breakdown truck

[JPB]

I don't understand the terms of sale for that Aussie/JDM import Nissan 4x4. He's in the south and it's a car, offers over only makes any sense in Scotland and then only if it's property that's on sale. Methinks the seller hasn't a clue. Shame, I like that and had I not just bought a HiLux Surf (JDM name for the 4-runner, complete with rusty bull bars at both ends and a nice lazy 4 litre, 90bhp - 280Lb.ft of torque though - Diesel from a Land Cruiser), would probably have favoured the Nissan for its relative rarity.

Yes, GHT, Montego for the leather . That Caddy-based settee is a little eccentric for my taste , knowing my luck I'd have a dreadful impaling accident with one of the tail lamp lens if I had a thing like that in my place!

The Escort Ghia, definitely Stoke on Trent. I'd have worked that one out for myself even if its seller hadn't admitted as much in the description yet the interior of that looks really rather decent and it's a Ford, ergo someone will, in the future, pay eighty thousand pounds for it if the buyer does nothing but stash it away for the next decade and releases it to a MK3-hungry market at that time.
The Citroen based van looks like the back half of one of the more popular Reliant kitten commercial bodies with the nose of something totally different glued to its bulkhead. That's why I like that one, but it needs a bed and some cooking facilities to be worth considering, IMHO.

[GHT]

Yes, GHT, Montego for the leather

Well, if you must, it's your choice. Stupid boy. In the corporate world, light years ago, my company would reward their managers with a car upgrade for their results. On the occasion of being named top manager, probably during a moment when the opposition had quaffed for too much, my VW Passat, which was the ultimate in boring, but oh so reliable, was upgraded to one of these ghastly things:

Rover-800.jpg (69.61 KiB) Viewed 1162 times

It's a Rover 800 something or other, it also had the word Sterling. I phoned the head honcho, he pleaded ignorant and told me to contact the transport manager whose responsibility it was to hire, buy and sell all the fleet, including commercials. So I asked the transport manager what was the serious sin on my copy book. "Come again," he replied, with a puzzled tone.
I said to him that he had taken my Passat and given me this excuse for a car. "That's supposed to be a reward," he explained, "for being top dog." "Seriously?" I said, "can't you just leave me with the Passat?" The answer was no and I was told that he thought that I had shown much ingratitude.
My level of rank was superior to that of the Transport Manager so I suggested that we swap cars, he didn't want to know. Non of the other managers were interested either. I simply hated it, the appearance, the fact that it was a B/L clone of a much better Honda and because the Passat was worth keeping.
Much later, and with months of custody of the wretched thing, I found out why it was so hated. The leather used in The Sterling was exactly the same as The Montego, and if you have never driven such a leather seated car, let me tell you that B/L's particular choice of leather smells like a cat's litter tray that hasn't been emptied for a week. Much like everything else B/L touched.
I've got this forboding sense that John and Rich are actually going to like The Sterling. No, they wouldn't, surely not? Even they have a sense of propriety.

[JPB]

I love these big Rovers and consider them worthy of the name in a way that some other Rovers - both before and since - just didn't seem to be. I can't speak for Rich of course, but he is blessed with particularly fine taste in automobiles, so we'll see..

[rich.]

you have bought a hilux john? pics please!! i love those... i spent a few years driving them, far superior to the landrovers i had been used too! they were comfortable do a keep up with traffic tow anything go anywhere & would actually start..
as for rovers guilty as charged i owned an early 827 vitesse auto which was a comfy old bus id bought from a scrapyard with tax & mot.. i replaced the broken headlight & drove it for 6 months & sold it to my brother who kept it for a year...it did have its little faults, hot starting & the fuel tank split when i filled it up.. i did like it though & would have another, if i could afford petrol.. i do find myself occasionally looking at them for sale..

[Grumpy Northener]

Hi Lux - Hated it - I had a fairly new one - 62 plate - the most uncomfortable thing to drive ever ! did 80K miles in it - horrible thing but very, very reliable - I found it a very old design trying to stick / compete in todays marketplace - the VW Amarok is a world ahead of the Hi Lux - older versions may hold a place in the motoring world but the newer versions are just plain dreadful when compared to the available alternatives.

[rich.]

those i drove were from mid 90's & early 2000.. what year would a 62 plate be?? im lost since the changeover
meanwhile..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-Westmi ... 2012591609

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-J40-TO ... 3641.l6368

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lambourghini- ... SwrhlXTxoj

[JPB]

I like the Vastmonster. That could be stunning with a bit of work here & there.
Rich, I'm picking the Surf up in August when I'm travelling down to Leicester in something called a "train" and driving it home. The seller was honest enough to admit that the flex plate had developed a few cracks which in turn had allowed the torque converter to rattle around and catch the bellhousing in a couple of places, so he's having that sorted for me and as a bonus, is having some mph instruments fitted so that I won't hold up all the traffic on my way home.

There are always loads of JDM Surfs on eBay, I'd have preferred a UK market 4-runner but autos are rare and they can be quite rusty, mine looks a lot like this eBay specimen but was bought from someone on a Toyota forum:



I bought it mainly because I have a car transporter trailer which is in a friend's lockup down in Staffordshire and I need to go and drag it home. My Surf is a seven seater whose rear seats can be made into a passable bed, which I figured was another good reason to have it. That, and I've wanted a Surf/4-runner ever since I drove a colleague's scabby example recently and was blown away by just how well they go, especially with the massive engine option.
Chris has a very good point about the newer Hiluxes, IMHO. Trouble is that they are much the same as the older ones but the opposition has evolved far beyond them so they're not so good to drive as a newer 4x4 from another maker but, on the other hand, if the Toyota trucks are good enough for mentalist warmongers to use as gun platforms, then they're plenty good enough for my odd taste!

[Grumpy Northener]

John put your bib on - here's a proper Toyota to drool on - think the pricing is a little high though given the miss fitting bodged ICE and spaghetti wiring harness to the side of the steering column http://www.angliacarauctions.co.uk/en/c ... 00gt-ra28/

[rich.]

thats nice, but i would rather have this..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121943169336? ... EBIDX%3AIT

[JPB]

John put your bib on - here's a proper Toyota to drool on - think the pricing is a little high...

How f'n much?

I like those, but that one doesn't look right somehow. I'm not scared of a spot of wiring, but something else about that car is causing me not to over it and I can't quite put my finger on why.

Rich, that seems to be a perfectly decent buy but it doesn't float my boat. Again, I don't know why, they're a great drive, they're almost as indestructible as my older Corolla and they look ok but I'm not feeling it somehow. Sorry.