Your Old Cars

[Lady Elanore]

I was compiling this for hopeful inclusion in the £100k dream garage on PH. All were bought used. I love the art of 'Bangernomics'  (I've never purchased a new car, never will). It makes me happy/sad to see some of these now going crazy in the 'classics' market.  Of them all the AVO RS2000 was the one I regret selling most along with the Alpina B11. The Lambo was financial suicide. It was cheap...I quickly found out why     Ho hum....

 

(Pre 'official' driving days as a yoof)

72 DT250 Yamaha motocrosser

73 RM 125 Suzuki motorcrosser

 

Started driving in 1981 and the list is more or less in order from then (and at times several were in my ownership at the same time).

 

72 Escort MK1 1100L (first car – rostyles, CB, lettered windscreen, roof twig…),

75 MK3 Cortina GXL,

76 Hillman Avenger,

72 MK1 Escort 1300 estate,

77 Kawasaki KH400

72 Suzuki GT380

73 Mexico AVO,

74 RS2000 AVO (miss it so badly…GNO425N),

88 Colt Cordia Turbo (rapid but 80’s glam),

79 RS2000 Droopsnoot (C’mon Doyle!),

86 Astra GTE (yuk but seats were fab),

82 BMW E21 323i (Alpina mods – the ‘widow maker’),

79 Mini Pickup (A hoot…),

77 Lamborghini Urraco (biggest ever financial mistake in my life – a nine week ownership nightmare),

88 BMW Alpina 7 Series B11 (Stunning car),

93 Saab 900 T16,

95 Saab 900 16v,

94 Saab 9000,

89 Citroen AX GT,

92 Renault 5 van (ex Toulouse Blagnac airport 'follow me' wagon...)

93 Nissan Primera P10 Egt (BTCC replica - still have it...best FWD chassis this side of an Accord typeR)

99 Suzuki DT125 4 stroke 

95 Caterham 1.4 supersport,

92/94 Legacy Quad Cam Turbo Estate x2 (stunningly capable high performance estates with 200bhp and awe),

90 Porsche 944 S2 (fantastic touring car),

88 E28 BMW 525E,

92 Nissan Sunny Gti,

93 x300 Jaguar xjr (sublime straight 6 supercharged)

93 W124 Merc E280 estate,

94 W124 Merc E200 estate,

02 Renault Vel Satis 3.5 (Nissan 350Z engine - best used buy cruise barge ever).

 

Current:

3.6 superb estate

Caterham 1700 Supersprint

Nissan Primera P10 Egt (as mentioned above)

Aprilia Moto 6.5 Starck

That's a great and interesting list

 

Beats mine, Can't remember all the reg years so I will post them in order of acquisition Starting in 83

 

Hillman Hunter 1725 GLS (my first love)

Fiat X1/9 my first heatbreak (I killed it :( )

Lancia Beta Coupe 2.0 (Carb version, good to drive but fell apart faster than Russell Brand being interrogated by Paxman)

Fiat Uno 55S mkI (brilliant and quirky)

Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC (hero car, but rusty. Spent a fortuned modding it the old fashioned way))

Fiat Uno II Turbo (turbo turned up to 11 )

Renault Clio 16V mkI (the original, great handling funster)

Scooby Impreza Turbo - 94 (one of the original first 400-major understeer though)

Scooby Impreza Turbo - 97 (massively improved suspension and engine)

VW Golf Gt Tdi mkIV - 110 version (Sat Nav, Auto Wipers and Auto lights in a family car in 1999!)

Seat Toledo 130 TDI SE (hyper economical)

Skoda Octavia mkII 140TDi DSG - WIllberpog

BMW 123D mkI

Fiat Sedici 1.9 tdi 4x4 (because I had a BMW )

Audi A4 3,0 TDi Quattro S-LIne (B8 model with a lot of toys )

Mercedes C350CDI AMG Sport Plus (W204)

Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.4 3dr (coz I had a Merc )

BMW M135i LCi

Suzuki Vitara SZ5 4x4 (coz I have a BMW again :D)

Edited 11 August, 2015 by Lady Elanore

[sigarland1987]

Have been driving only 6 short years (They have gone really quickly)

 

So it goes like this 

 

1997 1.4 Corsa Vegas

1999 206 1.4 

2001 Shogun Pinin 1.8 GDI 

2006 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI 

2006 Xtrail 2.2 Dci

1995 Dodge Ram 4.0 V6 Dayvan 

2002 Octavia MK1 VRS

2006 Octavia MK2 VRS

2005 Mondeo ST TDCI

2001 E39 BMW 530i Sport Estate

2011 Astra Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTI

 

And out of them I think there is one maybe 2 that may have gone up in value which would have been the Dodge and eventually maybe the E39 530i but not sure on that one

[andy3270]

From 1986 I have had more cars than I care to remember more than 70 from a yugo 513 to a Porsche 911 careera 4 with 4 golf gtis 3sciroccos 3 litre Capri. bmws 328,323,320, Audi a4 turbo;imprezzas alfas ect lots of rust buckets currently mk1golf gti and mk 2 fabia s2000 modified to stage 2 .All good fun

Sent from my SM-G360F using Tapatalk

[JesusQuintana]

Great thread. Not a huge list for me considering I've been driving 25 years!

Not a complete list by any means, more a snapshot of my history.

1st car Mk 4 Cortina. YNR 377T

Escort RS 2000 - AVV 320S

A Mini I was too embarrassed to drive and never did!! I lent it my neighbour and he did a Post Office in it!!!!

Landcia Delta HF Turbo S1 (carb version) with Martini stripes B757 ???

3 x Lancia Y10's including a Grey GTiE

Quite a few Mercedes in the last few years. Pick of them was my 230 CE. PROPER gangster!!! Never should have sold that.

I then went Rat scene. Easily the best was my first flirtation with VW. A lovely silver Passat 1.8 turbo estate. Until I rusted it . Looked magnificent in my opinion and got tonnes of offers for it. I was too stubborn to raise the coilovers and got through 3 exhausts in 2 months. That was the beginning of the end of it.

Had big plans for a Felicia rat but that never materialised.

Polo mk3 which I rusted. Didn't like the 4 speed box Just needed a manual choke and I'd have been back in my Cortina! I just didn't love it like I did the PassRat. Plus, I really wanted a Felicia.

A couple of boring cars between the Polo and where I am now, Fabia SE

I reckon only 4 of my cars would have gone up in value. Cortina, Escort, Delta HF Turbo and a future classic, Mercedes 230 CE. Stupidly, I only sold the Merc out of that lot... The others I gave away or swapped!!!!!!!!

Edited 12 August, 2015 by JesusQuintana

[Llanigraham]

Mini 850 Estate (bought in 1978)

Austin 1300 Saloon

Morris Marina 1300 Saloon

Austin Maxi 1750 HL (Twin carb model)

Skoda Rapid (D876 FYE)

Nissan Prairie (Company car)

Ford Escort 1300 (Company car)

Skoda Favorit Estate

Skoda Felicia 1300

Land Rover Series 3 LWB Safari

Rover 218

Rover 418

Land Rover Freelander L Series 3 door hardback

Land Rover Freelander Td4 5 door estate

Skoda Yeti SE 140 4x4

 

Other than the company cars all have been used in some sort of motorsport; rallying, trials or autotests and for rally safety work.

 

The Rapid was kept until after we bought the Felicia, and that was kept until we bought the first Freelander, both as second cars.

 

If I could have one of them back it would be the Rapid.

 

Prior to the cars I had a couple of motorbikes.

[Sad555]

Ford Anglia 100e 3 spd ,side valve (57) year of manufacturing Ford Anglia 105e. 1200 (65) Ford Corsair 1500. (66) Ford cortina Mk1. (66) Vauxhall Chevette. (79) Vauxhall Nova GTE (88) first new car. Honda Civic Lsi (91) Honda Civic Esi (92) Honda Civic Vti. (95) Honda Civic Vti mk2. (98) Subaru Impreza WRX (01). Toyota RAV4 (54). Kia Soul. (59) Skoda Octavia B/Line. (62). Skoda Yeti L & K. (63). Not that many in 47 years of driving.

[FlyingGecko]

Here we go, not quite full geek mode, but near enough -

 

DATE BOUGHT        COLOUR        MAKE & MODEL                             BHP       MILES DRIVEN

Sept 1971                     BLUE           VAUXHALL VIVA HA                         44              18500

Jan 1973                       RED            MORRIS MINI 850                            34              24350

Oct 1974                       BEIGE         VAUXHALL VIVA HC                         58              66000

Feb 1978                      BRONZE      VAUXHALL CHEVETTE                     58               21850

Oct 1979                       RED            SUZUKI SC100                              60               24150

Aug 1981                      BLUE           SUZUKI ALTO                                50               19550

Jan 1983                       RED            CITROEN VISA GT                          80               35650

Aug 1985                      SILVER        CITROEN VISA GTI                       105               32600

Oct 1987                       RED            VAUXHALL NOVA SR                      75               11500

Aug 1988                      RED            VAUXHALL NOVA GTE                  110               29500

Aug 1990                      RED            PEUGEOT 309 GTI                       130               49200

Jan 1994                       BLACK        PEUGEOT 306 XR                          80               42800

Nov 1986                      BLACK         CITROEN XANTIA VSX                 120               86000

Jan 2001                      SILVER         MITSUBISHI GALANT V6-24         163               73000

Mar 2005                      BLUE           SAAB 9-3 ARC 2.0                       175               11057

Nov 2005                      SMOKE        SAAB 9-5 VECTOR 2.3               185/220         112245

Aug 2014                       SILVER       SKODA OCTAVIA SE 1.4TSi DSG  140              10500 to date.

 

Total miles driven around 668500, plus maybe 15,000 in rentals, loans, friends, family, etc. Call it two thirds of a million. I do have much more info than that shown above, but I really do need to step away from the files.

 

Some were bought new, some used.

The first Viva was running on three cylinders when I bought it, and seized a few months later. Warped head needed a skim and two gaskets to get it running again. It did not like roundabouts in the wet at anything above walking pace. And also broke rear leaf spring.

Most head-turning? The red Suzuki.

Biggest disappointment? The Saab 9-3.

Best sounding engine? The Galant. Also the one I never got tired of looking at.

Biggest mystery? Why was the Nova GTE not as enjoyable as the SR?

Most comfortable, most missed, most wallet draining? The Saab 9-5, closely followed by the Xantia.

Biggest tyre eater? The 309 GTI. Went through one set of fronts in under 8k.

Best paint name? The Chevette - "Champagne Starfire Metallic".

Worst? The 9-5. Actually called "Smoke Beige", but really a beautiful dark bronze.

Most embarrassed to have bought? The Alto. The best part of that was the three cylinder engine sound. Which doesn't say much for the rest of the car.

 

The 9-5 had uprated suspension and engine tuning by Hirsh, official Saab tuning partner.

From the Xantia on, all have been automatics.

Passed IAM test in the Visa GT, having failed it in the Alto for driving too slow... mainly because I was prepared for that test by a black cab driver. So the local group switched me to a police driver. What a difference.

 

Before all those, I rode a BSA Bantam for a year. Biggest regret there was not getting round to taking the bike test.

 

 

 

And yes, I know the spacing is rubbish.

 

 

 

 

[Bazzer1955]

Reading through these posts rekindles (if that is a word) memories of times gone by.........Fast Fords, Vivas,Suzuki 2 stroke screamers ( I can still remember the smell of burning 2 stroke.....fabulous) etc etc, but I can recall borrowing a friends car  that has not been mentioned yet and this was a rocket by the standards of that time.......it was a Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider. Raider because it had colour coded alloys, but this thing wheel spun in first,second and third and handled terrible but it was the quickest thing off the mark that I had ever driven. I reckon most of them ended up in hedges and upside down but great fun in their day. Anyone had one ?

 

Edited 12 August, 2015 by Bazzer1955

[retroboost83]

Reading through these posts rekindles (if that is a word) memories of times gone by.........Fast Fords, Vivas,Suzuki 2 stroke screamers ( I can still remember the smell of burning 2 stroke.....fabulous) etc etc, but I can recall borrowing a friends car  that has not been mentioned yet and this was a rocket by the standards of that time.......it was a Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider. Raider because it had colour coded alloys, but this thing wheel spun in first,second and third and handled terrible but it was the quickest thing off the mark that I had ever driven. I reckon most of them ended up in hedges and upside down but great fun in their day. Anyone had one ?

 

Have a look at my post on the first page fella i owned a 91 tungsten grey r5gtt i still actually renuild the odd c1j carb and set them up for people.

[Bazzer1955]

Have a look at my post on the first page fella i owned a 91 tungsten grey r5gtt i still actually renuild the odd c1j carb and set them up for people.

How the f*** did I miss that ?   Apologies. Were they as nutty as I seem to remember ?  I seem to recall the steering was all over the place especially in wet or damp conditions.

[retroboost83]

Well mine had double the power of standard so had alot of upgrades suspension wise etc as well, all i can say is i will probably never own another car as quick as that, we used to have something we called the kill list on what it dispatched of.

It used to get so much attention as they are very rare now was only about 495 left taxed on the road when i owned mine, there was such a sense of occasion,drama presence etc they certainly dont make hot hatches like that anymore and never will again.

Funnily enough the garage i have stared taking my vrs to have an r5gtt in there with the clio williams engine fitted im very tempted to buy it off them and turbo it, dont think the wife would like it though haha

[Bazzer1955]

This may interest you http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Renault-5-1-4-Turbo-GT-3dr-/161751793383?hash=item25a9287ee7  it looks very clean for the year

[Laurie61]

Reading through these posts rekindles (if that is a word) memories of times gone by.........Fast Fords, Vivas,Suzuki 2 stroke screamers ( I can still remember the smell of burning 2 stroke.....fabulous) etc etc, but I can recall borrowing a friends car  that has not been mentioned yet and this was a rocket by the standards of that time.......it was a Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider. Raider because it had colour coded alloys, but this thing wheel spun in first,second and third and handled terrible but it was the quickest thing off the mark that I had ever driven. I reckon most of them ended up in hedges and upside down but great fun in their day. Anyone had one ?

 

 

I owned a 5 turbo, It was one of the first in the country and pearlescent white. I thought the handling/ ride was well sorted with nice gearbox and brakes. A fast start could be initiated in second gear with the car held on the handbrake to build boost  Only problems I had in 2 1/2 yrs was a fan belt within a few weeks of getting it and then the clutch started to disintegrate which intermittently stopped gear changes   (partially covered under warranty)  sold it at around 45,000 miles for a new 309 GTI 1.9.  

 

Took this when it was about 12 months old.

 

[retroboost83]

Theres a few of my old r5gtt

And an old vid of it doing 230bhp on wgt hub dyno

[bspman]

Quite possibly the least impressive car history:

 

1996 Nissan Primera P10 (1.6L) - Rear ended and beyond economical repair. Brother took  it for a £100 for his wife's first car.

54 Plate Octavia (my current car )

 

As great as the Octavia is.. I really do miss that primera. Great handling and, whilst not the fastest thing on the road, a lot of fun to drive. Had a great big boot and honestly felt larger inside than the octavia.. though my back would hurt after more then 40 or 50 minutes driving and I'm not sure I'd come out of it quite so well if I had a motorway accident!

 

The octavia I've driven 4 hours with only slight back discomfort and the doors are thick!

Edited 13 August, 2015 by bspman

[JohnMack]

No its an Opel Manta B Berlinetta , used to be a rare site on uk roads in the 70s then they brought out the Manta C which is the one used in rallying and the one most people associate with the Manta name .

:no:  It's a Manta A, not a B.

 

This was mine, sold about 6 years ago now.  Looked standard bar Recaro interior.........and 2.0XE lump and Getrag 5-speed.  

[Wile7]

Quite possibly the least impressive car history:

 

1996 Nissan Primera P10 (1.6L) - Rear ended and beyond economical repair. Brother took  it for a £100 for his wife's first car.

54 Plate Octavia (my current car )

 

As great as the Octavia is.. I really do miss that primera. Great handling and, whilst not the fastest thing on the road, a lot of fun to drive. Had a great big boot and honestly felt larger inside than the octavia..

 

The P10 has one of the finest fwd saloon chassis of its time, arguably only bettered by the Accord TypeR.  I still have my French registered LHD 2.0 Egt Primera ('93) and it is white with bilstein coil overs, Oz alloys and tarox brakes. A BTCC replica ish. Back in the day ('94?) they led the field.  The engine is standard apart from K&N and full stainless exhaust system. The Egt had the redtop 16v engine @150bhp but the car is so light and agile it will surprise many cars on the twisties. Its reliable too. Apart from regular oil changes and servicing mine has been brilliant. And it has 320,000 kms on it....Mine's similar to the lovely one below but with Oz alloys:

 

 

[bspman]

The P10 has one of the finest fwd saloon chassis of its time, arguably only bettered by the Accord TypeR.  I still have my French registered LHD 2.0 Egt Primera ('93) and it is white with bilstein coil overs, Oz alloys and tarox brakes. A BTCC replica ish. Back in the day ('94?) they led the field.  The engine is standard apart from K&N and full stainless exhaust system. The Egt had the redtop 16v engine @150bhp but the car is so light and agile it will surprise many cars on the twisties. Its reliable too. Apart from regular oil changes and servicing mine has been brilliant. And it has 320,000 kms on it....Mine's similar to the lovely one below but with Oz alloys:

*snip*

 Oh man.. ever so slightly jealous!

 

I wish I had a reason to need a second car!

[skinnyman]

The P10 has one of the finest fwd saloon chassis of its time, arguably only bettered by the Accord TypeR.  I still have my French registered LHD 2.0 Egt Primera ('93) and it is white with bilstein coil overs, Oz alloys and tarox brakes. A BTCC replica ish. Back in the day ('94?) they led the field.  The engine is standard apart from K&N and full stainless exhaust system. The Egt had the redtop 16v engine @150bhp but the car is so light and agile it will surprise many cars on the twisties. Its reliable too. Apart from regular oil changes and servicing mine has been brilliant. And it has 320,000 kms on it....Mine's similar to the lovely one below but with Oz alloys:

 

 

 

 

Don't get me started on Primeras again!  I love them myself and have my eye on one locally.  There are at least three GTs here in Scarborough that are in really good nick but the one I'm watching is a silver eGT owned by a young lad.  It's in great condition and if it ever comes up for sale I'll find it hard to resist!

[Bazzer1955]

I keep asking myself why I know nothing about these Primeras   were they not very popular ?

[FlyingGecko]

I keep asking myself why I know nothing about these Primeras   were they not very popular ?

 

 

Anything below GT spec was bl00dy awful. Work colleague had an ordinary one as a company car and was delighted when it was written off when hit by a VW beetle - the original type - in a car park shunt.

[Wile7]

The P10 platform was a massive global success for Nissan back in the early 90's. I think it replaced the Blubird as the humble saloon/hatch of the range. A million taxi drivers will swear to its reliability. The sports versions ( in saloon and hatch styles I think) were stunningly capable drivers cars. Nissan europe campaigned the saloon eGT in the BTCC series before replacing it with the later P11 platform (now called simply GT and also a successful car).

We had moved to France and I stumbled across mine at a dealer in Toulouse in 1999. It was a 1993 car, one owner and 53k Km's only from new. As I mentioned, I still have it. It needs a bit of TLC but I have had it serviced at the same nissan dealer and aside from standard oils and fluids it has run like a swiss watch. 330,000kms now and still going strong. The design has aged really well and to my eyes it is old school 'Skyline-esque' in its DNA.

Buy one now if you can find one. They are still cheap but I reckon it has future classic status.

[Lofty]

Someone say Primera's?

 

 

I was fortunate to run a Primera P10 eGT back in 1995 - 1996 and loved the agile handling and was looking to replace an expensive to run 247bhp Escort RS Turbo track car so this fitted the bill.

 

Bought for the princely sum of £230 off eGay with a seized water pump, got it running for £30 and then did trackdays for 4 years in it. It was averaging 12 days a year, used it for work, went to Lemans, Spa and the ring in it, and it was honestly the toughest car I ever owned. Wasn't the fastest thing out the box but stripped out to the minimum, two seats and a £10 K & N it was ace! Even made 163bhp on our RSOC local group rolling road day.

 

Dubbed the "track Taxi" it is sadly missed

[Lofty]

This was the beast that it replaced..

 

 

Had a 7 page feature in Fast Ford in October 2004, was fast but proper old school, slicks, AP's, caged, coughed flames everywhere!!

[Lofty]

Worst old car I've ever had...

 

Escort Mk6 RS2000, just didn't get on with it, neither fast nor special, prob the worst RS I've owned over the years, unusual colour at least