I want a Classic!

Author
Discussion

swisstoni

16,850 posts

278 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
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Any old car can be reliable if it has enough money spent on it! Surprisingly people did get about quite readily in them wink
If you are going to do it, get a trusted garage to go right over the vital reliability areas first and then just do weekly checks (they were really needed back then) between regular services.

Personally I think a classic as a regular commuter could be a fast way to end the love affair but it's worth a try.

Mellow Yellow

885 posts

261 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Forget about running a classic as an every day car, all year round usage is bound to cause serious rot within a couple of years, especially those mentioned in your OP, even GRP bodies are good old steel underneath. Keeping it in good condition will cost you a fortune if you use it daily, failure to do so will just devalue it and it'll probably let you down when you most need it too. Downgrade your every day runner to the cheapest most basic thing you can get away with and buy a classic as a second car for the weekend. If you buy wisely you won't have to pay road tax, limited mileage classic insurance excluding commuting, costs a fraction of an every day policy even without NCB. If the cost of running it gets too much or it throws you an expensive repair, you can forget about it until sufficient funds are available. If you look after it, depreciation will be minimal, you may even see it go up in value. £10k will just about get you a TR6, if you need more seats, Rover P5B or P6.

Trevithick

93 posts

182 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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If you want unusual, comfort, appreciation in value and reasonable reliability how about a Jensen GT ?

V1C

Original Poster:

36 posts

141 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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benjj said:
Given your job and place of work you'd be mad not to go for a 944. Or a 924. Or if you're mad a 928 wink
Wow! Thanks for everyone's comments! Ben haha I would love to but can't afford it we've been restoring a 944 for the past few months.... sick of the sight of it now haha looks good though.

PS Mission Motorsport is cool, a friend of mine did the Travel Trade crusade earlier on in the year and we donated to you guys, do brilliant work!

My daily commute to work is 40mile round trip doing 70mph so thats partly why it's been so hard finding something that will be reliable enough, great suggestions though thanks guys! smile

V1C

Original Poster:

36 posts

141 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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longshot said:
Sunbeam Alpine perhaps?
Must admit I was at the Practical Classics Restoration show this year on our stand next the the Sunbeam Alpine club and was dribbling all weekend haha!

V1C

Original Poster:

36 posts

141 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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ash73 said:
Caterham 7 classic with carbs - modern(ish) tech, classic looks, appeals to everyone, cheap to run, won't break down every 5 miles.



MG/GT6 - forget it unless you like to tinker, imo.
Caterham is gorgeous but my bottoms too big haha

V1C

Original Poster:

36 posts

141 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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80quattro said:
OP doesn't state how many seats/level of practicality he needs, but if both of these feature high up the list, I would recommend a BMW E28. I own one, and despite not needing to use it as a daily, I would not hesitate should I have to.

It starts first time, every time. It has a good heater and fan, power steering, five seats and s great boot. It 'bongs' at me when its cold enough to be icy outside, I have a low fuel light, a fuel computer, lovely comfy recaro leather seats, and a good fun factor provided by circa 220bhp at the rear wheels via a limited slip diff. £10k budget would be more than adequate to get a super clean one, possibly two.
Lol OP's female smile Seats, not fussed no kids, practicality mechanically the more reliable the better, normally prefer cpe's to cab's don't know why. BMW E28 sounds good though.

esso

1,849 posts

216 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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DB7 pilot said:
We all had to start somewhere. Like you I'm not mechanically tech minded and tinkering on a Sunday morning with a set of spanners and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so find a local mechanic you trust, rely on things going wrong, budget twice what you're thinking for maintenance and smile through gritted teeth on the winter mornings when the battery and starter motor agree they've had enough. Valuable lessons most on here have learnt....BUT, there will be that clear sky morning when you're up before everyone else, the road's all yours and your motor's never sounded sweeter, it is worth the hassle...I think, so go for it.
Spot on! yesthumbup

V1C

Original Poster:

36 posts

141 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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esso said:
Spot on! yesthumbup
I liked this answer too! haha

Yertis

18,016 posts

265 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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IMO if you fancy a GT6 (or one of those other cars) then that's what you should get. Absolutely no point getting something else because it's more sensible, you'll only wish you'd got what you really wanted the first time it let's you down. If you want sensible buy a new-ish Golf.

I ran a GT6 as an everyday commuting car for five years in the early '90s and it was brilliant, only let me down a couple of times and cheap as chips to run. Plenty around for your budget but I wouldn't get a restored one, get one that's used regularly, and rust free(-ish).