- Thread starter Dozzer
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the snooper
getting older by the day
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Reading the title of this thread you'd think it wasn't correct looking back but going back to the 70s & 80s and earlier cars rotted away much quicker and visually looked older, used car prices have gone right up witch tells you people are buying more used
Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
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Oh aye, my dad used to do car repairs for people (although he never claimed to be a mechanic) ... the amount of sills, floors, wings, front panels, A-panels etc. he used to weld onto the assorted dross output by the British motor industry was remarkable. Escorts, Cortinas, Minis, Austin 1100/1300, Avengers, Hunters... most of them less than 10 years old with holes through the shell. Granted a lot of the cars he saw were owned by old gadgies clinging grimly onto life till they could get their ICI pension, while simultaneously smoking 40 a day and keeping the working mens' club barmaids in jobs. Even the odd foreign jobbie: I had a '72 Simca that was rotting at 9 years. A customer had an AlfaSud (remember them?!) that you could practically hear rusting by the early 80s. A neighbour even had a Moskvich, though it wasn't corrosion that was the issue, it was the 25 minutes it took to start the bloody thing.
In the 1980s socks were pulled up a bit: the Metro came along and was discovered to be rusting before it got to the dealers, so they quickly did a redesign that IIRC moved a weld seam from under the back seat. Shame they continued to use a 30 year old engine.
Over on the Continent, Renault claimed they 'built a better car' and to their credit they did - and a wide variety of models as well (even if some were hideous like the R9/11). Fiat brought in robots. Audi, BMW and SAAB quietly got on with building tanks for the discerning gentleman. Eventually they hired stylists.
Paint technology improved, more metallics came in which brightened things up no end (I'm not talking Custom Car metalflake lowriders) as well as slowing down the rust - to be fair, whoever in the 70s came up with the BL colours of Nappy Contents Brown (Princess, TR7) and Old Lady's Knickers Beige (most of the range) to say nothing of Marina TC Orange needed a slap.
That said, for a while I drove an '82 Skoda Estelle in Vermilion - though it too was available in Grandad's Y-fronts Beige (they called it Moonstone).
Ah, the good old days... nostalgia isn't what it used to be
Just saw this on Classic Trader. The popularity of these sorts of sites kind of underpins the following for older cars. Car and Classic also, some nice stuff on there.
Now, if there was ever a car which was unremarkable, this was it........and completely undeserving of the engine. Quick, yes, but really bad torque steer and the inevitable rust. Lousy build quality comes as standard, yet somehow it is quite appealing now.
Lancia
Now, if there was ever a car which was unremarkable, this was it........and completely undeserving of the engine. Quick, yes, but really bad torque steer and the inevitable rust. Lousy build quality comes as standard, yet somehow it is quite appealing now.
Lancia
RaceDiagnostics
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My youngest car is 10 years old, that's when I normally replace my daily driver with a one to two year old car, but this time I've got no desire to buy anything newer, that's the first time I've been in this situation.
From the top, my golf still looks reasonably good, cant say the same for the underside, so as long as it continues to be rust free on the body I'll continue driving it, I'd be happy to get another 10 years out of it. Hopefully the car market will evolve in a better way over the next 10 years.
Other cars are 23 and 49 years old.
From the top, my golf still looks reasonably good, cant say the same for the underside, so as long as it continues to be rust free on the body I'll continue driving it, I'd be happy to get another 10 years out of it. Hopefully the car market will evolve in a better way over the next 10 years.
Other cars are 23 and 49 years old.
Our newest car is 11 years old (Fiesta ST) and still looks and handles like new, with everything else getting older from there.
When i think back to the early 90's and my first car, which was the same age, but riddled with rust, had a shagged gearbox and most of the suspension was shot, you can easily see why the age of cars is steadily increasing.
Its easy to look back at the good old days with nostalgia, but newer cars are just more reliable, and more importantly don't dissolve in 10 years like those from 30 or 40 years ago did.
I'll fully agree that the more recent stuff has got too many gadgets and gizmos to go wrong, but thats the price of one upmanship and the only way to sell new cars, because no ones interested in the mechanics, just the snazzy displays and gadgets.
When i think back to the early 90's and my first car, which was the same age, but riddled with rust, had a shagged gearbox and most of the suspension was shot, you can easily see why the age of cars is steadily increasing.
Its easy to look back at the good old days with nostalgia, but newer cars are just more reliable, and more importantly don't dissolve in 10 years like those from 30 or 40 years ago did.
I'll fully agree that the more recent stuff has got too many gadgets and gizmos to go wrong, but thats the price of one upmanship and the only way to sell new cars, because no ones interested in the mechanics, just the snazzy displays and gadgets.
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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We have two cars, one 10 years old and the other 19. The Shogun is showing its age and as I can no longer work on cars, it will be its last year in my ownership. The last bill was £1250 for some simple work I would have done myself in years gone. We need a towing vehicle for the caravan but also an automatic if I want to continue driving. The choice is huge but so is the price! If anyone has a suggestion for an older car fitting that description, I am open to listen.
RWD3M
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What's your budget?
There is a cut off point, probably around the early 90's. I had an '88 Jag XJ which rotted to the point the windscreen fell out. But equally I had a '90 Astra GTE 16v which was rust free in 2007. Anything 1990 or newer which is rusted has either been a victim of bad design (thing VAG front wheel arch liners which rub through the coatings and cause rust) or it has not been looked after.
As for the really recent stuff, way too much electronics, not just toys and gizmos, but all the emissions control stuff, direct petrol injection, the stuff that maintenance nightmares are made of.
For me, anything 1990 - 2015 ish is OK, as long as in good condition. Newer needs a bullet-proof warranty, and older needs to be in good condition when buying it.
What size and weight of caravan?
Some suggestions for a replacement of a Shogun....
Audi A6 Allroad C6 model. Auto, air suspension etc.
Volvo V70 Estate Auto - Cross Country model is really good
Volvo XC90 - older is better. Hard on suspension parts but cheap to sort. Capable of starship mileages.
Skoda Superb Estate, 4x4. The 2.0d with automatic box is hard to find, but a very strong car. The Passat is basically the same car.
Audi A4 Quattro, B6 or B7. Automatic is OK being the ZF box on quattro models but avoid the FWD CVT transmission.
If you could find a decent Citroen C5 they tow well. A bit esoteric but cheap enough.
Nissan QashQai Auto, just not too new. Older ones with less electronics.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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I'd agree with this ..my Volvo D5 was 2003 and it was an epic car. Shame ulez killed it off.
At the moment I'm only buying Renault/Dacia stuff because they have a customise button on the dash for all the stuff that prevents me from having a crash.
I've no idea how I managed not to crash for the previous 30 years...dumb luck I guess!!!
Rannsachair
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I don't currently have a car, though the average age of my six bikes: 1954,1955,1956,1969, 1972 and 2013 is 1969.8, so over 55 years old!
The Defender I just sold was 23 years old and my dad's Jaguar XJ6 is 22 years old, so we are doing our bit saving them from recycling
The Defender I just sold was 23 years old and my dad's Jaguar XJ6 is 22 years old, so we are doing our bit saving them from recycling
My Old Landy
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Max £15k if possible?
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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It max weight is 1500kg so not huge.
I am interested in the XC90. I should have also mentioned it needs to be fairly large as I struggle to get into and out of small cars.
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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I used to have a Range Rover P38 V8 but it ended up in the breakers. The Mrs would have a fit if I bought another one!
addjunkie
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An XC60 would do what you want, and suspect youd get a much newer one for your budget than the xc90
RWD3M
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Wow, you're not short of choice in that price bracket.
I don't tow a caravan anymore but I do regularly tow a car and trailer on round trips of 1200 -1500 miles (Shetland and back) and have to say my Jag does it alarmingly well. And when it's not towing it's a great drive too.
If I had 15k to spend on a replacement for it (which I don't sadly
) I'd probably be looking at a 2020/2021 XE 180/200PS diesel. That's post chocolate timing gear and by then all pretty well appointed. That's just me though
lchris21
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It would be interesting to see what the stats behind the ownership demographic was.As the title says, apparently the average age of cars on UK roads has never been older.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money.../Britons-cars-OLDER-Average-age-10-years.html
Think there are many factors, but the limited product range offered by many car companies and the prices doesn't help.
Was at BBQ with some old Ford work mates and there are rumours of more redundancies/early retirement offers at Dagenham and Dunton.
so Nobody wants the new Mustang or Crapie
With a 20year old landrover and 16 year old van, im not helping
Personally I think the new car lease and never own it scheme, is now reaching saturation point as regards private buyers. They get to 2 or 3 cars into this financial suicide spiral before realising they are having their trousers taken down, they then bail out into something fairly modern circa 10years old.
Older drivers and particularly those familiar with ancient tome's such as a Haynes manual, know they can get good value for money running around in older vehicles. Its a bit like going to the dentist every 12months come MOT time, but the relief of another year of bargain basement motoring soon eases the pain.
We have a planet killing diesels in our stable. Her indoors loves her 2021
Golf, with all the bells and whistles, touch screen this and that (happy wife=happy life an all that). Its not for me, as I find it way to distracting, but it has a lovely DSG and goes like poo off a shovel with 200BHP, does 60/gallon in eco mode and will be a keeper methinks, but me Id rather drive my 9 year old Transit Custom with 156K on the clock, a much simpler, if bouncy experience.I do regret selling my 2.0 diesel 2010 A4 Avant a couple of years ago, what a lovely car to scoot around in, 175k on the clock and ran like a watch.
