this is how i see it................ right i wanted a new car, always wanted a escos but my mates were saying get a e46 m3, evo 8(at the time) impreza sti8 or whatever. so if i had spent £42k on a m3, £28/30k on a jap car it would be now sitting in my garage worth at least £15k less than what i paid for it which is the amount i paid for the escos.(which is probably still worth 15k now.) yes i know you can spend money on them but most of the time to spend on them is a luxury and upto the individual.sometimes the engines can give way yes but if it costs 2/3k to put right thats still alot less than any money you are gonna loss on another vehicle you buy in about twelve months!! you cant expect to own a car and not have runnunig cost or breakdown costs once i a while. surely the fact that a cosworth doesnt really depreciate in value makes up for the money you would lose in buying a different kind of car. the way i see it is its six of one and half a dozen of the other. people get years of motoring out of the likes of escos for next to nothing(suppose if depends if you drive like a cunt really or generally just abuse it) and on resale get there money back or even make a profit.