Currently reading: James Ruppert: buy low-tech premium motors while you can
With new laws soon to limit driving freedom, uncomplicated cars are set to become valuable currency

Zero-technology cars. Following the news that in 2022 all cars will effectively be robots and not be controlled by us humans, suddenly there might be a lot of call for those. Well, just from me and you then. I was on a radio programme saying that this is a very bad thing. Instead of me boring you again with driver aid-free cars, let’s buy Bangers with silly performance potential before they get banned. 

It is hard to avoid those great big Mercedes, although best steer clear of those sub-£2000 CLs which all seem to have some sort of issue if the sellers are entirely honest. Ideally look to spend £5000 or more. Safer ground is an E55, which seemed to have been used as a fast family saloon at some point. Paying £2999 for anything from the year 2000 sounds pricey, but it’s not all that much for a 5.4-litre motor which seems to check out as a sound buy with a decent MOT history. The great thing is that these look like big, boring cars, but they are not. Actually, they look really dated now and for £3500 I could buy a 2005 CLS500. It has 158,000 miles, but again, it checks out and looks funky as a big, giant fastback. 

Silver spirit drop in

Yes, I have tumbled down a big saloon-shaped black hole. A low-tech one, especially compared to a Mercedes, would be a 1983 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit. It will be historic in a few years’ time and at the moment it seems as though it will survive until 2023. Just under £5000 buys a model which has been racking up bills and will continue to do so. Also you wouldn’t want to go quick in that, especially around corners. 

Perhaps the most amusingly inappropriate classified ad diversion was finding so many V12s, especially with Jaguar badges. Okay, so there are no £1500 MOT’d examples in the project area, but a fully functioning, buffed and ready XJS 5.3 is only £6995, and for that you can get a relatively late 1992 on a K. I also saw a 1988 Guy Salmon Jubilee, a dealer limited-edition that is probably pretty rare now. More character than an Aston DB7 and better built and better value. Indeed, below £10,000 I found cabriolets and the early HEs, which appear to be decent buys. 

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A corker of a mild-hybrid powertrain blends fireworks and refinement, but the E53's flat-footed AMG chassis should do more to entertain

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I certainly didn’t expect to end up on the classic Jaguar lot, but this is the upside of looking for used cars, even with an agenda. Certainly if you’re after a car with an inappropriately large engine to fight back against the dreary dead hand of officialdom, do it in one of those. Plus I would drive it within the legal limits like a little old man. Because I am.

What we almost bought this week

Vw santana

VW Santana GX5: The Santana of 1981 to 1988 was a handsome old thing but never really caught on. The GX5 used a 2.0-litre, five-cylinder engine from the Audi Coupé. This seller wants £725 for his 1982 Y-reg example with just 54,000 miles and a year’s MOT. Beats another chap who wants £12,345 for his tatty, 110,000-mile, barn-find GX5 from 1983.

Tales from Ruppert’s garage

Rupperts garage 13

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Volkswagen Golf - mileage, 49,881: Gordon the Golf went in for an overdue service and its first MOT. The great news is that it passed, but it did need a couple of new tyres. I went for top-of-the-line Michelins, which were the most costly part of the garage visit at just over £150. The side note is that the 21 year old needed a set of wheels to get to work and rejected out of hand my motley collection of classics. She wanted mum’s Porsche Cayenne. The insurer offered four days cover for £50. Cheaper than hiring a wreck. 

A to Z Bangerpedia

K is for Ford Ka: The Ka is here mainly for the fact that you can routinely buy a decent one for under a grand, so in these difficult times when you need something for the station and supermarket run and don’t want to worry about car park dents or outrageous costs, it’s ideal. 

Ford ka

It isn’t the most economical small car (at 42.2mpg), but officially a non-power steering job would manage 47.9mpg, which is decent enough these days. Rust is the killer so check for it everywhere. Original spec was just split rear seat and radio/cassette. Too basic for you? Then get a Collection or Luxury or choose from the huge number of special editions. 

Readers’ questions

Question: I will be buying my car at the end of its PCP contract but am worried I may exceed my mileage limit and have to pay the finance company a mileage surcharge. What do you advise? Dave Cummings, Chatham

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Readers q   milage

Answer: PCP mileage penalties are a source of great confusion among car buyers. In your case, you have nothing to fear since by buying it you will be saving the finance company the trouble of disposing of a car that, because of its higher mileage, is worth less than the balance owing on it. They’ll be happy to take your settlement cheque and say no more about it, so go ahead and accumulate those miles with a clear conscience. John Evans

Question: I’m torn between buying a used Mazda MX-5 2.0 and an Abarth 124 Spider. Which do you recommend? Kirsty Salter, via email

Readers q mx5

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Answer: Looks and image are among these cars’ biggest differentiators and that’s something only you can wrestle with. Regarding the driving experience, the Abarth probably had the edge until Mazda tweaked the Mazda MX-5’s 2.0-litre engine and put some fire in its belly. Find a nearly new one in Sport Nav trim for around £22,000 and it’s the one to have. John Evans

Read more

Speed limiters, driver monitors to become mandatory in EU​

Used car buying guide: Mercedes CL

PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) explained: how to get it right​

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Flyingscud 30 April 2019

Unless you live in Central London!

Older 'analogue' cars are certainly a good, relatively inexpensive way to go. The touch pad style of car control, where you have to take your eyes off the road just to control the cabin heating, seems to be asking for trouble.

My 12-year old Audi A3 diesel, still provides 45-50mpg and reasonable CO2 output (thanks for the advice Mr Gordon Brown), but all will be swept away in October 2021 when the new ULEV Laws come in courtesy of Mayor Khan. And we are not talking Congestion Zone for the wealth in extreme Central London (that's now). We are talking inside the N & S Circular Roads, an area 18 times greater than the CCZ and popuated by the everyday. Any car entering or living in the area and not meeting Euro-6 will incur daily driving charges.

So a bit of a boom-time for second-hand dealers supplying 2015-on cars that meet the requirements. A3 e-trons look to be good value at the moment!! But we may have to submit to a button-less, touch-screen future...

si73 30 April 2019

Flyingscud wrote:

Flyingscud wrote:

Older 'analogue' cars are certainly a good, relatively inexpensive way to go. The touch pad style of car control, where you have to take your eyes off the road just to control the cabin heating, seems to be asking for trouble.

My 12-year old Audi A3 diesel, still provides 45-50mpg and reasonable CO2 output (thanks for the advice Mr Gordon Brown), but all will be swept away in October 2021 when the new ULEV Laws come in courtesy of Mayor Khan. And we are not talking Congestion Zone for the wealth in extreme Central London (that's now). We are talking inside the N & S Circular Roads, an area 18 times greater than the CCZ and popuated by the everyday. Any car entering or living in the area and not meeting Euro-6 will incur daily driving charges.

So a bit of a boom-time for second-hand dealers supplying 2015-on cars that meet the requirements. A3 e-trons look to be good value at the moment!! But we may have to submit to a button-less, touch-screen future...

Or buy an older petrol or hybrid as they pass the ulez requirements. Even my daughters 2004 fiesta is ok for driving into ulez. So you can keep an old car and drive into London.

Leslie Brook 1 May 2019

.

si73 wrote:

Flyingscud wrote:

Older 'analogue' cars are certainly a good, relatively inexpensive way to go. The touch pad style of car control, where you have to take your eyes off the road just to control the cabin heating, seems to be asking for trouble.

My 12-year old Audi A3 diesel, still provides 45-50mpg and reasonable CO2 output (thanks for the advice Mr Gordon Brown), but all will be swept away in October 2021 when the new ULEV Laws come in courtesy of Mayor Khan. And we are not talking Congestion Zone for the wealth in extreme Central London (that's now). We are talking inside the N & S Circular Roads, an area 18 times greater than the CCZ and popuated by the everyday. Any car entering or living in the area and not meeting Euro-6 will incur daily driving charges.

So a bit of a boom-time for second-hand dealers supplying 2015-on cars that meet the requirements. A3 e-trons look to be good value at the moment!! But we may have to submit to a button-less, touch-screen future...

Or buy an older petrol or hybrid as they pass the ulez requirements. Even my daughters 2004 fiesta is ok for driving into ulez. So you can keep an old car and drive into London.

I had to replace a perfectly lovely (to me anyway) 2.2. litre diesel Santa fe because I live on the border of the recently introduced central London ULEZ. It is amazing what cars do meet the requirements if you go the petrol route, any number of 10 to 15 year old 4 and 5 litre V8s for a start.

Theojw71 30 April 2019

Reality will soon imitate art.

 The rock band Rush wrote a song “Red Barchetta” where the lyrics tell the story of a teenager in the future who visits his Grandfather one summer. In the barn he hides a gleaming red Barchetta sports car, now all indecently owned vehicles are banned. The boy takes the now banned exciting vehicle out for a spin across country, pursued by Police in HoverCars.

Life is shortly to imitate art. The song was written in 1981.

405line 30 April 2019

Good article

Keep the old girl running for as long as is possible, much better for the enviroment overall. And after the (official) diesel debacle I'm not sure how anyone could argue that these vehicles are "old clonkers"