Hey all,
When looking for my ///M Coupe last year I looked at a number of other cars (non ///M, non Zed, non BMW) and although we all have Zeds here I'm just curious as to what we could have been driving.......
So to start off, I'll tell you about one car I went to see and test drive before eventually deciding to go with my lovely ///M......
Wait for it........................................................... it was this..........
I know, I know, they don't compare on class in anyway but I went to see a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-300 SST. At just under 300 bph it's 4-cylinder turbocharged engine is attached to a twin-clutch flappy paddle short-shift-transmission, can seat three more people than our Zeds and is a rally-bread lunatic. So here the story gets interesting....
For a car registered in March 2011, by July 2012 it had had 5 owners and done just under 6k. The dealer stated it was standard but one of the first things I noticed was a corroded aftermarket exhaust and an FQ-330 badge on the back (which surprised me as it was definately an FQ-300.....)
When test-driving it one wet Sunday morning through the B-roads of the New Forest I noticed the distinct smell of burnt clutch for the whole journey......now this could have been my driving style, or perhaps me getting used to a semi-auto for the first time but I've never done it with the Zed........The dealer's response was 'these cars can take it ha ha'. That aside the Evo X was blisteringly quick and when you're driving a turbo you certainly know about it!
So when poking around the car looking for the VIN number I eventually found it not on the windscreen but underneath the driver's seat.....It looked as though the metal had been treated with acid or another corrosive compound as the colour was lighter around the number itself. This could well be part of the normal process for marking chassis but with this, the 5 owners in a seriously short amount of time, the smell of burnt clutch in the morning, the undeclared rusty aftermarket exhaust, the FQ-330 badge on the back of an FQ-300 and the dealer telling me that in the past they've taken on part-exchanges with complete engine failures, all led me to walk away from what I can only describe as a lemon.........
I think I had a lucky escape
So any similar stories? Please tell us all what you almost bought when looking for your Zed!
When looking for my ///M Coupe last year I looked at a number of other cars (non ///M, non Zed, non BMW) and although we all have Zeds here I'm just curious as to what we could have been driving.......
So to start off, I'll tell you about one car I went to see and test drive before eventually deciding to go with my lovely ///M......
Wait for it........................................................... it was this..........
I know, I know, they don't compare on class in anyway but I went to see a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-300 SST. At just under 300 bph it's 4-cylinder turbocharged engine is attached to a twin-clutch flappy paddle short-shift-transmission, can seat three more people than our Zeds and is a rally-bread lunatic. So here the story gets interesting....
For a car registered in March 2011, by July 2012 it had had 5 owners and done just under 6k. The dealer stated it was standard but one of the first things I noticed was a corroded aftermarket exhaust and an FQ-330 badge on the back (which surprised me as it was definately an FQ-300.....)
When test-driving it one wet Sunday morning through the B-roads of the New Forest I noticed the distinct smell of burnt clutch for the whole journey......now this could have been my driving style, or perhaps me getting used to a semi-auto for the first time but I've never done it with the Zed........The dealer's response was 'these cars can take it ha ha'. That aside the Evo X was blisteringly quick and when you're driving a turbo you certainly know about it!
So when poking around the car looking for the VIN number I eventually found it not on the windscreen but underneath the driver's seat.....It looked as though the metal had been treated with acid or another corrosive compound as the colour was lighter around the number itself. This could well be part of the normal process for marking chassis but with this, the 5 owners in a seriously short amount of time, the smell of burnt clutch in the morning, the undeclared rusty aftermarket exhaust, the FQ-330 badge on the back of an FQ-300 and the dealer telling me that in the past they've taken on part-exchanges with complete engine failures, all led me to walk away from what I can only describe as a lemon.........
I think I had a lucky escape
So any similar stories? Please tell us all what you almost bought when looking for your Zed!
