Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Apr 16, 2017 12:00:31 GMT
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Join the lada UK Facebook group. Pretty much any car that gets posted anywhere for sale in the uk gets linked on there, be it eBay, forums, and other FB groups, etc. Prices are generally cheaper on there than eBay too
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Apr 16, 2017 12:06:51 GMT
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I would also say Cinquecento. And you may as well get a Sporting for better / safer handling and more power
Mechanically reliable and parts easy to find. Trim is getting harder to find but probably no worse than some previously mentioned
If she goes for that, try the Seicento. More roundy but newer and easier to get parts for
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Apr 16, 2017 18:56:02 GMT
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I vote Seicento too. Our Michael Schumacher has been great fun despite having just 54bhp. It's essentially a special edition Sporting that costs more to insure. My 20 year old mate just got quoted £3k a year on it!
Having just bought a Lupo as a temporary car (whilst the Seicento gets fixed, again) that seems to be roomier, cheaper to run and quite quirky.
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Peugeot 307sw - Suzuki SV650S - MX5.
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FOAD
Scotland
Posts: 1,335
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Apr 16, 2017 19:04:06 GMT
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I love my Lada estate! DSC_0876 by srblythe, on Flickr If you can find one it definitely fits with your criteria...
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1981 Vauxhall Chevette 1984 Mercedes S123 230TE 1988 Peugeot 305 GR 1988 Hyundai Stellar 1992 Subaru MV BRAT 1992 Peugeot 205 D-turbo 2004 Ford Ranger retroshite.wordpress.com/
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Look at this on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122435655799Volvo 340! Square, small engine, reliable, comfortable, safe, relatively refined and delightfully quirky. If you don't go for this I give up!
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Would I buy someone a marbella? Very likely.
Would I send someone I care about out into the world of driving with not much experience and when other (equally inexperienced/curse word) drivers are likely to be six inches off the back of their car at 74mph in an evoque or squashi or some other near two ton hulk of "I'm safe in here" detachment cocoon...
Probably not.
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Look at this on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122435655799Volvo 340! Square, small engine, reliable, comfortable, safe, relatively refined and delightfully quirky. If you don't go for this I give up! I like it, wife wont though. Not square is it. Its all slopey and triangular.
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Would i buy my wife a Marbella? depends in wat stage the marriage is, if she has a good life insurance policy, and how much you love there is for the wife.
For me i wouldnt buy a Marbella for my large danish dogs, i am to fond of dogs i am.
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steveg
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,586
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Not sure that any small car is all that safe really, are Pandas and Marbellas any worse than a classic Mini or even something newer like an AX ? Having had a few Pandas, AX, 106 and a proper Mini I have survived so far but seeing the loons driving round in anything newish it does make you wonder.
Between a Panda and a Marbella of the same condition I would probably go for a Panda especially if it was one of the last ones. Very early Pandas had leaf sprung rear suspension and the pushrod engines that I think all of the Marbellas had. Later Pandas had the OHC engine and slightly more advanced rear suspension. As for faults one of my Pandas needed a replacement gearbox and some welding near a rear suspension mount but the only brakedowns were due to carb and coil problems. Later Pandas with Halogen bulbs seem to melt light switches !
The first Pandas and Marbellas were designs of the 70's so an AX should drive a bit better and possibly have a bit more safety built in, trouble is if you want to be as safe as possible you need something huge and new with a price tag to match.
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Apr 17, 2017 12:00:56 GMT
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Not sure that any small car is all that safe really, are Pandas and Marbellas any worse than a classic Mini or even something newer like an AX ?Having had a few Pandas, AX, 106 and a proper Mini I have survived so far but seeing the loons driving round in anything newish it does make you wonder. Between a Panda and a Marbella of the same condition I would probably go for a Panda especially if it was one of the last ones. Very early Pandas had leaf sprung rear suspension and the pushrod engines that I think all of the Marbellas had. Later Pandas had the OHC engine and slightly more advanced rear suspension. As for faults one of my Pandas needed a replacement gearbox and some welding near a rear suspension mount but the only brakedowns were due to carb and coil problems. Later Pandas with Halogen bulbs seem to melt light switches ! The first Pandas and Marbellas were designs of the 70's so an AX should drive a bit better and possibly have a bit more safety built in, trouble is if you want to be as safe as possible you need something huge and new with a price tag to match. If you are looking for safe then, quite probably, you will need to be looking at cars designed and built post 1997 when the Euro NCAP testing came in and immediately killed off the Rover 100. I can appreciate the desire to see our loved ones safe and secure, I used to sit up having kittens half the night waiting for my, then, young adult kids to come through the door safely after a night out. Eventually, as you have to, you learn to let go and stop panicking. Only the most modern cars will afford the safety many people crave for themselves and others in their lives but if that defined our love for cars then there would be no RR forum and no old cars left to feed our hobby and bog all of an industry to serve it. We really cannot legislate for other idiots on the road but we also cant let it run our lives and our enjoyment of older cars built long before crumple zones and airbags were even considered feasible. A Marbella pootling around town with an occasional motorway run shouldnt really gives such cause for concern, should it?
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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Apr 17, 2017 12:17:33 GMT
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I had a Marbella a few years back. Spot on little car apart from it suddenly refusing to work on motorways after a core plug rusted through. Couldn't get to the bottom of it at the time even after I skimmed the head etc.. I'd buy it back in a heart beat and stick a fire lump in it tho. Epic little retro that's totally underrated.
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Apr 17, 2017 16:58:15 GMT
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I learnt to drive in a MkII Panda back in 1990 - my Ma's. She later got a Marbella and it was definitely based on the Mk1- you can tell by the agricultural rear leaf springs and non-flared rear arches. It was definitely cheaper and more shabbily built. I loved the Panda though - so chuckable even with it's tiny 750 engine. Still hanker for one of my own - maybe with a twinspark swap I think pound for pound a good 'plan-b' might be a grey-import Nissan Pao? They're clearly influenced by Pandas and have a better engine (1L turbo) with more power. Very cute and distinctive, plus got a lot of points for originality: Or if you're prepared to import something even rarer - a Daihatsu Naked?
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Apr 17, 2017 17:06:43 GMT
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Right from the beginning I thought a pao would be right up her street but no! Too cute. Doesnt like them.
I was very surprised.
I have told her to trawl the net looking for pics of things she likes. She found some obscure eastern block thing and a reble? Reliant? I dunno.
She now understands how hard it is to find her a car. Hopefully I can work on the situation and get her to compromise on this whole 'non cute' square as possible thing.
as thins stand though, looks like a panda is top of the list after a suzuki sj (which I don't think is suitable)
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Apr 17, 2017 17:54:04 GMT
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I guess the cute thing can be too much. Others off the top of my head: Nissan Be-1? Suzuki Jimny with a bit of low? Nissan Rasheen? Probably too big and too rare. But a good Panda is probably the best. Pandas are the best. Or an Uno Turbo?
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Apr 17, 2017 18:07:29 GMT
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Volvo and discovery arent possible. It will be her first car when she passes her test. She is 36, but insurance is daft! It doesnt seem to matter too much up to 1.6 but I cant find anything that is going to cost less than £1500 to insure. I like the lada idea, ill keep my eyes open. don't seem to be any on ebay under 1k at the moment but if she likes them I'm sure a bit of searching will find more available. If you like the idea of disco, shop for insurance. No ncd and 9 points makes mh insurance a ball ache, yet on a disco td5 and a shogun swb both cane in around £400 on a 4x4 only policy. I only drive em now as harder to get in trouble, easier to drive and i think a little bit safer too. Noone trys to play chicken or bully a curse word looking battered shogun with muds and a bull bar on it.
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Apr 17, 2017 18:14:43 GMT
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Apr 17, 2017 18:28:42 GMT
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Right, I think we can put this thread to bed. A decision has been made. Looks like its a panda. She has been searching for cars and thats the only thing she has found that she likes. So I guess as some point soon ill start a panda thread
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Apr 17, 2017 18:58:46 GMT
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Glad to see another panda owner in the making
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1993 Fiat Panda Selecta 2003 Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI van 2006 Mercedes Kompressor Evolution-S AMG SportCoupé
"You think you hate it now, wait til you drive it"
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Apr 17, 2017 19:01:29 GMT
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Glad to see another panda owner in the making The facebook link you gave me before doesnt work on my phone. What group is it? How many different variants are there?
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miaspa
Part of things
Posts: 829
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Apr 17, 2017 19:26:13 GMT
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Right, I think we can put this thread to bed. A decision has been made. Looks like its a panda. She has been searching for cars and thats the only thing she has found that she likes. So I guess as some point soon ill start a panda thread That's a shame pre 2000 Suzuki wagon R could of fitted the bill.
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Found my flashing Pao again.
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