Re: How Old Is Your Car?

I had a laugh when I read this. Because I also thought it said cat.
Specsavers here I come.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

I have a Chevrolet Matiz, 4 years old. Will be keeping 'her' till she gives up the ghost. Only change my car when lots of things start going wrong through age, and would cost a lot of money to put right.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

I found a loophole, and owned 27 new cars between 1990 and 1998 all from the same manufacturer, and dealer, and never paid a penny for any of them, so the new car experience pailed into insignificance, thus I now own a few old cars. A worthwhile experience. IMO.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

Move over Ladies here's another for Specsavers, that's what I thought at first glance,
By the way I have neither cat nor car, and I'm as poor as a church mouse.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

Looks like Specsavers will be having a few new visitors soon.

The longest I kept a car for was my Tina - Ford Cortina Mk V Estate. I got her when she was six years old and in showroom condition and I had her for 13 years.

To my utmost regret to this day, I parted with her. I loved that car so much and she never let me down except when the clutch went, and she always passed her MoT despite her advancing years.

With hindsight I should not have got a newer car. I should have saved the £170 a month I had to pay out for five years, and used that money to bring Tina back to showroom condition.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

My current car a Fiesta is 5 years old.
My previous car was a Volvo 440 GLT and I had it for 16 years, it developed a rust problem around the wheel arches and became expensive to run so reluctant had to let it go .

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

I drive a Rover 45 on a 51 plate so its 11 years old . I had it 4 years and until the last 6 months hadn't cost me hardly anything...But just cost me £350 for a head gasket,,,,

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

My Holden Kingswood HJ sedan lasted me 12 years though it was a few years old when I bought it.


Before that I had an HK Station wagon. They both did the job, reliable and built for Australian roads which in those days could be a bit rough or indeed just dirt. They could tow a trailer or carry six people easily and motor along at 130 kph on just about any surface. Very torquey motors they only needed three gears with first only used to get it moving - the HK didn't even have syncromesh on first.


The HJ I replaced with an eight seater Mitsubishi Starwagon to transport the family about in, I bought it new and kept it for 17 years. Once my kids left home I replaced it with a tiny Mitsubishi Colt that I still have. The latter has been to Alice Springs, all over NSW, Tasmania and Queensland and never let me down in spite of some pretty rough tracks.


The Colt's little 1.5 litre engine doesn't have the power of the 3.5 litre straight six engines of the Holdens or even the 2.4 litre motor in the Starwagon but because the car weighs less than a tonne it pulls it alng very nicely

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

I was always a new car snob and normally kept a car for about a year and occasionally as long as three years but that was before I bought my current vehicle.
She's a 2011 ML350 Bluetec whom I've named Betty and even though she's only been in the family for 18 months I'm sure that Betty and I will be together for many years.

Re: How Old Is Your Car?

So I'm not the only one who names cars!

As a child in the 50s my dad had a 1940s black Dodgem a la Elliot Ness style and she was named Black Bessie. Not very p.c. these days I know, but I could tell some tales about her.

She had running boards and the doors opened gull-wing style. The seating was leather and we once went to Wales in her on holiday. We got most of the way there when suddenly the steering went and dad told us kids at the back to hold on as the car was going to crash. No seat belts in those days.

He had no control over the steering wheel as the steering rods had broken so we careered over a new dual carriageway just after a coach with passengers were heading back in the opposite direction.

Luckily, there wasn't much traffic on the roads back then, and we crashed into some hedges and a ditch, and a farmer towed us out with his tractor.

Dad fixed the car temporarily until we could get it to the blacksmith close to where we were staying. In those days, a blacksmith doubled as a car repair shop. Those were the days!