It was great to chat to everyone at the meet about how they came to own a B, whch led to conversations about what we all had before. Seeing LRB's Beetle pic, and finding out that Silverbarchetta used to have a DeLorean, made me think that it would be interesting to know what everyone has had up 'til now, along with a few stories! So I'll go first, and get my blushes out the way up front . . .
1. Fiat 124 (what became a LADA) estate, in cattle-shed grey that my Dad mixed up in a tin from various leftovers. Can't remember the reg. Cost £90.
2. Orangey-red Toyota Corolla P reg that allegedly ran on three-star, but then the engine blew up. Cost £75.
3. Emerald green metallic T reg Austin Allegro estate. The one with the long window down the side that looked like a hearse. Had so many engine leaks it used to get through more oil than petrol! Also had leaks on one side on the hydrolastic suspension so always looked lop-sided! Cost £70.
4. White-and-rust-coloured T reg Mk2 Ford Escort which got through a dodgy MOT thanks to my Dad welding the two front wings together with a strip of angle-iron, after I'd driven it from Derby to Wiltshire in the middle of the night with no MOT, tax or Insurance (Alan, you didn't see that - and it was in about 1991!). Cost £200.
5. Almost-new white Austin Maestro, a brief foray into company-car land at an early age which lasted six months, followed by redundancy and the need to go out and buy . . .
4. Metallic Green S reg Morris Marina Coupe (with tan leather interior no less). Bought in the dark in a rain storm when I committed the cardinal sin of not checking for reverse gear. Consequently had to drive it round for six weeks without and just be careful where I parked! Cost £90 - sold it for £125!
5. Custard-coloured W reg Opel Ascona which never ran properly and is the only banger I didn't make a profit on when I sold it!
Followed by (less excitingly as I had actually started to earn some money):
6. Red D reg (prefix) Mk 2 Vauxhall Cavalier, which was shunted up the back end, written off, then the insurance company changed its mind so we had it for two more years, then when we tried to sell it we couldn't because it was still listed as written off!
7. Red H reg Mk 3 Vauxhall Cavalier. Boring but functional.
8. Pale blue L reg Metallic Vauxhall Corsa (in my 'mummy's-runaround' years).
9. Red N reg Rover 400 Tdi (not my idea, I blame the ex hubby).
Then back to company cars again . . . .
10. Dark Green 2 litre M reg Mk 3 Vauxhall Cavalier that went like a bomb and did 400+ miles to a tank of petrol!
11. Burgundy R reg Daewoo Leganza. No laughing OK, it was the only one on my (limited-budget) company car list that had air-con and a 6-Cd autochanger! Have to say actually it wasn't all that bad . . .
12. Black T reg C class Mercedes (big old square one) which was great, right up 'til the point that I fell asleep at the wheel and turned it into a short wheelbase version, by running it into the back of a gas truck at a roundabout.
Then back out of company-car world again:
13. Black X reg BMW 320 Diesel - gorgeous car, would have another any day. Had to sell it when I set up the business though, and replace it with . . .
14. T reg dark green 2 litre diesel Vauxhall Vectra. Awful thing but needs must
15. After business got better - a T reg Burgundy Audi A4 2.5 Tdi. Great car. Just about to sell it if anyone's interested? (and still reading!)
16. And then of course the gorgeous Barchetta. Took me a while but I finally got some taste!!
17. Replacing the Audi with a brand new (also bright blue, much to ISTTR's disgust) Peugeot 307cc, thanks to his business contacts!!
Anyone else care to waste half an hour charting their own history??!
1. Fiat 124 (what became a LADA) estate, in cattle-shed grey that my Dad mixed up in a tin from various leftovers. Can't remember the reg. Cost £90.
2. Orangey-red Toyota Corolla P reg that allegedly ran on three-star, but then the engine blew up. Cost £75.
3. Emerald green metallic T reg Austin Allegro estate. The one with the long window down the side that looked like a hearse. Had so many engine leaks it used to get through more oil than petrol! Also had leaks on one side on the hydrolastic suspension so always looked lop-sided! Cost £70.
4. White-and-rust-coloured T reg Mk2 Ford Escort which got through a dodgy MOT thanks to my Dad welding the two front wings together with a strip of angle-iron, after I'd driven it from Derby to Wiltshire in the middle of the night with no MOT, tax or Insurance (Alan, you didn't see that - and it was in about 1991!). Cost £200.
5. Almost-new white Austin Maestro, a brief foray into company-car land at an early age which lasted six months, followed by redundancy and the need to go out and buy . . .
4. Metallic Green S reg Morris Marina Coupe (with tan leather interior no less). Bought in the dark in a rain storm when I committed the cardinal sin of not checking for reverse gear. Consequently had to drive it round for six weeks without and just be careful where I parked! Cost £90 - sold it for £125!
5. Custard-coloured W reg Opel Ascona which never ran properly and is the only banger I didn't make a profit on when I sold it!
Followed by (less excitingly as I had actually started to earn some money):
6. Red D reg (prefix) Mk 2 Vauxhall Cavalier, which was shunted up the back end, written off, then the insurance company changed its mind so we had it for two more years, then when we tried to sell it we couldn't because it was still listed as written off!
7. Red H reg Mk 3 Vauxhall Cavalier. Boring but functional.
8. Pale blue L reg Metallic Vauxhall Corsa (in my 'mummy's-runaround' years).
9. Red N reg Rover 400 Tdi (not my idea, I blame the ex hubby).
Then back to company cars again . . . .
10. Dark Green 2 litre M reg Mk 3 Vauxhall Cavalier that went like a bomb and did 400+ miles to a tank of petrol!
11. Burgundy R reg Daewoo Leganza. No laughing OK, it was the only one on my (limited-budget) company car list that had air-con and a 6-Cd autochanger! Have to say actually it wasn't all that bad . . .
12. Black T reg C class Mercedes (big old square one) which was great, right up 'til the point that I fell asleep at the wheel and turned it into a short wheelbase version, by running it into the back of a gas truck at a roundabout.
Then back out of company-car world again:
13. Black X reg BMW 320 Diesel - gorgeous car, would have another any day. Had to sell it when I set up the business though, and replace it with . . .
14. T reg dark green 2 litre diesel Vauxhall Vectra. Awful thing but needs must
15. After business got better - a T reg Burgundy Audi A4 2.5 Tdi. Great car. Just about to sell it if anyone's interested? (and still reading!
)16. And then of course the gorgeous Barchetta. Took me a while but I finally got some taste!!
17. Replacing the Audi with a brand new (also bright blue, much to ISTTR's disgust) Peugeot 307cc, thanks to his business contacts!!
Anyone else care to waste half an hour charting their own history??!
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