Cars you have owned that suddenly disappeared from the roads

[Captain Mainwaring]

11 hours ago, Talbot said:

This is true of the entire range as far as I can tell.  Last-of-the-line Horizons, sambas Alpines and Solaras were on a C, with a very very few Solaras on a late registration madness D-plate.

And yes, I did own rather too many Horizons, including three diesel ones. 45mpg was phenominal when most of my friends had late 70s/early 80s shite that barely managed 30mpg with worn out carburettors and weak ignition systems.

If I'd known about running on Veg back then, I'd definitely have been doing 

Just remembered I clocked this in a Devon museum this summer. Not the best pic, sorry...

[High Jetter]

3 minutes ago, Captain Mainwaring said:

Not the best pic, sorry...

Stupid boy...🤣

[2flags]

Early Astras seem to have gone. Used to be everywhere, especially the vans, now, can't remember when I last saw one. 

[barefoot]

Everything I've ever owned has vanished almost instantly from Chevette, Cavalier 2, Nova 1, Escort 3, Cortina 5 Maestro van, Audi 80 B2, 100 & 200C2, 944S, Vel Satis, Jaguar X308... I'm dailying a Scirocco 2 and a Rover 75 at the moment and I'm not tripping over lots of those regularly either. 

[AnthonyG]

I’m always slightly surprised by how many Rovers I still see about, given the company ceased to exist nearly 20 years ago.

The postfacelift 25’s that are left are mostly very rusty due to the final Project Drive deletion of wheel arch liners etc.

There’s a 54 plate one kicking about Ledbury which has proper old school wobbed up rear arches. The grey P45 nearly* matches the colour so it’s not as noticeable as it might be, and it’s still a better effort than the application of ducktape! 

[crad]

mk2 clios seem to be slowly getting thinner on the ground...

 

hardly ever see any of my corollas either.

[Richard_FM]

6 hours ago, 2flags said:

Early Astras seem to have gone. Used to be everywhere, especially the vans, now, can't remember when I last saw one. 

I remember the Mk1s seemed to vanish about 30 years ago, one of the first 1980s cars to disappear from the roads.  The Mk2s seemed to last longer, still being common until about 10 years ago, but the estates were popular in the building trade & ran unto the ground a long time earlier.

Mk3s are still around if you keep your eyes open.

[IronStar]

Mk1 Golf. They were everywhere, then seemingly overnight, poof, gone.

Floridas were fairly common but other than mine I don’t think I’ve seen pre-IN one on the road for ages. Or parked with plates. 

Citroen Saxo, slow ones killed by rust, fast ones crashed, repaired, then crashed again, bodged, rinse repeat, then finally - killed by rust.

Pre-facelift Alfa 156 is getting thin on the ground and are getting leggier. 

[Low ontime]

Mk 5/6 Ford escorts are getting thin  on the ground, ones i do see are giffer owned and only just alive.

[Low ontime]

Mk1 seat Toledo, had a sxe in 2013 on an S plate,  have not seen another since… decent spec too for its time 

[horriblemercedes]

20 hours ago, 2flags said:

Early Astras seem to have gone. Used to be everywhere, especially the vans, now, can't remember when I last saw one. 

To be fair, the early ones are now 46 years old...

[Metal Guru]

42 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

To be fair, the early ones are now 46 years old...

Yes , I don’t remember anyone saying in 1970. “ you don’t see many Model Ts on the road these days.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Although Mk3s have all but gone now, with Mk4s swiftly following suit.

[artdjones]

Yarises and Corollas have been mentioned a lot, but many of them still exist and have made a one way journey to Africa.

I helped a friend on Wednesday who's been slowly repairing the top of the windscreen aperture of his mother's Mk1 Yaris. The new screen should be arriving next week. I couldn't see any other rot on it. 

[Captain Mainwaring]

6 hours ago, artdjones said:

Yarises and Corollas have been mentioned a lot, but many of them still exist and have made a one way journey to Africa.

Apparently K11 Micras were a prime candidate for that as well.

[Laney]

On 28/04/2024 at 23:25, RoverFolkUs said:

What better to do on a Sunday evening than browse Facebook marketplace in search of a Rover 400 HH-R 

Except I can't seem to find any that tick the right boxes for me

I don't know what it is about them but part of me really wants to get another one like the one I used to have - A hatchback nightfire red 414, manual. 

I can't seem to find one for sale anywhere. 

Went on 'how many left' which claims there are just 12 left 414I S models currently taxed! And roughly 50-60 on SORN. 

Where did they all go? I know that is just one very specific variant of a pretty obscure car but it does sadden me to think that they've pretty much all gone! 

Alternatively there is a very lovely looking 420, but unfortunately it's a saloon and £3k. Yes, it's rare, and low mileage. But is it worth £3k? Not to me, not sure about anyone else. 

My main preferences are a 414 or 420 in nightfire red, ideally hatchback, must be manual. It's got to be cheap because if I was spending £3k I'd get something more universally desirable. 

I'm absolutely kicking myself for calling it a day and getting rid when the clutch went in my 414, but they were totally disposable back then and there were plenty more around.. yet they seem to have disappeared so quickly 🙁

It won't come as much of a surprise if I said another car from me which fits the title of the thread is a Daewoo Tacuma... 

Don't know much about Rover 414's but I saw this and thought of this thread

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1185854062481711/

[Eyersey1234]

Mk3 Fiesta, they were everywhere even in the mid 2000s, I suppose rust will have killed most of them

[quicksilver]

Zafira A. They used to be everywhere but have really thinned out over the last few years and are becoming a noticeably rarer sight. I suppose that's not surprising given that even the newest are now 20 years old and most will have been ruined by messy kids and/or neglected by their stressed parents.

[Richard_FM]

46 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Zafira A. They used to be everywhere but have really thinned out over the last few years and are becoming a noticeably rarer sight. I suppose that's not surprising given that even the newest are now 20 years old and most will have been ruined by messy kids and/or neglected by their stressed parents.

I spot the odd one around, there is one I used to see parked outside a house on the way to my Sister In Law's house, but since moving I use a different route.

[Eyersey1234]

On 24/10/2024 at 13:37, Metal Guru said:

Yes , I don’t remember anyone saying in 1970. “ you don’t see many Model Ts on the road these days.

I suppose it shows how little car design has really developed since the 70s as the basic design of a Mk1 Astra doesn't look that much different to a 2024 car whereas a Model T looks very different to a Mk1 Astra

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

I suppose it shows how little car design has really developed since the 70s as the basic design of a Mk1 Astra doesn't look that much different to a 2024 car whereas a Model T looks very different to a Mk1 Astra

While the outward appearance of cars may not have changed much from the 70s, other parts have moved on immeasurably.

Engines are way more efficient with less pollution, safety features that would have been unimaginable then, infotainment / communications etc,  longevity esp corrosion resistance. All of this has come at a cost of higher initial prices ( though not that much over inflation) but maintenance costs are undoubtedly higher (DIY harder / impractical too), resulting in prematurely scrapped cars .

[High Jetter]

Have we had the Probe yet? Never saw many, not seen one for years.

[skoda_fan]

On 21/10/2024 at 22:50, Captain Mainwaring said:

Just remembered I clocked this in a Devon museum this summer. Not the best pic, sorry...

Ah the wonderful Moretonhampstead Motor Museum. I believe the owner is due to retire imminently and unless someone takes it over (unlikely imho) everything will be auctioned off. Worth keeping an eye on if you are in the market for something interesting as there's loads of good stuff in there, including this Talbot. Although no doubt there will be loads of publicity and a bidding frenzy with silly prices. Such a shame that these smaller, unlikely museums are closing.

[Captain Mainwaring]

1 hour ago, skoda_fan said:

Ah the wonderful Moretonhampstead Motor Museum. I believe the owner is due to retire imminently and unless someone takes it over (unlikely imho) everything will be auctioned off. Worth keeping an eye on if you are in the market for something interesting as there's loads of good stuff in there, including this Talbot. Although no doubt there will be loads of publicity and a bidding frenzy with silly prices. Such a shame that these smaller, unlikely museums are closing.

Yeah, I was talking to the chap and he said as much. A real shame, as you say it's a brilliant little place. I do hope someone takes it on.

[Macscrooge]

There was an abandoned Zafira A in my village recently. It was ticketed by DVLA and got towed last week. 
Rovers: a friend has a 620d in regular use. (His other car is a ‘95 MB C class). And I often see an R8 in the next village. 

[Eyersey1234]

13 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

While the outward appearance of cars may not have changed much from the 70s, other parts have moved on immeasurably.

Engines are way more efficient with less pollution, safety features that would have been unimaginable then, infotainment / communications etc,  longevity esp corrosion resistance. All of this has come at a cost of higher initial prices ( though not that much over inflation) but maintenance costs are undoubtedly higher (DIY harder / impractical too), resulting in prematurely scrapped cars .

I agree technologically speaking cars have moved on a lot from the 70s