Usable everyday classic car left on street.
Discussion
I'd take a slightly different line on this to some others - only you know the limits of your mechanical competence and how much time and effort you are willing to put into a car so you'll have to base any ideas on that. I've owned and driven old cars for decades and most have had fairly hard lives and have lived outside most of the time - it's a matter of what you are willing to put up with! As for a special car for Euro' tours that doesn't have a folding roof, just not special enough in my opinion... there is little to beat driving a convertible along mountain roads in the dusk with the bats flying about above you in a clear starlit sky. Having said all that, you state you don't have a garage but might consider a Merc' and a hardtop, think carefully about where to put the lid as they take up a lot of room when off the car and twould be a shame to leave it on...
As I get older (sigh) a nicely sorted Triumph Stag appeals, "relatively" easy to keep up together, no worse than any other oldish car for rot, lots of sorted ones out there, lots of knowledge and a good spares supply... and should it break down in the middle of nowhere you could just sit and look at it. The Scimitar's not as good looking but may just be easier to live with.
As I get older (sigh) a nicely sorted Triumph Stag appeals, "relatively" easy to keep up together, no worse than any other oldish car for rot, lots of sorted ones out there, lots of knowledge and a good spares supply... and should it break down in the middle of nowhere you could just sit and look at it. The Scimitar's not as good looking but may just be easier to live with.
Have you considered joining something like the classic car club (http://www.classiccarclub.co.uk/)? You pay an annual fee for which you get a certain number of points, you then use the points to "hire" any of their fleet classic and sports cars. The number of points used depends on the car and time you want it, so a Sunbeam Alpine or Karmann Ghia midweek in Winter will use only a few points, a GT40 re-creation for the Festival of Speed weekend will cost you a shed-load. No worries about storage, insurance or maintenance.
Always seemed a great way to experience a lot of different models, to me, but I can only really see it working if you live in London (where they are based).
Always seemed a great way to experience a lot of different models, to me, but I can only really see it working if you live in London (where they are based).
Mellow Yellow said:
Have you considered joining something like the classic car club (http://www.classiccarclub.co.uk/)? You pay an annual fee for which you get a certain number of points, you then use the points to "hire" any of their fleet classic and sports cars. The number of points used depends on the car and time you want it, so a Sunbeam Alpine or Karmann Ghia midweek in Winter will use only a few points, a GT40 re-creation for the Festival of Speed weekend will cost you a shed-load. No worries about storage, insurance or maintenance.
Always seemed a great way to experience a lot of different models, to me, but I can only really see it working if you live in London (where they are based).
I did think about this, but I don't know what their policy is on taking a car to Europe for a week or two.Always seemed a great way to experience a lot of different models, to me, but I can only really see it working if you live in London (where they are based).
A friend used them a few years ago so I got ferried around in a BMW Z1 and one of the muscle cars for a bit.
Du1point8 said:
I would like to look at a classic car that I can use on weekends and for trips in Europe.
However it will be parked on the street and that will be unfortunate and unavoidable as Im in central London and garages near me are rarer than rocking horse crap.
I have seen a nice MGB that I can get a hardtop for and was wondering if a 1966 car would take kindly to being parked on the street (ignoring people scratching/denting it) or if its going to suffer.
Looking at this one at the moment:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C643597
Budget is anything unto £15k or so, the car needs to deprecation proof and be able to survive on the street.
Convertible/Cab that I can get a hardtop is preferable, but anything goes.
An advice on the above or any suggestions?
Insurance isn't an issue as I have looked it up and its a reasonable £300 for someone that has no NCB as I gave up owning a car since moving to London and use zip car, however a nice road trip in Europe is what I want as next holiday, fed up flying everywhere and want to do it in a classic.
So over to you guys.
£15k for an MGB seems a lot IMO. Maybe that's what older ones go for these days, but still seems a lot for that type of car. Personally an MG RV8 would be a better purchase for this kind of money.However it will be parked on the street and that will be unfortunate and unavoidable as Im in central London and garages near me are rarer than rocking horse crap.
I have seen a nice MGB that I can get a hardtop for and was wondering if a 1966 car would take kindly to being parked on the street (ignoring people scratching/denting it) or if its going to suffer.
Looking at this one at the moment:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C643597
Budget is anything unto £15k or so, the car needs to deprecation proof and be able to survive on the street.
Convertible/Cab that I can get a hardtop is preferable, but anything goes.
An advice on the above or any suggestions?
Insurance isn't an issue as I have looked it up and its a reasonable £300 for someone that has no NCB as I gave up owning a car since moving to London and use zip car, however a nice road trip in Europe is what I want as next holiday, fed up flying everywhere and want to do it in a classic.
So over to you guys.
That said, maybe you describe what your idea of a classic car is? Not being funny, but age, style and marque seem to vary people's opinion on this a lot.
As for MGB's, they a fine. Had one myself. But to be honest, they are just a bit obvious. You know, if you are the sort of person who thinks, or rather who wants other people to think that you are into cars, but really aren't all that much.
The sort of person who buys a Golf GTI, or a BMW M3, or a Porsche 911 without considering anything else.
In the classic world it's MGB or if you have more money an E-Type.
Nothing wrong with any of these cars, just all obvious and unimaginative choices.
SilverSixer said:
Like MGBs? How about MG RV8?
Must admit something like this does intrigue me.http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C635182
300bhp/ton said:
As for MGB's, they a fine. Had one myself. But to be honest, they are just a bit obvious. You know, if you are the sort of person who thinks, or rather who wants other people to think that you are into cars, but really aren't all that much.
The sort of person who buys a Golf GTI, or a BMW M3, or a Porsche 911 without considering anything else.
In the classic world it's MGB or if you have more money an E-Type.
Nothing wrong with any of these cars, just all obvious and unimaginative choices.
You'll be upsetting a lot of people. The sort of person who buys a Golf GTI, or a BMW M3, or a Porsche 911 without considering anything else.
In the classic world it's MGB or if you have more money an E-Type.
Nothing wrong with any of these cars, just all obvious and unimaginative choices.
On the upside, they work as an advance warning that the chap is almost certainly a crushing bore. He'll either bang on about a car once driving at Le Mans or that some Italian bloke said their car was the prettiest in the world.
DonkeyApple said:
As are 2CVs, which while superb, I suspect even a die hard, pro yogurt weaver would struggle to use on continental trips.
<cough>I've just got back from two weeks, 2,300 miles to central Poland and back in an overloaded 2cv full of camping gear...
http://www.2cvpoland2015.pl/ - 3,000 cars from all over Europe and further afield...
Can't see leaving anything parked on the street in winter will be TOO harsh providing it's properly rust-proofed. a
hole-proofing might be your bigger issue.TooMany2cvs said:
DonkeyApple said:
As are 2CVs, which while superb, I suspect even a die hard, pro yogurt weaver would struggle to use on continental trips.
<cough>I've just got back from two weeks, 2,300 miles to central Poland and back in an overloaded 2cv full of camping gear...
http://www.2cvpoland2015.pl/ - 3,000 cars from all over Europe and further afield...
Can't see leaving anything parked on the street in winter will be TOO harsh providing it's properly rust-proofed. a
hole-proofing might be your bigger issue.CharlesdeGaulle said:
StuntmanMike said:
How many have you got?
As a wild stab in the dark, I'd say too many. Disappointingly, though, just the three currently. The intact one we took to PL, and - if I pile all the bits together - there certainly should be two others, a van and a Mehari (with four-pot GS engine).
300bhp/ton said:
£15k for an MGB seems a lot IMO. Maybe that's what older ones go for these days, but still seems a lot for that type of car. Personally an MG RV8 would be a better purchase for this kind of money.
That said, maybe you describe what your idea of a classic car is? Not being funny, but age, style and marque seem to vary people's opinion on this a lot.
As for MGB's, they a fine. Had one myself. But to be honest, they are just a bit obvious. You know, if you are the sort of person who thinks, or rather who wants other people to think that you are into cars, but really aren't all that much.
The sort of person who buys a Golf GTI, or a BMW M3, or a Porsche 911 without considering anything else.
In the classic world it's MGB or if you have more money an E-Type.
Nothing wrong with any of these cars, just all obvious and unimaginative choices.
Where have you been, missed your posts. That said, maybe you describe what your idea of a classic car is? Not being funny, but age, style and marque seem to vary people's opinion on this a lot.
As for MGB's, they a fine. Had one myself. But to be honest, they are just a bit obvious. You know, if you are the sort of person who thinks, or rather who wants other people to think that you are into cars, but really aren't all that much.
The sort of person who buys a Golf GTI, or a BMW M3, or a Porsche 911 without considering anything else.
In the classic world it's MGB or if you have more money an E-Type.
Nothing wrong with any of these cars, just all obvious and unimaginative choices.
Its all been blah blah Audi blah blah BMW.
What about a late six-cylinder XJS convertible? Can't really depreciate and relatively tough. I have a friend who drove one (a coupe admittedly) out to St Petersburg and kept it on the street there. The V12 version is obviously nicer might be a bit too juicy for continental touring...
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