One of the reasons I became a mechanic was I use to look out of the window at school and see the mechanics in Stormont drifting Cortinas , around the car park and I fancied a bit of that.
I loved working as a “grease monkey “.
Remember smoking a Granada around by Plumstead Bus garage taking it to the body shop, Hadden Rd. The “owner “ walked in about 2 minutes later demanding that the who ever was driving was sacked. Of course no CCTV in those days the governor just shrugged his shoulders.
Remember telling a boss of a big company his Aston Martin was a jumped up Capri and I could beat him in my Mexico. Raced him down the Spine Road to the elevated roundabout I went the wrong way around the round about and absolutely left him for dust, he was as mad as could be when he got back to Nathan Way .
Looking back on my car history there’s a few dodgy ones here and I realise that I’ve only ever had three brand new cars that I bought myself.
Datsun Cherry 120A-FII Coupé (passed down from my mother when I passed my test) Datsun Cherry 1500 Triumph Spitfire 1500 Honda Prelude (Series 1) Lancia Delta GTIe (my first brand new car) Subaru Justy Subaru Coupé Mercedes E230 Opel Kadett Audi TT Coupé (my second brand new car) Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Audi TT Roadster Mercedes 300SL Mercedes CLA Shooting Break Toyota RAV4 hybrid (my third brand new car)
I worked for Mercedes-Benz for 13 years so my list of company cars is pretty long as we changed cars every 3 to 6 months. Basically every model except for the B-, R, and S-Class.
The worst being the 1st generation A class and the best being a metallic red E350d with AMG Sport Pack and all conceivable options.
I had a 1600E too Bob. BMP589H, in bronze with a black arrow down the side. I bought it from a bloke who'd used it as a donor car for a proper restoration he was doing, and all the badges were stripped off leaving so many holes it looked as though it had been machine gunned. I remember the gear lever coming off in my hand as I drove it home from buying it. Excellent anti theft protection. Did me well for a couple of years until the engine blew up. Loved the dash! Had a foul smell for months that I couldn't find, and it was only when I properly cleared out the boot before the scrappy arrived that I found a bag of what I think might once have been corned beef sandwiches. Gruesome.
Bought mine from the car auctions that used to be on Blackheath Hill - paid £450 for it and when I drove it home I realised there was about 4 inches of play on the steering wheel and the brakes were spongy at best. Brother in law had a mate who was a mechanic and he sorted most of it for peanuts. Mine was an F reg so had the four dials in a pod above the dash, still a great looking dashboard though.
Hard to pick a worst. Probably mk1 Scirocco with duff crank bearings. But had a previous with Weber conversion super quick. 2007 Tigra duff throttle-body which main dealer couldn't fix cos of bullshit about lack of parts. Changed two. Corsa engine, 20m made. Reckoned ECU needed replacing. Same as saying if you get a virus on your laptop, you need a new hard-drive.
1st car was mk2 Zodiac at 19 as a learner. Needed to do track rod end for mot. Used to do M40 alongside Northolt Aerodrome (about 1m between lights) to try and do a ton.
Stand outs, Zody, PA Cresta, Alfa 146, Vitesse, and 2200 Land Crab.
Currently a highly tuned 72 Midget RWA and a turbo Copen.
Hard to pick a worst. Probably mk1 Scirocco with duff crank bearings. But had a previous with Weber conversion super quick. 2007 Tigra duff throttle-body which main dealer couldn't fix cos of bullshit about lack of parts. Changed two. Corsa engine, 20m made. Reckoned ECU needed replacing. Same as saying if you get a virus on your laptop, you need a new hard-drive.
1st car was mk2 Zodiac at 19 as a learner. Needed to do track rod end for mot. Used to do M40 alongside Northolt Aerodrome (about 1m between lights) to try and do a ton.
Stand outs, Zody, PA Cresta, Alfa 146, Vitesse, and 2200 Land Crab.
Currently a highly tuned 72 Midget RWA and a turbo Copen.
Not a long list for me, 5 cars, and luckily I've loved all of them! Current one is great apart from fuel consumption being a bit unimpressive. Passat R-line Estate 2.0 petrol 4 motion with 270bhp. Coming from a Golf R I still wanted something quick but more space. Its the first auto gearbox I've owned and I just waft around in it just chilled out, I could have just gone with a slower version with better mpg.
As a worst car I've driven, but not owned, a split screen VW camper van. Quite a few things to dislike about it, slow and so awkward for a tall driver as my knees were operating the indicatiors but puts such a big smile on your face, I loved it too!
Arthur……I can’t believe it’, are you the original Arthur from NetAddicks ?
One of my first cars was a Morris Minor. One day whilst crossing the Pennines I was stopped by the cops who told me my engine was dropping out of the car! So I'll give 'Morry' a lowly 3/10. In 1992 I bought a Honda Prelude in Chicago. It was a red sports coup with pop-up lights. Loved it, 9/10, The thing is, it had an illegal police radar, or speed tracker device, that I had never heard of in the UK. so no speeding tickets for me that year. 1992 was the year the pound got busted, so a real bonus was that I eventually sold the car for about the same as I bought it for, as I bought the car before Norman Lamont cut the pound rate.
Looking back on my car history there’s a few dodgy ones here and I realise that I’ve only ever had three brand new cars that I bought myself.
Datsun Cherry 120A-FII Coupé (passed down from my mother when I passed my test) Datsun Cherry 1500 Triumph Spitfire 1500 Honda Prelude (Series 1) Lancia Delta GTIe (my first brand new car) Subaru Justy Subaru Coupé Mercedes E230 Opel Kadett Audi TT Coupé (my second brand new car) Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Audi TT Roadster Mercedes 300SL Mercedes CLA Shooting Break Toyota RAV4 hybrid (my third brand new car)
I worked for Mercedes-Benz for 13 years so my list of company cars is pretty long as we changed cars every 3 to 6 months. Basically every model except for the B-, R, and S-Class.
The worst being the 1st generation A class and the best being a metallic red E350d with AMG Sport Pack and all conceivable options.
It was a great car to drive. I had the 220d engine. We only sold it as we needed a car with more luggage space due to the dogs and setting up our own business!
Worst car I ever had was a 1975 Morris Marina. I bought it in 1980 after a wheel fell off my elderly Triumph Herald as I turned into my parent’s driveway in Folkestone. I bought the car to visit my then girlfriend, now wife, who lived in Cardiff. God I wish I had taken the train! I kept it for two years in which time it hardly went more than a 100 miles between breakdowns. In the end my girlfriend refused to get in it as nearly every journey resulted in long waits for the AA breakdown and relay service.
My favourite car is my current 2013 Skoda Rapid! It cost me £8000 in 2016. It’s done 75,000 miles since and has had no problems whatsoever. Has always passed its MOT at the first time of asking and the annual serving costs are about £120.
Great thread, trying to remember my car history now.....in order
Ford Fiesta Mk 1 Fiat Uno Ford Escort Mazda 323 Ford Escort Ford Fiesta Saab 93 Sport (nicest car)......then I had more than 2 kids Ford S Max Hyundai Sante Fe ( also during this time the missus has had a few cars; Vauxhall Vectra, an absolute shit pit of a Renault Clio (worst car EVER) + various small leased Toyota Aygo's) VW Tiguan - bought 4 months ago, 24 plate with 4k miles on it, was £10k cheaper than brand new - bonkers!!! We've also got a Tesla model Y - great fun to drive
Great thread, trying to remember my car history now.....in order
Ford Fiesta Mk 1 Fiat Uno Ford Escort Mazda 323 Ford Escort Ford Fiesta Saab 93 Sport (nicest car)......then I had more than 2 kids Ford S Max Hyundai Sante Fe ( also during this time the missus has had a few cars; Vauxhall Vectra, an absolute shit pit of a Renault Clio (worst car EVER) + various small leased Toyota Aygo's) VW Tiguan - bought 4 months ago, 24 plate with 4k miles on it, was £10k cheaper than brand new - bonkers!!! We've also got a Tesla model Y - great fun to drive
Review on the Tiguan please. I've watched a few You Tube videos but would like your opinion. Have been looking at the hybrid version but like the look of the R line one. Its mainly to be used as a second car and just getting to/from the station and doing the school run.
Great thread, trying to remember my car history now.....in order
Ford Fiesta Mk 1 Fiat Uno Ford Escort Mazda 323 Ford Escort Ford Fiesta Saab 93 Sport (nicest car)......then I had more than 2 kids Ford S Max Hyundai Sante Fe ( also during this time the missus has had a few cars; Vauxhall Vectra, an absolute shit pit of a Renault Clio (worst car EVER) + various small leased Toyota Aygo's) VW Tiguan - bought 4 months ago, 24 plate with 4k miles on it, was £10k cheaper than brand new - bonkers!!! We've also got a Tesla model Y - great fun to drive
Review on the Tiguan please. I've watched a few You Tube videos but would like your opinion. Have been looking at the hybrid version but like the look of the R line one. Its mainly to be used as a second car and just getting to/from the station and doing the school run.
Yeah I went for an 24 plate R Line Allspace (slightly longer version with 2 fold down seats in the boot). Absolutely love it, lovely to drive and has all the bells and whistles on it - the only thing it doesn't have which I didn't realise before I picked it up is a reverse parking camera and it's really annoying, mainly because I'm so used to having one. It's got sensors all over it but no camera
Comments
Remember telling a boss of a big company his Aston Martin was a jumped up Capri and I could beat him in my Mexico. Raced him down the Spine Road to the elevated roundabout I went the wrong way around the round about and absolutely left him for dust, he was as mad as could be when he got back to Nathan Way .
Datsun Cherry 120A-FII Coupé (passed down from my mother when I passed my test)
Datsun Cherry 1500
Triumph Spitfire 1500
Honda Prelude (Series 1)
Lancia Delta GTIe (my first brand new car)
Subaru Justy
Subaru Coupé
Mercedes E230
Opel Kadett
Audi TT Coupé (my second brand new car)
Audi A8 4.2 Quattro
Audi TT Roadster
Mercedes 300SL
Mercedes CLA Shooting Break
Toyota RAV4 hybrid (my third brand new car)
I worked for Mercedes-Benz for 13 years so my list of company cars is pretty long as we changed cars every 3 to 6 months. Basically every model except for the B-, R, and S-Class.
The worst being the 1st generation A class and the best being a metallic red E350d with AMG Sport Pack and all conceivable options.
1st car was mk2 Zodiac at 19 as a learner. Needed to do track rod end for mot. Used to do M40 alongside Northolt Aerodrome (about 1m between lights) to try and do a ton.
Stand outs, Zody, PA Cresta, Alfa 146, Vitesse, and 2200 Land Crab.
Currently a highly tuned 72 Midget RWA and a turbo Copen.
Worst car was a Renault 16 - column shift gearstick broke off while driving through Deptford...
My favourite car is my current 2013 Skoda Rapid! It cost me £8000 in 2016. It’s done 75,000 miles since and has had no problems whatsoever. Has always passed its MOT at the first time of asking and the annual serving costs are about £120.
Fun to drive.
Ford Fiesta Mk 1
Fiat Uno
Ford Escort
Mazda 323
Ford Escort
Ford Fiesta
Saab 93 Sport (nicest car)......then I had more than 2 kids
Ford S Max
Hyundai Sante Fe ( also during this time the missus has had a few cars; Vauxhall Vectra, an absolute shit pit of a Renault Clio (worst car EVER) + various small leased Toyota Aygo's)
VW Tiguan - bought 4 months ago, 24 plate with 4k miles on it, was £10k cheaper than brand new - bonkers!!!
We've also got a Tesla model Y - great fun to drive
Worst was a Dacia that lasted me a week.
My actual best was a Challenger 1 main battle tank but as I didn't buy it I suppose it doesn't count.
Who's going to argue?