Shite that surprised you?

[theorganist]

My 1990 Ford Fiesta Mark 3 1.1 Popular Plus. Purchased for £250 off ebay as a quick stop gap car.

 

I still remembered the What Car company car issue in 1990 describing the Fiesta as fine if you don't like driving or something similar.

 

I couldn't believe how attached I became to the car. It's interior was dull but comfortable and the 1.1 push rod engine wasn't particularly noisy and nippier than I expected (and car tests purported). It only had four gears but was not overly noisy at 70.

 

It was a surprisingly fun car to drive and certainly surprised me. 

 

A big part of me wishes I had kept rather than getting the Horizon but the Horizon is even more endearing and similar in many ways, OHV 1118cc engine and four speed box. It is quite a bit noiser than the Fiesta at speed and the steering heavier. It does have more character and is extremely comfortable and has also surprised me a little as it is quite a pleasant place to be on a long journey. And it comes with a built in foot spa!

[twosmoke300]

I loved my chevette and my skoda 130 . Did 3000 miles in 10 days in the skoda

[Junkman]

Rover P6 V8.

 

 

I have no idea why I ignored them for so long in life, having had the first chance to buy one as early as 1984, but opted for a '74 Impala instead.

When I finally got my first one, I was well over 40. Had I not bought that one, I'd have never found out what I've been missing all these decades.

It's like I went to the Savile Row of car makers, and they took my measurements and tailor made me my car.

Caution: It might not suit everyone that well.

[groovylee]

not sure if it qualifies as shite, but I went to view, and ultimately buy, a 1999 Alfa GTV, in the dark

 

1500 notes.

 

complete with original bill of sale, and extras list.  £31k new     red leather, 17" teledials, looked awesome.

 

best, most reliable car I have owned to date. took it round the evo triangle at speeds that made me wince, but still held fast in the bends.  sold it as our two kiddy seats didn't fit. still cry at night over that one lol 

 

Lee

[Inspector Morose]

I've been wracking my brains over this as I've a lot to choose from in my driving repertoire over the years but here goes.

 

1. Sloth in a bowls Kia. A wonderfully peppy little car, economical and more fun to drive that it deserves to be.

 

2. Alfa 75 2.0 twin spark. A four door, four seat saloon that could handle like a sports car. Again surprisingly economical and good to cover distances quite comfortably then when it comes to the twisty stuff, it provided many grins to myself and the three passengers with me.

 

3. Fiat panda (modern) a modern car? Surprising? Well yes. Not only is it cheap to run, and for a fiat, pretty reliable, it's practical, seats four and can be fixed by myself without the need to grow extra fingers or joints nor have any need to dismantle half the car to change a lightbulb. Covers distances well (Brum to Cornwall on many occasions including my wedding) and equally happy bumbling around town.

 

4. Well it's not shite but it was surprising. Jaguar SS100. This is a car that epitomises 1930s sporting cars yet it drives like a car made in the 70s. The controls, the handling the complete driving experience was so modern and pleasant that it felt no chore to pilot like many cars of its era, leaving you time to enjoy driving.

[UltraWomble]

This.

It cost £250, handled like a go-kart and ran on thin air. Never failed to start and underwent some serious neglect/abuse.

 

It surprised me so much I went out and bought another one almost exactly the same.

[DS20]

Nissan Micra K12.  Fantastic visibility, seats good for a small car, plenty of head- and leg-room (for the front seat passengers), nice gearchange, loved going around corners, not bad on fuel (with the 1.2 - I've not tried the others), felt sprightly from 0-30mph, and a doddle to park.  If I wanted a small car for lots of short journeys or town work, I'm not sure what's better.  

[MarvinsMom]

i had a k12 micra which a swapped against the rover 75.

 

it had been me mam's car, she loved it but had only done 15000 mile in it in the 5 years she owned it. i just couldn't get along with it. as a city car i'm sure it would have been fine, but i was flogging it up and down to nottingham and i hated it. rock hard seats, cheapo plastics for dash and steering wheel, and the buzz, whine howl(?) from the engine and gearbox when on the motorway. plus it was i thought it was very big on the outside while been cramped inside. especially for a small(?) car

 

basically getting home after 3 hours in it i would have cheerfully committed genocide.

 

the rover is the exact opposite, comfortable, quiet and even with dizzler engine its a nice cruiser. and i am spending less in fuel for the 75 than i was spending on the nissan

[Alan_Green]

The scene - Gatwick Airport arrivals hall. 8pm, Sunday evening, November 1996. 130 mile a day commute starting 7am next morning. Suitcase in hand withdrew 2 x £300 from the ATM. Bought Autotrader for £1.50 from the news stand. Right, what can I get nearby for £598.50? 2 hours later I'm driving this:

What a surprise. Absolutely loved it. Something special about it and strangers kept telling me how much they loved the Subaru no name they used to own. In the U.S. it was the Leone, but I don't think it even had a model name in the UK.  Sold it to a friend (which I never do) and bought an Impreza. He ran it for a while and also bought an Impreza.  Would love another. Red saloon please.

[Richard]

 

It cost £250, handled like a go-kart and ran on thin air. Never failed to start and underwent some serious neglect/abuse.

 

It surprised me so much I went out and bought another one almost exactly the same.

 

Was the second one as good? I've bought newer and tidier examples of cars I've liked and the replacement has never been as good.

[JohnK]

 

This. I've only ever driven a 1.3 Ka once and can't really remember it, but borrowing my mates SportKa a few years back stayed with me so I bought one. It's just a large go-kart and really fun to drive. I'm into big cars usually but I would happily use this as my only car!

 

 

Citroen Xsara 1.6i - bought for £220 as I needed a car desperately (I had an E46 320i which just started to deteriorate rapidly so I flogged it). Xsara was surprisingly a nice place to be. I bought an E39 528i in the end but kept the Xsara for a bit as work hack/runaround. A full tank would last absolutely ages, such an economical car. I would have another but it would have to be in the same price bracket!

 

 

Going back to 2008 now. I had a Vectra 1.8 LS which I was getting bored with so I did a straight swap with my mate for this as he needed a bigger car for dad duties. I loved this little thing, completely original and unmolested VTR. I was working all over the North East for an agency at the time and clocked up about 15k in 8 months and it never missed a beat. It owed me £450 (the price I paid for the Vectra) and I sold it in the end for £1050. Replaced it with a £150 Rover 600!

[face]

K10 Micra 1.2LS

 

Paid £450 for it.

 

Great fun to drive, the peppy engine making a great noise.

 

Simple, tough and 100% reliable. It needed new pads and sailed through it's MOT.

 

I cleaned it once, to sell it, which I did for £450.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

A little blue VW saloon, Bora ? Jetta? Vento ? . Don't know what it was, but it was a 2008 2.0 petrol , possibly turbo .

It was about a year ago and my brother bought it on a whim from an ex- Police auction, it was an ex Met Flying Squad car apparently ( no more big barges, it seems) was a reasonable spec with velour,sat nav etc and I drew the short straw to drive it home.

I wasn't expecting much, but it was a revalation,fast, smooth, roomy.. On back roads between Witney and Milton Keynes it was quicker than a brand new Merc C220d credit hire car I had at the time, which my brother reckoned was bouncing around much worse than the Jentro.

I never saw it in daylight, he went to work in it the next day and a colleague offered him £500 profit,so he MOTd it that afternoon and cycled home- people love VAG shite. With that one I'm beginning to think they may have a point.

[EssDeeWon]

Girlfriends 1.0 Auto Micra (K11)

 

I went to collect it from the other end of Essex, not particularly looking forward to driving the thing back but it was great fun! More comfy than I anticipated, nippy, and cruised back down the A127 quiet happily at 70mph.

 

Its such a great little car her family bought it off her and still own it to this day.

[Bear]

Hmm. Tricky one...

Ford Granada Scorpio Estate. I bought it from dealer mate Ian for the wonderful sum of £100, unseen, in 2002ish. All I knew was the price, and that it had 195,000 on the clock. It was a 12V V6, blue, with black leather.

Spent £180 on new tyres all round and £60 on a Ford head unit and CD changer. Did about 8,000 miles or so in it, getting 30mpg, and generally having fun until someone rear ended it.

 

The insurance company gave me £1210 plus salvage for it. I went to get a new rear bumper, and a friend saw it and swapped his K-reg XM for it. Later found the Scorpio in a scrapyard, properly bent this time, with 77,000 showing on the clock.

Thing is, the interior good carry that off. Impressed me enough to get an XR4i and Scorpio Ultima. XR4x4s also impressed, but that's not really unexpected.

I suppose the Skoda Rapid 136, but then it fell apart when jacked up, and spewed scalding water over an MOT tester whilst on a ramp. Great fun to drive though.

[brickwall]

KIA Mentor. I really, really tried to hate that car, but couldn't. It was so utterly dull, but never, ever let me down. It just to did what it was told with no excitement but still with a little alacrity.

 

It was like a loyal tortoise or something that would try to back you up in a fight even though it couldn't really do anything.

[Bear]

EDIT: I read a thing that reminded me! Another Ford.

Ian said "Do you want a Fiesta XR2i" - someone had come in wanting to flog it cheap, but he was broke that day. "Erm, not really, do you think it'll sell easily?"

Came over and grabbed it. Little black Mk 3 XR2i, with all the fog/driving lights undamaged. A little rattle and an iffy intake sensor (MAF or MAP, I can't remember which it had). I got in to test drive it, and perhaps sensing how to make a sale someone had left a tape in it. "Don't... Don't you want me..."

And it felt proper '80s. Black and stripey. More to the point, it felt taut and fun in a way Mk 1/2 Fiestas never did, it was so much like a Golf GTi that I couldn't get back fast enough to hand over the £350. I can't remember what became of it - I've got a feeling I flogged it for a small profit then turned the profit into my last Mk 3 Capri.

 

Also, the SLK counts. It turned me from being disinterested in modern Mercedes, to being a proper fan and also is the first car I've had that I have never wanted (had to once and got it back) to part with or felt so frustrated with that I had to ditch it. It's not really shite, but it's a much better car than I thought it would be.

 

Same argument applies to the Avantime and the E39. No kidding, they are both cars that hit "NOPE" buttons - the E39 for just being a common-as-anything BMW, and the Avantime for being more French than any French car I have ever had before. Yet the Avantime is doing stupidly well for a 13 year old, 100,000 mile fairly neglected bus, and the E39 was amazing in almost every regard apart from rust (which they do rather well) and trim quality. Severely undervalued used chod now - like the 21st century alternative to ropey old Cortinas and Mk II Cavaliers. Which is exactly what it is.

[CHRIS1980]

For me it was a Renault 11. I paid £5 for it from Bourne car auctions. It drove really good and came with a wad of invoices for work done. It sported a new battery,water pump and 4 nearly new tyres. I sold it the next day to a colleague for £55. She rand it for 6 months till the MOT ran out. She sold it to her lodger who ran it for another year after it sailed through it test. I honestly would never have believed a £5 pound car would have gone on for so long.

[derskine]

Volvo 340, you read loads of stories of woefulness, boatyness etc but I can't believe how well it handles.

It's also been seriously reliable, overall I'm impressed by the Dutch Volvo.

[CHRIS1980]

Volvo 340, you read loads of stories of woefulness, boatyness etc but I can't believe how well it handles.

It's also been seriously reliable, overall I'm impressed by the Dutch Volvo.

A friend of mine had one of these,it met its end near Corby Golf course by hitting a stag(4 legged kind). The stag hit the front edge of the roof so hard that the sun visors were resting on our heads and it's legs came off. Very messy for everyone. Also GR8 4 DRIFTIN As the kids would say.

[Tetleysmooth]

Rover P6 V8.

 

 

I have no idea why I ignored them for so long in life, having had the first chance to buy one as early as 1984, but opted for a '74 Impala instead.

When I finally got my first one, I was well over 40. Had I not bought that one, I'd have never found out what I've been missing all these decades.

It's like I went to the Savile Row of car makers, and they took my measurements and tailor made me my car.

Caution: It might not suit everyone that well.

I've got four P6 doors in my shed in that colour - Mexico brown if I'm correct.

Complete too, with all glass and handles etc.

[Bear]

A friend of mine had one of these,it met its end near Corby Golf course by hitting a stag(4 legged kind). The stag hit the front edge of the roof so hard that the sun visors were resting on our heads and it's legs came off. Very messy for everyone. Also GR8 4 DRIFTIN As the kids would say.

One of my friends was building a rally 343 intending to fit an R5 Turbo engine. Not sure what became of it, but even with the stock engine, it was far from a bad handling car - in fact, the weight distribution resulted in a very predictable, nimble car given the stodgy image.

 

I had a 360GLT 3dr with spoiler, in metallic black. That was fun. That's also a car which will one day have foamers drooling once they realise just how good and tuneable it was.