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We had a lemon thread the other day and got to thinking what the peaches over the last few years have been. Maybe a bargain car or one that just somehow you were very fond of and gave you that magic moment or two. My old Victor (fd) I think 2 litre once on a late night trip from London to Dorset with a deserted M3 on a clear night was brilliant, headlights on for miles and just purred along. Some summer trips on the old Honda 250 bike were lovely too.
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Alpine tour in Spring 1993 in an old build 320SL convertible (W 124? model?) Riding on the long straight roads in the desert in Oman on a 900 Honda too
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 24/11/2009 at 10:05
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Our first car was a Mark 3 Escort with the 1.3 pushrod engine and 4-speed box.
We hammered that poor thing mercilessly for 30,000+ miles, it was always cruised at 85 / 90mph, and I set some point-to-point journey times in it that I still haven't bettered despite having cars with 3x the BHP (ah, the roads were SO much quieter in the early 90s, and no speed cameras to speak of ...) but not once did it throw a strop or break down.
Never needed anything except an annual service and consumables.
After we sold it I used to see it pottering around here for several years afterward. A car that was truly fit for purpose.
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Citroen ZX 1.9D, early 90s, always regretted selling it, A4 B5 1.8 20V SE, late 90s, my first 'prestige car' and it was so well put together, was like new at 4 years and 60K miles when it went back, Mondy III Estate, just plain competent and my current 330d Touring, small but perfectly formed - I always look forward to driving it.
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Yes, I to have fond memories of a plain 1.9D ZX. My first company car (Pug 205 XS) was also fun, as was a BX GTi.
Latterly the Boxster S was a peach ...
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Rover 3500 P6 - First taste of a V8.
Citroen DS Pallas - Wow.
Citroen CX Pallas - Is that something to do with Concorde a farmer once asked.
Alfasud - Handling... handling... handling.
Saab 99 Turbo - The limited edition homologation car... very rapid for its time.
Citroen BX TD - First taste of a really good diesel.
Since then the last 15yrs have been capable but not special family cars.
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Alfasud - Handling... handling... handling.
Oh yes - probably the sweetest I've ever owned.
But it could also go in the "lemon" list for rust problems and the stupid RHD conversion (boot release by the passenger door for example)
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1995 Honda Civic Coupe- sold @ 72,000 - it expired at 164K with the 2nd owner who I know.
2000 Honda Civic Estate - sold @ 94,000
Apart from servicing, tyres, brakes etc the 2 cars above cost me under £500 in repairs over the 12 + years (IIRC Civic coupe was 2 x bulbs and alignment of rear suspension) and they never left me stranded at the roadside. Contrast MB/Ford/Vauxhall/Peugeot ........................over 45 years of car ownership.
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1979 Honda Civic and other Civics
A turbine smooth engine mated to a Hondamatic gearbox. Lasted eight years and one waterpump before being traded in for a Civic Shuttle which lasted seven years and one brake cylinder before being sold to a friend (who wrote it off) and was replaced with a four year old 1992 Civic Shuttle which is still in the family having had no major repairs and no rust.
All peaches in their own way.
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1993 Volvo 460 1.8 Xi - on the face of it, a very dull car, but it was infact very comfortable, very economical ( 45 mpg from a 1.8 petrol saloon would be impressive today ) and it had just the equipment it needed - no elec windows, but it did have heated seats and c/locking. I nearly cried when some twit in London went up the back of it and bent it badly. It was one of those cars that made total sense in day to day life.
My greatest regret though is my Reliant Rialto Estate. 1986 D-reg with 87k but it ran like a dream, it was nippy, very economical, it had a huge boot with the seats down and it was comically simple - under the bonnet, there were THREE rubber pipes - made it very easy to work on as there was so little gubbins to fight through to make adjustments and change bits.
At its heart though, it was an honest, cheeky car that was bursting with character. I so wish I hadnt sold it, I really do.
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...But it could also go in the "lemon" list for rust problems...
Which, continuing the fruit theme, reminds me of the saying: "Rotten as a pear."
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In many way the MK II Cavalier SRI I had as a British Gas company car was the best I have ever owned.
I only picked it because it was 'free' as in you didn't need to contribute to have it.
It was bulletproof reliable. When like a bat out of hell. Handled like a rally car. And was capable of holding two double basses in the rear. I was dating a musician at the time and actually did this.
I bought it off BG after 3 years and sold it at a £500 profit 2 years later and despite merciless abuse it still looked and sounded and drove like new.
As this is not the lemons tread I won't tell you about when I once owned a Maserati...
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...And was capable of holding two double basses in the rear. I was dating a musician at the time and actually did this...
If you'd fancied the piccolo player instead, you could have managed with a mini. :)
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Always be wary dating a girl without her own car if she's a drummer... they always need roomy lifts.
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1992 Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 CD. I got it from my father in 1997 when he was made redundant (it was his company car). Had approx 240,000 miles on the clock at the time (he did a lot of miles) and I put about 30,000 or so onto it before I traded it in in 2000 (for an Omega ;-)). Super car - my first experience of an automatic too (and have never returned to manuals).
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Niallster, I also remember my mk2 SRi very fondly. Like most performance Vauxhalls of the era it was a so-so car made great by a truly brilliant engine. Took all the abuse I could throw at it, yet remained sweet, smooth, oil tight and beautifully "crisp" even with 150,000 miles on the clock. A low tech 8 valve 1.8 litre engine that made 115 bhp 25 years ago, and red-lined at 6700 RPM. So far ahead of the competition it seemed untrue.
I thought the handling was dodgy, personally. Rampant torque steer in the first two gears, too much natural understeer, and would light up the front tyres if asked to turn and accelerate at the same time on anything other than billiard table smooth, bone dry road. Got very ragged very quickly, but there was something about it which just encouraged hard driving. It didn't pander to you. You had to grab it by the scruff of the neck and drive it properly.
In two years of hard use I serviced it, put petrol in it, and changed a fuel pump relay and a CV joint. Oh, and lots and lots of front tyres :-) Fabulous car that met its end in an RTA when SWMBO took on an oncoming Ford Granada driving on the wrong side of the road. And didn't win very convincingly:-(
Edited by DP on 24/11/2009 at 19:25
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Ever tried a Cavalier Turbo 4x4? That was a beast and a half. Makes the SRi seem tame.
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Niallster I also remember my mk2 SRi very fondly. A low tech 8 valve 1.8 litre engine that made 115 bhp 25 years ago and red-lined at 6700 RPM. So far ahead of the competition it seemed untrue. I thought the handling was dodgy personally. Rampant torque steer in the first two gears too much natural understeer and would light up the front tyres if asked to turn and accelerate at the same time
Obviously anyone who had one of these things has great memories of them. I had one for about 3 yrs in the late 80s. Amazing torque. I lived in an area where you could turn a corner and be facing up a very steep hill, and the SRi could turn, be accelerating and changing up the gears whilst ascending what seemed a 45 degree slope. Still never had another car which could perform like that.
I agree with the torque steer, and the fun and games on wet roads. and I don't know if it was coincidence but I had more flat tyres/punctures with that car than all my others added together
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My best cars to date have been my 1999 2.0 petrol MK 1 Focus Ghia and my subsequent (and current) similar 2003 model. Comfortable, reliable, durable, reasonable performance and high 30s overall average mpg.
Edited by L'escargot on 24/11/2009 at 14:07
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1991 VW Golf Mk 2 GTI 16V. Fantastic engine and great handling made for a fun drive. Reasonable fuel economy and room for the shopping. Don't know why I sold it.
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Ever tried a Cavalier Turbo 4x4? That was a beast and a half.
Yes, I took one round the 2 mile circular track at Millbrook Proving Ground in the 90s, 20 laps in 6th gear with the pedal buried firmly in the carpet :-D
154mph, in case you were wondering.
It was for an assessment to work as a test driver there, I failed because my all-round observation wasn't good enough above 130mph... They said to go away and come back in a couple of years when I'd got some more experience!!?!
I had a MkII Cavalier, only a 1.6L but at 19 years old to me it was like a Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari rolled into one. It used to keep up with SRi's too, I can only assume I had the firmer grip on the scruff of its neck! I piled 70k miles on it in under 2 years, all in the evenings and weekends, shame to see it go.
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Had 2 of these in the late 60s. Still love 'em. Would like one agin but can't justify another car, £5K.
Lovely gentle open top motoring for 4 people..both my older kids came home from hospital in a carrycot on the back seat...not together ! Not peaches and not lemons. Nothing special.
tinyurl.com/yhq4yhq
Ted
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Mum had a saloon version of that Hillman... same age and off white with a green stripe. After her previous Imp then a Minor it seemed a real luxury motor. It was replaced by a new Escort Estate which lost a lot of the charm but was a far more modern car in respect of performance, handling and brakes.
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That would have to be the cheapest car I've ever owned...
When we first moved to Spain two years ago, I bought the wife a blue Daewoo Lanos as a runaround for 1,500 euros. Eight years old, 120,000km on the clock, lots of dents and scratches - but it never missed a beat, and apart from two 50 euro oil changes and some tyres cost nothing over two years / 50,000km.
Sadly, in a single exceptionally hot July week this year, the air-con compressor went, the central locking went haywire, the passenger window refused to go down and I noticed that the head gasket had started to weep.
So I traded the (now ten year old) car for a brand new Fabia and got 2,500 euros for it as scrappage allowance!
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Westfield + Alps = Peaches and Cream...
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2 Volvos.
A 1983 (Y) 360GLS, metallic green with beige interior. Mmm. Bought for 150 quid with over 100k on the clock a year's MOT and road tax in 1998, and did over 30,000 trouble free miles in a year. Didn't spend a penny on it apart from a pair of tyres. Then I fancied a change and gave it to a friend in need, who taxed and MOT'd it and ran it for another 6 months before the head gasket killed it. A great bangernomics success story.
I replaced it with a G-reg Volvo 480ES with 150k on the clock, which cost a wee bit more at £1500. This car drove like new, and went for 25k miles without a problem, apart from the occasional inexplicable refusal to turn over, a problem which would suddenly go away after an hour or so for no apparent reason. After a year or so, it was hit whilst parked by a municipal dust cart and written off (incident eye witnessed and reported to me when I returne dto the car, but the witness had not taken the reg number). The council never owned up to the incident, and I suffered a total loss as I had TPFT insurance only. Drat. Lesson learnt.
I loved both cars and still miss them - obviously the 360 was by far the better value as it was virtually free, but the 480 was a lovely car too.
Quite fancy a C30 now, thinking about it. If only I didn't need 4/5 doors.
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