Dj_efk

One of my girl mates (who I shagged for a bit before we entered the friend zone - hee hee!) had one of those 1.1 Puntos - it was really quite rapid and rent as you’d expect an Italian hatch to be - brilliant car. I’ll never forget the time we walked out of my flat one morning, over to the Punto, unlocked it and got in - only to find the key wouldn’t turn in the ignition. We were still a little groggy from a lively night out and it took a while looking around inside before an uneasy feeling descended upon us….. then the penny dropped - we were in the wrong car!

Was going to say exactly the same. It’s not fast, but it is (in my outrageously biased opinion) chuckable and fun in a Citroen 2CV kind of way - assuming you’re going for economy and minimal running costs which the 1.4 MPi offers. If you don’t mind being in a higher VED band, you can afford the £2.5k+ a decent example of the 1.6 FSi version will cost you AND you’re handy with spanners and happy to tinker then much more lovely performance awaits (110 BHP in a sub-1 tonne car).

You had a lucky escape.

Oh here’s one - Citroen 2CVs are as good as the sum of their parts - a weedy lawnmower engine bolted to a number of pieces of corrugated iron with a few deckchairs sprinkled inside. Having bought a nice example I couldn’t wait to offload it asap the first time I took it out of a 30mph zone - where it went from being a hilarious clown car on the corners and roundabouts to a terrifying instrument of torture. I managed to double my money by selling it to some nutter in Malaysia in the end!

Saw this today outside the Axminster Co-Op and thought I’d revive this thread - Zoom in. It was a proper old biddy that got in this and drove off too!

I last read this thread years ago when you were considering putting electronic ignition on your Cortina and have settled down for an evening’s read to catch up. So sorry for the shitty luck, I shall be thinking of you next time I go by Basingstoke on my regular Devon / Maidenhead trips. I hope 2024 is the year that things turn brighter for you.

I think we need more info on the OP’s use cases for the car - however I would suggest an Audi A2 TDi 75 - Pros: Ticks the premium box as high spec ones are nice inside Immensely practical for its size - has the passenger space of an equivalent Golf whilst taking up a tiny footprint (great for urban non ULEZ environments and also if you live somewhere with narrow lanes like me). Also the rear seats unlatch right out and it then turns into a small van. Most bits are from the VAG parts bin so very cheap to run and reliable - the current record mileage is over 450k on the same engine! £35 tax, qualifies for classic insurance if needed, 70mpg is possible as…. …Made from aluminium so only corrosion of the suspension components to check for - ideal therefore as winter beaters There’s a thriving owners club with a wealth of DIY maintenance and repair info You can upgrade them easily with a remap, six speed box from a later VAG diesel and add all sorts of retrofits to basically spec the car how you want it via the club relatively cheaply. It’s a statement that goes against everything that Audi stands for now! Cons: Styling is an acquired taste Getting harder to find a decent one for under £1500 - but still easy-ish to find if you’re patient

Nope a damask / similar red 2 door. I saw it quite by chance several years later parked in a car park in Worthing - it was a fantastic coincidence as that was the o U.K. day I have ever been to Worthing, I sold the car while still living in London. It then popped up on eBay a few years ago looking a bit worse for wear - clearly hadn’t been garaged etc. and had deteriorated plus had some one or two interior trim bits fitted - I was a little saddened by this as I know it would still look as good as it did then now if I had kept it.

I once bought a series one 1300SDL Allegro complete with quartic steering wheel back in 2008ish for a laugh, believing the Clarkson drivel about BL. It cost me a grand on eBay, it had 45k miles from new and was immaculate. Well the joke was on me: After giving the thing a birthday service and upgrading the ignition to electronic using a kit of parts from a Mini specialist, it was 100% reliable, drove really well and would cruise easily at 65-70mph no bother. It also turned heads everywhere it went and I couldn’t get it to do less than 40mpg no matter how I drove it. At the time I lived in west London and it would make even more sense in London now, being tax and Khan exempt. I turned from a BL basher into a believer- so when a low mileage series 1 1800HL Princess came up on eBay a year later down in south Devon I bought that too - and once again was astounded at how good a car that actually was compared with the rep, once I’d given it the same birthday + electronic ignition upgrade treatment. Bear in mind I was in my twenties and my expectations of a car were somewhat lower back then, but nonetheless I still correct obviously biased bollox about BL if I ever hear it now using my actual experience of their products.

That’s the exact pose I seem to adopt when my back gives me shit after an hour or more bending under a bonnet. I could post a similar picture upon request.

“You can’t park there mate”

Nice one for picking yerself up and getting your life back on track. It’s a big step mentally. Hope your back has been self-patted for that.

I remember trying to change the points on the one I had - By the time I got it all apart the overwhelming consensus of “fuck that for a game of soldiers” drove me into the arms of one of the electronic ignition kit sellers - Other than that it was a fun car to work on, no way would I daily one for anything beyond short urban trips mind - it felt like a death trap at anything over 35mph!

Main lesson of this thread appears to be don’t even consider dailying anything French of any age 🤯

Impressive levels of retro car geekery right there!