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We did this when the forum first started but it could do with a reboot.
Mine started well but quickly went downhill (unlike the Fiat Uno):
Mini 1275GT (Yellow)
Fiat Regatta (1.6 twin cam)
Triumph Spitfire
(The motorcycle years, mostly spent on a BMW R100RT)
Peugeot 405 (Company Car non turbo diesel – so slow accelerating)
Fiat Uno
Renault 5
Renault Clio
VW Golf 1.8
Mercedes 200D W123
MGBGT (why oh why)
Vauxhall Vectra
Honda Accord Estate
Citroen Berlingo
Ford Galaxy
VW Sharan
VW Van WAV
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I was a late starter passing my test when i was 30 –
Renault Megane Coupe
Rover 200
Renault Megane Coupe
Renault Megane Coupe
Renault Megane Coupe (williams engine in this one)
Vauxhall Vectra (3L v6 that was chipped)
Ford Mondeo
Nissan Qashqai
Rover 45
Ford Focus
Seat Leon ST
Hillman Avenger 1600 Deluxe (nothing deluxe about it)
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L
Vauxhall Astra 1.3 Antibes
Vauxhall Astra 2.0 GTE
Vauxhall Cavalaier 2.0 GL
Rover 827 Vitesse 24v
Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 Diplomat (Company car)
Ford Granada 2.9 Scorpio
Ford Scorpio 2.9 Ghia X Cosworth 24v (Company Car)
Ford Mondeo 2.0 Zetec (Company Car)
BMW 320d SE Touring (had 3 of these, all Company Cars)
Mercedes E220 CDi Avnatgarde (Company Car)
BMW 525i SE (Company Car)
BMW 530d SE (Company Car)
BMW 750i Sport V8
BMW 520d Luxury
All above were / are privately owned, unless stated.
Peugeot 205
Peugeot 205 cabriolet
Volvo v40
Volvo v70
Volvo s80
Volvo v70
Ford kuga
Volkswagen tiguan 2018
Also late starter
NSU Prinz
Datsun 160J
Datsun 180B SSS
Mitsubushi Colt Mirage Turbo
Rover 820SI
Rover 827 Sterling
Seat Toledo GTI
Toyota Carina e GLI
Honda Accord SI
Toyota Avensis T3
Toyota Avensis FR
Honda Civic SI
Kia Sportage K3
Honda CRV SE+
My History from 1969 till now.
A few were company cars 1976-1985 the rest were all my own cars or the company I owned at the time, some were used but most were new or nearly new from 1986 onwards.
1965 Mini 850, Ford Cortina Mk3, Austin 1800, Austin 1100,
Company cars 1976-1985
Ford Capri 2.0, Astra Estate, Granada Estate, Merc 190E, Talbot Horizon, Ford Orion Ghia,
My own company cars 1985-1996
Vauxhall Omega, BMW 5e, Mercedes 230 estate, Jaguar XJ6 4.2, Jaguar XJS V12, TVR S , Rolls Royce Silver Spur LWB, Panther Kalista, Range Rover Vogue 4.2 LWB,
Chrysler Grand Voyager, Chrysler Concorde (whilst living in America 1996-1999
Vauxhall Omega, Honda Civic, Jaguar XJ V8,Mitsubishi Outlander, Ford Mondeo 2.0, Hyundai Sonata.
Last 3 have been Mota cars.
Peugeot Partner Tepee, Citroen C4 grand Picaso and just taken del of the VW Tiguan 2.0 SEL DSG.
Erm, really late starter…
VW Bora
Hyundai Tucson (about to be changed…)
I was a non-starter….
Motorcycles first, from 1984 (when I was 18 to present)
Honda CM125, CB100N, H100A, CM250, Kawasaki Z440C1, Honda CB250N, CB900F, Kawasaki Z250, Suzuki GS650, Yamaha XJ1300, Triumph Trophy 1200, Gilera 180, BMW R1100RT, Suzuki GSX600F, Suzuki V-Strom 1000, Honda Pan European 1300, Triumph Explorer 1200 XRT
Cars from 1991:
Cortina Mk 4 1600 Ghia, MG Maestro 1600 (talking digital dash!), Vauxhall Cavalier Mk2 2.0 CD, Vauxhall Carlton 2.6 CDX, Rover 600 Turbo, Volvo V70 2.5 SE, Vauxhall Vectra 1.9CDTi, C4 Grand Picasso Mk1 1.6HDi VTR+, Then Motability…C4 Grand Picasso Mk2 1.6HDi Exclusive+ at end of lease
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.
Beige Ford Firsta cost £400 from my best pals big brother old A regBlue Vauxhall Nova
Ford Sierra Saphire
Ford Escort
Mk 4 Golf GTI
Mk 5 Golf GTI ( night n day from the 4 )
Mk5 Golf R32
MK1 Audi TT ( 3.2 ltr same as R32 )
Mk 6 Golf Gti
Vauxhall Cora 1 ltr life lol ( couldn’t pull you out of bed, big plastic wheel trims, shopping trolley wheels ) all I could afford once I stopped worked , lost the house etc. Never let me down once though
Audi Q3 S line , 150ps manual ( 1st Motability car )
Audi Q3 S line plus, 184 auto, 4wd
( current Motability car )
Mk2 Vauxhall Astra 1.2 (First car, managed to sell it’s engine after rust had destroyed the chasis)
Mk1 Vauxhall Astra (never got to drive, was in hospital for almost a year, had multiple seizures so lost driving licence)
Peugeot 306 XRTD (First car after defying what the Dr said – I won’t leave hospital alive)
Rover 216 SLi
Ford Focus Zetec (Prior to being a Motability customer, this was my newest used car, only 6 months old) FUN FACT – The bar scene from Top Gun was filmed in a bar in San Diego. The bar area has hundreds of licence plates on the walls. They’re all US plates except for a UK plate ND02 EFC, which was my number plate from my Focus!
MK5 VW Golf 1.6 SE FSI (first Motability car and first brand new car)
MK6 VW Golf 1.4 MATCH TSI (Received this car in 2009 and at the time was suprised how quick a solidly built car with an engine as small as 1.4 could go). That was until the turbo stopped working and VW never repaired it. So I moved away from VW and ordered a –
Vauxhall ASTRA GTC SRI (The second car I never got to drive. We didn’t even pick it up as I had been free from seizures for 17 years, then had a very mild one and couldn’t drive again for 12 months). I had (and still have) many hospital appointments throughout England. So my wife learnt to drive. She was struggling a little so decided to take the automatic test to speed things up. We then ordered our 4th Motability car –
MK7 VW GOLF 1.4 TSI DSG (125 bhp) – Never thought I’d like an automatic, but it soon grew on me. Not long after I started having pronlems with my left leg and foot, so the automatic became essential for me as well as my wife.
MK7 VW GOLF 1.4 GT DSG (150bhp) – My current Motability car. I originally wanted the GTD, but it wasn’t on the scheme at the time. The petrol GT was more appropriate anyway, due to quite a few short journeys. The 0-60mph times are very close to the GTD’S, so the fact that I got this well equipped GT for an AP of a little under £500 (haggled), left me very pleased.
There is no sub £500 AP cars at present on the scheme that match what this car offers. I still have another 10 months before I need to hand it back.
Ford Cortina 1.3 GL
Ford Capri 1.6 GL
Ford Escort XR3i
Ford Fiesta XR2
Ford Escort XR3i
Ford Escort XR3i
Rover 214 SLi
Rover 216 GTi twin cam
Rover 220 Coupe (Tomcat)
Rover 220 Coupe (Tomcat)
Ford Mondeo 1.8 GLX
Ford Mondeo 1.8 GLX
Ford Escort 1.8 Si
Ford Mondeo 2.5 Ghia X
Ford Escort GTi
Citroen Saxo VTR
Rover 216 GSi
BMW 323i SE
BMW 323i SE
Rover 220 diesel
Ford Focus 1.6 LX
Ford Fiesta 1.6 Ghia
Ford Fiesta flame 1.4
BMW Mini Cooper S
Jaguar X-Type 2.0 V6 Sport
Ford Focus C-Max 2.0Tdci
Ford Focus 2.0i Ghia
BMW 325 Ci Sport Convertible
Renault Scenic 1.6 Dynamique
BMW X5 3.0d Sport
Seat Leon FR TDi 170
Seat Leon FR TDi 170
Honda Civic 1.8 Sport
Audi Q7 3.0 TDi S-Line Sport
Audi A3 1.8 TFSi Black Edition
Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDi (177) Black Edition
VW Golf GTD DSG
VW Golf GTi 230 DSG
VW Tiguan DSG 190TDi R-Line
BMW X1 2.0i X-Line
40 cars in total, 35 new cars, 3 company cars and 5 second owner cars.
Some of these cars have been howlers to own with so many defects they spent more time off the road than on it…..noticeably my Ford Focus C-Max and Jaguar X-Type!……My wife’s Renault Scenic decided after 6 months of ownership to spontaneously combust whilst on a public car park and 6 of the 40 cars listed were my wife’s cars.
If I had to choose my most liked it would have to be the Audi Q7 followed by the Audi A3, BMW 325i Sport Convertible and 323iSE x 2
Most disappointing cars…..2014 VW Golf GTD and 2017 VW Tiguan R-Line…both had/have DSG gearbox issues, with the GTD requiring replacement DSG gearbox, 3 sets of rear shock absorbers, media unit replaced twice, drivers seat 3 times, drivers window regulator replaced twice, replacement front suspension bushes and inoperative bluetooth with no software fix!
Unfortunately, and as much as my wife wanted to like her new Tiguan R-Line at 2 months old and with only 300 miles on the odometer her Tiguan developed a terminal DSG gearbox issue which is now subject to a legal dispute!
Hi All, here is my car history, all automatics.
12/74 – 1/76 Invacar three wheeler (about 500 cc) Blue (oddly enough).
I think it was about this time that they made them automatics. As it had handlebars like a motorbike, I always thought of it as a cross between a Harley Davidson and a fiberglass bathtub, but it did get me about at a maximum of 50 mph although you were not allowed on Motorways with it. Handed it back for the Mobility Allowance when I past my driving test first time in the Daff 44 on 8/1/76.
4/75 – 3/77 Daf 44, 844 cc, (where they got the name 44 from) A nice deep blue colour.
I got it as an 18th birthday present from my parents. I loved the car but was in an accident with it.
4/77 – 10/78 Daf 44 844 cc, Green. Replaced my blue one with my dad’s green one.
3/79 – 11/80 Vanden Plas Princess 1300, White.
Had a problem getting a Chrysler Sunbeam on Motability as garages had issued a few Motability cars and were afraid of getting too many back at the same time, not realising how much in demand they would be. So gave up and bought the second hand Vanden Plas, which was like a miniature rolls royce but with ordinary Austin 1300 mechanics.
11/80 – 2/84 Triumph Dolomite 1850, Brown.
Not the best car I ever had as the twin cabs were a nightmare.
2/84 – 6/88 Austin Maestro Automatic 1600, Red metallic.
My first new car (not counting the Invacar) and my first Motability car, although only for the finance loan. I bought the car with a 17.5% discount from Leyland as a Mobility Allowance customer. It was a good option to buy then as Motability finance rates were good and you handed over your allowance book.
6/88 – 6/91 Nissan Bluebird 2.0 GSX, Gold (with a grey tint) metallic.
First luxury car feel with power steering 4 electric windows, electric sunroof, alloys, an electric aerial, remember them. Also my first Motability leased car. At that time you had to pay for your own car insurance through Motability and pay for your own hand controls, two big improvements nowadays with Motability.
6/91 – 6/94 Rover 200 GSI 1600 White with grey bottom. Loved the car.
6/94 – 6/97 Rover 400 SLi 1600 Red metallic. Saloon version of 200.
6/97 – 6/00 Mazda 323 1800 Executive, White. Very sporty looking with alloys on
6/00 – 6/03 Rover 45 1800 Connoisseur, Silver metallic. Great car for £1600 AP, came with everything, Leather heated seats, alloys, 4EW, E/sunroof/ 6 autochanger cd. Good car to drive.
6/03 – 6/06 Rover 75 2.0 cdti Connoisseur SE, Gold. First diesel, only option with that trime.
6/06 – 9/09 Citroen C4 2.o petrol Exclusive, Silver. Made a mistake as seats were suede type material and not good for getting in or out the car. really need leather nowadays. My dad bought the car from Motability, now my PA(carer) owns it.
9/09 – 10/13 Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 cdti Elite. Grey metallic. Had a 3 month delay on car arriving. Extended it to 5 years but handed back after 4 as needed a wheelchair full time (used callipers and crutches up till then) and an estate is easier for my two PA’s (carers).
10/13 – 10/ 18 (hopefully) Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 cdti Elite, White.
Looking to order my next car in July, for October. Hopefully a facelifted Kia Optima Sportswagon GT line 1600 cdti, but are also changing the engine from 1.7. sometime in Q3 which may be a problem. Or if not other possibles are, Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer Elite 2.00 cdti, VW Passat estate 1.8 petrol GT, Ford Mondeo Titanium 2.o cdti 4×4 estate (only because it is a 4×4). Skoda Superb SEL Executive estate (depending which engines are available in July). I also really like the look of the new Mazda 6 estate, but don’t know if it will be available in July on Motability.
It is getting harder to find a large estate (especially with leather seats) and the ever so popular (and I can understand why) SUV’s are just too high for getting into.
Nervous and excited waite for Q3 list to come out. Sorry if this was too long winded a post, but hopefully not, I enjoyed reading all the others.
Cheer
John
Sorry about the typing at the start looked fine when I checked it before sending it.
Wow, an actual Invacar driver. Hats off to you! I really enjoyed reading your car history John, so thanks for sharing.
Thanks POPS, you wouldn’t happen to know how I or someone could tidy up the spaces at the start, as I am not very computer literate.
Cheers
John
I learned to drive in my Dad’s metallic blue MK11 3.8 Jaguar with overdrive, and black leather upholstery with white piping, wire wheels etc., and also drove his Vauxhall Victor Estate car, Standard Vanguard Luxury six Estate Car and spent a couple of years driving his Midnight Blue Mark 9 Jaguar , again with a 3.8 engine and overdrive , all over the U.K and Europe – I had a new Ford 5cwt van ( Anglia shape ) which he used weekdays whilst I used his MK9.
Then there was a VW camping car which I picked up from Fleischhauers in Cologne in 64, and took a leisurely 4 days to drive it back to the UK, via Germany, Holland & Belgium, into France and from Calais on the boat to Dover!
My cars , private and company –
Ford 5 cwt Van
Morris 1100
Triumph Herald Estate Car
Austin 1100
Austin 1800
E Type 3.8
Mini in Blue
Rover 2000 TC.
Datsun Cherry
Datsun Cherry Estate ( the breadvan )
Datsun Sunny
Datsun 1.6 Bluebird
Ford Cortina
Morris Ital
Hillman Avenger
Austin Allegro
Austin Maxi
Ford Sierra x 3
Ford Mondeo estate x 3″
Sunbeam Talbot x2
Triumph ?
Rover 2.6S
MGB GT,
MINI in green
Triumph Dolomite
V W Bora
Ford Mondeo V6
Cavalier
Vectra SRI
Ford Orion
Ford Escort
Volvo XC70
Volvo XC90
Volvo XC60 x2
Volvo V60
Nissan Qashqai
On order VW Tiguan SELNo problem John, all done.
Thanks for posting, a very enjoyable read, had a rover 45 myself (2nd hand) £450 and drove like a dream. Sold her for the same price 2 years later when i joined the scheme.
That’s great, thanks for the help Trev and the kind words.
john
With the vast array of cars that we have all owned, it is no wonder that, between us, we offer such a vast source of motoring knowledge! I suspect that, in addition to cars we have owned, we have all driven loads of hire cars, demonstrators, loan cars, rental cars, friends and families cars etc. I could add well over 100 cars that I have driven in addition to those I listed.
The thing that I have always found interesting (as a self confessed car buff) is how great some ‘run of the mill’ cars can be and how disappointing some expensive cars can be.
I have often found Fords to be great to drive – comfortable seats and silky smooth manual gearboxes (forget the appalling lack of sound insulation from road noise) and the worst car that I ever drove was a new Mitsubishi Shogun 3.6 litre which was noisy, underpowered, appalling controls and drank like a fish. I was also underwhelmed when I drove a top spec £90k Range Rover. You don’t always get what you pay for!
Glos Guy I live in the countryside there are many brand new range rovers around here what people don’t realise they are unreliable it’s the management system ie black box I’ve saw 2 situations where the drivers have come to a halt at traffic lights waiting for recovery ! Don’t get me wrong they look fantastic and I’m sure the ride is very good but they haven’t the build quality as Germans imho the same can be said for the evogue lots of problems there ! Richard said on here yesterday that all brand new cars are reliable sadly this isn’t the case
Ford Escort mk1 1100L £50, had it for a week before someone stole it and wrote it off.
Ford Cortina mk3 1600L, crashed a 98mph causing all my mobility problems.
Ford Escort GT 1300 mk1, full stage 2 prepared, really fast for it’s day.
Volvo 340 auto
Morris Marina
The above 2 were cheap whilst saving to get married.
Ford escort mk2 1300L
Ford Fiesta XR2
Porsche 924
Then the kids came along.
Nissan Sunny
VW Passat
Vauxhall Carlton
More kids
Mitsubishi Space wagon
And a big dog
Ford transit mini bus
Ford transit lwb….ex police riot van, still fitted out with helmet rack and cage in the back.
Toyota Estima
Vauxhall Saffira, first Motability car…….put me off Vauxhall for life, terrible cars, had it 18 months, 4 months in the garage, each time a different Vauxhall courtesy car, all of them bad.
Citroen C4 grand piccasso
Seat Leon estate (kids finally got own cars)
Chevrolet thing!!!!! (Temp car as lost DLA due to doctors mistakes)
Fiat 500XL, awful car to drive but funky looking, a nice colour and had 7 seats (“just in case”, said the wife)
BMW X1 2.0i, so nice to get back to the instant response of a petrol engine.
Then came the PIP, lost allowance, no more Motability. This happened the week before they allowed the 26 week extension. It wouldn’t have mattered as it took 30 weeks for my tribunal, which overturned the DWP ?
Now got BMW Gran Tourer, which had made the wife happy again as it has 7 seats….”Just in case” This one isnt on Motability, but the allowance effectively pays for it.
Haven’t included wife’s or kids cars which I owned for short periods.
I’m sure that I have missed a couple out, but hey ho ???
I ordered the Cherry sport 120A ( the breadvan ) without seeing it in the flesh, as there were none in the Country, but I was not disappointed .
Your right GG
I’ve also driven loads of rental cars, in the U.K., Europe, the USA & Australasia, and two wheelers , big & small, three wheelers, four wheelers fast & slow , vans, mini buses, trucks, etc. plus i’ve driven full motion flight simulators, and actual winged thingies as well as microlights, gliders, hang gliders, a variety of parachutes, dodgems and even 4mph mobility scooters, all of which pale into insignificance compared to the new Tiguan , sitting in Sheerness, awaiting delivery to dealership?
First car bought in 1966 1958 Singer Gazelle 1968 1962 Sunbeam Rapier ( the one with the fins, series 111a loved that car ) 1970 to 1974 various vivas, escorts and others as I worked as a car salesman for Vauxhall then Ford main dealers. 1974 1971 Ford Cortina 1977 1975 Ford Cortina Ghia 1980 to 1990 various company cars including Vauxhall Astras and Ford Cortinas. 1991 1988 Vauxhall Astra. 1994 1990 Rover 216. These cars were often slated but mine ran like a watch. 1997 to present Motability. In chronological order — Renault Megane, Vauxhall Astra estate, Rover 75, Ford focus Estate, Vauxhall Vectra estate, Skoda Superb, Volvo V70 and finally our present car a Ford S Max which is due to be changed in September. When I think back to my old Gazelle and Rapier there was no power steering or power brakes, no seat belts or air bags, the only crumple zone was you face!! and I LOVED ’em
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