1980s Daily Driver
Discussion
Up to £10k ideally less which would give a maintenance fund.
Will be covering no more than 8k miles a year and no motorway journeys, 25 mile B road commute.
I want something that sums up that era but is reliable and won’t rust away overnight, it will be used all year and kept outside.
My thoughts so far are -
Mercedes 190e
VW Scirocco mk2 , I would love a Scala in white with white interior
Honda Prelude
Porsche 924
Volvo 240
Peugeot 205, GTis are out of my range now but was thinking maybe a XS or GT
Any recommendations?
Will be covering no more than 8k miles a year and no motorway journeys, 25 mile B road commute.
I want something that sums up that era but is reliable and won’t rust away overnight, it will be used all year and kept outside.
My thoughts so far are -
Mercedes 190e
VW Scirocco mk2 , I would love a Scala in white with white interior
Honda Prelude
Porsche 924
Volvo 240
Peugeot 205, GTis are out of my range now but was thinking maybe a XS or GT
Any recommendations?
Hippea said:
Up to £10k ideally less which would give a maintenance fund.
Will be covering no more than 8k miles a year and no motorway journeys, 25 mile B road commute.
I want something that sums up that era but is reliable and won’t rust away overnight, it will be used all year and kept outside.
My thoughts so far are -
Mercedes 190e
VW Scirocco mk2 , I would love a Scala in white with white interior
Honda Prelude
Porsche 924
Volvo 240
Peugeot 205, GTis are out of my range now but was thinking maybe a XS or GT
Any recommendations?
Some good cars mentioned above however the 924 will likely cost a packet to run on a very regular basis. Will be covering no more than 8k miles a year and no motorway journeys, 25 mile B road commute.
I want something that sums up that era but is reliable and won’t rust away overnight, it will be used all year and kept outside.
My thoughts so far are -
Mercedes 190e
VW Scirocco mk2 , I would love a Scala in white with white interior
Honda Prelude
Porsche 924
Volvo 240
Peugeot 205, GTis are out of my range now but was thinking maybe a XS or GT
Any recommendations?
How about a Ford of some description ? Might be a cheap runner though not as exciting as some mentioned above.
Mk1 MR2?
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/19-un...
Edited by GT3Manthey on Friday 21st May 11:25
I know you said 80's but how about and early C36 AMG? Quality motor and appreciating at the moment!
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1270543
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1270543
BMW 5 Series
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_cars.php?c...
Volvo:
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1341351
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1337600
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_cars.php?c...
Volvo:
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1341351
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1337600
Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 21st May 11:50
I just did a search on AT for 1980s cars under £10k.
Some amazingly cool cars out there but it would take a few brave pills to use them daily for 8k miles a year and keep them outside. I think for cars that sum up the era I’d look at the slightly more mainstream stuff like escorts, sierras, cavaliers but they may not be interesting enough for you. Plenty of tidy old Mercs, some good looking 924s etc. £10k does seem to get you a 205 Gti but an XS is half the money. I had a non turbo diesel 205 and it was great. Other cars that stood out were the Lotus Elan as well as less obvious hot hatches like the MG Maestro.
Good luck with it.
Some amazingly cool cars out there but it would take a few brave pills to use them daily for 8k miles a year and keep them outside. I think for cars that sum up the era I’d look at the slightly more mainstream stuff like escorts, sierras, cavaliers but they may not be interesting enough for you. Plenty of tidy old Mercs, some good looking 924s etc. £10k does seem to get you a 205 Gti but an XS is half the money. I had a non turbo diesel 205 and it was great. Other cars that stood out were the Lotus Elan as well as less obvious hot hatches like the MG Maestro.
Good luck with it.
The OP seems to have lost interest already .
Maybe it’s the rubbish U.K. weather that’s not inspiring him to run out this weekend and make that purchase.
I like the idea of owning a 924 and there are independent specialists around but with respect to the OP if he’s got a budget of 10k to spend to buy the car he’s probably not factoring in doing another 3+ a year for upkeep which can very easily happen on a 924 doing 8k miles a year .
Ford or VW if you need it to be reliable for me
Maybe it’s the rubbish U.K. weather that’s not inspiring him to run out this weekend and make that purchase.
I like the idea of owning a 924 and there are independent specialists around but with respect to the OP if he’s got a budget of 10k to spend to buy the car he’s probably not factoring in doing another 3+ a year for upkeep which can very easily happen on a 924 doing 8k miles a year .
Ford or VW if you need it to be reliable for me
MC Bodge said:
A mid 90s car would make more sense as a daily driver.
Mk1 Focus
My wife uses a MK1 focus as her daily... it's still a modern car to me!!Mk1 Focus
Reliability is fine, though rust will see it gone in a few years (bubbling around rear sills).
There's a reason most 80s cars went to scrap yards in the 90s (and not just the scrappage scheme either)
No one seems to have mentioned crash protection yet, so I will: "crash protection".
Sorry everyone for not replying, some great suggestions here. So yesterday I ended up with something totally off topic....I bought a 1972 1200 VW Beetle, its a car I couldn't turn down, plan is to use it daily throughout the summer and then see what happens.
I already have a few classics so very aware of the pitfalls, my plan is for something '80s in the not to distant future.
I already have a few classics so very aware of the pitfalls, my plan is for something '80s in the not to distant future.
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