Best car at "just being a car" you've ever owned

[They_all_do_that_sir]

As per the title really. Not looking for your favourite or most missed / loved car.

 

No this is the car you owned that was best at just being a car.

 

For me 'twas the mk1 mondeo 1.8 I owned a few years ago, it never broke, was cheap to run and a comfy place to sit. It just done everything with no fuss whatsoever. Given it was old and worn out it just kept going needing only tyres and a wash for MOT. Everything worked, didn't use a drop of oil or water.

 

Only sold because I fancied a change

 

PS apologies for CRAPTHREADSHOCKER. There's not a lot happening in work today

[Volksy]

The white '96 Corolla 4dr I had. Perfectly adequate in every single way, performed faultlessly and continued to do so until I believe it was exported a couple of years back.

[Sudsprint]

Red 1977 Fiat 128 3P (Pug 205 GR was not strictly mine so can't count it)

 

The Fiat was like the happy love child of an Alfasud and a Chrysler Alpine.

 

Still miss it. 

[Cavcraft]

Tricky, any one of a number. I'll go for Mr Boll's old Cavalier, I think. Did several hundred miles in it in ten days, as well as everyday use before/after that. It was one of those cars you know you could just jump in and drive to the moon and back without having to worry about anything.

Comfortable, reliable, a bit dull but would do anything you asked of it.

[barefoot]

Cortina 1.6L estate, cost £150 and was just fine/adequate in every respect.

Dull and slow, but comfortable, quiet and smooth.

Went miles in the bloody thing.

[saucedoctor]

This. 3 pot diesel. Mingebag on fuel, it just got on with it.

[Keymaster]

V reg Almera in that not quite British Racing Green all the survivors seem to be in. Possibly the blandest car ever made. It simply wouldnt die & was handed down through the family for years, chalking up 110k miles & needing nothing but the usual consumables to keep it going.

[skattrd]

The boring, VW Bora tdi ... 70k in my ownership so far.

[John F]

Probably my V6 Calibra.

 

Before I started working from home, it did 70,000 miles of 100+ miles per day high-speed commuting over 3 years and only failed to proceed once - which was my fault, I'd managed to squash a newly-replaced section of rubber fuel pipe in one of the mounting clamps, causing a restriction in flow.

[Split_Pin]

My current wee Corsa just seems to keep going on and on. It needs brakes for the first time in the 5 years I've had it but I'm reluctant to make a car that is so challenging to get up to speed, slow down more quickly.

[cms206]

Any Cavalier. I still massively regret punting on the Garbaldy chimneysweep spec 1.8i Classic.

[Christine]

Audi 2.0  80 Avant b4 ..bought on a whim a day before a holiday as a px bargain...

[twosmoke300]

R reg vectra 2.0 Dti estate.

45-50 mpg , did several 750 mile days in it with no problems

Bought for 800 quid with 113k , owned for 5 years , sold it for 650 with 188k !!

[Pillock]

Mk2 Scirocco Storm.

Even when it had its one failure to proceed, it did it in a manner that still eventually got me home - stripped thread in the expansion bottle cap four miles from home so just kept pulling over to keep it cool and top up. That was kind of it.

 

Everything else I've ever owned has experienced some massive failure at an inconvenient time. Mondeo, two clutches in three months. Leon turbo then big end. Polo supercharger went pop. Golf engine then gearbox. All of which were really badly timed!

[oldcars]

My Shuma, been spot on for 7 years. Needs brake drums sorted out now but its been great.

[Jim Bell]

I would have to be boring and say a 1.0 16v vvti Yaris.

It's just a car. But it does its job with no complaints or issues.

[Steviemillar]

Probably my old E28 525e, reliable, comfy and even relatively fuel efficient. Best bit was I got 40p a mile from work for about 10k of the 25k I drove it over three years. Cost me nothing apart from service items in that time.

[Asimo]

BMW 518

An '84 car with the lowest spec. possible: carb, manual steering, manual windows, manual 'box, a doom blue corduroy interior, AM radio and no passenger door mirror.

 

I practically lived in that car for six years through all sorts of crises. It did go wrong sometimes but never enough to stop it feeling like home.

[mrbenn]

Probably this:

 

 

All it needed in 80,000 miles was a clutch slave cylinder. Car still made it home, new part was 10 minutes to fit inc bleeding system.

 

Not the most exciting car, nor the best built but just worked. Whether in the outside lane of the M6, or pottering around town. It never even coughed.

[MarvinsMom]

 

this, good ol' Marvin.

 

its comfortable, fun, easy on petrol (65 mpg on the way to and from BL car day) and when its needed something (occasionally) the parts have been for pennies.

 

i bought it when i was out of work, the Rover 25 had died (OMGHGF!!!) an i needed something cheap an cheerful. the fact that is came with 20 odd years worth of bills and receipts was an added bonus.

 

in the last 4 years we've been all over the country both for job interviews and for fun. with the added fun factor that driving something unusual, so much so that me an Marvin have been causing accidents with folks too busy staring at the car and not watching what they are doing.

 

another candidate would be the mark 2 polo breadvan i had as a first car. 4 years and 50,000 miles later i managerd to write it off after having a back wheel blow out, and punting it into a dry stone wall.... happy days!!

[bub2006]

Metro looks a stunner. I have just bought a vanden Plas. Can't comment on how it is yet as I haven't got it on the road. Cars just being cars,well I have had a few but overall it must have been the mazda 323 saloon. 20k in 8 months of ownership. Bought for 500,sold for 450. Never failed to run,was well equipped and economical

[trigger]

I think most modern stuff is just good at doing what it does best these days, unless it's a PSA powered diesel Ford which is just good at going wrong all the time...

 

Probably the best car I've owned that's just been good at doing lots of miles, using little fuel and been nice to drive was my Passat TDi Sport, nothing stood out about it, in fact it was quite boring in a way but i just couldn't fault it, it just plodded on without any faults in 2 years, apart from when it got wrote off which even then it does a good job off protecting us.

 

[Skizzer]

another candidate would be the mark 2 polo breadvan i had as a first car. 4 years and 50,000 miles later i managerd to write it off after having a back wheel blow out, and punting it into a dry stone wall.... happy days!!

 

Another vote for a breadvan Polo from me.  B263 UTT, a 1050cc Formel E in doom blue that saw me through 45k and three years of abuse without needing anything at all apart from service parts and some panel bashing and paint after I toppled it gently over into a Devon ditch.  Simple, solid, practical, brilliant - miles better than the Metro I traded in for it (sorry).  I replaced it with a 1988 1.3CL that was even better, but I didn't keep that as long because I stupidly swapped it for a lemon of a BX.

[willswitchengage]

 

...what I have now. Everything other than the interior light works and it's still the only car I've ever owned where the washer jets don't freeze in winter.

 

Perfect. Garaged all its life so not even rusty. Hit the jackpot for £650.

[messerschmitt owner]

Mercedes W123 230TE estate - could never break it - interstellar mileage and passed its MoT with no work needed the day before I sold it with 230000 on the clock. Absolutely super car - comfortable, quick and utterly, utterly reliable. I even liked the council estate chrome!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

04 Zafira. Totally reliable, inoffensive and useful.

[chodweaver]

Can't decide between the P reg 1.8td Escort estate - did something like 50k in it over two years and it failed twice - once when the servo pump snapped off and once when an injector pipe sprung a leak - and that was only cos of a botched replacement of said pipe by previous owner. Did 50 to the gallon and was comfy to boot, but was glacialy slow. It went to a mate who ran it for another two years before not being bothered to weld it up for an Mot, he scrapped it. Ironic considering he's a welder by trade. And I only sold it on cos I fancied a change to - the other contender - the Mr2 Mk1 that took me 150k over about 6 years. Failed twice in that time with leaking rad and fuel leak caused by the rats in my garage. Loved every mile I did in it. Seems unfair on the good cars that they get moved on just cos we get bored with them...

 

Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2

[vulgalour]

It was the Ledbury Maestro I had, but that's been beaten by the Xantia estate I now have.  Not too much difference in fuel consumption, amazing really considering the Maestro was a 1.3 petrol while the Xantia is a 1.9 diesel.  The Xantia has more load space, massively more comfortable, just as reliable (though has needed more work for things like a new clutch) and has been just that much more easy to get in and go for any job at all no matter how big or small.

 

Having said that, with the various usual niggles the Xantia has which requires some fettling and attention I'd be more inclined to recommend the Maestro to your average punter because it needed no attention at all mechanically, it was a really simple and easy car to live with.

[Albert Ross]

1985 Mk2 Cavalier Estate. Simply did everything asked without fuss.

[DS20]

My old 1995 Honda Accord. It didn't FTP once in the four years and 100,000 miles I had it, and required only routine servicing and maintenance. I only sold it because I felt like a change.

 

I doubt it's in as good condition now, if it's even on the road; I sold it to a Mr Ojo, of Crawley, who properly TERRIFIED me on the 2-mile test drive - I had to pull the handbrake twice to avoid him smacking into stationary traffic in front. I'd be astonished if he's not crashed it by now.