Cars you never see anymore on UK roads post-1990
Discussion
Where I live in the north east, older cars used daily or in long term ownership are pretty thin on the ground but I'm over in Jersey this week and the place is awash with old 90s (mostly small) cars dotting about the island.
Most are elderly owned but the array is amazing. I've seen numerous old Micras, 106s, Daihatsu Cuores, Hijets and Charades. Mk4 Fiestas are kicking about by the bucket load still in various states of disrepair.
In terms of even more interesting stuff; I've seen a couple of Metros, one or two Sierras and a Renault 25 and a lovely old 80s Mazda 323 plus a few basic spec early 90s Minis - it's great.
I imagine that because of the low speed limits and size of the island, they don't do major mileage plus new cars are very expensive on the island. Changes to MOT tests and the British throwaway attitude (scrappage scheme escalated this) has caused many of our older common or garden shopping cars to become rarer and rarer.
Most are elderly owned but the array is amazing. I've seen numerous old Micras, 106s, Daihatsu Cuores, Hijets and Charades. Mk4 Fiestas are kicking about by the bucket load still in various states of disrepair.
In terms of even more interesting stuff; I've seen a couple of Metros, one or two Sierras and a Renault 25 and a lovely old 80s Mazda 323 plus a few basic spec early 90s Minis - it's great.
I imagine that because of the low speed limits and size of the island, they don't do major mileage plus new cars are very expensive on the island. Changes to MOT tests and the British throwaway attitude (scrappage scheme escalated this) has caused many of our older common or garden shopping cars to become rarer and rarer.
snoopy25 said:
Funnily enough i saw a Nova saloon the other day and they were pretty rare/butt ugly back then lol
Theres a white saloon quite local to me that has recently surfaced. Seems to be used as a daily driver. Seems an odd choice considering how common/cheap/reliable a lot of modern day equivalents are. kieranblenk said:
Where I live in the north east, older cars used daily or in long term ownership are pretty thin on the ground but I'm over in Jersey this week and the place is awash with old 90s (mostly small) cars dotting about the island.
Most are elderly owned but the array is amazing. I've seen numerous old Micras, 106s, Daihatsu Cuores, Hijets and Charades. Mk4 Fiestas are kicking about by the bucket load still in various states of disrepair.
In terms of even more interesting stuff; I've seen a couple of Metros, one or two Sierras and a Renault 25 and a lovely old 80s Mazda 323 plus a few basic spec early 90s Minis - it's great.
I imagine that because of the low speed limits and size of the island, they don't do major mileage plus new cars are very expensive on the island. Changes to MOT tests and the British throwaway attitude (scrappage scheme escalated this) has caused many of our older common or garden shopping cars to become rarer and rarer.
Better climate. More so, it's old money too, with nothing to prove.Most are elderly owned but the array is amazing. I've seen numerous old Micras, 106s, Daihatsu Cuores, Hijets and Charades. Mk4 Fiestas are kicking about by the bucket load still in various states of disrepair.
In terms of even more interesting stuff; I've seen a couple of Metros, one or two Sierras and a Renault 25 and a lovely old 80s Mazda 323 plus a few basic spec early 90s Minis - it's great.
I imagine that because of the low speed limits and size of the island, they don't do major mileage plus new cars are very expensive on the island. Changes to MOT tests and the British throwaway attitude (scrappage scheme escalated this) has caused many of our older common or garden shopping cars to become rarer and rarer.
TwistingMyMelon said:
1990 was nearly 30 years ago!!
In 1990 its a bit like people saying...hmmm don't seem many late 1950s/early cars being used to drive the kids to school
True, but 1990s cars generally have galvanised chassis, fuel injection, electronic features etc, etc and could be easily be used (and frequently are) as daily drivers.In 1990 its a bit like people saying...hmmm don't seem many late 1950s/early cars being used to drive the kids to school
Average life of a car in the U.K. being scrapped is 13.9 years according to the SMMT.
So according to that, anything pre 2004 is either doing well, or a bad mot away from it’s final journey.
A lot of the cars being spoken were uncommon when I passed my test in 2004.
We are now at the tipping point of seeing Mk2 Focus, Mk5 Golfs etc starting to get scrapped.
Most things from the 80s are gone. Similar story for 90s cars.
It’s a shame Car Nuts thread died off as he had made graphs and took great detail in showing the life expectancy of various cars from various classes and when their “death spiral” started for numbers starting to drop rapidly.
So according to that, anything pre 2004 is either doing well, or a bad mot away from it’s final journey.
A lot of the cars being spoken were uncommon when I passed my test in 2004.
We are now at the tipping point of seeing Mk2 Focus, Mk5 Golfs etc starting to get scrapped.
Most things from the 80s are gone. Similar story for 90s cars.
It’s a shame Car Nuts thread died off as he had made graphs and took great detail in showing the life expectancy of various cars from various classes and when their “death spiral” started for numbers starting to drop rapidly.
bobclayton said:
I must admit, I still see quite a few in that original list (especially the Rover products!) but the one that sticks out for me is MK1 Lagunas too!
Any around anymore?!
They're all broken. Similar fate to the Safrane - the last few of those I ever saw were left abandoned at the side of the road, presumably with broken gearboxes.Any around anymore?!
A.J.M said:
Average life of a car in the U.K. being scrapped is 13.9 years according to the SMMT.
It makes one think: When battery-electric vehicles become rather more common on the roads, how long will they last? No ICE moving parts. Brakes that, because of the regenerative function, endure for ages. Features and functionality which, in some cases, improve with time and are updated over-the-air.After 15 years or so, swap the battery array for a fresh one -- and repeat. Might need to do something about suspension bushings though.
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