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Hey,
We've had a few threads over the years a bit like this, but time moves relentless forwards, so it is back again.
I'd like to do a "how to get started in the retro scene" or something similar video, however I thought I'd start by consulting the community.
I'm looking for cars that are sub 3k in reasonable/MOTable condition. Pre 1990 if possible but will take up to 1995 at a push. Bonus points if you are likely to be able to insure them if you are under 25 for a remotely reasonable amount (so 1.2 and below??).
What you got? (eBay and other sales links always appreciated as proof/discussion points)
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Starter retros.Rob M
@zeb
Club Retro Rides Member 41
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Last Edit: Dec 6, 2018 19:47:35 GMT by Rob M
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Last Edit: Dec 6, 2018 20:13:53 GMT by mrbounce
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retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member
Winging it.....Since 1971.
Posts: 3,726
Club RR Member Number: 94
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Starter retros.retrolegends
@retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member 94
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1974 Hillman Avenger 1500DL1992 Volvo 240SE1975 Datsun Cherry 100a flying custard1965 Hillman SuperMinx Rock N Roller1974 Austin Allegrat Mk1 1.3SDL1980 Austin Allegro Mk3 1.3L1982 Austin Allegro Mk3 on banded steels2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible 220bhp TurboNutter1966 Morris Minor 1000 (Doris) 2019 Abarth 595C Turismo (not retro but awesome fun) www.facebook.com/DatsunCherry100a
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3 grand is quite a good budget my nephew has just bought a good imp for 3k it would also buy you a mini or a metro with change Or you could get Volvo 340/360 240 740 940 I'm not a VW expected but I'm sure you could get a tatty beetle or mk2/3 golf Mk4/5 cortina's for some reason haven't gone up in value like all the over ford range Maybe a small engine 4 door BMW E30 If your looking older then maybe mgb they seam cheap and parts availability is good Vauxhall don't seam to carry the same sort of desirability as fords and therefore they come up cheap i wouldn't of thought engine cc would make that much of a difference on classics
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1992 240 Volvo T8 1955 Cadillac 1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold ) 1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2 1967 Hillman imp Californian "rally spec" 1971 VW bay window (work in progress) 1999 Mazda 323F 1987 Jaguar XJ12 All current
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Peugeot 205, the bodies hold together really well for something now pushing 30 and for a small car, surprisingly comfortable smooth and practical. Get one before they get expensive and scarce. You can pick one up for 300 quid still.
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75 Range Rover 2 door 82 Range Rover 4 door 84 Range Rover 4 door 78 Datsun 120Y 2 door 78 Datsun 620 Pickup 81 Datsun Urvan E23 86 Datsun Vanette van 98 Electric Citroen Berlingo 00 Electric Peugeot Partner 02 Electric Citroen Berlingo 04 Berlingo Multispace petrol 07 Land Rover 130 15 Nissan E-NV200 15 Fiat Ducato
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,296
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Starter retros.ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Hmmm, I was going to say a lower budget! £1.5-2k I reckon would be more realistic for most people out there. The only cars I've paid more than £3k for really include my M3, a Mondeo V6, the 944 Turbo, Escort RS Turbo and that's probably about it. Considering the amount of cars I've owned that's a pretty small pool of cars really. But for £3k, I'd consider a 2CV. It woudn't be the prettiest example but it should get a solid car. Great fun in so many ways too. I don't know why I kept mocking these! Others? Pug 205 is a good shout. The main issue with them now like many 80s and 90s cars is spares availability. In short, Peugeot don't car. Break a light? You'll be searching for months for one. That may have changed but I'm aware it was a problem for a while. Other choices? MkII Polo I think. They're a cool old thing. I'd also throw a MkIII Fiesta into that mix, if you don't mind playing on the odds of having a rusty car. I'm going to also throw in a curveball of a W124 Merc. Yes, I know the prices have gone up and the image does still whiff of a combination of old man and taxi driver. But cheap and good ones do sometimes still pop up. Furthermore, while people want the big engined beasts I actually now reckon an E200 16v or E220 of either flavour is fine. Yes, some parts can be pricey, but choose wisely and they'll not go again, unlike cheaper parts on Fords and BL stuff (which now is your only choice ). They're pretty simple to work on and they can look cool. Insurance is dirty cheap too. Another one? MX-5. In many ways I reckon these still are the right retro for a multitude of reasons. They are a great drive, have superb spares availability with decent suppliers about, still cut the looks today, and have lost their hairdresser appeal. Some of the groups are very friendly and non-judgemental, a little like this place; how classic ownership should be; a commumity for helping one another and enjoying the cars! I can now appreciate that getting a decent NA is a struggle under £3k for something that isn't a rotbox. But while it's pushing HoTWire's date limits I reckon the NB is now the wiser buy. I can't believe I'm saying that as I was never a fan of the NB. But for many reasons the NB does now make alot of sense. It's cheaper to buy than an NA, you get more kit and better engines/diffs for what is essentially a car very similar to an NA. In many ways I do miss my NA. I bought that two years ago under the magical £3k mark. More will come into my head later, but that'll do for now .
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,266
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Starter retros.vulgalour
@vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member 146
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www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Cavalier-Mk2-1300-1983-78k-Walk-Around-Video/273233116558www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-E320-3-2-auto-1994/323440561363www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-LINCOLN-TOWN-CAR-BLACK-TIE-EDITION/332920362671"What Would Grandad Buy" is your best mantra for buying a starter old car. Avoid small cars and hot hatches, they might seem like the cheap option but often they are cursed with high insurance premiums and owners that haven't taken the best care of them and hidden these problems. Four doors, saloons, estates, diesels, base models, automatics... that's where your bargains are. That's where you'll find an excellent well-cared for car that's a huge amount of vehicle for your money and that's quite often cheap to insure. Remember when really good Volvos used to be cheap and easy to get hold of because nobody wanted them? You trying getting a Volvo 240 that isn't completely beeswaxed for a couple of hundred quid now. It's not as easy as it was just a handful of years ago. Big and basic is good for learning spannering on, there's quite a few old American land yachts floating about the UK now, and they're often not a lot of cash and with companies like Rock Auto, usually quite easy and affordable to keep going. If you want plenty of creature comforts so you look retro but don't have to spend the effort, these big old luxobarges are good for that too. Most importantly, if a car excites and interests you, go for it. It's your car for you to live with, sod what anyone else says. If you genuinely like the popular choice and want a Morris Minor then go for it, they're popular for a reason and one of the easiest really old cars to live with in the UK. If you genuinely like the oddball and fancy your hand at an NSU Ro80 and all the trials and tribulations that go along with something like that, do it! Whatever you do, get around as many sites and forums as you can to learn as much as you can about the car you want so you're prepared for all the problems it can throw at you. Buy with your heart so the car you get is something you love, but keep your head screwed on so you know that it's probably going to go wrong at some point and when that happens, it won't be the end of the world.
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Thanks so far folks.
I chose 3k as a price point knowing it was likely more than a lot of us would spend or have to spend on a first car, however I figured it would be possible to avoid a litany of rusty heaps and 'motable' cars. Obviously anything under 2k would be good which I am guessing we'd find more of in the 95-99 age bracket. So I'll add that on but under £1,500 from 95-99, must be drivable.
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Thanks so far folks. I chose 3k as a price point knowing it was likely more than a lot of us would spend or have to spend on a first car, however I figured it would be possible to avoid a litany of rusty heaps and 'motable' cars. Obviously anything under 2k would be good which I am guessing we'd find more of in the 95-99 age bracket. So I'll add that on but under £1,500 from 95-99, must be drivable. bingo...opens up a whole new world. modern enough to be daily usable still but old enough to be vaguely interesting. not that its for sale but my £300 pug ticks all the boxes ...plus are still enough kicking around.
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating '80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip '97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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lord13
Part of things
Posts: 537
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I chose 3k as a price point knowing it was likely more than a lot of us would spend or have to spend on a first car Then it's not a 'starter' retro is it, if you're going by what 'we' would spend....'we' are already here ok ok i'll expand on that, no one...NO ONE has 3k to spend on their first car, unless of course 'daddy' (or mummy) is buying it, and in that case it would be something around 10 years old and would be 'sensible'... Those who want a retro for their first car will probably have zero cash and will buy a heap to smoke around in. And if we are looking at a first retro, then these people will have been smoking around in a heap for a year or two, and would like something different...they still have no cash, because of keeping aforementioned heap on the road... exactly what demographic are we looking for here? The like minded guy ( or gal) who spends his evenings and weekends bodging his mk1 focus to get through the mot so he can get to work on the monday, or someone who uses the local garage for everything (including changing a lamp) and gets it serviced regularly with the immortal words 'anything it needs mate', and the mechanic draws the vehicle into his lair rubbing his hands with glee .... So i would state that the price would be sub £1k for a starter classic.... The kids that my son smokes around with drive saxos, and micras, mk1 focus', mk4/5 Fiestas and dirty old beemers... all bought for around £500, all dying in some way, thats the type of heap the kids are driving today, you want new blood on the scene? it's already there... they just spend more time on 'snapchat' than surfing RR. I would say ALL my cars have been sub £1k...even the recent ones... The last few I've bought have been... Viva HC - £500 Viva HB - £150 Viva HA - £250 Bedford CF - £350 The first 3 i got on the road in a period of months... no trouble , and I could've got runners for less than a grand...3k is too high a starter price...even the amended price of 1.5 - 2k is too high...I suggest £500 - £1K ... that's a more realistic starter classic price....unless we want RR filled with potential 'Trailer Queens' and modern rubbish ok ok ....it's just an opinion, you can totally ignore it
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Last Edit: Dec 8, 2018 7:24:12 GMT by lord13
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I'm currently pootling around in an early 1.3 mk2 polo coupe, paid £100 for it as a rolling shell a few years ago, bought engine/box, interior, wheels, etc for peanuts. Got an MOT then tucked it away cos it was too low to drive around Nottingham, five years later pulled it out of storage, swapped suspension and a new tank and MOT'd again, doubt its cost 1k yet, saves me driving my mk1 golf through winter. Would be okay first retro cos everything is easy to fix, tiny and cheap to run.
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Starter retros.johnthesparky
@johnthesparky
Club Retro Rides Member 6
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I was thinking of daughters first car, for a modern, having spoken to friends, insurance was getting on for £3k! I was then planning of spending 2k on a classic or retro that would qualify for cheaper insurance, and hopefully getting insurance for 1k Then we got hold of the Corsa, I know it’s not a proper retro, but it isn’t modern either... and because its not either of those it’s cheap... if she looks after it, it will be retro eventually But it was £170!
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I suspect a lot of you haven't tried to get insurance quotes for young people recently. We've already got a Mk2 Fiesta (a mere 1.1) here at Rmad Towers...but the insurance for a just-passed 20 year old would've been extortionate (£2000 unmodified, twice that with the suspension and wheels it's got). Insurance companies are not interested in cheap cars anymore either. It's no wonder so many youngsters go for a 'new car with free insurance' deal. £200ish a month for a snazzy new car with insurance vs. the same for a banger in insurance costs alone! As it happens, my son hated the thought of a new car and decided he wanted 'something square'. He ended up with this: L155 RAH by Nivek.Old.Gold, on Flickr £1200 purchase price and about the same to insure. He loves it.
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Starter retros.Mercdan68
@forddan68
Club Retro Rides Member 68
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Many lads or girls getting into the scene will Have different ideas on retros to some of us My lad is nearly 16 and grew up remembering The wife’s mk6 escort hence this his first build He was looking for something he considered retro And a tad rare for his first road legal ride, one to improve over the next year or so And he found this Rover commerce, cheap low miles and to him retro
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Last Edit: Dec 8, 2018 9:18:01 GMT by Mercdan68
Fraud owners club member 2003 W211 Mercedes E class 1989 Sierra sapphire 1998 ex bt fiesta van
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