Discussion
having had one in the late 90's the itch is back.
im looking to move on from my daily drive of an abarth essesse which is only for work and quite fun but hard on longer drives.
i want something to have fun at normal speeds nothing extreme, i have a biturbo cls and the wife has an m135i for other cars.
ive just started looking and have seen a couple of mark 1's at 6-7k for low mileage low owner original cars.
just wondering if anyone out there is using them daily and how are they shaping up
cheers
im looking to move on from my daily drive of an abarth essesse which is only for work and quite fun but hard on longer drives.
i want something to have fun at normal speeds nothing extreme, i have a biturbo cls and the wife has an m135i for other cars.
ive just started looking and have seen a couple of mark 1's at 6-7k for low mileage low owner original cars.
just wondering if anyone out there is using them daily and how are they shaping up
cheers
I used the slightly lower spec 1.8 16v as a daily for years, basically the same car.
The only real weak points on them are wear & tear parts and some electrical components like wires & sensors being 20+ years old, specifically anything made of rubber. Getting a car with most of those issues fixed is the key & makes it much easier to keep on top of.
As for how they're shaping up, most of the bad ones have rotted away or been broken for parts as there was a point not too long ago they were worth next to sod all & worth more in parts. Things have changed now & the sort of money you're look to be spending is the very top of the market and the sort of money I'll be looking to sell mine for once I've restored it.
At the bottom end of the market you're looking from £1,700 for the 2 & 3's in need of some tlc due to tin worm & the usual age related issues.
I'd say there's a bit of a reluctance in people using them as daily drivers nowadays due to them appreciating in value so much. When I 1st got involved with them about 8 years ago, pristine examples could be had for around the £2,000 mark & values were slowly falling shortly afterwards which eventually led to a lot of them being broken for parts purely because they was worth more that way. I'd say that it's only in the past 2 to 3 years that they've reached the heights they are now, more so with the 1's with them being the originals & numbered.
The only real weak points on them are wear & tear parts and some electrical components like wires & sensors being 20+ years old, specifically anything made of rubber. Getting a car with most of those issues fixed is the key & makes it much easier to keep on top of.
As for how they're shaping up, most of the bad ones have rotted away or been broken for parts as there was a point not too long ago they were worth next to sod all & worth more in parts. Things have changed now & the sort of money you're look to be spending is the very top of the market and the sort of money I'll be looking to sell mine for once I've restored it.
At the bottom end of the market you're looking from £1,700 for the 2 & 3's in need of some tlc due to tin worm & the usual age related issues.
I'd say there's a bit of a reluctance in people using them as daily drivers nowadays due to them appreciating in value so much. When I 1st got involved with them about 8 years ago, pristine examples could be had for around the £2,000 mark & values were slowly falling shortly afterwards which eventually led to a lot of them being broken for parts purely because they was worth more that way. I'd say that it's only in the past 2 to 3 years that they've reached the heights they are now, more so with the 1's with them being the originals & numbered.
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