Old cars in seaside resorts

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Sheringham - ever been there?

I've just spent a long weekend there and was struck by two things: how flippin' cold it is and how many older cars there are still in regular use.

To expand a little, I live in Milton Keynes where if your car is over about 8 years old it stands out like a sore thumb. In Sheringham (where the indigenous population is, ahem... a little more mature), 20+ year old cars were quite common. In no particular order, and without really trying, I saw:

- W reg Rover 75
- V reg Honda CRV
- K reg Mercedes W214
- J reg Suzuki Vitara
- E reg Toyota HiLux Pickup
- T reg (ie 1979) VW Type 2 van - clearly restored, but bog standard
- T reg Audi A8
- myriad old Toyotas and Nissans
- P reg BMW 520i

Nothing spectacular, but all "interesting", over 20 years old and in immaculate condition (even the HiLux, which surprised me given the proximity to the sea). It made me wonder whether the proliferation of old stuff is related to the older demographic in these old seaside towns.

Observations, anyone?

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Riley Blue said:

Turbobanana said:

Observations, anyone?

Older people change cars less frequently and less of them lease cars are my guesses.

Nail on the head I reckon, RB. Also, older folk seem keener to look after what they have rather than assume it needs replacing as it ages. Certainly my time in the motor trade supports that theory. Some of the nicer stuff (A8, 520, 75 etc) was possibly someone's last company car that they took into retirement with them.

Also, I just remembered another I saw: L reg Lada Niva. When did you last see one of those?

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PATTERNPART said:

The CRV is difficult to kill.

True. It was quite smart, gold, automatic and following the Rover 75 down the High Street. Rover was white, 2.0 V6 and also looked in great shape.

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Skyedriver said:

Turbobanana said:

Sheringham - ever been there?

I've just spent a long weekend there and was struck by two things: how flippin' cold it is and how many older cars there are still in regular use.

To expand a little, I live in Milton Keynes where if your car is over about 8 years old it stands out like a sore thumb. In Sheringham (where the indigenous population is, ahem... a little more mature), 20+ year old cars were quite common. In no particular order, and without really trying, I saw:

- W reg Rover 75
- V reg Honda CRV
- K reg Mercedes W214
- J reg Suzuki Vitara
- E reg Toyota HiLux Pickup
- T reg (ie 1979) VW Type 2 van - clearly restored, but bog standard
- T reg Audi A8
- myriad old Toyotas and Nissans
- P reg BMW 520i

Nothing spectacular, but all "interesting", over 20 years old and in immaculate condition (even the HiLux, which surprised me given the proximity to the sea). It made me wonder whether the proliferation of old stuff is related to the older demographic in these old seaside towns.

Observations, anyone?

Maybe it's my age or my current fleet but I don't consider any of them as old

91/J reg
97/R reg
93/L reg
(just sold a 97/P reg)

Agree with you Skyedriver, but if you read my original post I relate it to what I see locally. I still own the 1991 Saab I bought in 2001.

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itcaptainslow said:

Any car from Scotland is 10x worse!

Sweden is worse still: I've seen Audis with holes in the front wings big enough to fit your hand in...