Which came First? Chicken or Egg?

[danthecapriman]

Almost! Looking closer at it, the plate says Trimoco of Chelmsford...

Not too far from Colchester then. I'm sure my Granada was new to that area, and spent most of it's life there. I wonder if that Fiesta was at the same dealer at the same time?

[greengartside]

Could well have been - the XR2 was registered in Sep.85 as far as I know.

 

It spent many years in Ipswich then went to Great Yarmouth where it was laid up in 2001, and then spent 10 years rotting away before being carted away for scrap in 2011.

[danthecapriman]

Could well have been - the XR2 was registered in Sep.85 as far as I know.

 

It spent many years in Ipswich then went to Great Yarmouth where it was laid up in 2001, and then spent 10 years rotting away before being carted away for scrap in 2011.

Very likely they were together at some point then. My Granada was first registered 07 October 1985.

[fred]

Aye, My first car was a Olde FE Victor 2300 paid 35 quid for it. Then a flurry of FD's all for under 40 quid. Mk 1 Grannies were available 10 a penny

circle of life n all that , they come they go , they rise up again

[Christine]

Did I really sell this for only 20k only a year ago...?     Yes, a year ago that was the going rate , and it was a quick clean sale, no come backs , everybody happy 

 

 

 

 

 

 It had some issues mind !  

 

 

 

But it's been restored , and has a 3 page spread in this months Porsche World

[Angrydicky]

Citroen 2CV. It'll take some saving before I can own one again.

[jonny69]

I quite fancied floating around in a Citroen DS but, ferkinell, THE PRICES!

 

I think I got lucky with the timing on the Ami because although I've spent a chunk making it good, it looks like the prices have gone up a bit too.

[robinmasters]

Reality check , Mondeo list price starts at £20,000. In 1982 Cortinas started at about £4000.

Those £2000 E-Types etc were a lot more expensive than a £2000 XJ-S.

When even modest houses are £200,000 , a £5000 XR3i looks like a bargain compared to a £3000 1600E in 1996 when that same house was £50,000 or less.

We've never had it so good!

In my case it's just that even though I earn 10 times more than when I was buying £200 Jags and W108 Mercs, I have 100 times the outgoings, so the £1000 Jags and W126 Mercs are out of reach.

 

 

Inflation: that £4000 Cortina 1.3L would be £12750 in today's money.

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/flash/default.aspx

 

...which is £7,250 less than the equivalent contemporary car. However, in NNW's example, the XR3i is 2.5% of the price of a house, while the 1600E 30 years ago cost 6% of the price of a house. In 'real terms', cars, new & classic, cost less. 

 

Chod doesn't seem to have moved at all, in my adult life anyway. MOT'd car at the bottom of the market, £250-£500, dependent on the price of scrap. Inflation should have made that £432-£864.

[garbaldy]

 

Will kids today still want old Ford's in 20 year's time?

 

I'm not so sure but my daughter wants a mk 2 escort and she's only turned 16, another fresh test passing ute drives a mk1 fiesta and another has a viva, some younguns still like classy cars,

[theorganist]

It was only six years ago when I decided not to purchase a nice brown motd Cortina 2 litre ghia for £595. It was a mark 5 and very tidy, I thought I'd wait a but longer and bought a blue motd Austin 1100 for just under £500. Wouldn't get either at anything close to that now.

 

I have been looking at Maxi's again. A project which has been off the road for some years has gone from being worth scrap value to £500. One with an MOT is unlikely under £1,000.

 

Looking at the figures they have reduced in number markedly in the last few years and still seem to be regularly banger raced so I think that is driving prices up.

 

Anything 70's is now starting to get beyond my small budget.

[Snipes]

Before the drift/tofu scene I really liked Corolla GT Coupes (as they were known as back then). Used to see them in Autotrader etc for £500-£1500. That was 15 years ago, I was 19 and still taking driving lessons

 

I miss buying Autotrader and browsing the Bargains section. I use to do that instead of buying car magazines. eBay use to fun like that.

[mouseflakes]

This seems quite closely related to the thread in the open section about forum members leaving. It went on to discuss the kinds of cars and motoring that appeal to folks on here. And stuff.
 
When I joined AS I had recently been running Austin 1300, R12, R14, R30, R4, R8, Toyota Crown, Audi 100, Hiace campers etc. and none of them cost more than £250 (most a LOT less). I had cars like that because they were cheap (i.e. no one wanted them) and I loved them! It was a perfect situation for me!
 

 

 

 
Now they're all seen as 'desirable' and even unusable examples are selling for a lot more than my reliable old dailies would have cost a few years back. I think they tend to be bought for different reasons now and those reasons (whatever they are) are enough to make folks part with more money than I can afford.
 
I guess my view of those older cars has changed now - I wouldn't get excited at seeing one for sale because I know someone will pay a lot more for it than I can. So my enthusiasm has shifted towards newer vehicles that I have a realistic chance of enjoying. I guess these are now the equivalents to those I was driving back in the 90s - cheap because nobody wants them, but interesting to me. I'm quite enjoying a new found interest in things like Saxos, ZXs, 306s, Eurovans, Swifts, Carens, Shumas, Almeras, Sedonas etc. Elstro 1988s Kia Rio has opened my eyes - I'd never even noticed these things existed - but look at it! Funky. And of course - I'm eyeing up Ssangyongs of all sorts as possible future purchases when they get a bit cheaper.
 
Things move on I guess, and there are all sorts of interesting, usable, cheap vehicles still out there to enjoy. Just stay ahead of the wave and try them before they become 'desirable' too.
 
EDIT to add: Of course, like and idiot, I've always managed to be ahead of the wave when moving my old chod on for buttons too.

[RoadworkUK]

I genuinely reckon a Ford Ka, if you can find one that's still got some metal in it, is worth putting away in a dry airtight envelope, 'cos one day they'll be worth squillions.

 

I suspect even an airtight envelope won't stop the rot, though.

[Buzz1024]

Edit just add some pics of the old scabby turd!

Gaffer tape over rust. Classic!

Anyone else remember these like this? A running road legal Granada for a hundred quid or so back in the early 90's?

This has just reminded me of a neighbour's Granada estate that I used to lust after - I think it was some sort of special edition and was in 2 tone brown & beige with some sort of sporty stick man decals on it. Even the alloys were painted beige I'd completely forgotten about it - must go and have a google.

Back from googling - Granada Sportsman amazing colour scheme and these panniers in the back are sublime.

[danthecapriman]

I think that 2 tone Brown/beige Granada was a special edition called the Chasseur. Only available as an estate, in that colour scheme, came with fitted luggage bags and was a high spec car. Now rare! The last one I saw was a few years ago on the banger track.

Just found this with a sales brochure for it http://driventowrite.com/2015/07/25/gorfes-granada-1980-granada-chasseur-2-8/

 

There were a few special edition Granada's, one of the nicest was the Sapphire. A pre facelift mk 2 saloon in 2 tone blue over silver. Lovely looking cars.

[Pete-M]

One of the joys of buying cars when they're the cheapest they'll ever be - circa 13-15 years old and unfashionable - means that most of the stuff I was driving 25 years ago is now worth considerably more than the few hundred quid I paid back then.

 

Problem is, I didn't keep any of them.

[stripped fred]

This is why one of the reasons I can't decide whether to sell my mk1 mr2. Prices have risen slightly over the last few years but they're still not expensive. If I sell it and then decide I want another in a few years time will they be out of reach?

[xtriple]

Keep it! Good ones are rare and expensive. They will go up in value shortly... mark my words, I have it on good authority!

[pandamonium]

Have you seen the price of Ladas lately?

[Negative Creep]

Capri for me as well. Were my favourite car when I was a kid and there were loads for well under a grand when I passed my test but those days have gone. Even though I know they'd be crap to drive, I still fancy one. Same for the mk.4 XR3i, which at the time could be seen having a spirited drive on any council estate you happened to pass. Did get as far as looking at 205 GTis back when £1000 got you a minter, but went for an AX GT instead because it was a bit rarer.

 

 

On the plus side, I have managed to own a mk.2 Golf GTi and mk.1 MX5, which will command a hefty premium in the future. Even the rover 75 will be worth a few quid. Not mine though.

[sierraman]

I can remember looking around for a Capri in about 2004-5 they were seen as old bangers then. Easy £4-500. Similarly was offered a Mercedes 280e w123 for £200 around same time...

[garbaldy]

Before the drift/tofu scene I really liked Corolla GT Coupes (as they were known as back then). Used to see them in Autotrader etc for £500-£1500.

 

And cheeper than that, I have to confess to scrapping three of them although I still have the running gear for them in the shed,

In hindsight I could have made a killing if I had kept them but I dare say one axle will be worth more than I paid for all three cars nowadays,

[Tamworthbay]

I can remember looking around for a Capri in about 2004-5 they were seen as old bangers then. Easy £4-500. Similarly was offered a Mercedes 280e w123 for £200 around same time...

I bought my Capri two years ago for £600, it was a project and has taken 18 months of welding, but I keep seeing far worse cars for £1500-2000 and they sell! There is a laser up at the moment for £3.5k and it needs extensive work, front and rear arches are bubbling, scuttle isn't perfect, headlight surrounds are coming through and you bet a load more beside that you can't see. It's got an MoT though so wouldn't surprise me if it sells.