Just checking my own and a friend's previous car registrations on the DVLA site to see if they are still Taxed (ie on the road) and was surprised to see cars that we thought were only months away from the scrappie when we traded them in, are still going.
An R reg 106 with 120K (in 2004) traded-in in 2004, still going, even though it sounded terminal back then.
A D reg 205 traded in during 1994 with 115K on the clock, only hit the scrappie last year.
There must be far more people willing to fling time and/or money at these old cars to keep them going than I first thought. I thought Cars were considered disposable once repair costs became greater than Car's sale value.
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These are old low tech cars. Quick, easy and cheap to patch up when they go wrong. Not so with modern cars - I suspect the average age of cars will decline over the coming years.
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205s are very easy to keep going - the only reason to scrap them is the cost of labour. They rarely rust, so it's normally engine/gearbox and brakes that kill them off. Look on Autotrader - still plenty for sale. There's an A reg near me, with faded red paintwork, but still going well.
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Old cars should not be judged by their material value as such, but their value as a tool.
Ive bought cars for a few hundred quid and spent another few hundred quid fixing a few things, then got a years motoring out of them - its still cheaper than buying a newish car.
My dads Astra, 93 kreg, just hit 100k, hardly used, barely does 50 miles a month. He prob spends £150 a year on MOT/service and another £180 on tax, plus a tank of fuel every couple of months and insurance which came in at £250 a year, so in total say £650 a year to run his car.
As he reasoned, it would have to fail virtually every component for it to be economically beneficial to own a new car and even a car thats 5-8 years old will still need a fair degree of repair, so best to stick to a car thats had a steady stream of money thrown at it over the 14 years my family has owned it. The only thing that really threatens the car is rusty wheelarches but even they arent too bad.
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Bodily SWMBO's 106 is .. in the words of the MOT inspector.. "solid underneath, it should last a lot more years "
It is now 14 years old. I would anticipate bodily it could do the same years again.
madf
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Bodily SWMBO's 106 is .. in the words of the MOT inspector.. "solid underneath it should last a lot more years "
Say what you like about French cars, but I believe they are the most rot-resistant of all. When was the last time you saw a rusty Renault, Peugeot or Citroen that wasn't 20+ years old?
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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So in total say £650 a year to run his car.
'tis only £13.00. a year in my book. Not bad eh!
MD
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Just checking my own and a friend's previous car registrations on the DVLA site to see if they are still Taxed (ie on the road) and was surprised to see cars that we thought were only months away from the scrappie when we traded them
That sounds an interesting site to browse, can you let me have the link please.
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I had a look a while back and found out that none of my old cars were on the road at the time.. Fair enough I scrapped 2 of them myself. I was quite surprised that my old K-reg Golf was off the road/ dead, it was in very good nick when I sold it. But it was bought as a first car for a young lad so he probably crashed it...
;o)
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Link
www.vehiclelicence.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/index.jsp
Then Select "Enquiry" in the Left hand signs.
It only tells you when Car was last taxed, if you know make and reg.
If think it will tell you more if you have the V5 details.
Obviously no personal info on names or addresses are given out.
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A colleague had a an old D reg 205, a couple of years back, - was given to him free by a friend. the car had nearly 160k on the clock - 1.4 petrol. No rust, generally good condition, although body paint was a bit dull.
No problems with - ran very well, returned over 40 mpg in the city, and he wasn't a slow driver, felt very nippy.
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"Say what you like about French cars, but I believe they are the most rot-resistant of all. When was the last time you saw a rusty Renault, Peugeot or Citroen that wasn't 20+ years old?"
Well, to be fair, not much rust on top.. A few Xantias with holes in door bottoms.
But underneath Saxos/106... front chassis legs .. and underneath boot floors.. a LOT of rust.. peeling panel sealant etc.. on many many cars...and welded holes in front chassis legs. etc...
So be careful : what looks shiny on top may be rusty underneath.
madf
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My dads old Punto, started to get HG problems and had a whine from the gearbox, then a 106 hit it side on, it the car was a wreck and the insurance wrote it off this was in 2002 and the car is still on the road :D
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Ahhh... Polo is still alive!
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What a great thread!
I'm not sure what to feel sadder about: the fact that I can remember exactly the (four) registration numbers of the cars we've had over 23 years of motoring, or the fact that they're all apparently defunct (or, at least, unlicensed).
--
Stevie
Lakland 44-02 Sunburst
Yamaha YTS-23
Mexican Telecaster
Alesis Micron
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My old Sunny (N13) was scrapped this year at the ripe old age of 17, the date on the website is a week after its MOT would've been due, so it obviously failed! Pity because the bodywork was still in good enough condition when I traded it 9 months previously.
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When these old cars get traded in at dealers they get parked round the back and get picked up by the mechanic who works at the dealer or a trader who does it up and brings it back to life.
A good valet, service and a few small repairs that dont cost the earth, keeps these old cars going for a few more years.
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I was just sent a you tube link showing my 1986 rally Range Rover in action in the 2008 Tuareg Rallye which took place a couple of weeks ago (I sold it 2 and a half years ago).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Jympz0GKo
Look out for a white object that comes into view after a few seconds!
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