Too old for a 197?

chris mcm

chris mcm

Hi guys, I just this week bought a 197 cup in racing blue, I collect it on Saturday. My mates are used to seeing me in bigger cars, probably deemed to be more "grown up", and they are giving me a lot of stick about my new purchase. Personally Ive always loved the 197 and have long toyed with the idea of buying one but I'm just wondering if I might be too old to be driving it? I'm 30 and my current car is a very nice Passat which I'm in the process of selling and before that I had a 2.5 ltr m sport e46 coupe. An important point though is that my friends aren't car people so while I don't give a toss about their opinion, I have been wondering if ive made a mistake.
 
If you have to ask the question, then you are definitely too old for a 197. There is more to age than years!
 
Age is just a number! There's a 197 local to me and he's a 60 year old man...
 
Nah. I'm 32 and I've got one. Plenty older on here as well. Think litchy is about 97.
 
I met a bloke at Cadwell once who'd retired and bought one to do trackdays with his Grandson.


Just don't ask [MENTION=29]foxspeed[/MENTION] his age :smiley:
 
My grandad had a 998 mini cooper with massive carbs and god knows what on it, he was well into his 30's when he sold it, and he will talk about that car forever. So I wouldn't worry.
 
Using one for trackways is different than using one as your daily car. It's bought now anyway so I'm just going to enjoy it! Going to get it detailed and enjoy driving again. The Passat is nice but it bores the arse off me.
 
chris mcm said:
Hi guys, I just this week bought a 197 cup in racing blue, I collect it on Saturday. My mates are used to seeing me in bigger cars, probably deemed to be more "grown up", and they are giving me a lot of stick about my new purchase. Personally Ive always loved the 197 and have long toyed with the idea of buying one but I'm just wondering if I might be too old to be driving it? I'm 30 and my current car is a very nice Passat which I'm in the process of selling and before that I had a 2.5 ltr m sport e46 coupe. An important point though is that my friends aren't car people so while I don't give a toss about their opinion, I have been wondering if ive made a mistake.
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Clearly they are not your "mates" if they are giving you stick for something you want to enjoy. Sure there is banter, but if you've resorted to coming here to have an explanation about it, they're going too far with it.

Pal, to be fair, I'm 21 and I'm struggling to pay for my car. Being 30, in a tidy job, I would enjoy my car so much more. Damn man, if I was 65 I would still be belting one of these around.
 
Bought one last month and I'm 42 next month and started modding already. Growing up is well over rated... Do it, do it, do it!:thumbup:
 
Pav said:
cheaper insurance mate:thumbup:
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it actually is cheaper than the passat, i was very shocked about that. the passats a 2ltr 140 sport but i still was expecting the clio to be at least £100 more a year. the tax is certainly more!
 
Well I'm a 54 year old recycled teenage girlie and I love my cars and also my Ducati 620 Monster and 600 supersport. As I said, there is more to age than years, and some people are old at 20 and others prefer to grow old disgracefully! Your choice.......
 
Im 49 & been competing in my 200 for 3 years & competing in motorsport for 15 years.
Ive always had performance cars since I was 16 & that will never change.
I also work in the performance car industry.
A friends dad has a highly modified Evo 9 & he is 70.
The way I see it is yes I could give up on performance cars & buy a Camry or SUV or some other bland crap, but im not a boring 'me too' type of person & certainly not the type to do something just because everybody else does.
To the average person a car is just an appliance for getting from A to B thus any piece of crap will do.
To a true enthusiast such as myself a car is way more than that, it's my hobby, my sport, my passion, its part of my life & who I am.
My missus wouldn't even consider questioning my car choice as she knows its my passion, in fact she comes to most the race meetings & enjoys it too, as does my 16 year old daughter. If your woman asks you to give that up then you've definitely got the wrong woman imo.
If you were a hardcore car guy you wouldn't even question yourself so i'd say sell up & go back to the boring VW/Bimmer like everyone else has, or simply tell your mates to go **** themselves, live your own life & stop worrying about what other people think.
 
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Nah never too old. I'm 31, use my Clio as a daily, and with it being bright yellow and having the loudest exhaust ever means it sticks out. I ferry my kids to and from school and being an IT consultant I have to arrive at my customers sites in it too:smile:
- What's the alternative though, conforming to some boring VAG based rep mobile (probably diesel, probably silver!), sod that.
 
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