80’s and 90’s stuff that was unsalable

[ruffgeezer]

How has nobody mentioned the Chrysler Neon yet? Fucktacular.

[Sir Snipes]

On 3/16/2019 at 11:49 PM, Tadhg Tiogar said:

4000 revs for 70mph? That is feckin' mental!

I've moaned about it often but my C4 is doing 4000 at about 75ish. 

In the late 90s/early 2000s there were all sorts of interesting but generally end of life (or, maybe just perceived as such) cars kicking around. You could get Bluebird Turbos or Sunny ZXs for almost nothing, and even an S13 200SX would be just a few hundred quid.

Imagine a RWD Japanese coupe with a 1.8, 16v Turbo engine, capable of 300bhp, being sold for £700!

[Timewaster]

Around 1994 anything Gti or Gte or Sri. 

Insurance prices went silly and to get a quote you needed this alarm, that immobiliser, a locked garage and a respectable postcode. 

I bought a 4 year old 205Gti for £3850 which was £1000 less than an 1.4XS.

I spent the grand I saved on insurance. 

The sport models of most things were cheaper than the standard trim.

Nova SRs were more than GTEs but both were cheaper than a standard Nova. 

Relatively unloved stiff like BX Gtis or Bluebird Turbos must have been a nightmare to shift. 

Sierra Cosworth, which fetch 6 figure sums these days could be bought for a few grand and Ford really struggled to shift the last few Sapphires once the Escort arrived.

There were some right dogs knocking about, nicked, crashed and nicked again. Punched out locks and rattle can repairs. 

 

We should have bought a few each. And apple shares. And houses in the south. 

[eddyramrod]

In 2006 we traded on our lovely red 52-plate PT Cruiser at the local Suzuki dealership, for a brand new Ignis (straight swop).  The PT was tidy, low miles etc... and sat on their forecourt forever, slowly sliding in price.  I don't think the Chryslers of that age resold very well...

It would be fair to say "almost every car I've ever owned!"  Describe the ideal resale spec for a mk1 Granada.  Essex V6, check.  Nice colour (Miami Blue), check.  Rust-free, having spent all its life in Cyprus, check.  Very early production (may 72) so tax-free even in 2012, check.  Crucially, manual gearbox, check.  Couldn't give the fecker away.  Did eventually, after shipping it here, but the loss wasn't much of a business model!  I mean, just look at the bloody thing!  How pretty is that?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

3 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

Around 1994 anything Gti or Gte or Sri. 

Insurance prices went silly and to get a quote you needed this alarm, that immobiliser, a locked garage and a respectable postcode. 

I bought a 4 year old 205Gti for £3850 which was £1000 less than an 1.4XS.

I spent the grand I saved on insurance. 

The sport models of most things were cheaper than the standard trim.

Nova SRs were more than GTEs but both were cheaper than a standard Nova. 

Relatively unloved stiff like BX Gtis or Bluebird Turbos must have been a nightmare to shift. 

Sierra Cosworth, which fetch 6 figure sums these days could be bought for a few grand and Ford really struggled to shift the last few Sapphires once the Escort arrived.

There were some right dogs knocking about, nicked, crashed and nicked again. Punched out locks and rattle can repairs. 

 

We should have bought a few each. And apple shares. And houses in the south. 

Yes, I rember when the £2,000 Sapphire Cossie wasn't unusual and still nobody wanted them. A mate bought a D plate 3 door in Moonstone  from the original owner in about 98,  for £4,000. He's still got it in the garage next to his RS2000 that he bought in 87 for £900- jammy fecker!

[Richard_FM]

Big Italian cars always seemed to lose value like the French ones.  Fiat seem to have a jinx where the bigger they make a car the worse it will perform in the market.

As mentioned above the Chrysler Neons went down in value quickly thanks to high parts costs, typical American build quality & not having any yank tank credibility.

[sierraman]

42 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Yes, I rember when the £2,000 Sapphire Cossie wasn't unusual and still nobody wanted them. A mate bought a D plate 3 door in Moonstone  from the original owner in about 98,  for £4,000. He's still got it in the garage next to his RS2000 that he bought in 87 for £900- jammy fecker!

Got to be worth £30-40k now I’d guess? 

[Sir Snipes]

18 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Got to be worth £30-40k now I’d guess? 

I spotted a 3 door cossie in the gym carpark and had to explain to my girlfriend my shock at seeing such a valuable but extremely nickable car just sat in a carpark.

[Richard_FM]

Early Maestros & montegos must have been hard to shift by the mid 1990s a friend of a friend had a Montego that was very frail by the time it had been 10 years on the road.

[Richard_FM]

2 minutes ago, Sir Snipes said:

I spotted a 3 door cossie in the gym carpark and had to explain to my girlfriend my shock at seeing such a valuable but extremely nickable car just sat in a carpark.

I’ve heard of owners electrifying the bodywork of their cossies to keep thieves away.

[Richard_FM]

Older rwd Japanese cars seemed to be hard to shift then dealers found they could sell them to exporters, which lead to many being stolen when the supply ran low.  I’ve heard of some simply being lifted onto low loaders.

[ProgRocker]

Daihatsu Charmant & Applause

Early 1990s Suzuki Swift 4 door with 4wd.

@sutty2006 mentioned the Vauxhall Carlton 2.6 CDX with manual on page 1 or 2. I'll add the carburettored Carlton 1.8 L ( & GL also). I think there was a Granada mark 3 1.8, like the Carlton 1.8, to get around some company car tax loophole.

[rantingYoof]

I can't imagine the 1.4 Mk1 Octavias or Peugeot 405s sold themselves.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[Richard_FM]

38 minutes ago, ProgRocker said:

Daihatsu Charmant & Applause

Early 1990s Suzuki Swift 4 door with 4wd.

@sutty2006 mentioned the Vauxhall Carlton 2.6 CDX with manual on page 1 or 2. I'll add the carburettored Carlton 1.8 L ( & GL also). I think there was a Granada mark 3 1.8, like the Carlton 1.8, to get around some company car tax loophole.

I heard even the 2 litre mk3 Granada’s were a bit under-engined.  We fortunately didn’t get some of the tax specials sold in some European countries such as a 1.1 Citroen bx & 750cc Renault 5.

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Sir Snipes said:

I spotted a 3 door cossie in the gym carpark and had to explain to my girlfriend my shock at seeing such a valuable but extremely nickable car just sat in a carpark.

Lovely cars but just unusable in this day and age. You couldn’t leave it overnight outside, it’s be gone, so in effect it’s a garage ornament which somewhat negates the point. 

[sierraman]

3 minutes ago, Richard_FM said:

I heard even the 2 litre mk3 Granada’s were a bit under-engined.  We fortunately didn’t get some of the tax specials sold in some European countries such as a 1.1 Citroen bx & 750cc Renault 5.

2.0 wasn’t too bad the 1.8 carb base spec from about 85 was a no go, ditto the Sierra 1.3. 

[Richard_FM]

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

Lovely cars but just unusable in this day and age. You couldn’t leave it overnight outside, it’s be gone, so in effect it’s a garage ornament which somewhat negates the point. 

This reminds me the owner of one the last capris who only drove in on dry weather & kept it in a garage otherwise 

[Richard_FM]

12 minutes ago, sierraman said:

2.0 wasn’t too bad the 1.8 carb base spec from about 85 was a no go, ditto the Sierra 1.3. 

The cavalier & Montego also had 1.3 engines for people who wanted a big car & didn’t want to go anywhere in a hurry. 

[GeordieInExile]

3 minutes ago, Richard_FM said:

The cavalier & Montego also had 1.3 engines for people who wanted a big car & didn’t want to go anywhere in a hurry. 

Jesus, I thought the Cav 1.4 with 60bhp would be bad enough.

What about sporty cars with weedy engines? The 1.3 Capri comes to mind. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Rover 2/400 R8's without PAS,  it was a common sight to see traders reach through the window of any going through auction then shake their heads and put their bidding hand back in their pockets. 

I bought a 1.3 Montego to sell on once, drove OK and I made a point of " Reliable and proven A Series engine" in my local paper ad. No problem shifting it , or indeed any Montego- lots of metal for your money compared to Sierra or Cavalier- lots of profit too!

[Richard_FM]

7 minutes ago, GeordieInExile said:

Jesus, I thought the Cav 1.4 with 60bhp would be bad enough.

What about sporty cars with weedy engines? The 1.3 Capri comes to mind. 

Opel sold the Manta with a 1.2 litre engine in some markets but not here.

Saab fitted their 2 strokers in the early Sonnets.

The Marta Baghera only had a 1442cc engine at best, I presume they couldn’t fit anything bigger in due to it using the Simca 1100 driveline.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

Got to be worth £30-40k now I’d guess? 

Yes last time he mentioned it, his agreed values were £35k and £20k, which considering he was going to scrap the RS at one point in the 90's during a house move , is not a bad investment , although it's probably got £1,000 worth of welding rod in it- the floorpans have been done at least twice. The Cssie has got a dealer fitted towbar , which must be quite rare, he was going to take it off but it's on the original invoice so thinks it would look like it had been whacked up the arse.

[Inspiral_Mondays]

Vaguely remember reading an article in a car magazine in the early 80s about the most unwanted trade-ins. The ones that stuck in my mind were the Austin Maxi, FSO Polonez, Lancia Beta and, rather surprisingly, the Ford Cortina 2.3.

[Richard_FM]

8 minutes ago, Inspiral_Mondays said:

Vaguely remember reading an article in a car magazine in the early 80s about the most unwanted trade-ins. The ones that stuck in my mind were the Austin Maxi, FSO Polonez, Lancia Beta and, rather surprisingly, the Ford Cortina 2.3.

I guess the cortinas didn’t have the prestige compared to the smaller BMW’s & Mercedes around at the time.  Was the rover sd1 mentioned?

[sierraman]

BMW 518. 

[lesapandre]

I had quite a few Datsun 280ZX. £80-400 between 1992-2000. No one wanted them. Never had a problem with them but they were all terminally rusty -all of them - and made of tinfoil. 

Big 2.8 6 thirsty. No profile no demand at all at the time. I must have been about the only buyer in the area. They were expensive new but with stratospheric depreciation.  Trim plastics straight out of a Christmas cracker.

But I wd have another manual gearbox. 

[Cookiesouwest]

14 minutes ago, sierraman said:

BMW 518. 

When I was trading many moons ago, specialising in E34s, I avoided these like a dose of the clap. Heavy car, weedy engine and usually had the base of base spec. You could die pulling out at busy roundabouts, it was so bloody slow. I hated them.

[lesapandre]

11 hours ago, ruffgeezer said:

How has nobody mentioned the Chrysler Neon yet? Fucktacular.

They were popular for a very short period new I recall. The 'cab forward' jellymold style was modish for about 5 minutes. 

[Richard_FM]

18 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

They were popular for a very short period new I recall. The 'cab forward' jellymold style was modish for about 5 minutes. 

I imagine the wives & children of Jeep owners found themselves driving them.

[chaseracer]

4 hours ago, The Mighty Quinn said:

Alfa 90. Turned into cornflakes in the end.

FTFY