"Cockroach" cars...
Discussion
There was a post on here recently about cars that were once ubiquitous on UK roads but have since faded into obscurity. Any type of Escort, Sierra or early Mondeo comes to mind, as do mk3 Cavaliers and mk1 Vectras. Of course, this is totally understandable, as these cars never were and never will be ultra desirable and at 15+ years old will become uneconomic to keep going in comparison to their value. A large majority of people are also now into the habit of running a newer car and changing it more regularly thanks to more accessible finance and lease deals rather than keeping an old car running and that's totally understandable too. Who wants to throw a grand at a 2 grand car to get it through its MOT when that grand will keep you in something new and shiny for 6 months?
But what cars buck this trend and still seem to survive in significant numbers at 15+ years old against the odds? In the past, I would have said an old Volvo (200/700/900), Saab (900/9000) or Mercedes (190E/W124) but if I'm honest, I can't say that I see many of those models regularly on the roads any more.
The ones that seem to spring to mind are:
"New" MINI
mk4 Golf/new Beetle
mk1 Focus (but I believe these do rust)
LR defender
E46 3-Series
E39 5-Series
So what cars are the "cockroaches" i.e. the "run-of-the-mill" 15+ year old cars that refuse to die and still survive in significant numbers on UK roads today?
But what cars buck this trend and still seem to survive in significant numbers at 15+ years old against the odds? In the past, I would have said an old Volvo (200/700/900), Saab (900/9000) or Mercedes (190E/W124) but if I'm honest, I can't say that I see many of those models regularly on the roads any more.
The ones that seem to spring to mind are:
"New" MINI
mk4 Golf/new Beetle
mk1 Focus (but I believe these do rust)
LR defender
E46 3-Series
E39 5-Series
So what cars are the "cockroaches" i.e. the "run-of-the-mill" 15+ year old cars that refuse to die and still survive in significant numbers on UK roads today?
white_goodman said:
Of course, this is totally understandable, as these cars never were and never will be ultra desirable
I think this is just about impossible to judge. I remember when you couldn't give a mk2 Escort away and look what they're now worth.Interesting thread though. I seem to see a lot of Shogun Sports still.
K11 Micra wins this any day of the week. They're stupidly over engineered for what they are. I'm on my third stop gap K11 and I'm yet to have any issues bar tires and brake pads on any of them. Unfortunately most of them seem to be taken over by rust. Compared to similar aged Corsas which were absolutely everywhere in the early 00s.
Others I see a lot:
- MK4 Golf PD - actually pretty much any VAG vehicle with the PD engines.
- MK3 Mondeo
- Honda Civic EP3 - not that old but there's many many knocking about from the early 00s.
- E46.
Others I see a lot:
- MK4 Golf PD - actually pretty much any VAG vehicle with the PD engines.
- MK3 Mondeo
- Honda Civic EP3 - not that old but there's many many knocking about from the early 00s.
- E46.
For a car that is made of rust, you still see loads of Mk1 Kas. I had one as a first car, traded in at 110k miles, zero rust, scrapped now though.
Fords seem quite good for sticking around, might be because they sold so many originally, but as mentioned mk1 Focuses still common, still see loads of early mk3 Mondeos, I still see some as taxis. Still plenty of Mk5 (I think, 2002 onwards) Fiestas.
Also see a lot of (normally very badly driven) mk1 Toyota Yaris still.
Fords seem quite good for sticking around, might be because they sold so many originally, but as mentioned mk1 Focuses still common, still see loads of early mk3 Mondeos, I still see some as taxis. Still plenty of Mk5 (I think, 2002 onwards) Fiestas.
Also see a lot of (normally very badly driven) mk1 Toyota Yaris still.
Two farm favourites:
Suzuki Jimny, Toyota Hilux. Both are cars which buyers seem to buy on condition rather than age/mileage. Both are killed by rust, but not much else. Clean 20 year old examples can fetch in the region of £2k (little over for the latter, little under for the former), which is a fairly amazing residual considering their initial purchase price. Drive to any of the UKs agricultural hubs & the roads are full of early 00s Jimnys, and late 90s Hilux's, they are well loved in the Scottish highlands in my experience.
Suzuki Jimny, Toyota Hilux. Both are cars which buyers seem to buy on condition rather than age/mileage. Both are killed by rust, but not much else. Clean 20 year old examples can fetch in the region of £2k (little over for the latter, little under for the former), which is a fairly amazing residual considering their initial purchase price. Drive to any of the UKs agricultural hubs & the roads are full of early 00s Jimnys, and late 90s Hilux's, they are well loved in the Scottish highlands in my experience.
Edited by caelite on Wednesday 8th May 23:09
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