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As the Poni-Tails sang As a 17 year old cheap car buyer in 1988 there was loads of stuff that I just missed out on. If I'd have had my licence (and some money!) a few years earlier then surely a Lancia Gamma coupe would have been mine By the late 1980s they were all rotting or the buoyant classic car market was asking £4k for survivors Older stuff was getting expensive too. Jag Mk2 prices were rising faster than a yuppie's mobile phone ariel and other Jags were getting pricier on the back of it. A few years earlier nobody wanted stuff like this Mk 7. The car that brought Jaguar's tagline of 'Grace, pace and space' Feel free to wallow in self pity and share with us what you missed out on ;D
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But there's stuff out there now, and if you were 17 then you'd be upset about all the stuff you'd missed before!
Stop reminiscing about the good old days and go out and get a Rover 800 coupe or an MX5! ;D
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May 15, 2007 10:37:16 GMT
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Or a Lancia Gamma or a MK7 Jag... Even Mk2s are sensible money now if you don't mind a little work.
I still am a bit sore about the '68 Dodge Corronet I passed up for £225 with T&T just because it had a 6 not a V8, and the Packard Clipper I couldn't raise the £995 for, or the 1957 DeSoto Adventurer in tripple tone pink with huge fins and a 383 big block in it which was T&T nice condition for £795 ono. Couldn't get insurance as an 18 y/o student...
All of which in the 1987-1989 period.
There were others. Lots of 50s Brit tin for the lower or mid hundreds, all gone now. We thougth Consuls were expensive because you'd pay a grand for one.
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1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 15, 2007 10:40:18 GMT
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yeah i agree, i had loads of old zodiacs, cortinas, vivas, crestas, A40's, mercs, lancias etc etc, we used to buy cars for 30 quid, use em till the tax ran out and scrap em, had gazillions of cars that are "rare" classics these days.
same thing happens to all age groups.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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May 15, 2007 10:46:36 GMT
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When I broke my main car(s) - usually via over-lowering and/or under-maintaining, I used to get a Viva from the Loot for £100 to use (and then break via over-lowering and/or under-maintaining) as a stop gap. What's the equivalent now? An E-plate Astra maybe?
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May 15, 2007 11:45:08 GMT
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We've had a similar discussion about this on autoshite recently. Garethj, my introduction to driving and car ownership coincides exactly with your dates. My regret is stupidly buying as new a car as possible for a few years, despite the fact that I was an avid reader of classic/custom mag's. I should have been going out to find the best example of an older car, but even then what I liked rarely came up for sale. Part of it was probably a confidence thing - I didn't really know peope who did that and was swayed by well-meaning advice from family etc. On the autoshite thread I posted a few ad's from a 1990 motoring supplement... Spot the B-reg Accord for £3500! I did kind of want one back then, funny that I ended up with a good one 17 years later for a rather more favourable price.
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May 15, 2007 12:32:23 GMT
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ah, don't complain, I am 21 now and theres a great range of cars available over here in Aus which are possibly cheaper then they have been in past. i got my volvo 122S in great condition for $4000, am about to get a slightly rough 1 owner 144S for $100, a mostly complete 69 bug for $150 and i have been given both a clean but motorless 72 vw type 3 and 76 kombi for free in the past! soem of the best cars ever designed are out there at fair prices, you just gotta know where to look and possibly look beyond the most popular cars
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Remade In Australia thereimaginarium.com.au
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May 15, 2007 13:09:49 GMT
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Part of it was probably a confidence thing - I didn't really know peope who did that and was swayed by well-meaning advice from family etc. I had that too, my Mum desperately wanted me not to get an old car, but I fought against it and got a Triumph Herald...the problem then came about that it had some minor faults which I didn't really understand and my Mum felt proved right. It takes a while to realise that a car shouldn't be judged on age alone. The B reg Accord you could have bought for £2500 was probably in exactly the same condition as the one you bought years later.
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May 15, 2007 13:12:12 GMT
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'62 Austin Cabridge, Mazda Montrose, a few others take my eye...
Back issues of the likes of Custom Car from the 70s or early 80s are the worst for me...
Ford Pop £5. Ford 100E £25 '64 Impala needs water pump £150 '62 Galaxie convertible vgc V8 £250.
and so on.
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Last Edit: May 15, 2007 13:13:38 GMT by akku
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 15, 2007 13:18:12 GMT
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I think the internet must have changed things a lot – there may not be anyone driving similar stuff in your area, but you’ll quickly find somewhere online to cater for your tastes. I envy Adam and Skoda_Norman having this place on hand…
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May 15, 2007 13:36:00 GMT
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I found a 1980 copy of the ad-rag in one of the cars recently, amongst the £100 mk3 tinas and mk1 escorts are 4 bed detached houses for under 20k, a review of the amazing new FSO polonez (an exciting entry to the hatchback market) and Iron Maiden playing the Mayfair, £2 advance, £2.50 on the door.
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in
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May 15, 2007 13:40:19 GMT
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Theres some old cars which have gone down since the 'classic' car market is as bad as house prices! except you don't guarantee a sale!
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts
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May 15, 2007 23:27:58 GMT
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In 1986 I had the chance to buy an early 60's Ferrari for 7.5K... the only problem was a cracked windscreen.... if only I had a crystal ball at the time....
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Tell it like it is.... NOT how it should be
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Kyle67
Part of things
Posts: 554
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May 15, 2007 23:39:53 GMT
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I was lucky I suppose, cars cost peanuts when I was younger. I had a '67 'cuda and a Olds 88 Road Rocket before I was 18 and neither cost over £200. A TR6 cost me £50 back then and I had a showroom standard yellow Mk1 Mexico when I was 19, did a swap for a 3.0 GXL Mk1 Capri on that one. By the time I hit 20 I'd added an Avenger Tiger and a Olympic Blue Mk1 RS2000 to the list. Now look at the prices of all those, it makes me sick!
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Born Too Latebriandamaged
@GUEST
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May 16, 2007 17:32:57 GMT
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I remember going to look at a slightly tatty but solid RHD '67 Impala back in 1985/6, with tax and MOT and a 327/Powerglide combo.....for £400.
There are scars on my shins from where I have repeatedly kicked myself for not buying that car.
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May 16, 2007 17:54:09 GMT
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I remember looking at a Porsche 356 AND a Porsche 914 in scruffy condition for £1500 and £900 respectively around '85 We passed on them both though!
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May 16, 2007 18:49:09 GMT
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Well i was born way too late! I was born in '91
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[/color][/b] [/CENTER]
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mk14dr
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 4,472
Club RR Member Number: 85
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Born Too Latemk14dr
@mk14dr
Club Retro Rides Member 85
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My girlfriends dad was an american/classic (altho i suppose at the time they wern't classics' ) and i really do just love sitting a listening to his stories and looking at his old pics... 6year old E type coupe, duck-egg blue -- £350 anyone?? At 20 he was driving a 6month old pink and white plymouth of some description and had a matt black anglia with lotus running gear for day to day fun, all bought for peanuts. Every sunday we sit down in my livingroom and look at cars on the 'net for 2 or 3 hours, he almost spits feathers when he see's some of the prices I wish i'd've been born in the late 50's early 60's so i could've enjoyed the plethora of dirt cheap cars, and maybe made some money before the world was against us all
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Amazingly, there was a time when nobody wanted E-Types Luckily I wasn't too late for the next wave, I had an XJ-S V12 about 10 years ago ;D That car was a real hoot - plant the pedal and it took off like a motor launch, nose high in the air and the V12 snarling through the autobox. Or you could slither through town at 30mph, it was all very relaxing. In fact I've had long hot soaks in the bath that were more stressful than driving that old Jag
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One thing to remember that back in "those days" things were not all rosey like they look now as we look back. In the 1950s petrol was still rationed, thats why nobody wanted big cars then, in the 1970s petrol hit the equivalent of £10 a gallon more than twice what it costs now due to the fuel crisis. There was no classic insurance, no Historic tax and any modification to your car required an engineers report. Wages were often lower, hours were long and there was no real aftermarket or support like there is now. You'd alos be living in a house or flat with no central heating, no automatic washing machines, no modern cons, so all the "other" bits of life took longer...
Also a £100 car in the 1950s, I'm sure that was what myu dad's first job paid A YEAR! so a £100 car was not so cheap as it looks now! I think my dad said his first job paid about £2 a week so even a car costing a tenner was 5 weeks wages. My dad's first car was an Austin Eight he paid a tenner for BTW!
Not saying it wasn't a good time in its own way but just trying to put some perspective on things.
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1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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