Wake up in the Morning wanting some breakfast

[Doctormop]

VW Beetle.

 

I loved mine, it was my ticket to being a young adult and able to go anywhere. I made many friends through the clubs, formed relationships, learned things, drank things. All as a result of the "scene".

 

I wouldn't have another ; they're shit. They're slow, they rust like fuck, half the "experts" are out to rip you off, and now the scene is full of tedious wankers.

 

(It's possible BTW that the scene has never changed, and I just grew up. Who knows)

 

Could not agree more,

I had a 1975 Beetle 1200 in 1989 bought for £500 3 weeks after passing my test, one owner from new, light blue with dark blue doors, absolutely loved it, went everywhere in it albeit noisily and slowly, joined the VW drag racing club etc lived the dream and remember it very fondly.

About four years ago my Wife went away to a conference and one of her colleagues asked if he could leave his car on her drive and cadge a lift, he turned up in a 75 Beetle 1200 in the same light blue mine was, fitted with a 1600 engine but otherwise identical, I told him about mine and he offered me a drive of his pride and joy, it was awful; wouldn't go, wouldn't stop, steering was just a polite request to maybe change direction sometime in the near future at a time to be arranged, the smell of petrol from inside actually gave me a headache that lasted all day, suppose it hurts to admit that cars age better than I do.

[Liggle]

E36 Coupe - I had a 323i which was strangely fast for what it was, never did find out why just always put it down to it being a base model with a replacement alusil engine. I bought an early 328i Sport with LSD, M50 swap, remap etc. not long after and it was properly quick but ropey as shit, rotten as a pear. I wouldn't buy one now because they are so expensive for a good one!

MK1 MR2 - loved my first modified one it wasn't massively quick by modern standards but the handling was sublime. I bought another tidy, standard one in 2017 and got shot within 3 months as I really didnt like it. It felt soft, slow and generally worn in standard form and put me off. 

I have a hankering for an Opel Monza GSE and/or a Toyota Supra MK3. I have a horrible feeling they may feel the same as my second MR2 though. 

[fordperv]

Plus one in the rs1600i, one of the most disappointing cars I ever drove, looked great and had lovely seats but no match at all for the rs turbo which was a really special car to drive, just did everything better despite what the internet bores will tell you.

Except the s2 turbo which never quite handled as well as a s1 or 1600i because of that arb setup, im trying to convince mrs fp to let me get one for hers

[timolloyd]

An E36 328i that was a total money- and time-pit. Just a really bad buy on my part, but enough to make me suspicious of any E36 and have me clutching my wallet to my chest when one comes near.

[skoda_fan]

I'm in a constant state of head v heart re cars. Head says have a clear out and move on, clear out happens, instead of moving on I buy a worse example of the shit I've just sold, but for twice the money as they're getting rarer. I've actually twice bought back the very same car I've previously sold. How daft is that. Reality is that life is too short and you should move on, yet somehow I don't...

 

Re the above posts my first car was a Beetle and I'd love another, despite agreeing they're shit as a practical means of transport. I'm just not prepared to pay the daft prices.

[eddyramrod]

Been there, done that.

Fords seem to loom large in these tales.  My first Granada, way back in 1985, was great when it worked, except the heater and brakes were always shit and I couldn't get a decent seating position.  25 years later in Cyprus what happens?  I buy another one!  Never again.

My first Capri was a mk3 with the 1600 Pinto.  It was horrible and it's pretty safe to say I'll never have another.  Again, what happened in Cyprus?  Yes, I bought another Capri, but this was a 1971 GT with the 1600 Kent.  Whole different animal. 

 

I bought a Volvo 940 estate from Rawy on here and while it was a lovely car in many ways, and subsequently saved RML2345's life, it was never the same as my old 740 that I loved so much.

 

I've been banging on for weeks now about finding a Bedford CF to use daily, but in all honesty, can I live with it?  Slow, noisy, uncomfortable... and that's just me.  I keep harbouring thoughts of a HA too, or even an Anglia van, but the same applies.  However attractive the idea is, of having an old van for daily use, the reality is never going to match up to my rose-tinted view.  I have a lovely low-mileage Rover 820 automatic, which I know I will miss when it eventually leaves me.  Naturally that will be mere seconds before they start rising in price.

 

I should learn to appreciate what I have.

[Captain Furious]

I think on a more basic level my philosophy these days is that life is too short to have the same car twice. Better off remembering them through your rose tinted glasses because they’re almost never as good 2nd time round

[purplebargeken]

I have done the same car twice before and it has been okay. I'm about to do it again, I hope it doesn't turn out shit lol.

[Talbot]

The vast majority of the cars I've had in the past have been cheap, shite and are now rare and expensive. I would only ever want any of them back for the mechanical simplicity they had and my indepth knowledge of them! No way would I want to part with the sort of money they now command.

 

Talbot Horizons are a case in point. I had seven of the bastards, which cost a total of about £300 for the lot. They were all slow, noisy, mildly uncomfortable, rotten as a pear, rolly-polly suspension and an awful image. Getting parts for them became difficult nearly 20 years ago, and they were all bodged in some way. The only redeeming feature is that the Diesels (first ever use of the XUD) was fairly economic. If you could find a 5-speed one.. many were 4-speed.

 

Nowadays there are barely a slack handfull of them left, and £1k won't by one. They're still just as rot-prone, bad-handling, noisy and mildly uncomfortable. Parts are now unobtanium, and you'd be insane to daily one of them.

 

Do. Not. Want.

[Daviemck2006]

In my early motoring years I was into Vauxhall. My third car and the one I remember most fondly was a 1981 Astra 1300 gl. 3 years old at the time. After two years I traded it for another Astra, a 1.6 Sr, 1984, A plate, both mk1. I loved both of them, but the earlier car was better built and finished. I have thought about getting another mk1 Astra, but won't do because I will probably think it's crap! And the only one I would want would have to be a 1.8 gte, as my mate had one and I was disappointed I only had the 1.6sr. It got traded for a cavalier coupe, then a mantra, then a cavalier Sri then a Renault 18 lol

 

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[cros]

 

My third car was this 435cc Citroën, which I once drove to Italy and back. I've had a 425 one as well, but those extra 10cc make all the difference. I also had a 2cv6, a Dyane and an Ami but though I liked them all I won't have another from the French company as they now cost more than any of my present cars did.

[matty879]

Except the s2 turbo which never quite handled as well as a s1 or 1600i because of that arb setup, im trying to convince mrs fp to let me get one for hers

i had the pleasure of owning an rs1600i about 14-15 years ago,i thought i had an xr3i.i removed the fancy rocker cover,and towed it to mcguinesses in stoke on trent and got 40 quid for it,the engine had seized,i got the logbook a couple of weeks later and wept,but i got £140 for the rocker cover.

ignorance in yoof was my suffering.when i went back the car was merely a shell.with just battered panels,soggy interior remnants,and someones dole card.

[mrcitroen]

Lada Riva

 

My first car. Loved it on the basis that it got me mobile while others my age were still bussing it.

 

Would I own another?? Definitely not as a daily. Possibly as a weekend classic.

 

I had to put up with rust, lots if it, water leaks into the cabin, fuel smells, exhaust gasses leaking into the cabin, random trim falling off, side windows dropping at random, tyres with inner tubes as tubeless would not seal on the rims, gutless 1198cc engine, horrible ride and steering by telegram.

 

I do have fond memories for it though.

[richardthestag]

crikey that is a tough one.

 

I havent owned that many cars, had a few company cars that I wouldnt bother with again.

 

Cars that I owned I would have again in every single case 

 

company cars that I had though

 

Mk2 Astra 16v GTE - Pool car (wonder why) just shit at getting off the line quickly, anything could beat it in the traffic light grand prix, it was quick when going though. Got stolen from outside a hotel while I went in to ask where their secure car park was, I still had the keys in my hand. I was more irritated that my travel bag was still in it.

 

Mk4? 1990 XR3i - massive disappointment in handling dept, I had it for a short while after my Mk2 Cavalier which was epic. Fast corners washed out as the inside front lifted and started to spin and crash about, massive under steer followed by massive oversteer on lifting off to regain control. fucking thing was trying to kill me. It was so impressive that I bought the Cav back from the company instead of driving this turd another mile

 

3 litre Senator I had for a couple of weeks. My boss lent it to me because I was doing london to manchester and back. 3 times a week. quick on the motorway, thirst was devastating, everything else was mediocre. for what I felt should be a Jag competitor it was very bland and boring. the old duchess didnt like the twisties either. It held the road but rolled around a lot.

 

XJ40 2.9 is one that I am not sure should be on this list. another loan from my boss when his 3.2 XJ40 arrived. I had it for a couple of months. I was very dissapoint when I opened the bonnet and saw the underwhelming look of the engine (Fatha thestag was rocking around in an XJ6 S3 4.2 at the time). It was brisk and incredibly comfy on the tweed seats but very thirsty, driving economically was not in my mind at that age and with a fuel card at my disposal. I do want an XJ40 in my life, just not the 2,9 

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

I'll go against the grain and admit I liked the RS1600i I had....... prev owner had looked after it and it was pretty tight all round. After market suspension setup helped a lot though. Engine was a bit temperamental and you had to punish it to get anywhere TBH - but I enjoyed driving it like I stole it....

 

Mk2 Cav GLi - SRi engine and all electrics was great - but would destroy/overheat fuel relays for fun, stranded me so many times I lost faith in it and got rid for peanuts. Great when it worked though.

 

Beetle - first one had a messed with motor, no provenance or idea what they'd done, but it went well and was like a go-kart....... Only had it a few months and swapped for R5 GT Turbo that needed welding.....

Second one was a sodding nightmare - the amount of times I thought it would be quicker off the mark than it really was......

 

Mk1 MR2 - still love the looks, but they really aren't all that TBH. Rot like nobodys business, overheat for fun and too twitchy when you push on a bit. Ditchfinders probably didn't help in that respect though.

 

Audi GT coupe - loved it, 5 cylinder chuff sounded lovely and it cruised the M25 and areas superbly well. Tried one for sale recently, before buying the SD1, it left me completely underwhelmed....... same old stinking interior though!

 

Haven't owned an SD1, Disco' or CF up to now....... but all one the pickup list so I'm prepared for disappointment.

[xtriple]

Sierra XR4X4. Had quite a few of them back in the day and really rated them, quickish and handled well. Drove one about 6 years ago and was so seriously underwhelmed I thought I had dementia. it just felt soggy and loose everywhere and the engine was an asthmatic boat anchor.

 

Jaguar XJ-S, had quite a few over the years and every time I swear I'll never have another as they rot, handle badly (terminal understeer at high speeds) and dreadfully unreliable. I keep looking again now I'm old and have slowed down...

 

To be honest, there are far more cars that I had that I would like again than wouldn't! I even went through a phase of loving Yugos and I'd love a Sana now.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

E24 635CSi. Owned for 18 years, but I couldn't have one now as values have risen! Also the parts prices have become stratospheric in some instances (wings were always eye-watering).

[warren t claim]

The Ford Capri. I can't help but think that I'd feel like prick driving one as a daily in 2018.

[John F]

Mark 2 Escort. I had two of these in 1.3L flavour back in the early 1980s and thought they were the dog's danglies. I can't imagine I'd be impressed with something that had a 50-ish BHP OHV engine, cart springs and a constant smell of petrol nowadays.

 

VW LT Mk 1. I bought a 2.4 D camper version one of these a few years ago because I'd enjoyed owning a 2.0 petrol one in the 1990s. A mistake... it was hopelessly large, slow & cumbersome in modern traffic, although that might have just been the diesel engine.

[xtriple]

I had several of those BMW 6 series coupes, loved them all dearly but the best was a 635 CSI 'Highline' with a manual Getrag 'dogleg' box. It was bloody fantastic. I got it for £700 because the head gasket had gone, or so the poor sods who'd owned it for years were told. It had just had a new (genuine) wing on the passengers side before the HGF.

 

I test drove it and it didn't seem like HGF to me and I said so, but they were adamant, so I bought it. Stopped at the earest car accessory shop and bought a new rad cap and it ran faultlessly from then on. I bought a new Drivers side wing from BMW and even with 'trade' it was £300 back then. To be honest, the car deserved it as it was faultless apart from bubbles on that wing so a new one made it mint. I used to thrash the goolies off it constantly and it lapped it up, did a reasonable amount on fuel (about 24 from memory) and was totally reliable though I did buy new plugs and lead sfrom BMW as you couldn't get the leads from anywhere else at the time and they were a ridiculous price - a few hundred quid just for the leads! The 635 had different leads to the smaller engines and no one did them.

 

I would have another so it doesn't count in this thread.

 

But I also had a 2800 CS (no 'I') which was in red (toprot - how apt!) and to my mind was the best looking car ever made. However, it was awful! 4 speed manual, big Pieburg carb and it was slow and useless on fuel, baggy as a 3 inch nut on a toothpick and handled like a lovesick camel. It looked beautiful but I think it was utterly fucked mechanically though I couldn't find aything actually wrong with it. Just generally tired out I guess.

[DSdriver]

I think there are only two I wouldn't have again, an Austin A30 which was my first ever car because of the uncomfortable seats which had a steel bar or plate about halfway up the backrest which bruised my spine because of unservo'd brakes with competition linings; and a Morris Traveller which was slow, draughty and rattly - not to mention chronically rusty and woodrot.

I did try a sit in of an A30 or A35 a couple of years ago (it might have been AngryDicky's, I can't remember) but it only confirmed my opinion rather than bringing back nostalgic want.

[flat4alfa]

Cars you had many years ago and loved but you wouldnt have one now and why?

 

I think a lot of 50s/60s stuff can get wearing over a long distance - modern cars have transformed our expectations.   Get them off the motorways though and they transform again.

 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons I sold the '62 VX4/90.  It's the second Victor I've owned, as previously (ten years back) it was a Victor 101 Estate.  Same issue, gearing too short to feel safe, also the absolute din.  Ten years on, it's not just motorways anymore, as every other sod on the road is doing motorway speeds on an A-road.  The end of my road is a dual-carriageway A-road, so it became a pain even popping around the block

 

 

If a Laycock had been available from an scrap FD I would have looked to adapting the tunnel and prop to fit one, as FB FC FD Victors used same gearbox (I'm told).  But small hope in finding one of those at a reasonable price

 

My next 60s car will have to be overdriven.  So on the look-out for a Rootes group motor such as Humber Sceptre I think.  Otherwise not bother at all.  Oh and to move house away from that bloody A-road would help

[Tadhg Tiogar]

....a 2800 CS (no 'I') which was in red (toprot - how apt!) and to my mind was the best looking car ever made. However, it was awful! 4 speed manual, big Pieburg carb and it was slow and useless on fuel, baggy as a 3 inch nut on a toothpick and handled like a lovesick camel. It looked beautiful but I think it was utterly fucked mechanically....

 

Built by Karmann, so likely that E9 would have been fucked bodily as well, though most wouldn't have seen it rusting from the inside out.

[Datsuncog]

I pretty much defined myself in my late teens/early twenties through my Viva HC - but a ratio of eight years ownership/restoration to eighteen months cumulatively driving the damn thing is not one I could cope with these days.

 

 

Back then I think I was rather more tolerant, boastful even, of frequent FTPs and amusing* quirks - such as the tendency for the headlamps to blink off when main beam was used (traced eventually to a dodgy thermal breaker) which still arouses considerable force of feeling amongst friends who happened to experience this hilarious* phenomenon while hurtling down the Scrabo mountain road, at night, in a rainstorm.

 

Being able to deal with melted in-line fuses and oil breather blowback marked me out as different from some of my schoolchums, I felt, who were running round in new Corsas and Clios financed by Mummy and Daddy. I genuinely loved cars, still do, but age and perspective makes me wonder whether I wasn't just an attention-seeking dickhead back in the day.

 

Last summer I accompanied a friend to a car show in his Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe (about 100 mile round trip), and as much as I love the looks, the noise off the back axle would have driven me demented if we'd had to travel any further. It underlined that I can't see myself running a small engined 70s car as a daily ever again.

 

 

I still love the looks of the Viva HC, especially the baby-muscle-car vibe from the two-door, but I can't see myself owning another. I'm too old, and too soft, and much too lazy to deal with weekly repairs. They've also crept up in value now, from "couldn't give 'em away" in the late 90s to moderately pricey now - coupla grand for an MOT'd example, anyway. My green Laguna's twenty years old now, so not much younger than the Viva when I bought it, but it's infinitely more usable as a daily and a long-distance cruiser when the need arises.

 

But then, I still confuse people by calling the Laguna a 'modern'...

[xtriple]

Yes it was, a totally cosmetic restoration but they forgot to do anything about the big hole in the bulkhead behind the pedals!

 

Thought of another.

 

Had a 'thing' for LOTUSs back when young and stupid. I would never have another. Had two and they were fabulous things to drive, just appalling things to own!

[flat4alfa]

Cars you had many years ago and loved but you wouldnt have one now and why?

 

FIAT X1/9

 

 

I owned this twice

 

You just feel so vulnerable in low slung cars like this on modern roads.  I pulled up at some lights and next to my right ear pulled up a tall wheel.  Made me nervous, so I looked up and saw it was a Police Ford Kuga, with the occupants looking down into the Fiat.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

FIAT X1/9

 

 

I owned this twice

 

F**k me, eleven grand for a Gran Finale! 

[alcyonecorporation]

 

 

Mazda Xedos 6. One of my 'must buy when cheap and tick off the list' cars. 

OK, I thought (for a 90s Japanese car) it looked great. It was lovely inside, sounded great at full chat, and was surprisingly good on fuel. I should have got a later purple car and fitted an earlier steering wheel and alloys. A Eunos 500 would have been better still; those cars got more power than UK models and packed an LSD.  

Weirdly, all of my non-car friends adored it - and were stunned when I told them I picked it up for £350. 

That said, the seats destroyed my back after three or four hours, the ventilation was appallingly bad, the headlights were shit,  it was rusting in weird places and the steering was hopeless. It didn't know whether it wanted to be a taut sports saloon like an E36 or a wafty barge like a 700/900 series Volvo. The indecisiveness of its ride/handling balance annoyed me. 

I also got bored of it within about ten months of ownership. It did nothing wrong -  I just can't remember a great deal about it even after this short passage of time.

Weirdly, I would have another MX-3 V6.

[Mrs6C]

As the antithesis of this thread, other than a 1972 SWB Daimler Sovereign 4.2 auto I owned and sold in the mid-1990s and the Volvo 740GLE 2.3 auto estate that is in my parents' custody currently, I still have every other car that I have ever owned and I still like all of them!

 

The Daimler was brown, with a tan vinyl roof, tan leather seats, cream carpets, electric windows and aerial and bizarrely, Wolfrace wheels. It was a lovely car and, after putting in a new AED, was very reliable. I used it for commuting and used to get around 20mpg, which wasn't bad. I regretted selling it the moment it left. I'd love the Double Six version, but they are pricey these days.

 

I now have the ex-Breadvan72 SWB Daimler Sovereign 4.2 auto. It's even better than the brown car, despite the manual windows, because it has a full length Webasto roof and an 8 track stereo, both original fitments. It's white with dark blue leather and black carpets. I'd prefer black seats if I'm honest, but the blue is so dark it'll do.

 

The Volvo 740 GLE estate will be coming back to me in due course, as my Dad now has a Citroen Berlingo that he prefers to drive. It's in that nice 'TARDIS' blue metallic with tan leather seats up front and in the middle, then beige vinyl for the rear-facing third row. When it gets back to me, I will refit its USA-spec. centre armrest cup-holders!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

 

 

Mazda Xedos 6. .....

 

My cousin ran a Xedos-9 when he lived in Dublin. He said he seemed to spend much of his spare time putting petrol in it.