If your lucky and hunt you may find one like this that runs good and doesn't need a lot of work,this is a example of early 1980's a 1984 Ford club wagon,way cheaper than the vintage vans,and the front ends may be much tighter and in better shape,plus you can tint the windows.

But I want the other one, I'm in love with it.

andyh wrote:
Back in 2005 I got my trusty 'Rina from the local auctions for....£80...

1 months tax, 6 months mot on it.



*edit* exactly like this one^

It needed a new clutch, that cost me another £100 or so (fitted with warranty, Mr Clutch) and a wheel bearing had to be replaced at the next MOT..

That car lasted me up until early this year pretty much trouble-free

Toyota's rock for reliability and durability. Ask any private-hire taxi driver...

Yup, Japanese cars. I've got a 16 year old Mazda 323 1800cc,
Still runs well, and no body rot, goes like buggery on the motorway, and a comfy car too. .

....are you reading this dubs?

I can't say as I find japanese cars any more reliable than any other brand tbh.
Its all down to how well they've been looked after.

I can probably point to components as being more reliable on certain brands.
For example, Audi bodywork is usually second to none when it comes to rot resistance.

The brakes though, engine etc is all down to who's owned it and how much they've thrown at it over the years.
Not to mention how they've driven it....

I would say automatics tend to have engines in better condition on average as they're not as likely thrashed.

Swings n roundabouts n all that.

Its poss to buy cars dirt cheap at auctions anywhere tbh, I wouldn't do it though. Hell of a risk because you can't get a decent look at them.

I still stand by £800 as being average banger price for private sales as thats what Rick really was asking about.

dubmeup wrote:
If you owned that orange one around here you could call yourself *Hippie King* and even have groupies,but one thing for sure you would draw a crowd wherever you parked

andyh wrote:
Oh yes you can

Visit the auction halls before the auction itself takes place, during the day when the lads that work there are 'prepping' the vehicles.
A few quid bunged here and there will get you a lot of looks, and even a test drive or three...
...

The What Car? reliability survey has the top 11 manufacturers as from the far-east,

!. Honda
2. Toyota
3. Lexus
4.Suzuki
5. Saburu
6. Hyundai
6. Mazda
6. Mitsibushi
9. Chevrolet (Daewoo)
10. Nissan
11. Kia

BMW, Mercedes, Land-Rover are all at the bottom of the list. Show's how people are conned by the power of advertising.

diamondgeezer wrote:
Not the one I've been to.
That said, it was Preston.

jhado wrote:
Give me a brand new lada and anyone else a brand new honda and I guarantee my lada will outlast it.

jhado wrote:
This info is for you jhado you may find a van to live in and a cheap engine.

I love how the yanks call a near 6 litre engine 'small block' ffs lol.

andyh wrote:
I frequent this independent one in Manchester,

www.stoodley.co.uk/

They cater for the 'bottom end' of the market more than do the 'biggies' such as BCA and the like. Well worth a visit...

andyh wrote:
These days a 'small block' can go to 7 litres and beyond...a big block can be over 8. Modern casting techniques has resulted in cheap small block cylinder blocks being available with bore sizes approaching the 'old school' big blocks...hence 'small blocks' can be 7 litres or more. example www.chevyhardcore.com/tech-stories/engin...mall-block-part-1-2/

Bigger engines dont necessarily use more fuel either, especially smallblocks, and particularly on the open road and/or heavier vehicles (like vans) ...there are so many efficient parts available for the older big 3, and the late model ones are efficient as they are.

I know you guys get taxed vs engine size over there, but in places where that doesnt happen, id probably pick a van with a smallblock over japanese (or vw ) any day...the right one will use no more fuel (if you know what you are doing) and are easier and cheaper to work on and fix. Parts are everywhere.

I have 2 cars atm, weigh about the same as eachother, one is an injected smallblock ford, approx 300 bhp, uses 8 litres per hundred on the highway (30mpg) ...pleasure to drive...the other is a japanese 2.4 4cylinder, does 9 litres to the hundred, and its 120 hp and struggles up hills. Both of these cars are standard...i havent touched them...i could probably get the v8 ford to do 7 l/100 and have more power with some minor changes if i wanted...others have.

My last smallblock car could still manage 10litres to the hundred on the highway with its 4 speed auto, and was 530 bhp.

As for big blocks, ive had a couple of those too...never checked the fuel economy back in the day...i had them running on avgas lol before they banned it for road use

andyh wrote:
Do they still make Lada's Andy? I had one of those old Fiats that looked like a Lada once (128 or 126?) it was brilliant, and just ran and ran.

jhado wrote:
I think they do in Russia but they're not exported here anymore.

My point is that all cars reliability boils down to either whether the owner is a mechanic or he/she has very deep pockets and keeps it regularly serviced and is a quality driver.
Thats all there is to it tbh.

Most people who bought a lada originally thought they could afford it, what they never considered was service costs, so the inevitable reputation of unreliability came about.

WhatCar most certainly does not do 20 year reliability trials of cars. Nor do they survey models with equal service history from the same garage for example.

If I lived in the US then I probably wouldn't give a damn about having a gert huge V8 either lol.
In Ireland a 6 litre V8 will set you back €1683 pa in road tax alone, let alone the fuel costs...
Audi were topping 1000bhp from 2.2 litre engines a long time ago
Some of the most amazing engineering I have seen remains British though :p
Its just unaffordable and impractical for most.

andyh wrote:
I disagree with that andy.

Some makes of car are clearly more reliable than others.

The owners servicing/maintenance of the vehicle is a factor of course, but so is its build quality, obviously.

diamondgeezer wrote:
The only cars with any real build quality as such are way beyond the pocket of the average joe and they're not made in japan
I've seen a near brand new toyota rav4 with a knackered clutch before it even got to its first MOT.
Needless to say the driver was bloody useless but that just goes to emphasise what I said before.
The main variables are environment it gets driven in, quality of driver, how regularly and WELL it is serviced.
Ignore a jap car and it will break. The only litmus test would be to try out various makes from brand new with the exact same driver in exact same conditions and with no services whatsoever and see how long each one lasts.
To date, no such test exists. Therefore it is impossible to prove that any makes are 'clearly' more reliable than others.

Even then, such a test would be only on one car from each make so you'll still have the probability of the odd bad production run to deal with

You could also then perhaps look at how much spares cost, which parts break first, fuel efficiency etc etc to get some kind of reliability vs cost scenario which again I've never seen done.

If I've come to any conclusion, its that a lot of the older cars are in fact more reliable than the new ones, if you discount stuff like points replacement, condensor etc that go often in the older motors.

I would agree a rolls royce is perhaps far more reliable than most but jesus I wouldn't want to have to pay for it lol, also ferrari tend to be bloody unreliable as hell yet cost just as much as a rolls.

andyh wrote:
Are you saying Lexus don't have build quality...?

.....and build quality...

Yes, but not as quickly as certain european/american makes of car in an equivalent price bracket will.

Agreed.

True no test like that exists...so impossible to 'prove' in that way. But some makes are still clearly more reliable than others to anyone thats been driving for a good few years, has driven a good few cars, and who has conversed with a good few other drivers

Yep, deffo factors that need to be taken into account.

Agreed!