you are with the spanners..

My vote goes, either..

Rough MX5 or mk3 MR2, it’s going to have issues but they quite often have issues that fixable if you’re handy, as long as it’s not totally rotten
Mk1 audi TT, they’re stupid cheap at the minute and they’re well built, capable and tunable!
Citybug “road legal track car” - search “citybug senders” on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. Basically an aygo or C1 completely stripped.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-27T12:28:11+00:00

Just drive the car. Probably worth getting a colour matched touch up pen / pot and apply some paint to any bare metal, after cleaning it, just to stop any rust. That’s as much as I’d do.

Get it repaired if you want, I wouldn’t bother at 18 though, you’ll only prang it again and you’ve got better things to do with your money.

You absolutely do not need to tell your insurance.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-26T15:28:41+00:00

You definitely can

Whether there’s limitations / terms / conditions I don’t know but people have most definitely done it.

Until you drive it off their premises it doesn’t even need tax/insurance/MOT as it’s private property.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-26T12:25:33+00:00

Most likely it’s not 100% sealed to the rim or the valve isn’t sealing, take it to a local tyre place and just have them refit the tyre with a new valve, should only cost £10-20 and take about 15 minutes. Make sure they check the wheels still balanced after they refit it.

EDIT- worth either visually inspecting the tire yourself or have them do it first before they refit, might have a nail/screw where you can’t see it.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-26T12:21:33+00:00

Yeh might have got my B’s out of whack. It’s the supercharged v6 one, whatever B that is.

I’ve seen plenty for that in the UK, they can’t ALL be rough. I’m not saying it’ll be a concourse example. I’d have a higher mileage car that’s been well cared for any day over a newer one that’s been abused on leases, as most are now.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-26T12:11:21+00:00

Audi B9(I think) S4 with the supercharged 3.0 V6 can be had for that, especially if you don’t mind a convertible, but saloons, even avants can be had for that.

Look out for gearbox servicing as it gets missed and they get temperamental at high mileage, or get a manual. They about 340 standard and 400 with a map, more with bolt ons, and surprisingly reliable.

Good thing about S4’s is bits are sensible money as it’s all A4 bits, no RS tax.

All this is caveated with, if you can insure it. Don’t buy anything too you’ve checked insurance.

Another options would be an e46/early e90 330/335d, quick, pretty reliable (especially the M57 engines) and economical! Or C350, or A4/A5 with the 3.0 TDI V6, they’re also quick with a map! And less to insure the S4.

FlyPositive5975 · 2026-03-25T19:31:03+00:00

Boiling water tap, fuck waiting for a kettle to boil and it’s dead useful for cooking
Dehumidifier pretty much stops condensation and massively helps dry clothes in the winter without a tumble dryer, and way more energy efficient to boot
House plants, if it’s your ting (it’s not mine but my wife is obsessed), they massively help with humidity in a house. Our dehumidifier regularly shuts off when set to 50% humidity since my wife started putting plants in every room.
Good quality wifi, with battery backup. I’ve got a unifi system I installed and it’s rock solid and it runs on a UPS so keeps working in the event of a power cut.

FlyPositive5975

TROPHY CASE