Don't ask me years or ages or when me cause I have only a vague recollection of some of them.
G795NNS Volvo 340 1.7GL. Built like a tank, handled like one too. Wobbly it was. Leaf spring rear suspension. Absolutely ate alternator and the rear brakes kept seizing. Traded in needing it's 4th Alternator for
M877YKB Ford Escort 1.6 Zetec. Loved this car. Not especially fast but it felt overtyred so handled really well. Managed to burn through it's valves somehow so was written off.
S Reg 3 door Rover 214i in silver. So unremarkable that I can't remember the reg or how long I had it for. Ate it's cambelt about 2 years after it should have been changed and trashed the engine.
T Reg Nissan Almera. Dull in the extreme but a gift from my parents after they were offered £200 as a trade in. What I needed at the time as it passed every MOT it ever had without even an advisory. Reliable in the extreme. Written off when someone pulled out of a side road into me and insurance offered me £1,800!
S34GWH Peugeot 306 GTI-6. After having a huge back catalogue of fairly dull cars I bought one of these. Amazing cars with spooky ride and handling, but after the reliability of my Almera this was a total shock to the system. Each MOT ended up with repairs and the bill always seemed to start with a 4 or 5 and even then things also went wrong in between MOT's as well with similar sized bills. A Clutch replacement cost me £900. A working one is a beautiful thing, but it was a money pit. Sold to someone from my company as a non-runner as it overheated regularly. Was scrapped 6 months later I believe.
Seat Leon 1.8T Cupra 180PS. Good car this. Decent turn of pace and only marginally quicker than the GTI but way more economical and way more reliable. Handling and feel much worse though. Written off after a few years at MOT time due to a full. Exhaust being required, Seat no longer having them apparently and an aftermarket one costing £1.5k and increasing insurance by £500 too. I believe it was still running around as it has current MOT.
Replaced by a 2012 Ford Focus 1.6 Ecoboost 182PS. Another really good car, reliable and quick enough too. Had this for about 4 years and very little went wrong. Passenger window regulator died, typical Mk 3 Focus door seals came away at the bottom of the doors too. New battery as well, but other than servicing and tyres it was great.
Replaced in July 2021 with the current option, 2015 BMW 428I Gran Coupe. Which has been absolutely brilliant. Fastest car I've ever had, handles decently and has made me an automatic convert. Has been ultra reliable too. Great car.
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