Oldest Daily

[aw51 121565]

'87 309SR with 52,000 on the clock, so 'of its time' .

Also an '83 MG Maestro 1600 with 102,000km on the clock - a car designed in the '70s with an engine (Allegro/Maxi-derived) from the '60s along with 40DCNFs which (just) date from the '60s as well 9as does the fuel consumption) .

[chris182]

My 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC with 122k on the clock is among my three dailys, used in all weathers. Drives better than most modern cars, the only downside is the fuel consumption. I think older cars are just better than modern ones (and I'm 23).

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

sparks_E39 said:

1999 E39 on 147k, not as old as some on here but well over the mileage mark where Joe Public thinks it should of exploded.

Agreed - just to add to Sparks E39 ownership; I've got a 2002 E39 530d touring on 192,000 and by all accounts the gearbox shuold have exploded by now and the engine should lunched itself with swirl flap issue. Still delivering 39mpg overall too (which isn't bad for a 2 ton barge). So yes, not the oldest but she isn't doing too badly.

Prior to the E39 I had a 1990 E30 325 Touring that had done 228,000 miles before the engine (head) died as my daily driver. Loved that car (still in my profile).

[raceboy]

Again not as old as many on here as I use a 1998 E36 328i Sport but on a recent trip home from LegoLand in Windsor to Nottingham we played a little game of spot the car older than ours, we left Windsor at 5pm on a Friday and traveled M25 and M1 north, and playing until it got too dark to spot regs at about Leicester, there had been less than 10 cars!
Prise for the best had to be a bloke barreling along the M25 in somesort of old classic open top 2 seat Jag, brave considering the weather and was spotted again pushing the thing up a slip road a few miles later.

[Dusty964]

Fishtigua said:

Dusty964 said:

I ran a 1966 Land Rover for just under a year and 12,000 miles.

I ran my 1963 Landie diesel for almost a year without a starter motor, lived on a hill and parked at work on a hill. No MOTs in the Caribbean though.

Mine was a diesel too. It redefined the word 'slow' but it did have bags of character. Obviously a higher spec than yours- mine had a starter motor (albeit one that needed occasional 'assistance' from a hammer.

[crispian22]

Have been using my 73 bgt as a daily for the last 2 years.love it !

[MGgeordie]

CrispyMK said:

MGgeordie said:

Sprints off to the Post Office to re tax Eunos Immediately!!!

LOL! Only reason for sorning is that I'm stripping the seats out to have them recovered in leather & the car is getting treated to a full respray so its going to be off road for a couple of months at least. Its rot free (yes really), but being red various panels have started to change colour. As soon as its done it will be retaxed.

Can the red card be at least be downgraded to a yellow??

A yellow card will be considered if you post some pics in the MX5 section so I can see the leather retrim. Silly thing to say really, if I see it I'll no doubt have to fire up the man maths calculator to explain to the missus why leather seats will save us money.

So you've got a pink Eunos at the moment? Balls of steel my friend, I thought mine in Marina Blue was pushing it.

It's getting a paint job before it goes pink!!! Funnily enough, a couple of the panels have actually gone darker! Strange! Of course leather seats will save you money, they are more aerodynamic as the wind can pass over shiney leather surfaces more easily....tell her that

[CrispyMK]

MGgeordie said:

Of course leather seats will save you money, they are more aerodynamic as the wind can pass over shiney leather surfaces more easily....tell her that

If I can keep a straight face when I tell her that she might.......might just believe it.

[mjb1]

Until 2001, my daily driver was a 1963 moggy minor. Learnt to drive in it as well. It was fine round town, but a bit out of it's depth on the motorway!

[g3org3y]

1986 E30 325i Cabrio.

Bought 3 years ago with 141k on the clock, now on 181k.

[Rollcage]

CrispyMK said:

Rollcage said:

My 53 plate 9-3 Aero has done 185k near enough. Passed it's MOT with flying colours the other week. Still performs very well indeed.

Only 9 years old though

Yes - was just replying to the poster above!

[Sparta VAG]

Faust66 said:

It amazes and annoys me that the general public think that a car is worn out after 10 years/100k miles... if you look after them; they’ll last as long as you!

Is it a fashion thing or are people just ignorant and/or stupid?

Nah, it's great. It means there's plenty of fantastic cars available for peanuts because people seem to think that anything more than 3 years old or with more than 50,000 miles is liable to explode in a ball of fire if you so much as look at it. More fool them.

It's part fashion, but mostly stupidity.

[anonymous-user]

For me, the possibility that my car might explode at any minute is part of the pleasure of driving. This is one reason why I run a squadron of old heaps.

[The Nur]

Breadvan72 said:

For me, the possibility that my car might explode at any minute is part of the pleasure of driving. This is one reason why I run a squadron of old heaps.

It does add a certain something to motoring

[tim-b]

I drove an '83 mini for 9 years (as my only car), until 2008. Now I have a '90 MX-5, looking forward to my first winter with it on the road, with an almost equal mix of excitement and fear...

[Astra Dan]

Cos the missus's 1988 Mk2 1.3 Astra (215k) is finally being restored, she's now using her 1991 1.2 Nova everyday for commuting (~50 miles) and the occasional market stall. Can get a good sized gazebo, 3 folding tables as well as £2-300 worth of cakes and cookies in the poor thing. Get's 42-43MPG too, but it is the lowest mileage car in the house at 104k.

[Fubar1977]

Not as old as some but 2002 Volvo S60 on 143000 miles.

Lost count of the number of people who`ve expressed total shock that I`d want a car with those miles on it.

Really?
Makes less sense to me paying £300 plus a month to have a brand new one which will depreciate like mad.
Using man maths I`d have to be spending around 2.5k a year in repairs to make this a bad idea.

That said, I HAVE spent 2.5k in total getting this car back up to scratch!
I fully expect to get a good few years service from it without worrying about residual values etc.

Buying older cars simply means you can have the car you want but otherwise could not afford.
A new one in equivalent(ish) spec to mine would be £27,500!!!

[Faust66]

Breadvan72 said:

For me, the possibility that my car might explode at any minute is part of the pleasure of driving. This is one reason why I run a squadron of old heaps.

It adds a certain 'something' to a journey if you're not 100% you'll make it to your destination; long journeys are far more satisfying if you’ve made it in an old car. Bonus points should be awarded if you break down, fix it yourself and STILL arrive ahead of people doing the same trip in modern machinery.

In fact I have a theory about why people play 'fuel light bingo': clearly we all secretly crave the excitement of not knowing if we’ll make it to our destination. The reliability (in principle) of modern cars is such that people miss breaking down and want that thrill of anticipation that can only come from a breakdown truck pulling up to your stricken car!

That said, I’m quite fond of the "it's an old car, of course it's broken down” excuse to avoid engagements you don't want to attend – works rather well at ghastly family get-togethers around the Xmas period...

[S2Mike]

Until July this year I used my 1979 MGB as a daily, but really leapt into the 20th Century with 1990, S TVR, at the moment.

[Gilhooligan]

My only car is a 1993 mx5 with 102,000 miles on it. Gets a good hooning most days. Although I don't drive it in winter and it makes a couple of noises it shouldn't