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LightBulbFun's Invacar & general ramble thread, index on page 1, survivors lists on Pages 24/134 & AdgeCutler's Invacar Mk12 Restoration from Page 186 onwards, still harping on...


LightBulbFun

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4 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

and I searched through FVW-H FVX-H and FWC-H and did not find any blocks!, so im going to search again just incase I missed a block somehow

 

yep I went through those reg ranges again in steps of 50 this time just to be safe and turned up nothing

properly perplexing, as between FTW701H-FTW800H and GEV201H-GEV300H theres a gap of 100 chassis numbers (in which a surviving Mk12 lives)

yet I cant find any invacar blocks between FTW-H and GEV-H, not even any holes of 100 where nothing turns up on the DVLA either

unless im missing an essex marker between the 2 somewhere but iv checked and its just VW VX and WC....

sadly Mk12 chassis numbers are too generic for me to look up with my tool (I pretty much just get some modern with the same chassis number or containing the same numbers) so i cant look up via chassis number and find blocks that way like I did for The Model 67 etc

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so I sent off an email the other day to the (ex) seller of ONO454D as I saw it had finally sold on C&C and I wanted to know who it sold to etc so I could keep track of it

and the guy told me he would pass on my details which I appreciate :)

but a bit awkwardly he said it went back to england with someone who supposedly wants to modify it as a pit car for AC Cobra racing...

not only do I not like the sound of it being modified (especially given the decent shape its in which is rare for a Mk12 these days) its not an AC its an Invacar, its got nothing to do with AC or the Cobra!

I have not heard from the new owners yet, but Ill have to think what to say to them, because i don't want to see it modified, (especially if there only doing it because they think its an AC when its not an AC, so then it would be needesly modified for the wrong reasons which would be extra sad)

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so had my 15th lesson today :) 

this lesson was a bit different to normal as the original plan as mentioned was/is to finish off doing my maneuvers, but we realised my mum would be finishing her shift at work right about the time we started the lesson so instead I went and picked her up from work, following the satnav, which is something they do test you on apparently these days, so its good experience gained!, (and also it was a slight change in scenery/location and new roads which was fun :) )

we also practiced using the hand brake for doing hill starts (as this pug 208 has an actual hand brake!) which was interesting :) (as in apply hand brake, so you can then set the clutch and the throttle at the same time, and then just released the hand brake when its time to go that way you avoid rolling backwards) although iv become pretty good at hill starts without the hand brake, always good to have/know multiple ways of doing something!

I also had an interesting experience (that I also experienced a couple times before in previous lessons) on the bends of the 50Mph A roads I was driving on, and at a couple roundabouts, going relatively quickly around said bend/round about thinking to myself is this a normal amount of G force I should be experiencing, should I be feeling a sideways G force? or am I going too fast for the bend and is the car about to lose traction and should I slow down?, I always slowed down to be safe! although my instructor never told me to slow down so perhaps I was not going too fast and Im just being overly cautious, but I  rather that then understeer into something/someone!

but yeah the lesson went well and the instructor said so as well :) 

next lesson is scheduled for tuesday, and then my instructor is on christmas break until the 2nd of Jan.

I think during the break ill knuckle down on the remaining hazard perception clips iv been doing/studying, as I think its about time I got my theory test done, and I think my instructor would be pleased to hear that iv got it done with during his break :) 

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  • LightBulbFun changed the title to Invacar Model 70 Acquired! and general ramble thread, index on page 1, Phase 2: finding a suitable driving school/instructor getting lessons and a licence! 15th lesson had!
On 12/12/2019 at 8:44 PM, LightBulbFun said:

got another Mk12 chassis number im trying to find the registration number of, I found the FTW701H-FTW800H block, and the GEV201H-GEV300H block, the only problem is the chassis number sits in a block between those 2 blocks

 

the ghost of bert greeves/derry preston cob must be having a right laugh about now

because I thought, alright ill put this one to one side and try find the registration of another Mk12 survivor I know of

and guess what it sits in a block of 100 between DPU501G-DPU600G, and EEV801G-EEV900G, that mysteriously cant be found!

I searched DTW-G, DVX-G DVW-G and DWC-G and turned up once again no blocks or any signs there once was a block

I must be missing something, but if I was suddenly making a mistake with my block finding then id not be able to find any blocks, but i still am finding blocks...

the other thing is generally for a given 4 registration series there will generally always be an invacar block in at least 1 of those, and yet in those 4 series I found nothing...

(generally iv found there to be about 2-4 invacar blocks per the 9 Essex markers of Pre 1974 for a given leading letter)

ill go over the DTW-G DVX-G DVW-G and DWC-G reg ranges again tomoz to be safe but it is quite perplexing thats its seemingly happened twice now!

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1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Here's a rarity - a Solifer, a Norwegian make apparently.  Only one ever registered here so parts would be fun*.

s-l1600.jpg

dragging this one over here, 

because its very interesting to see such an old V5, 1979 is the oldest V5 I have seen, and its been quite interesting to study :) 

1486859902_s-l1600(15).thumb.jpg.9f40a12ace6929b6af008c291c1fca7d.jpg

first thing of note, is indeed it looks like the 11 digit number has been a thing since the start of the V5,

its also very interesting to see the "No of former keepers, None since March 1978" im guessing thats when this moped was transitioned from a Buff logbook to the V5 system

but very interestingly it does NOT show up on the DVLA checker or my 3rd party tools, im guessing this is one of those vehicles that got archived by the DVLA in the 1980s or so, but its interesting to see that indeed even if a vehicle is definitely part of the V5 system it can still vanish from the DVLA database, it helps explains why even into 1978, there are still the Odd Model 70, that don't show up on the DVLA even tho they would of almost certainly been V5ed from new, and would of most likely survived into the early 1980s at least

it would be very interesting to see what would the DVLA said if you called em up about them and enquired about this moped

(im curious if you would get the same "partial record" response that @egg got with XWC, I still wonder about XWC if it was, ever part of the V5 system, and it got archived or did the DVLA just happen to have the old paper records for it still...)

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On 12/14/2019 at 2:34 AM, LightBulbFun said:

ill go over the DTW-G DVX-G DVW-G and DWC-G reg ranges again tomoz to be safe but it is quite perplexing thats its seemingly happened twice now!

just finished going through them again in steps of 50 once more to be safe

and turned up nothing... just where is this missing block of 100 cars! (and twice now this has occurred!)

between DPU501G-DPU600G, and EEV801G-EEV900G theres a gap of 100 chassis numbers and the same goes for between FTW701H-FTW800H and GEV201H-GEV300H

and yet searching every essex reg series between those blocks I cant find any other blocks between those blocks where the missing 100 should be

knowing me im probably missing something painfully obvious! like missing an essex marker, but AFAIK, EV, HK, NO, OO, PU, TW, VW, VX, WC. are the only essex markers in use during the time period im searching

 

 

 

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continuing the whole Northern ireland vs the DVLA thing, while going through some early invalid carriage material I was reminded of 

JZ2394, an Argson Runnymede, that reportedly lives in County antrim, and if im reading things correctly that is a period NI registration for a 1949 vehicle, so it seems like the vehicle has been a NI vehicle since new

but interestingly it does show up on the DVLA happily, I wonder if it was specifically migrated to the DVLA database, like @Six-cylinder did with his E type, or if it just got migrated in 2014? with all other active NI cars at the time when they smooshed the 2 databases together

I guess the question is was it active at the time? im curious what constituted a NI vehicle showing up on the DVLA database/checker when merger happened and what would cause a vehicle not to show up,

as for example apart from 1, none of the NI Model 70's show up on the DVLA database, not even GIG shows up which was last "Active" in 2008 or so

 

tis worth noting that it should be registered as Stanley not as an Argson Runnymede (as thats its Model not make), so it has been "fiddled" with at some point in time, and the MOT checker is having none of it for some reason

screencapture-vehicleenquiry-service-gov-uk-VehicleFound-2019-12-17-00_24_35.thumb.png.aad1858a1bd3c2865fdb51fc4f5656d7.png

(and most curiously it has no recorded keeper changes)

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On 12/14/2019 at 10:49 PM, LightBulbFun said:

dragging this one over here, 

because its very interesting to see such an old V5, 1979 is the oldest V5 I have seen, and its been quite interesting to study :) 

1486859902_s-l1600(15).thumb.jpg.9f40a12ace6929b6af008c291c1fca7d.jpg

first thing of note, is indeed it looks like the 11 digit number has been a thing since the start of the V5,

its also very interesting to see the "No of former keepers, None since March 1978" im guessing thats when this moped was transitioned from a Buff logbook to the V5 system

but very interestingly it does NOT show up on the DVLA checker or my 3rd party tools, im guessing this is one of those vehicles that got archived by the DVLA in the 1980s or so, but its interesting to see that indeed even if a vehicle is definitely part of the V5 system it can still vanish from the DVLA database, it helps explains why even into 1978, there are still the Odd Model 70, that don't show up on the DVLA even tho they would of almost certainly been V5ed from new, and would of most likely survived into the early 1980s at least

it would be very interesting to see what would the DVLA said if you called em up about them and enquired about this moped

(im curious if you would get the same "partial record" response that @egg got with XWC, I still wonder about XWC if it was, ever part of the V5 system, and it got archived or did the DVLA just happen to have the old paper records for it still...)

was just checking the listing to see if it had ended yet (so that I could then keep an eye on it on the DVLA checker, im curious how it pops up again if the next owner does road registire it once more)

when I noticed the tax disk, which looks to have expired on the 29th of the 2nd 1980,

 263603030_s-l1600(9).thumb.jpg.4b452ebcc342272c6554c837bc067c4a.jpg

and this is interesting, because it gives us some idea of how the early DVLA system worked, and how long a vehicle would have to have been untaxed for for it to NOT show up on the DVLA checker/database

this date also roughly lines up with XWC468F's untaxed date of 1st aug 1980 from when that was made alive again

which makes me think that XWC was indeed part of the V5 scheme but it got archived at some point in time still, then unarchived when @egg sent the V62 off for it

I wonder when the decision was made to archive these vehciles,

iv heard stories of the DVLA running out of computer space in 1980s and archiving long inactive vehicles, but its just stories, iv never had any concrete evidence on that all

obviously we do know from this bike and @egg's Mk12 there was some sort of archiving and cut off point going on, but i'm curious when exactly that happened and why

I can say it does look like if the vehicle was inactive/untaxed since 1980 or before it got archived and nuked, at some unknown point in time

(esp as im pretty sure almost all if not all vehicles I know of which do have 1980 or older tax due dates, have Last V5s issued etc from after that date making them still active on the system past 1980 so would not of been archived and hence why they show up still despite the 1980 or before Tax due dates)

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1 hour ago, Mr Pastry said:

Yes if you apply for a V5  in that situation, DVLA will write to the last recorded keeper to see if they still have the vehicle.  IIRC if there is no reply within a month, they will issue a new V5 to the applicant  though I imagine other checks may be made.

do you know what this letter called or looks like?, curious how it all works!

especially as it looks like a lot of the last Model 70 in DHSS service, where transferred from being in their users name to the name of the DHSS

 

I know @dollywobbler said the V5 of TWC said the previous keeper was simply down as "DHSS", and a lot of Model 70's from the last of days (TWC included) all had keeper changes in Late 2002 or so 

which makes me think/wonder if all of the last surviving vehicles where transferred back to the DHSS in preparation of their withdrawal over the coming months

so it makes me wonder if when @dollywobbler, sent off the V62s etc, if some random part of the NHS or whatever the DHSS is today, got a letter from the DVLA about it!, (if this is the case then its even more proof that the government doesn't care about them since he got the V5 with little issue IIRC)

(and I wonder if the same is true of Dolly since she had a keeper change on the 9th of the 12th 2002, before @Mrs6C acquired her)

although IIRC Dolly's (OPH868R)'s V62 took about 6-7 weeks, so perhaps the DVLA just got no response and just automatically sent out the V5 after that 1 month period you mentioned, not entirely sure how long TWCs V5 took to arrive, sadly due to GDPR we don't know who dolly's last keeper was, but luckily @dollywobbler got TWCs V5 before GDPR kicked in, im still quite curious to see the full address of TWCs previous keeper, or if it really does just say "DHSS" and nothing else

(and I also wonder about this supposed letter, also for all the Invacars that have been V62ed that were still registered to their last user, imagine getting a letter from the DVLA about Grandads Invacar he had 40 years ago!)

(moved from the Ford timelord thread, as this is getting very invacary!)

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11 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

do you know what this letter called or looks like?, curious how it all works!

especially as it looks like a lot of the last Model 70 in DHSS service, where transferred from being in their users name to the name of the DHSS

 

I know @dollywobbler said the V5 of TWC said the previous keeper was simply down as "DHSS", and a lot of Model 70's from the last of days (TWC included) all had keeper changes in Late 2002 or so 

which makes me think/wonder if all of the last surviving vehicles where transferred back to the DHSS in preparation of their withdrawal over the coming months

so it makes me wonder if when @dollywobbler, sent off the V62s etc, if some random part of the NHS or whatever the DHSS is today, got a letter from the DVLA about it!, (if this is the case then its even more proof that the government doesn't care about them since he got the V5 with little issue IIRC)

(and I wonder if the same is true of Dolly since she had a keeper change on the 9th of the 12th 2002, before @Mrs6C acquired her)

although IIRC Dolly's (OPH868R)'s V62 took about 6-7 weeks, so perhaps the DVLA just got no response and just automatically sent out the V5 after that 1 month period you mentioned, not entirely sure how long TWCs V5 took to arrive, sadly due to GDPR we don't know who dolly's last keeper was, but luckily @dollywobbler got TWCs V5 before GDPR kicked in, im still quite curious to see the full address of TWCs previous keeper, or if it really does just say "DHSS" and nothing else

(and I also wonder about this supposed letter, also for all the Invacars that have been V62ed that were still registered to their last user, imagine getting a letter from the DVLA about Grandads Invacar he had 40 years ago!)

(moved from the Ford timelord thread, as this is getting very invacary!)

It is not a "supposed letter".  Last time I had one was back in the 1990s referring to a car I had then.  I'm afraid I didn't keep the letter. 

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1 hour ago, Mr Pastry said:

It is not a "supposed letter".  Last time I had one was back in the 1990s referring to a car I had then.  I'm afraid I didn't keep the letter. 

interesting, I appreciate the info :)

 

side note My bad TWCs last keeper change before @dollywobbler was on the 09th of the 12th 1997, curiously same day and month as Dolly, but not the same year!

TWC:image.png.93b92cd0e6c2fa438e23994ae39fb7af.png

 

Dolly: image.png.00b2c42f490cfe26e0cb4cb9944b250d.png

I wonder if TWC was a Approved repairers temp car, ie a car that would be given out to temporary users or temporally while a user waited for their normal Model 70 to be repaired/serviced

these temp cars were registered to the local artificial limb and appliance center, which may also be why the last keeper was just "DHSS" (again will be interesting to see if there is a full address in the previous owners details of V5 or not :)

but still as mentioned I have seen a number of Model 70's and a Tippen and even 1 AC Model 64 that survived until the end, where they had a keeper change in late 2002,

including TJN352R, and the reason I mention TJN352R specifically is I know that Marion webb had that from 1979 to 2004, so its not like in 2002 it was issued to another user or something such, so the keepership must of been transferred from Marion to someone or something else while continuing to be used by Marion

image.png

again going by how many iv seen with keeper changes in 2002, makes me think it was a planned thing rather than a coincidence

 

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so had my 16th lesson today :)  

and we practiced more pulling into a parking lot bay, and then even had enough time to practice the final maneuver, of pulling over to the right and setting off again, which was actually relatively easy, compared to something like parallel parking!, (which is a good sign as normally theres only enough time to practice 1 thing, so the fact we got 2 done must mean things went smoother/quicker then normal :)

also rained quite a bit, so I got more experience driving in the wet which is always good experience to have,

at the end of the lesson my teacher said my roundabouts need work, which I agree with, my lane discipline in roundabouts is not good, its fine on normal roads, but it all sort of goes square shaped when I enter a roundabout,

I think what throws me is the relatively fast pace but tight cornering that roundabouts are so I keep feeling like im going too fast for the "bend", when im actually holding traffic up, and then there's the fun of its in London so traffic is dense, and the roundabout layouts are complex with traffic lights in the middle of em and extra lanes sprouting up and disappearing, which ends up confusing me as to where im supposed to be positioned etc which does not help things!

hopefully in the new year with some practice ill have that issue resolved :) 

this was the final lesson till the 3rd of Jan as now my instructor is on christmas break, im hoping during this time to take my theory test!

 

 

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  • LightBulbFun changed the title to Invacar Model 70 Acquired! and general ramble thread, index on page 1, Phase 2: finding a suitable driving school/instructor getting lessons and a licence! 16th lesson had!

speaking of driving! 

my mum says she wants a car!, her only criteria, is that preferably it be pre 1980 (cuz Tax ULEZ exempt etc), and easy on the insurance (as she is a nearly 60 year old women, I dont think insurance is going to be too much of a problem thankfully!)

otherwise she does not really care what it is, she just wants something to make her commute a bit more bearable/even possible, so as long as it can get her from point A to point B on a semi daily basis then she is happy

(as she runs into issues of no public transport when she ends up working the Silly-o-clock shifts)

so if anyone has anything they want to flog or any suggestions, do let me know :)

we don't really know what the budget is, but I did say id be happy to help chip in if its something sufficiently shite/interesting, lets say £2K max? (edit: she said thats a bit much, but to roll with it and see what pops up...)

(my mum specifically asked me to find her a car, because she is well aware that im part of this forum and the sort of cars involved said forum!)

(first things that popped to mind was @purplebargeken toledo, and then I remembered the AX @Six-cylinder has for sale, although the short MOT on that might be an issue not sure, depends on how likely it is to pass another!)

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  • LightBulbFun changed the title to Invacar Model 70 Acquired! and general ramble thread, index on page 1, Phase 2: finding a suitable driving school/instructor getting lessons and a licence! 16th lesson had! & mum wants a car...
13 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

and then I remembered the AX @Six-cylinder has for sale, although the short MOT on that might be an issue not sure, depends on how likely it is to pass another!)

Not sure what it will need for MOT. It drives lovely and today I needed to go to Bedford a 60 mile round trip, open roads, duel carriage way and queuing in town traffic and it performed faultlessly.

The MOT is 29th Feb so if I still have it I will pop it in for an MOT after 29th Jan to see what it needs.

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24 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Not sure what it will need for MOT. It drives lovely and today I needed to go to Bedford a 60 mile round trip, open roads, duel carriage way and queuing in town traffic and it performed faultlessly.

The MOT is 29th Feb so if I still have it I will pop it in for an MOT after 29th Jan to see what it needs.

Always happy to hear that a members car is performing well :) 

 

mums not in a big rush, (although im very excited by the prospect of my mum getting a car, as that means I can play with it too!)

I think my mum is really hoping to find something pre 1980, also because she doesn't like her moderns/computerised cars at all

(especially after in 2014 mum had to buy a car on short notice and got a 2006 Megan, that ended up giving everyone PTSD)

I showed her @loserone's 305 and she did not want to go for it sadly (I quite like the look of it!), especially as it was post 1980, (but she said showed her at a bad time when she was busy, didn't realise she was busy when I showed her oops!)

so im not entirely sure she will want to go for the AX as thats even newer then the 305 but, ill still show it to her tho at some point :) 

 

im thinking something like the Morris minor that @barrett sold earlier in the year would be ideal for her from what she has told me she wants in a car

she did ask about REV, but I dont think REV will be ready until the spring time at the earliest sadly

of the cars she has owned over the years, she speaks the most highly of a Mini she had in the 1990s and a 1982 Volvo 244 she got in Late 1997 and had until 2001 (and then she stopped driving as a car was not financially viable after that point, until 2014 she got the megan, but that was gotten rid of pretty sharpish)

so potentially although not Pre 1980, an old Volvo of some kind might tickle her fancy, will have to check!

(im pretty sure a usable mini is way out of budget, but as mentioned a Minor might work :)

 

if anyones got any recommendations im all ears!, never been asked to find someone a car before, so its all new to me, but exciting too :) 

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20 minutes ago, egg said:

How's your mum's mechanical knowledge LBF? Just thinking about the pre-80 threads on here, and there's always something to keep on top of day to day.....

that is a good point you raise and something I have thought about

id say better then average , but not amazing, but at the same time she is not afraid to learn :) 

and one of the reasons she wants an older car apart from not having to worry about ULEZ etc, is she wants a car where she can pop the bonnet, and see actual engine and components she understands, not just a plastic shroud, and computer modules...

again hence why im thinking something like a Morris minor or similar, as they are fairly basic from the get go, and relatively easy to work on so should something need attention it would hopefully not be too hard to sort out

(and its what everyone recommended I buy instead of an invacar LOL)

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17 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

What is it you are learning to drive in? 

currently this Pug 208 modern thing thing, (and as a separate note from my mums car search, as mentioned before im very eager to try something old out on the open road, now that I have had some driving experience, im really quite eager to see how it all compares, especially clutch control on a carbureted car im quite curious about what thats like)

image.png

I did have my first bit of driving experience in a Lada courtesy of @Zelandeth tho :) 

17 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

You have one advantage over a minor with an Invacar,you don't need to weld!

yeah exactly! :), rust is one of the things that puts me off a minor, and as solo car that id solely responsible for, im not sure I could handle rust hence why I stuck with the Invacar, (among many other reasons!)

but this situation is a bit different! and if we was to go down the minor route, id want to make sure I found one that was solid in all the right places first, mum is not concerned about cosmetics etc, just as long as its mechanically/structurally good in all the right places (and this goes for any car)

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Driving old cars in Central London (or any other big city) sucks in my experience. Most of the cars around can massively out brake you, so you leave gaps which are magically filled by morons. People pull out on you so they don’t get ‘stuck’ behind you. No one gives you any space, or makes any allowances. 

I’ve also found older cars less suited to sitting in traffic - they like to do silly things like overheat, or vapour lock or just generally mess you around. Maintenance can overcome some of this, but they can be generally more fragile.

I would suggest that overall whilst a newer car might appear more of a liability in terms of complicated bits, something like a Yaris would probably give a much better service overall (and be cheaper overall!)

Worth also getting an insurance quote for a classic with London commuting miles - it made me wince (although I was a youngish chap rather than your lower risk mum!) 

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Just having a Google around - and some early 00's petrol cars are ULEZ exempt, I didn't need to look at the rules before, so this has prompted me -  so in that case a K11 Micra or something similar probably would be the logical choice. I expect you already know this, but you can filter for ULEZ exempt cars on autotrader...

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41 minutes ago, egg said:

Just having a Google around - and some early 00's petrol cars are ULEZ exempt, I didn't need to look at the rules before, so this has prompted me -  so in that case a K11 Micra or something similar probably would be the logical choice. I expect you already know this, but you can filter for ULEZ exempt cars on autotrader...

I was thinking something like a Micra would be a good option too, but I fear they may a bit new for mum! diddent realise some where ULEZ compliant tho! but if they just meet ULEZ, knowing how this sort of things go, im worried we will still get shafted when they inevitably tighten the requirements

this however looks very tasty! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201912095167264

but as a side note, am hoping I can find something suitable for sale from a fellow shitter, saves the headache that is car buying from the public!

 

 

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On this occasion I'd agree with those who have suggested something more modern for your Mum. She'll want something that starts whenever she needs it, doesn't have a FTP on the way to or from work, especially at odd hours and warms up and defrosts/defogs quickly.

Eddyramrod has a fine Citroen C3 for sale for not a lot that would be ideal. It's ULEZ compliant and not too 'techy' - it can be maintained by someone on a DIY basis or fairly cheaply by a mechanic and, being a Citroen, of course it is welcomed at Citroen car events as well as here on AS.

 

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11 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

On this occasion I'd agree with those who have suggested something more modern for your Mum. She'll want something that starts whenever she needs it, doesn't have a FTP on the way to or from work, especially at odd hours and warms up and defrosts/defogs quickly.

Eddyramrod has a fine Citroen C3 for sale for not a lot that would be ideal. It's ULEZ compliant and not too 'techy' - it can be maintained by someone on a DIY basis or fairly cheaply by a mechanic and, being a Citroen, of course it is welcomed at Citroen car events as well as here on AS.

 

Ohh not a bad shout :) 

I agree, that if I was in this situation, id be all over something a bit newer like the AX (have to admit for me personally the C3 does not tickle my fancy)

mums not here right now, but when she returns, ill see if I can have a chat with her, see if I can get any more details on where she stands on this whole thing, and see if she really is aware of the pitfalls of vintage car ownership vs the pitfalls of owning something modern-ish, and then see how she stands after that!

(when she gave me the mission it was 2AM and she went to bed promptly afterwards so I did not get a chance to discuss the fine details sadly)

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For what it’s worth I helped my 60 year old neighbour buy one of those mk1 c3s and she loves it. I now maintain it for her. Its pretty basic inside, but has enough creature comforts to make it very usable. Simple to work on, everything is made of plastic and available for much cheapness.
Would highly recommend as cheap and cheerful runaround which has enough poke to do the occasional long distance trip if required. 

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It's a lot easier to live with an older vehicle if you have somewhere offroad to keep it, mend it, service it and can do without at perods when it has decided to have a 'rest', that is a whole different situation. If you're obliged to keep it parked on a street and have limited options for maintaining it, then you need sometihng as reliable as possible that is cheap and easy for someone else to maintain. Even simple service things like changing the oil is much more awkward. While you could do it out on the road, how do you deal with a spillage? Where do you dispose of the waste oil? If your Mum has something simple, comfortable, new enough to be reliable and gets someone else she can trust to look after it for her, that's a whole set of issues removed from the road of life's challenges! :-)

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One car and only one which I'd recommend:

Pug 107 (or Toyota Aygo or Citroen C1) <2012.

It's "old car" like in that it doesn't have multiplexed electronics, electronic gubbins are limited to the engine itself...but they're pretty bulletproof.  No plastic covers under the bonnet, good access to most stuff.  To be honest though aside from putting fuel in it and a service every year you're not likely to need to open the bonnet.

They're pretty much the last "old cars" I reckon.  Charismatic little three cylinder engine, easy swappable big bumpers front and rear, a lot of them have air con which is nice in London.

They're pretty cheaply available these days and a bit smaller than a Yaris so easier to park.

In the words of my old MOT tester "they're tough little shits" which is huge, huge praise!

Only real weakness is that the early cars had weak clutches, but the vast majority of those will have been changed by now and it was only really an issue for the first couple of years.

I'd still have mine if we hadn't needed the space.  It had to be parked on the road once my fleet was all moved south.

Had this from brand new to nine and a half years, bloody good little motor.  Would have another tomorrow in a heartbeat.

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Should be modern enough to get through most of the LEZ stuff for a while, then to trade up to something newer when necessary.

There were zillions of them sold, so there should be a fair few to pick from.

Always feel like "happy" cars to me.

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I got a chance to speak  to mum about this some more and made sure to explain that 40+ year old cars need more TLC/day to day care then newer cars and lack many creature comforts that modern cars have

and she said, she is well aware of these things, and that she knows what she wants, she mentioned that she grew up with these cars and drove them back in the day, so she is well acquainted with them and their foibles

(she recited the story of how she limped her Volvo 244 to east grinstead and back with many bottles of water when the radiator sprang a leak having to stay below 45 Mph and learning how truckers communicate with their lights :)

so it looks like my mum is well aware of the pit falls of old cars and is willing to put up/deal with them and is pretty certain in what she wants,

(it might not what you or I would do/recommend in this situation, but much the same could be said for my whole invacar thing!)

I guess mum just wants something she would recognise and be familiar with from back in her day!

so with that in mind, if anyone has something suitably vintage (something Pre 1980) thats in drivable condition (ie not a project, but something that could be sensibly driven home) for sale

do let me know!

 

(as a side note once REV is up and running, we would theoretically have 2 cars to choose from or should 1 decide play up or need some down time, the other could be used instead, I did check and thankfully parking here works on a per resident basis rather than per household, so mum would be able to park her car here without it getting in the way of my plans involving REV hopefully! and worse come to worse if mum realised she was not happy with old car ownership, im sure it could be flogged easily enough, and something suitably modern/sensible bought in its place!)

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