Is it any wonder I absolutely love my 5, my list reads worthy but dull with one exception:
Personally owned a few good and bad over the years
Hyundai Pony 1.4
Opel Ascona 1.9
Golf GTi 8v
Golf GTi 16v Turbo
Westfield 7
993 Targa
VX220 Turbo
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Caterham Superlight
Jaguar XF V6 3.0D S
Caterham R500
MX5 ND Sport Recaro
Had the Aston, R500 and Jag XF all at the same time for about 12mths and have also had several company cars including an Alfa and currently a Merc C220.
I’ve had quite a few but never owned or wanted to own a new car.
Mk1 mini
Mk3 cortina
Hillman Avenger
VW type 2
VW fastback
Mercedes 230/4
Mk1 Polo
Mk1 golf gti
Audi 90 quattro
Audi 80 quattro
Audi 90
Audi 80
13.VW Passat
My wife then passed her test so she used the normal cars whilst I got
Mini cooper s pi
Mini 1275GT
GTM Coupe 1380
Hillman Imp
BMW 540 V8
BMW 525
A succession of fast motorcycles
Mk1 Mx5
MG Midget
Mk3 MX5.
So at the moment we have a mini cooper, mk1 and mk3 mx5’s and a 1979 Yamaha RS125DX.
I’ve just realised I’ve missed a whole section of cars out but you get the picture.
Some tasty stuff there.
1 - Mk2 Ford Escort(upon first viewing the owner was cleaning the back seat, 'cos his dog had just p****d all over it!)
2 - Mk3 Ford Capri 2.0S(spent more time being towed than driven - saved a fortune in petrol though…)
3 - Mk1 Astra GTE(The only car in history to rust from the roof down - and now according to Car SOS is very sought after! Bugger…)
4 - Mk2 Fiesta XR2(My dad got stopped by the police while test driving it, 'cos it single-handedly produced more smoke than the Steel Industry)
5 - Mk1 Fiat Punto(Diarrhoea Yellow - 'nuff said)
6 - Vauxhall Cavalier Diplomat(oohhh), with dodgy LPG conversion which got me banned from some petrol stations
7 - Vauxhall Vectra(most uncomfortable car in history)
8 - Toyota Yaris, known to friends as ‘Tiddles’
9 - Best car of them all…
There’s owning and there’s sharing and there’s driving. Some I drove a lot even though I didn’t own them, either parents cars, or as a chauffeur for elderly neighbours, or sharing cars with a couple of mates.
In Africa
1954 Morris Oxford, learnt to drive on this around the garden when Dad wasn’t looking, got tanned a few times but worth it.
1957 Morris Isis, my Dad bought this new, and forty years later after he died I sold it to a collector.
1951 Morris Minor, originally black but my Mum and I painted it Dulux Mushroom, passed first test in this one.
1962 Wolseley 1500, superb little car, my Mum owned this for fifteen years
1961 BSA A10 Gold Flash, not good, but sold on a profit
1968 Rover
1968 Holden
1978 Renault R4L, very definitely by far the very worst car I’ve ever driven, sold it for an amazing amount of Zimbucks when my Dad died
In UK
1956 Triumph 6T Thunderbird, enjoyed this one for several years during and after Uni, big mistake in selling it
Several Mk2 Zephyrs and Zodiacs, all great cars, all done up and sold at a profit by our little group during Uni
a couple of PADX Crestas also trade goods during Uni
1957 Farnham Estate Zodiac, superb car, the seats folded down to make a bed, great when courting or house hunting
1971 PC Cresta, almost the worst car of the lot with frighteningly random steering, I had great difficulty selling this one for a friend
1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 lovely car, shame about the rust, triple SUs, breathed on head and cams, an enthusiast bought it to do up, but parked outside his house one icy morning it was written off by the council dustcart.
1963 Jaguar Mk2 3.4, scrapped it for the engine, transmission and suspension, helped a friend fit them into a Mk1 Landrover chassis and body as a kind of Q-car, much welding
1972 Triumph 2000, dreadful car, bought with almost no miles on it from an elderly neighbour going into a home, got rid of it as quickly as possible
1966 Series IV Humber Hawk, nice agile car with ER70 tyres, but written of by an idiot (not me) who jumped a red light
1965 Mk1 Corsair, my bitsa, only the body was original, great fun, used to eat rear tyres, eventually scrapped after ten years of welding up the rust, but the Mk2 engine lived on in a Caterham
1963 Woody Mini traveller, sold it at a profit at 21 years old, much welding
1977 BMW R80/7 with extra bits on, very nice but after a few months had to sell it, I could not refuse the offer and needed the money
1974 FE Victor Estate 2.3, fast and with superb road-holding, rubbish brakes, every year I’d replace the same couple of rear suspension bushes and the back box, amazingly cheap motoring, scrapped because the A-pillars rusted
1977 rwd Vauxhall Cavalier, scrapped with a year’s MOT and no rust at 20 years old, nobody wanted to buy it
1994 Astra 1.4SE, scrapped when bits fell out of the clutch at 205,000 miles, had it 14 years from new, its first breakdown
1996 VectraB GLS, scrapped when the relatively recent cambelt tensioner spring broke, had it 20 years from new, first breakdown
2008 MX5
2016 Mazda3
And innumerable rentals here and abroad.
The worst brakes were on a Renault Megane, the best fun was on a brand new Alfa 159 Q4 2.4 diesel, both hired in France at Avignon train station.
1. Mk1. Ford Fiesta 1.1 (with extra spot lights, high brake lights and remould tyres)
Phillips Gadabout
BSA C15 250
Honda C70
BSA A7SS 500
Singer Chamois
Morris 1000 Traveller
Singer Gazelle VI
Triumph Spitfire Mk3
Hillman Hunter
Ford XR2 Mk 1
BSA D5 Bantam 175
Nissan Prairie
Chrysler Avenger 1600
Triumph Dolomite 1500TC
Volvo 240 Estate
Suzuki 400 ES
Dutton Phaeton 1600
Mitsubishi Space Wagon 1500
Honda CB750
Toyota Previa
BMW E30 1.8
Vauxhall Vectra 1.7 TD
FB AJS Stormer Enduro 250
CZ 250 Enduro
Liege Roadster Trials
BMW E36 2.0 Coupe
Ford Escort Combi van
BMW E46 2.5 Saloon
Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.9D
BMW E90 330D Saloon
Renault Kangoo 1.6 MPV
Suzuki Swift Mk2 1.0
Fiat Panda 1.3D
Mazda MX-5 NB 1.8i
VW 1200 Beetle
Hillman Imp
Honda C90 (Everyone should have one!)
Volvo 144
Dutton Melos kit car (It took me 4yrs, £5k and a marriage to build it)
Volvo 360 GLT
Peugeot 305 Estate (Family wagon)
Citroen ZX
Honda CRV Auto
Citroen BX
Honda Accord V-tec Coupe (A lovely car)
Peugeot 104
Honda Jazz x3 (Approaching old age)
Honda CRV x2 (Wife with horse trailer. Broke the 1st one, just bought the 2nd and pick it up on Saturday)
MX5 NC PRHT Powershift (A natural progression from a motorbike with increasing age, and most fun I’ve had with a car since the Dutton and the Accord! )
+ lots of my own motorbikes, lots of Police bikes and patrol cars, and lots of Honda bikes while I worked for them.
Learned to drive in Dad’s split-screen Morris Minor and instructor’s Viva didn’t actually OWN a car until:-
Ford Orion Ghia - had a lable at the top of the windscreen proudly stating “Made in West Germany”!
Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 - great little car!
Peugeot 206 GTI - big disappointment! Felt like you were sitting on it, rather than in it!c
Ford Fiesta Ghia 1.6 - secondhand gap filler - awful, handled like a damaged supermarket trolley!
Honda Civic Type R 2004 model - brilliant!
Nissan Micra - At the same time to do the shopping - not as bad as people say, and reliable!
Honda Civic Type R 2007 model - more toys than the previous model, but not so engaging, and it gave me terrible neck aches!
Honda Jazz 1.6 2010 model - Excellent small family car, totally reliable. My age was beginning to show!
Mazda MX5 Mk.4 1.5 SE-L Nav. - Old man’s last fling and more FUN than any of the others!
Beat this…
| No | Car Detail | Reg | Reg Year | From- | -To |
| 1 | Austin 1100 (cream) | ??? ???C | 1965 | 1976 | 1976 |
| 2 | VW Beetle (white) | GKK 707D | 1966 | 1976 | 1977 |
| 3 | Austin 1300 (blue) | ??? ???? | 1969 | 1977 | 1977 |
| 4 | NSU Prinz (red) | ALD 24H | 1970 | 1977 | 1978 |
| 5 | Morris 1100 (green) | ?BH 155F | 1968 | 1978 | 1978 |
| 6 | Hillman Avenger (beige) | MXB 748L | 1973 | 1978 | 1980 |
| 7 | Ford Capri 1.6s (white) | JTV 571N | 1975 | 1980 | 1982 |
| 8 | Fiat 126 (beige) | THM 116M | 1974 | 1982 | 1983 |
| 9 | Austin Mini Clubman Est. (beige) | RGU 216R | 1977 | 1983 | 1985 |
| 10 | Austin Metro 1.0L (red) | PGY 6??W | 1981 | 1985 | 1986 |
| 11 | Austin Metro 1.3HLE (brown) | YGW 509Y | 1983 | 1986 | 1987 |
| 12 | Austin Metro 1.0L (white) | D109 YLO | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
| 13 | Ford Fiesta XR2 (black) | E805 FPE | 1988 | 1988 | 1989 |
| 14 | Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia (red) | G138 OGX | 1989 | 1989 | 1992 |
| 15 | Austin Montego 1.6SL auto (grey) | F243 RYK | 1988 | 1992 | 1993 |
| 16 | Rover 214 GSi (green) | H707 YGU | 1990 | 1993 | 1996 |
| 17 | Lada Riva Estate (black) | L273 UGF | 1993 | 1993 | 1995 |
| 18 |
Mitsubishi Spacewagon
1.8 GLX auto (white) |
J734 EHU | 1991 | 1995 | 2001 |
| 19 | Rover 100 (purple) | P822 GKL | 1996 | 1996 | 1997 |
| 20 | Toyota Corolla 1.6GTi (red) | E910 OMG | 1988 | 1997 | 2001 |
| 21 | Saab 900 2.0 turbo (blue) | A212 NKP | 1981 | 2001 | 2003 |
| 22 | Rover 216 auto (black) | T633 CRF | 1999 | 2003 | 2004 |
| 23 | Saab 2.0 lpt turbo auto (black) | W693 XGH | 2000 | 2004 | 2006 |
| 24 | BMW Mini One (red) | T90 BOW | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| 25 | Saab 2.0 turbo auto (blue) | T90 BOW | 2003 | 2007 | 2009 |
| 26 | BMW 323i SE auto (green) | T90 BOW | 1999 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 27 | BMW Z3Mcoupe (black) | V289 DPB | 1999 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 28 | Kia Picanto Auto (black) | RA05 XVR | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 |
| 29 | Mazda MX-5 Z Sport (Ebony) | T90 BOW | 2007 | 2010 | 2013 |
| 30 | BMW 116i 2ltr Sport Auto (black) | PU51 DEL | 2009 | 2012 | 2014 |
| 31 | Mercedes SLK 280 (Palladium Silver) | T90 BOW | 2009 | 2013 | 2016 |
| 32 | Ford Fiesta 1.5Tdci Titanium (silver) | PU51 DEL | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| 33 | Ford Fiesta Titanium X (grey) | PU51 DEL | 2015 | 2015 | |
| 34 | Mazda MX-5 2ltr Sport Nav (black) | MX5 8ARY | 2015 | 2016 |
| No | Motorbike Detail | Registration | Reg Year | From- | -To |
| 1 | Honda FS1E (yellow) | ??? ???R | 1977 | 1977 | |
| 2 | Moped 50cc (red) | ? | ? | 1983 | |
| 3 | Yamaha V70 (black) | ? | |||
| 4 | Suzuki 250 GT (blue) | ? | ? | 1984 | |
| 5 | Honda 250n Superdream (silver) | ??? ???N | 1975 | 1985 |
1987 VW Polo 1.3 Ranger (silver)
1987 Vauxhall Astra 1.2 Merit (red)
1988 Ford Sierra 1.8 LX (white)
1989 Toyota carina 2.0i Executive (red)
1994 Skoda Favorit 1.3 GLXie estate ( green)
1998 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Td LX (green)
2000 Ford Mondeo 1.8 TD LX (silver)
2004 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi LX estate ( silver)
2007 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Edge estate (silver)
2010 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Zetec (silver)
2013 Hyundai i40 1.7 TD Style estate ( white)
1992 Mazda MX5 1.6 V Spec (black)
13 2016 Mazda 6 2.2 TD SEL Nav estate (black)
I still own the 1987 VW Polo & Mx5, my daily is the Mazda 6
Wow MX5 8ARY. Bet you feel better for getting some of those off your chest.
But really? Anyone could make the mistake of buying a Metro once, but three times? And then a Rover 100 which is a Metro with a false nose and glasses. What were you thinking of???
He traded up from a Rover to a Lada.
What a wonderful way you have with the English language. Perfect use of the term ‘traded up’.
P.S. He’s going to give us s**t when he reads this.
Sunbeam Alpine…Bought for £80…First 3 months insurance £90 ! (No Fire, No theft!) Sold 2 yrs later for £120!
MG ZA Magnette
Peugot 504 estate
Ford Cortina Twin cam estate
Alfasud…Brilliant car but inboard disc brakes on gear box needed adjusting every 4 wks…AND it rusted quicker than a MX5
Austin Princess
Vauxhall Cavalier hatchback
Alfa 164 twinspark…A racing car in a saloon car body
Mk 1 Toyota Celica…A saloon car in a sports car body
Mk 1 MX5
C36 AMG Mercedes…Early AMG…Like a bat out of hell BUT NO driver aids apart from ABS. Slid it backwards along crash barrier on a roundabout at about 20mph Writeoff
Saab 93 Turbo 2002 hatchback. Superb drivers car !
2004 BMW Z4…Wonderful 6cyl 2.5 motor
2008 2l Niseko MX5
My car ownership is pretty short, mainly because I’ve had my MX5 for a long time.
Citroen AX 1.1i Memphis ('97-Jun '02)
MX5 1.8i 10AE (Jun '02 - Present)
Renault Clio 1.2 (Mar '10 - Nov '13)
Mazda 3 1.6 (Nov '13 - Present)
I shall not stoop so low as to rise to you bait gentleman
I prefer to think of my car history as ‘eclectic’ (if somewhat scary here and there)
What IS even more sad is my collection of model cars of the ‘more interesting cars wot I’ve owned’
Good thread though
Barry
PS: Paul…your card is marked mate !
2. Peugeot 105 1.9D. Hellish fun for a glorified tractor
Ford Granada 2.8
Mazda 323 1.8. With pop up lights :)
Fiat Bravo. Learned to do my own car work on this. After I nearly destroyed it by doing no servicing for three years!
Vauxhal Vectra B SRi.
Saab 9-5 Aero. What a machine.
BMW 325 Ci. Destroyed when I ran out of ability.
Ford Focus 1.8 Estate.
Mondeo 1.8 dullbox. The only redeeming feature was the heated front screen.
BMW Z3 2.8. 2nd car. Not as much fun to drive as they look.
Mini One R56. Small car for the tight spaces at work. Hoot to drive, pretty much stopped taking the z3 out when I got this.
Mazda MX5 NA8 VR-LTD 1.8