Oldest year of car you would consider buying/owning

[oscar w204]

Ive owned a 92 audi 80 at 110000 miles and it was shocking. Im on a 94 citroen xantia and its on 143000 miles diesel tho. Had to do front discs and pads, front anti roll bar drop links and a starter motor on it in the month ive owned it if its high mileage but motorway miles i wouldn be overly fussed about it.

 

[grober]

I have 23 cars at the moment and while at my french home have used my 1949 Traction avant as a daily driver although not really going a lot of miles a day she has never let me down AND has never been restored, she is original

Extremely advanced cars in their day--- Wait till the woodruff keys in the outer drive shafts go tho!!

 

[219]

I have 23 cars at the moment and while at my french home have used my 1949 Traction avant as a daily driver although not really going a lot of miles a day she has never let me down AND has never been restored, she is original

Lovely car . I know a gent not so far away from me who has a fleet of six 'Tractions' which he uses for wedding hires .

 

[219]

Ive owned a 92 audi 80 at 110000 miles and it was shocking. Im on a 94 citroen xantia and its on 143000 miles diesel tho. Had to do front discs and pads, front anti roll bar drop links and a starter motor on it in the month ive owned it if its high mileage but motorway miles i wouldn be overly fussed about it.

You should look up the high mileage thread - don't be afraid of high mileage in a Merc ; they're tougher than Audis

I've lost count of the high mileages I've run some of mine to

1991 300TE-24 to 430K and still drove like new
1989 300TE to 198K
1975 280E to 272K
1981 280CE to 230K
1986 500SEL to 210K and still driving like new
1984 280TE to 220K and still going strong when sold
1985 280SE on 156K

that is just off the top of my head , there have been others .

 

[Dieselman]

Extremely advanced cars in their day--- Wait till the woodruff keys in the outer drive shafts go tho!!

Are you speaking from experience or internet myth? I've never heard of that being a particular problem


Greeney64 has been waiting 60 years, how long do you reckon he carries on waiting for?

 

[Dieselman]

I have 23 cars at the moment and while at my french home have used my 1949 Traction avant as a daily driver although not really going a lot of miles a day she has never let me down AND has never been restored, she is original

Lovely Traction Light there, a near neighbour has a similar one. Someone I know has one of only two, iirc, with hydraulic rear suspension.

Now I know who to talk to when I want a nice DS or SM.

You can't PM at present, so I'll ask here. do you know any good scrapyards with newer Citroens in abundance?

 

[grober]

Are you speaking from experience or internet myth? I've never heard of that being a particular problem


Greeney64 has been waiting 60 years, how long do you reckon he carries on waiting for?

If the hub slackens off enough you get play in the key which wears the locating slot in the drive shaft. If this bad it means they start breaking keys with great regularity and drive shaft replacement is the only answer.
This is a great TRACTION AVANT site which you and Greeney64 might be interested in. Citron Archives

The light fifteen workshop manual manual diagrams and text pdf's are well worth a look. Here's one lovely illustration.

 

[Dieselman]

Your original comment didn't say IF the hub nut slackens off, you said WHEN the keys break, as if there was a particular issue with this.

Any keyed drive will break if the clamping nut becomes loose. Even a splined drive-shaft will be trashed if the nut comes loose.

I once failed to tighten a crank bolt enough and at the next service the crank pulley was spread and the key damaged.
Recently I did a Renault engine rebuild and was amazed to find there is no key for the crank pulley, the whole lot is kept timed just by the bolt remaining tight. That strikes me as a recipe for disaster.

 

[Henry D]

Your original comment didn't say IF the hub nut slackens off, you said WHEN the keys break, as if there was a particular issue with this.

Any keyed drive will break if the clamping nut becomes loose. Even a splined drive-shaft will be trashed if the nut comes loose.

I once failed to tighten a crank bolt enough and at the next service the crank pulley was spread and the key damaged.
Recently I did a Renault engine rebuild and was amazed to find there is no key for the crank pulley, the whole lot is kept timed just by the bolt remaining tight. That strikes me as a recipe for disaster.

Loads of modern stuff is like this now,some still have the keyway in the crank but nothing on the pulley

 

[grober]

Sorry if I misled anyone but the woodruff key issue was what scrapped my mate's "daily driver" light fifteen many years ago. We got tired of renewing the keys every other week after they sheared. The problem of course was wear in the shaft keyway but as impecunious students drive shaft replacement was out of the question at that time. The wear had occurred prior to his ownership probably due to incorrect assembly after a brake shoe change. Needless to say he drives an R230 now.

 

[jaymanek]

Pagodas are still not that uncommon a sight in German cities . It is nice to see them in regular use of which they are more than capable .

Yes many on the Pagoda Club use theirs as daily cars in the USA, Australia etc... The only thing id have to do would be to upgrade the seats to something more supportive..

 

[Greeney64]

I have heard of the problem but it has never shown itself on my 'BLegere' but the BNormal had wobbly shafts, these I have replaced with the new style CV joint, so I get better turning circle too. Not that its finished yet to experience it...
I also managed to get, in a joblot of stuff from an old citroen garage that was clearing out, a whole set of 'Wilmonda' tools for most of the Citroens I own.
An absolute godsend getting all the front hub apart and stripped out, it would have been all but impossible with normal tools

 

[Fat Freddie]

I always reckoned anything after the mid 80s was good enough for serious daily driver use without having to make any apologies for itself, particularly old Mercs, Volvos, BMWs etc.
By that time a lot of them had EFI and were well enough engineered to be quiet and pleasant to drive fast over long distances.
A W124 Benz or an E28 BMW 5 series would be very pleasant ways of getting about today, and be different enough to get you more attention than a new car would.

I just got myself a 1997 W210 and it feels as tight as a drum and is a really nice old barge to schmooze about in. I've also got a 'classic shape' 1992 Saab 900 Turbo and although it's only a few years younger the difference between the two cars is amazing, because the Saab was launched in 1979 and feels every inch an 'old' car.
It could probably show the Merc a clean pair of heels on a twisty road though!

Mileage I don't care about at all. In fact so long as the cars drives well, the bigger the better as far as I'm concerned. I've been in BMWs, Mercs, even modern Skodas with 3-400k on them that have felt perfectly fine.

 

[nurple]

I used to travel 80 miles a day in my 1984 BMW 735i, never let me down once (even in the snow etc). It would shift too!
The car cost me £800 and apart from a new battery and a set of tyres I didnt really spend any money on it.