Favourite car/car you miss the most

[Sir Snipes]

If I wanted to be cool again;

But if I'm being practical;

Hopefully with the leak causing the wet passenger footwell fixed.

[ProgRocker]

Either one of the two base model saloon cars I owned:

The 1990 Tempra 1.4 I owned in the early 2000s was a basket case, firing only on 3 cylinders but there was a bit of an emotional bond there:

1990 Fiat Tempra 1.4 by Matt W, on Flickr

The 'stop gap' Escort 1.8 L diesel I owned in 2010 exceeded my expectations for £250. The driver's door lock failed two weeks after buying it and mushrooms started to grow in the leaky boot but it was like a train - albeit a slow one.

1994 Ford Escort 1.8 LD diesel by Matt W, on Flickr

 

[Joey spud]

 

I do really regret selling this old girl on.

I bought it blind off Ebay and it was far,far worse than expected.

My Datsun 120a coupe JRN947N is the one car i really want back in my life.

I saw it advertised in practical classics for sale pages up in Stockport and collected a couple of days later,it was a one owner car with just 21k miles on the clock.

It was a fun car and after fitting 13inch minilite wheels and cutting half a coil off the front springs it looked perfect.

I had it for a about seven years and let it go because it was sitting outside hardly getting used.

I was having a clear out last week and found the little bumble bee that used to hang from the mirror.

I have done some daft things and selling the 120a is in my all time top ten.

[dozeydustman]

I wish I’d mothballed my 205 in 2002 when I bought the Scimitar instead of selling it for £125 as spares/repairs to a complete knob who took me to the small claims court for selling him an unroadworthy car despite me saying it had no tax & ticket.

It was a very early 1.4XS with the XY8 suitcase under the bonnet as opposed to the usual TU3S. It was a little but tired when I got it, but aside from a perished fuel hose she didn’t miss a beat and went through her MoTs with only minor jobs to do.

Guy who bought it was a complete prick

[DVee8]

2 spring to mind.

A 1989 (G) reg Nissan Bluebird Turbo saloon. not this car in the photo but the same.I have no photos.?

And the last brand new car i bought on the 1st August 1998.A Nissan Primera 2.0GT saloon in red,cos red cars are faster fact.

I would love to have either of the back,but both seem to have been cubed now.

[Spottedlaurel]

14 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

My Datsun 120a coupe JRN947N is the one car i really want back in my life.

Hey, I remember seeing that one. Was at Bromley a couple of times.

[danthecapriman]

10 hours ago, Shep Shepherd said:

Dan: According to the DVLA, the Volvo is still very much a going concern. Maybe it will find its way back to you one day? 

I do occasionally check some of my old cars on the mot site. That Volvo has seen some use over the last few years! Between 17 & 18 it did over 20k Miles. I think it’s with someone who looks after it at least so that’s good. Last I could find out it was up in the Newcastle sort of area.

[Joey spud]

13 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Hey, I remember seeing that one. Was at Bromley a couple of times.

Yes i took it to the one make parking area a few times along with my 1976 pastel blue Manta B.

I wish i had some more photos of her but back in the 90's camera phones were science fiction.

[Sir Snipes]

8 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I do occasionally check some of my old cars on the mot site. That Volvo has seen some use over the last few years! Between 17 & 18 it did over 20k Miles. I think it’s with someone who looks after it at least so that’s good. Last I could find out it was up in the Newcastle sort of area.

I use to do that too. The Manta was sold to a club member with a good history of restoring cars. It enjoyed one year on the road two years after I sold it but has been off the road for he past 10 years 

[AndyW201]

I miss my old brown 190e. I got it in 2008, bought blind off eBay for £700 with full MOT and 6 months tax, which was a bit of a barg at the time.

The colour made the car for me. Nutria brown was only available in 1993, the last year of 190 production, so very rare.

I owned it for nearly 3 years , using it every day and it asked for almost nothing, other than general servicing. One of the front springs broke, so I lobbed on a set of 40mm lowering springs which made it look a bit better and didn't alter the ride too much. I was a fan of the euro look at the time so changed the front gingercators for clears (not something I'd do now...) and added some genuine period (and not cheap) Hella smoked rear clusters. The icing on the cake was finding a set of Lorinser LO dished rims, which were like hen's teeth in the 15" fitment.

Definitely one I'd have back today, over any of the cars I've owned. I know it'll attract plenty of 'you ruined that' and 'barried' comments over the lowering, the wheels, the lights and the plates, but though I've owned better specced (and better engined) 190s since, it's still the looks of this one that get me. And It's the only car I've ever made (a small amount of ) money on!

[tooSavvy]

Enjoyed hooning in my IMPs....

998 BV is seriously quick!

[Andyrew]

1 hour ago, Snipes said:

I use to do that too. The Manta was sold to a club member with a good history of restoring cars. It enjoyed one year on the road two years after I sold it but has been off the road for he past 10 years 

I know a serial manta fondler. 

What was the reg of yours?

[DoctorRetro]

There have been a few I miss. In no particular order... 

 

[Bradders59]

Leaving aside the value of many of the cars and bikes I owned  if I still owned them. The ones I miss driving the most are  Chevette HS I bought from an insurance injury claim when I was 19.

I could have bought  house with the money I spent buying, insuring, repairing that car but wtf does a 19 year old want with a house ?

24v Senator I owned for several years, before reluctantly moving on to Omegas. I had wanted a 24v Sennie for years and was happy as a dog with two dicks when I finally got one.

Merc 190D that I  sold last week. Saved me a lot of money when I really needed to save every penny. Full of character that no modern car could ever have, and I really enjoyed driving it. Get it up to speed, and then don't slow down if at all possible, as it took so long to get back up to speed. It also handled nicely on the bends.

I will miss my current Omega when the time comes, as I have spent a fair bit of time / effort/ money, getting it just how I want it. Police spec front springs & dampers, polybushed wishbones, slightly stiffer rear springs, Monaro top mounts, and properly set up four wheel alignment, means it handles well for what it is. I also retrofitted a colour screen version of the infotainment system, with colour satnav maps etc, which was a £1000 extra when the cars were new.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

25 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

....metric TRX 390 alloys with expensive Avon tyres. ...

Avon Turdospeed metrics were actually quite cheap (£150 per tyre, a mere snip). The really expensive ones were Michelins, still available at about £280 each. They're only really any good for about a year after fitting. Once they age, they're just as shite as any aged imperial.

[bramz7]

I miss my first car a fair bit:

I had to sell it as my ex kicked me out of the house, and no where in Reading would let me store two cars....oh well. I sold it to a proper Citroen enthusiast who still has it, pretty sure I would buy it if it came up for sale again. So early it wasn't even injection.

 

 

Really unsure as to why I sold this. Idiocy no doubt. I just got bored for some reason.

 

 

 

I probably shouldn't have sold this either, low mileage 1.6 DGT Tipo. I paid through the nose to get it through an MOT, and then for a years storage (£1200?) and then sold it, but happily it was fully restored and is now with a mega Fiat licker so I am really pleased it lives on. 

[Sir Snipes]

My g/f's old man has a 520i on metrics. They bought a full set of Dunlops a couple of years ago for nearly £1000.

If they had told me before I could have got them some 15 BBS or something and saved them a ton of money 

[brownnova]

My two biggest regrets selling were firstly... 

THE brown Nova. My first car and the one I’d have back tomorrow. 

Look how happy 17 year old me is with his brown babe pulling magnet! 

Traded that in against a 1.0 Polo which was only 10 years old at the time... it was a bit fucked so I think it got scrapped. 

Second is the Porsche 924 I bought for £650 off eBay with a full MoT! 

Absolutely belting car, loved it, and would have another. Sadly the skills needed doing at a point in life where I was a bit skint... was still on the road up until April, I keep an eye out on ebay regularly. 

[Eyersey1234]

The favourite car of mine that my dad has was a blue Montego Estate (C441 MWE) he had in the mid 90s. Suspect scrapped as not been taxed since 97 according to the DVLA. Never worked out why it got a C ref when according to the DVLA it was registered in 1989.

[ETCHY]

18 hours ago, jcr said:

K11s have tons of character; sad to hear you weren't able to hold on to yours  

Cheers matey.

Yep it's funny how attached you can get to a car. At least this thread proves I'm not the only one

[rantingYoof]

The one that broke my heart the most...

Picked up for £700 when it was barely 10yrs old...that should have been my first and only warning really.

In six months it cost me £900 in various repairs, including an MOT.

I had just spent money to get into Wales and it broke down just after the Severn Bridge. Five hour tow home.

Repaired that, and within three weeks the head gasket blew.

Got £190 for it in the end.

The most I've ever lost on a car, really, as I barely did two or three thousand miles in the six months I had it. 

But, when it worked, it was bloody marvellous. Electric rear seats! Piped leather! The dash hadn't lifted, the headlining was perfect...it was supremely comfortable. It sounded brilliant, and went well.

Great idea, poorly executed. I'd obviously have another.

[dozeydustman]

3 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

 

1989 - 90, a 1979 3.0S in Oyster (very slightly different shade to one in pic). Paid £1600 (= about £3950 today). Sliding sunroof but had standard type Carla checked seats rather than optional (in 1979) Recaros. This one got a +40" rebore and a 270 cam (may have been a 285) and tried a few other mods including a Holley 390 on a Swaymar manifold. Lowered 2" with 190lb front springs on gas strut inserts and single leaf rears. Standard brakes, same spec as 1300 Capris (I can still smell them).

I almost spat my drink out when I saw the picture; I thought you genuinely owned 'Doyle's capri' used in Series 4 & 5 of The Professionals seeing the post.

[anonymous user]

There are cars I miss that wouldn't suit me now (especially the Lotus 7)

I think the most missed is my last but one Land Rover, I should have stuck with it. I have checked and it is now sorn with an expired Mot. I have started looking for the phone number of the person who bought it off me, not sure if he still has it, but I wouldn't mind it back, just need to get rid of the Chrysler first.

I have bought cars back before, often they are not the same, or I have grown out of them.

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, brownnova said:

My two biggest regrets selling were firstly... 

THE brown Nova. My first car and the one I’d have back tomorrow. 

Look how happy 17 year old me is with his brown babe pulling magnet! 

Traded that in against a 1.0 Polo which was only 10 years old at the time... it was a bit fucked so I think it got scrapped. 

Second is the Porsche 924 I bought for £650 off eBay with a full MoT! 

Absolutely belting car, loved it, and would have another. Sadly the skills needed doing at a point in life where I was a bit skint... was still on the road up until April, I keep an eye out on ebay regularly. 

Love the brown Nova! Very cool!

When I was in my last year of school a mate in the year above (sixth form college) had a 1.2 Nova saloon. C319UBY was the reg, it was in a weird gold-ish green-ish metallic colour and unbelievably had a vinyl roof too. It was a right state even then but I secretly thought it was such a cool car! I was a sad bastard even at that age!

Me and my mates used to piss off the owner by going out to the sixth form car park on our break times, and we’d get three of us round the back end of it, lift it up and turn the whole car around 180 degrees!! It was so funny watching him come out to go home and wondering why it was facing the wrong way! 

It was cubed in 2001 by the looks of it. He got a B reg mk3 Escort 1.6 to replace it.

[djoptix]

Interesting question, let me give an overcomplicated answer...

1. Car I miss the most that I've actually owned; my AX 1.5 diesel, M595 BEY. Did at least 60mpg everywhere. When I got it, it only braked on one wheel, resulting in hilarious* skid stops at pedestrian crossings and disapproving looks from those crossing.
2. Car I actually miss more than that - my first Citroen BX16v, the first car I bought with my heart not my head. I was a student in Manchester at the time, and on the day I went to pick it up I got up at 4AM, rollerbladed to the bus station, got the Megabus to Kent, and drove it all the way home again. But it doesn't quite qualify for this thread because... of course... I still have it, it's sitting in a field looking forlorn. Must get round to it etc etc...
3. But the one I miss most is the one I never bought. I was looking for my first car and had a budget of £1000. A uni friend of mine had a rough-looking-but-solid Mini 1275GT which had been bored out to 1293. I wanted it. But I was young and naive and when I rang up for insurance quotes (which is what you had to do in those days) I mentioned that it had alloy wheels on. Of course that counted as a modification - plus 19 year old driver - nobody would touch me with a bargepole. Of course nowadays I would know that mentioning that was the stupidest thing known to man, especially as they were only 12" Minilites which looked completely standard. I still regret not buying it every single time I think about it.

Postscript; since I didn't get the mini, I bought a sodding J plate Escort hatch with the 1.6CVH. It cost £1000 which to this day is the most I've ever spent on a car. It was fucking shit and I used it for months traipsing up and down the country to see my then girlfriend in Reading, who was a stupid cow who cheated on me. Fuck her and fuck that Escort!

[ETCHY]

Ahh now if you're going to mention the one you miss the most that you never bought...

For me it was in the very  early 1990's, I looked at an early 1970's BMW Touring the one based on the 2002 but the rare hatchback model. It was in original BMW orange, had BMW factory alloys, BMW sport steering wheel, BMW headrests & an autobox. It was sodding incredible !  However I had a shitty 105e Anglia at the time that I couldn't sell,  plus living at may parents they didn't want another car on the drive..

I still dream about that car

 

[puddlethumper]

I miss the Ventora I had in the early 80's. Brown, black vinyl roof, Rover V8, jacked up Jag 

back end, as was the "the way", fat rears and skinny fronts. Been looking for one for years

but when they do come up I can't afford them. Sigh.

I also miss the MK1 Scrote van with Mk2 RS 2000 running gear.

Both pretty good sleepers.

[Maurice Marina]

LDV Convoy

[Bradders59]

Ones I  missed that I didn't actually buy. Just before I bought the Chevette HS I tried to buy  a Porsche 911T. This was 1979 and the price was less than 3 grand !!

The bloke actually refused to sell it to me, I think because he thought I was just a young dreamer, so refused to take me seriously. I made a point of going back a few weeks later to show him I bought something for twice what he was asking for his 911. The look on his face was priceless.

In the ealry 80,s I flirted with the idea of buying (one of) the actual Bodie & Doyle RS2000 from a garage in Norwich, but didn't get motivated enough to get off my arse and do it. Wish I had of done now though.

[HMC]

I once had a w140 500sel (double glazing, self closing doors, wierd analogue parking sensor) I suppose I miss it the most as it was so stupid and 1000% overkill in every measurable respect.

The others weren’t bad either.