Cars cars cars

The AX had the suspension repaired today. It seemed to handle better on the way home but I was restricted on how fast I could drive home due to ludicrous rain and flash floods.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not good with cars. Since I passed my driving test in 1995 I've had far too many of them. Partly because I'm hard on them, partly because I seem to end up with ones that break and partly because we live up 1/3 of rocky farm track.

While rootling through my hard drive I found some pictures of various vehicles I have owned. Here they are in no particular order:

1986 D-reg VW Passat. This was a bit of an impulse buy after the Pimpmobile got written off. I needed a car, and this was there at the right price. The engine was an early turbo-diesel 1.6, which made it quite quick, even with the turbo lag. Possibly one of the most boring cars I've ever seen, it bizarrely received the attention of vandals on a regular basis who stole the VW badges and left it covered in trainer prints, dents and scratches. This combined with various mechanical issues led to it being sold for a pittance a year or so later. Shame as I really liked the styling and you don't see them around any more.

The Pimpmobile. This was a 1982 Y-reg Mercedes 200. I paid just £400 for it in about April 2003 just after moving into a flat, possibly one of the stupidest things I have ever done. It immediately needed some work on the engine due to zero oil pressure and a rattly timing chain. Amazingly the engine was completely fine despite it being obvious the oil hadn't been changed in years. The brake pads also needed urgent attention too.

But once those issues were sorted, it was a fantastic car to drive. Being yellow and covered in chrome, it had huge presence on the road. Despite worn seat springs and a tatty brown interior, it was very comfortable and the suspension masked even the most serious potholes. It was also very easy to maneuver due to astonishing power steering and a surprisingly tight turning circle.

Downsides included fairly poor fuel economy from the 2.0 litre petrol engine, rust, and a dislike of long hills. I only owned it seven months before it was written off by a lorry. I was strongly tempted to replace it with another Mercedes when I got the insurance money but I went for the VW Passat instead.

This is the rare 6x6 Land Rover Discovery van I owned for a brief period last year. It had been converted to a 4.6 litre automatic V8 and so I didn't really use it much as it used so much fuel.

I got this 1994 M-reg Fiat Cinquecento in late 1999. It still holds the record for the longest I have owned a car at 3.5 years. It was fitted with a CD player and some big speakers in early 2001or so and it was fun to drive. I absolutely hammered this little car for 50,000 miles and it took it really well with only a few issues. It's tiny size made transitioning to the Pimpmobile a rather daunting experience.

1982 X-reg Land Rover. I got this in about 1997 and while a fun old beast, it was a bit of a disaster. It had many issues, culminating in the 2.25 litre diesel engine expiring loudly and expensively in a cloud of white smoke and a loud knocking sound. The only engine available to economically replace it was a 2.25 litre petrol engine, which drank fuel like there was no tomorrow. This picture was taken just before I got rid of it with the new door top and shiny white wheels.

This was my very first car, a 1986 C-reg Fiat Panda 45CL. Powered by a 900cc engine with four gears, it was noisy and not particularly quick. The front seats resembled deckchairs, while the back 'seat' was basically a padded hammock slung between two poles. It had quite a few problems which were made worse as it was troublesome to get parts for, being a 'rare' Mk1 Panda - a rear light that got broken had to be shipped all the way from Italy and a cracked heater valve which couldn't be replaced led to the heating being permanently on.