Older cars you have seen

[Jamesrob637]

I saw a standard B reg Mk3 Ford Escort the other day, not an XR3 or anything, from the appearance and the bloke driving it, it looked like it had been well cared for rather than restored at any point. Quite an achievement to keep one of them going

Must have been garaged the last ten to twenty years

 

[Ashley Hill]

A 1981 Austin Maxi came up beside me at traffic lights this afternoon.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Rather be seen in the majority of the vehicles mentioned here, than in pre-2020 Nissan Puke

 

[stuu]

Must have been garaged the last ten to twenty years

Impossible to tell (well, I could have asked him), but the arrangement of blankets on the back seat and general set-up suggested the car had been on the road for the duration. There were definitely bubbles of rust, it was pretty much how you would expect a car that had been run well for that long to look

 

[Ted633]

Saw an 'M' reg Rover 400 estate this morning. Been a long time since I've seen one of those. Looked in very good nick and surprisingly wasn't being driven by an elderly gentleman!

 

[styles]

Got a puncture and damaged alloy on Skye last year. Decided to get the bus and train home, leave my motor there, order some alloys and tyres off eBay to be delivered to the garage who did the recovery and collect it at a later date.

When I went back there was a Mk2 MG Midget there. I asked whose it was and it belonged to one of the mechanics, who let me take it out for 5 minutes. Fun car to drive though does knock you down a peg when you remember these things don't have power steering, auto fuel injectors, etc. Looks like they can be picked up for a few grand, may require maintenance, but MOT, VED, LEZ etc exempt so the maintenance cost would be offset. I can't lie, I'm quite tempted!

 

[CarltonA]

On a visit to Prague I spotted an Austin Healey left hand drive and German registered. Spoke to the driver in bad German who told me the car was first registered on that very day some years ago. It happened to be the same week I was born.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Saw an 'M' reg Rover 400 estate this morning. Been a long time since I've seen one of those. Looked in very good nick and surprisingly wasn't being driven by an elderly gentleman!

Quite a few older cars seem to be (being) driven by 40s and under

Grandparents inheritance cars maybe?

 

[birchesgreen]

W reg Reliant Kitten in a rather bright blue just went past my house.

 

[telstarbox]

Saw a K suffix Land Rover soft top today although that might be the most common old car around.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Spotted this the other day in Huddersfield:
(I blocked the reg plate out just in case the owner doesn't want it posted. It didn't have a letter suffix, but may have been a private plate)

 

[GusB]

Spotted this the other day in Huddersfield:
(I blocked the reg plate out just in case the owner doesn't want it posted. It didn't have a letter suffix, but may have been a private plate)
View attachment 188027

The Citroen DS was produced from 1955, so it's definitely possible that it's carrying its original plate. I'd love to have one!

 

[TheSel]

BMW2002, waiting patiently outside Chester Station a few days ago. [my pic below]



== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Sep 2025 ==

The Citroen DS was produced from 1955, so it's definitely possible that it's carrying its original plate. I'd love to have one!

Here's a later one - left hand drive - parked outside the cricket ground in Liverpool a couple of years ago. [my pic below]

 

[Sun Chariot]

That 2002 is an absolute beaut. I can count on two thumbs, how many if those I've seen this century.

 

[TheSel]

That 2002 is an absolute beaut. I can count on two thumbs, how many if those I've seen this century.

If you Google the registration number (in the interests of balance, other search engines are available!), you'll see it was sold by Mathewsons in April 2024.

 

[Bald Rick]

Saw something I’ve never seen before today.

a MkIII Cortina, in jet black, convertible (with the roof down), and it sounded like it had a V6 engine.

N reg from 1974/5.

Presume it was a bespoke job.

 

[ExRes]

Saw something I’ve never seen before today.

a MkIII Cortina, in jet black, convertible (with the roof down), and it sounded like it had a V6 engine.

N reg from 1974/5.

Presume it was a bespoke job.

If it was a properly built car then it's likely to have been a Crayford Cortina, over 400 units were produced for the UK while the German market had the Ford Taunus Convertible

 

[telstarbox]

Cut up by a Wolseley of some kind - Very nice looking car. The number plate was AAA 111 format, no suffix.

 

[Thornaby 37]

Morris Minor with a pre-1963 registration parked a few streets from where I live
Hasn't turned a wheel for at least two years (possibly even longer) so I can only assume that the owner is no longer able to look after it or drive it

 

[swt_passenger]

On a visit to the motor museum at Gaydon, I discovered they had the exact model of 1964 Vauxhall Viva in the same duck egg green that my parents had for a while. There was a van version called a Bedford Beagle.
[…]

I don't think the Viva had much of a colour range, that duck egg green was fairly common wasn't it?

 

[CarltonA]

I don't think the Viva had much of a colour range, that duck egg green was fairly common wasn't it?

I don't remember seeing very many Vivas in that particular shade at the time. The car was sold in 1974 so I may be misremembering.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I don't think the Viva had much of a colour range, that duck egg green was fairly common wasn't it?

I think it was offered on the Victor, too, as my late paternal grandfather had one such

 

[telstarbox]

Peugeot 205 in red today - looked great.

 

[RuddA]

Peugeot 205 in red today - looked great.

Saw one in Norwich yesterday.
Hadn't seen one for a long time.

 

[CarltonA]

Peugeot 205 in red today - looked great.

Had one 25 years ago, 1.8 litre turbo diesel. Went off like a rocket when the turbo kicked in. Dangerous understeer however.

 

[greyman42]

I saw an Opel Manta yesterday. Cannot be many of them still on the road.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Scandinavian surprises.

This Jan 1991 registered Saab 900S turned up at Horndean (in SE Hampshire) Morrisons car park this morning. A former Saab owner myself (a 2006 9-3 V6 Hirsch Aero cabrio), I was delighted to see a "classic 900" still on the road.
Coincidentally, as I left Morrisons, I tucked in behind another middle aged Swede: a white 1994 reg Volvo 940SE, the 2.8ltr 7 seater estate.

 

[Ashley Hill]

I saw a Citroen 2CV in my local supermarket this morning.

Also some demolition at our recycling centre has revealed this beauty. I’m not a bus expert but think it’s a Bedford double decker of some vintage.

 

[birchesgreen]

Was behind an N reg Corsa earlier today, nice car. Very nearly bought one once though it didn't start at the dealer so i bought a Skoda instead!

 

[matchmaker]

Saw a Sunbeam Tiger at the weekend - definately a Tiger, not an Alpine! Didn't catch the reg but no later than 1967.