Top ten modern classic cars?

[sarg]

Originally Posted by Glync

Rover 800 Vitesse coupe
Suzuki Cappuccino
Ford probe

The article lost all credibility with the inclusion of those, sorry.

Bias aside, no M3 or M5 BMWs?

[Phil303]

Ah, there's a caveat - 'For under £5000'.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by Phil303

Ah, there's a caveat - 'For under £5000'.

£5k could buy you an E36 or E46 M3 or an E34 or E39 M5

One of my favourite cars of that era I owned was a 1988 Renault 21 Turbo, always put a smile on my face

R21 Turbo £1,495

And talking of french cars, R5 GT Turbo and Peugeot 205 GTI should be in there, always loved these too

Alpine GTA Turbo

And how about the 80s Audi Coupés?

[Glync]

As already mentioned beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess I was only joking about the ambassador as one of my mates had one which was never level all round and his number plate read ROP ##Y . Many of the cars mentioned are already reaching or attained classic status and in many cases there are very few of them left on the road or saveable, there is a website which you can enter a model in and see how many are left ... Howmanyleft.co.uk this works on cars taxed I believe and on the road.

Scrappage schemes and the general throw away and recycle approach hasn't helped. I have seen cars at breakers that went if for the last scheme which were in very good nick. Jags bmws audis all working but worth less than 2000. A local jag specials restorer near me bought a number of near perfect x300 jags the leather interiors were worth more alone?
Many of the earlier cars obviously suffered from terminal tin worm due to our salty roads. but as rust proofing and build quality improved it became less of a issue and the cost of mechanical or electrical repairs became the bigger issue.

What never a ceases to amaze me is the regular occurrence of a car found languishing in a garage for 20 or 30 years they are still out there ! Often just plain old escorts or base models which were stuck away when some person gave up driving and forgotten. I started on old motors in the late 70's when I picked up a Austin a90 six 1955 for £50 one owner 40k miles. I was 14 and hooked. I wish I had the money and space to have an example of each of my favourite cars over the years. But a £2.40 win on the euro millions doesn't go far

Best get off and earn some money

[gninnam]

A lot of cars that people say are rubbish (such as the Allegro and Ambasador) where not that bad for the average Joe - it was mainly down to snobby car mags and the like.

My old man had a lot of what the mags would describe as crap, but for what he wanted were very good:

Allegro
Metro
Maestro
Avenger

Got him and the family from A to B.
Didn't cost a fortune to run
Etc.....

A lot of fun can be had owning one of the more eclectic cars to be honest and keeping them on the road can still be cheap

Just my tupence worth

[B@fink]

Not forgetting the venerable Austin Montego. Surprisingly spacious, smooth and quiet. They had a reputation for wonky computers and tin worm but the one my dad ran worked great, it started first time every time, cost buttons (both to buy and run), was rot free and was only finally killed when leaded petrol was withdrawn and the unleaded ate the valve seats. And even though it was smoking like mallard and the valves were halfway through the cylinder head by the end it still started first pull of the key. Was a shame to send it to squashville but it cost less when bought five years previously than repairing the engine repair would be

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by B@fink

Not forgetting the venerable Austin Montego.

I had a couple of those as well, both estates with 7 seats and surprisingly quick; especially the 2 litre one.
(My car history is leaking out I've realised and it's a bit random as most of it is company chariots )