80’s and 90’s stuff that was unsalable

[sierraman]

What sort of stuff do people remember that were ‘bad news’ on the second hand circuit years ago? I’m talking cars with undesirable specs or just generally unpopular?

 

I’m thinking Sierra/Montego 1.3, strange Japanese tackle like the Subaru XT

 

Renault 21, 25, Fuego etc

[bangernomics]

Navy blue 3 door escort 1.3 ex motability cars. Ford dealer I worked at had about 15 in a corner growing moss. I bought one for £200 at 3 years old because the guy who had it nailed an ashtray to the dash. Nailed it!

[The_Equalizer]

Jaguar XJ220 - when new and second-hand for quite a while! Same for the last of the V12 E-Types. I guess that's not what you are after though.

[lesapandre]

Blue cars in the trade are known as doom blue because of the impact on sales. Here in London the police use mostly silver cars these days heavily stickered. I'm assuming because the end of use resale is better. 

[aldo135]

Any "executive" from a mainstream manufacturer became a hard sale by the 90's didn't they? We might like Carltons Granadas etc but I bet people in sales didn't once company car drivers decided it had to be German

[dome]

I suspect my 2001 registered Ford Explorer might fall into that category. Petrol only, big, Yank and fairly dated tech. 

[HMC]

Lancia dedra

[sierraman]

Doom blue ex fleet Vectra Envoys

 

Ex BT Sierra estates in yellow

 

Nova saloons

 

White Jaguar XJ40 with non leather, the 2.9 and a manual box, no alloys. Or ex police with rubber matting floors.

[cobblers]

Navy blue 3 door escort 1.3 ex motability cars. Ford dealer I worked at had about 15 in a corner growing moss. I bought one for £200 at 3 years old because the guy who had it nailed an ashtray to the dash. Nailed it!

 

I remember these, they all had the same pattern interior cloth, did they batch register them too? I recall loads had similar number plates and I always wondered why. 

[Split_Pin]

Those strange Base model Austin Metros that weren't even City(ies)

[Zelandeth]

We had a Peugeot 406 Coupe V6 which sat on the forecourt for about 18 months. We fully believe that the only reason for that is that it was a colour which I can only describe as "faded custard yellow."

 

Aside from the colour it was a lovely thing...

[face]

Nova saloons

 

Yeah!

 

A few privateers used to rally them back then as they were far cheaper than the hatch. Nice looking little things I think.

[meggersdog]

Any big French executive motor.

[MorrisItalSLX]

4 pot Holden Commodores, always in poverty trim. Engine was too small for such a big, heavy car and were renowned for imploding.

[garbaldy]

Speeking of japanese tackle the lancer turbo was rare probs down to the otr £8400 price tag which was much higher than anything else at the time, strangely enough even When there was only 400 available from 1980 I couldn't give one away back in the 90s, the little colts where penys too and the subaru xt was abandoned down a railway track as I couldn't even scrap it without cost they where just so undesirable back then.

 

I think japanese stuff was feared back then and nobody wanted a depreciating brick left in the drive I guess,

even the lancer I have today is a very rare sight and the local dealer told me they hadn't even sold one gs4 saloon just hatches,

maybe the stigma of owning jap was to much for people back in simpler times.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Missing RED key on the Fiats- AVOID

[The_Equalizer]

Everything that ends up in a scrap yard?

[JeeExEll]

Rover SD1 2000, and to a lesser extent, the 2300.

Dare I say it, - the Talbot Tagora.

Renner 30s hard to sell because thirsty. Some may have needed metric size tyres too.

Hyundai 'Cortina' Stellar. All Korean cars in general.

Fiat Argenta.

Talbot Horizon. And Solara.

Alfa 164 2-litre.

Granada Mk3 with the 1800 SOHC Pinto.

Granada Mk1 Ghia / Ghia Coupe with the 2.0 Pinto (1975 - 77). Local taxi firm had some tho.

Granada Mk2 2300 Ghia. Listed in the UK brochures for a short period around 1979 but have never seen one ever.

Lancia Trevi.

Yugo, Fiat 127 type thing, especially in white with the optional body kit.

Yugo Sana. (A what?).

Citroen XM estate.

BMW 518i e28, low spec.

Renner 9. (Don't you park that fucking thing near my yard).

Lonsdale Colt Sigma.

Proton.

 

What a fantastic collection

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

W140

 

Every storage yard I went to had one or two of these moss covered monsters dissolving slowly in the corner.

 

[sierraman]

Low spec Rover 800.

 

Audi 90

 

Focus 2.0 saloons

 

Fiesta Mk5 1.6 Freestyles.

[lanciamatt]

Most Italian cars that weren't unos or pandas

[eddyramrod]

FSO Polonez and Caro

Any Lada

Cortinas, for a couple of years after the Sierra came out

Marinas and Allegros for a very long time

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Ford LTD

 

 

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

S-I-H-T ^ (shudders)

[MorrisItalSLX]

Ford LTD

 

 

 

I didn't know Ford sold the Aussie LTD in the UK, I assume it was a flop?

[bub2006]

Low spec Rover 800.

 

Audi 90

 

Focus 2.0 saloons

 

Fiesta Mk5 1.6 Freestyles.

We had a fiesta freestyle 5 door. More or less zetec s without the body kit and alloys. Ours had AC and leccy windows and mirrors. Bloody nippy car too.

[tooSavvy]

Navy blue 3 door escort 1.3 ex motability cars. Ford dealer I worked at had about 15 in a corner growing moss. I bought one for £200 at 3 years old because the guy who had it nailed an ashtray to the dash. Nailed it!

The Ex's dad was War Pensions motability... Had a Scrote 1.1 and drove about with 99.9% Tank FULL.

 

After about 8months he said to me (I kept well out if his orbit..) he had a 'krikka, krikka, krikka...' creak in the boot.

 

I peered in and noticed a 1" crack in the pressing which the tank was bolted to (vertical, up to parcel shelf) >>> I drilled a small hole at the crack end & bent away the steel slightly.

 

The guy was a total BellEnd.....

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I didn't know Ford sold the Aussie LTD in the UK, I assume it was a flop?

 

 

It was - particularly at over £17,000 in the early 'Eighties. You could have a Jag or an S Class for that.

[drewd]

VW Jetta (My first car, before they were scene). Great cars, but it wasn't a Golf.

 

Ford Probe

 

Vauxhall Frontera (completely underserved, they're great)

[MiniMort]

Well I don't think they sold badly but in 1992 when my family sold their 1987 Metro City my grandad 'upgraded' it by changing the stickers to City X ones and painting coachlines along the sides to help it sell better