Mr Lobster Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Bit of background first of all - we've just moved at work into an old Chevrolet showroom and bits of their post still turn up here. Anyway, amongst yesterdays post was a copy of Car Dealer magazine and being a touch bored I thought it might be worth a read.My interest perked up when I saw on the front cover a charity banger challenge in a Top Gear stylee - each of the editorial staff had £200 to spend on a 'banger' to transport them from Portsmouth to John O Groats and back again with points for breakdowns and such. Exactly like TG then.Trouble was, what they considered as 'bangers' that would be hardly be able to make this trip weren't exactly what I considered 'bangers'.....A 96/P Volvo V40 1.6, 93/L Calibra 2.0, 98/R Mondeo ST24 and 94/M BMW 318 all of which looked fairly fit.Now apart from anything else, I would imagine that everyone here would be happy to undertake the same journey in any of these cars without much in the way of concern and that its hardly the stuff of OMG WILL THEY MAKE IT BACK ALIVE.But more than that, I assume that this sort of thing is what the new car retailers consider to be bangers (the article actually describes them as 'dinosaurs of the road') with one wheel in the scrapyard which they would dearly like to see scrapped so we can all finance ourselves up to the eyeballs to buy shiny new cars. To me these are hardly 'bangers' and I'd be happy to roll any one of them as a daily as it should still have a decent few years left in it, but it does concern me that people see perfectly fit, serviceable cars as at the end of their life whilst still in good, working order.Rant over, no real point, just thought it was worth relating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRegieRitmo Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'm highly impressed that they found useable versions of any of those cars for £200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lobster Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 I should perhaps have mentioned that it does mention that they tapped up various trade contacts to get cheap cars ie part ex stuff and most of the cars would have retailled at in excess of £1k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Indeed, I'd have thought the Mondeo in particular would be still quite attractive to buyers (piss-poor fuel consumption aside, it was a nice motor when new and fairly rare) and the rest if T&Td are worth double that easily.I'd run any one of those as my daily without any OMG! I'M BEING SO ZANY! moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volksy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Think the clue is in the title, they will have 'bought' them from the dealers they work at, probably part exchanges so pretty much considered scrap. So market value doesn't really affect them. Kinda like the Volvo 760 used in the Top Gear banger challenge, bought by the researcher for a quid IIRC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Ted Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 ST24 for 200 nicker?Where? Im there man.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Yeah put me in the que for one of those £200 bangers! Rgith up there with those ebay ads that say 'MK2 TRANSIT - when was the last time you saw one of these?'. Er, the last time I looked out of the window Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Portsmouth - John O Groats - Portsmouth? fuck me, that's hardly the Plymouth-Dakar is it :lol:An undamaged ST24 will break for a small fortune, I should imagine the bumpers alone are probably well over £200 worth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lobster Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Portsmouth - John O Groats - Portsmouth? fuck me, that's hardly the Plymouth-Dakar is it Thats why the article was so disappointing. That journey in an ST24, Volvo S40 or whatever is really a none event. If they'd done it in Morris Itals or 2CVs or something then fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hang on a moment.. I just went on a 950 mile round trip in a 41 year old Renault just to go to a car show. Maybe I should have got some sponsorship or stuck astro turf all over my car or something as clearly it was an OMG WTF INSANE BONKERS MISSION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Actually we just had a Mk2 transit go to Paris and back. I was, admittedly followed on by another Mk2 transit, that nearly had the alternator fall off on the French motorway, but it was repaired on the hard shoulder and carried on to finish the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 We assembled our motley crew of clapped-out bangers in a busy supermarket car park at 9am sharp, save for "crazy" Ted and Jim from STD Vauxhall who turned up a tad late in their Calibra - perhaps their wild night of boozing had caught up with them. Our teams then popped into Morrisons for some essential supplies including pasties, sarnies and a few "Drive Time" CDs (had to have some luxury for our epic quest) and we then regrouped in the car park. There was a crackle of anticipation in the air - or should I say a rattle of exhausts, the loudest being from VD Motors in their astonishingly high-mileage BMW 316 - unbelievably reading 120,000 on the clock! Our trusty steeds hurtled up the motorway, unbelievably managing to hold a steady 70mph at times! Other motorists stared in disbelief at our vintage bangers, but we bravely tackled the M25-ring and entered the M1 "Autobahn", toughing out until we got to Toddington services where we pulled off for a Little Chef, a few phonecalls home and a well-deserved rest. Brunch turned into lunch and before long we found ourselves booked into a Travelodge and having a few light ales to cope with the stress of what was to follow the next day. This journey was going to be tough. (Continued next issue) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Can’t wait Hirst! Looking forward to much screwball zaniness.As is generally the way with these stories, presumably they ended up trashing the cars somehow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Do you work for Top Gear then now Hirst? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfetta Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 talk like they're driving 30 yr old relics, hell most of those cars are pretty new to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Ted Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 talk like they're driving 30 yr old relics, hell most of those cars are pretty new to me! I still consider anything P reg onwards to be "new" - I really need to adjust my mental clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Doesn't suprise me they got a ST24 £200, The dealers don't want them, I've taken mine to a few garages lately because I'm after a change and most of them have only offered me £500 for it, And mines a mint 80k version which cost me £1850 last April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Don't take it personally, any family saloon which isn't a diesel seems to be utterly unsaleable at the moment. It's ludicrous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Certainly not having much luck selling my Subaru. People automatically think "Noooes, deyiz well drinky fuel innit!"S'alright. If it doesn't sell, I'll just SORN it at the end of the month and keep it for next winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogweasel Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 That's gotta be the lamest 'adventure' since my endurance challenge taking part in the 4 yard round trip to the fridge to check for more beer (successful outcome) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Speaking as one whos only car is a 98 Nissan I EXPECT it to go anywhere I choose without ANY trouble. Plymouth to John o groats included.IDIOTS the lot of them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 This is marvellous stuff. A bloke I know went with two of his mates on some 'jalopy rally' to Italy or Spain or somewhere a few months ago. I'm not going to knock his motives for doing it (they did indeed raise a lot of money for charidee), but for months in advance of the big event he banged on about how intrepid they were, how risky it was going to be taking such an old car such a long distance, must sponsor him loads etc. The 'kerrazy' car of choice? A 1997 Nissan Primera with about 90,000 miles on the clock, air con and one owner. I couldn't believe it when I saw it - the thing looked virtually mint and to top it all off they gave it a full service and changed the cambelt before going. One bloke alone sponsored them 300 quid for pootling down efficiently through France in the smart, colour-coded Primera. I think they sprayed some pink paint on the car or something to make it look a bit more tasty. What I couldn't believe was all the entrants then scrapped the cars on arrival (all, apparently, at the same vehicle dismantlers - with no dosh in return for the cars!), stayed a couple of days in a 4-star hotel and flew home. One can barely stand the harrowing images in my mind of the entrants' families chewing the stumps of their fingernails while sitting by the phone all week for news of their loved ones. I do blame Top Gear for this kind of non-hedonism which seems to be everywhere at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Staples to Naples or Home to Rome? I would love to enter one of those, but just can't commit 9 or 10 months ahead. Hell I don't know what's happening next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicsmith Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 What`s all this setting off from Portsmouth bullshit? What happened to the traditional Land`s end starting point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 PlymouthSeems I was holding my mouth the wrong way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lobster Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 What`s all this setting off from Portsmouth bullshit? What happened to the traditional Land`s end starting point?Think the magazine is based in Portsmouth y'see. And anyway, Lands End would probably be way too extreme for such old cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'd like to organise a charidee rally where once the teams have all entered they get to do the trip in what ever car I give them. And they wouldn't know what it was until the moment when they're due to leave. They'd all be proper old shitters no newer than the mid 70's and they'd have to drive at least as far as Istanbul. And back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I like it, RatDat. Maybe they could be told which motor they'd drawn the day before setting off - that would give them 24 hours to stock up on spare points, condensor, fanbelt, basic tools etc (£20 max spend?) so they can perform their own running repairs en route... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
254575 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 i was thinking of similar idea, but give teams countries of where they have to buy should be from...UK, France, Italy etc..could be fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyG Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 To a main dealer a three year car is ancient - if they can't put it out on the forecourt, than its junk as far as they're concerned. The original Plymouth-Dakar was won by a 23 year old Hillman Hunter with the front wings practically falling off. Now thats a banger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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