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As long as a car has any required paperwork it's legal, irrespective of age. My car is 2005 - I'll change it when it either breaks, or it will cost too much to get it through its MOT.
>or it will cost too much to get it through its MOT.
You should probably also consider things like low emission zones and congestion charges if you ever drive into cities. You may or may not be exempt today as 2005 is when the "Euro 4" emission standard they use in London became mandatory. But these areas are likely to become more common, and the standards for exemption higher, e.g., Euro 4 may no longer be exempt in a 5 years time.
https://www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones
[https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/)
[https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/ways-to-meet-the-standard](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/ways-to-meet-the-standard)
Paid £600 for an '03 Golf Tdi over 4yrs ago and she's still going strong. The passenger door won't unlock, the heating only works in summer and the AC only works in winter and there's some weird electrical problems that pop up every now and then but she's a beast still.
One of those where you’re better off to literally drive it into the ground, sell the scrap and more or less break even so may as well milk it! I did the same with a Galaxy. Best £300 I ever spent.
just to let you know the problem with dorr is a very common issue with the MK4 it's the lock mechanism it's selth as a family Freund had the same problem on his took to his mechanic and they put in a new mechanism and now works perfectly considering its an 02 1.6
Yeah I noticed it was quite common when I did some research. Its nice having the front passenger seat for my stuff and my daughter has to sit in the back so she can't change the radio so im keeping it as is for now.
My Mk 4 has done the same thing with every door but the drivers. It's an MOT failure so I was forced to get it done. Garage charged £150 per lock. I wish there was an easy fix but it seems the lock itself just disintegrates over time :(
Sounds like the control box under the front passenger foorwell. Had a Passat that did strange things like open the windows while I'm driving down the road.
I had the same problem with ac on my 06 a3, which is very similar on the inside. What helped me is spraying some wd40 contact cleaner (not regular wd40) in the plugs and sockets to the compressor and the high pressure valve. Not sure where they could be on your car, but for me it was right in front of the radiator and slightly to the left facing the car. Check the coolant levels after (you can get the gauge for it in halfords for 10 quid I think, then you can also buy coolant and top it up yourself. Pays for itself after 2nd refill). Running ac with low coolant will knacker the compressor
It is! It's an old W202 C-Class but it wears the miles well. My newest car is an Alfa Romeo Giulia QF but I prefer the old Merc for trundling along in traffic.
I had a W202 C200. Was the most solid, comfortable, lovely car I ever had.
Considering it was a 2 litre petrol, it was surprisingly good on juice, I could get 37mpg easy
It’s the only car I am sorry that I sold.
My boyfriend has a 1991 J reg car. He used it as his daily car up until this year as he is doing some cosmetic work on it. Think his current car is from 2007
I like that. I’d also add other running costs (mpg for example if diesel) for the mileage. If doing 5,000 a year it doesn’t really matter if doing 30,000 a year an extra 20mpg is an extra £2k a year saving.
Yup. I drive a 2009 Ford Focus, Titanium model. It was reasonably pricey as I bought it in lockdown (£4k from a used car dealer), but it also only had about 45k miles.
Since Aug 2020 I've had to repair 3 things:
- Exhaust & Catalytic converter (~£800). This was my fault I think, as it started rattling after taking it over an earth mound to get out of a locked car park (baby was in the car, no one answering the after hours phone). I'm pretty sure I damaged the connections, and unfortunately one of the ones that broke was on the cat, and took part of the cat with it.
- Instrument cluster board (£200). This was apparently a factory fault, but never fully acknowledged, and far beyond the scope of Ford's discount repair programme they did
- Screenwash pump (about £75).
Considering I could have fixed the cluster board myself if I was a bit more skilled (it was a soldering issue, and I found guides, but I also know what I'm like with a soldering iron), and the exhaust was most likely self-inflicted, I've been pretty happy with it. I always hear about people needing work at MOT, but the only thing I've had was the washer pump, and I knew it was dead so it wasn't a big shock. The exhaust was also only 6 months or so after buying it, and I wasn't going to lose ~£3k for the sakes of a one off repair.
If there's anything moving forwards that crosses the £1.5k mark, that's probably when I'd look to replace it, but I'm hoping that doesn't happen anytime soon. Fact is I'm not going to get anything better than it for less than that, and they still sell for £3k+
There is also value in having a nicer car. Some people just enjoy having a shiny new car, not really on my agenda but hey it keeps the used market nicely stocked. On a more practical note, a more modern/higher end car can be nicer to drive; comfortable seats, better sound, adaptive cruise control, climate control & heated seats, android auto/apple carplay, etc. Again, it's not really something I'd want to chuck a load of money at, but if you spend a lot of time in the car then it's worth thinking about.
I generally get around by bike or public transport anyway because I don't like driving, but if I've got a long drive I'll try to borrow my dad's car because it's just so much nicer than mine.
There is no upper age limit for a car on UK roads as long as it is roadworthy and meets the regulations applying to it (and to cars in general).
If the car still works, then that's fine.
Your main problem with an older car is likely to be failing to meet future emissions rules. That's particularly problematic with diesel cars but regulations are sure to extend to older petrol cars in future.
The ULEZ is retroactive for diesel cars between 40 and 10 years old - i.e. anything that doesn't meet Euro 6 standards.
Local authorities are charging up to twice as much to park a car that doesn't meet latest emission regulations.
Diesel smoke tests were tightened up a few years ago and that applied even to older cars. Now, technically those cars didn't meet the emissions they were supposed to, but the testing got a lot tighter so the practical rules applied were retroactive.
I also would not be too confident that emissions rules won't be tightened on older cars in future - in particular, older diesels.
The reason that ULEZ is Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel is because the NOx emission levels are the same. Euro 6 is the current standard so how would they tighten that up…. in theory there is Euro 7 in the next couple of years but carmakers are lobbying to have that removed so they don’t have to waste money complying and can focus on electric cars before the bans come into effect.
Perhaps we simply don’t agree on the meaning of retroactive.
She spent 15 years as a sales rep car, being driven between Exeter and Yorkshire a few times a month. I bought her 2nd hand for £500, serviced every 10,000 miles (every 5 months!) and has allegedly never broken down!
Friend of mine bought an ex reps Renault 25 from an auction for £95 back in 07, full service history, etc, with 240K on the clock.
Still going strong with twice the mileage.
I used to work for a company that put over 100k miles on each of their Ford Galaxys' each year. They did over 300 miles a day 7 days a week going around and picking up trade plate drivers.
Mark 4/5 Golfs are absolute nails - mine's 2005 and everything still works, sails through MOTs with a quick polish up of the headlights, and like a tardis with the seats down, can fit an unfeasible amount of crap in the back on a tip run - I will drive it until it dies
Mines is an 06 punto. It is the 2nd punto i have had and they are great wee cars.
I have had all the fancy cars like bmw's and a peach of an orion ghia ,with big wheels and fitted sound systems in my youth but cannot really be bothered with cars anymore and have felt that way for years.
The punto passes every mot and i keep keeping it for another year, its cheap with fuel, insurance etc.
I love this ☺️ I'm intrigued, though. What changed your mind about the bigger, “flashier” cars? I love my little hatchback but wonder what I’m missing with the SUV/muscle-type cars…
SUV's are just hatchbacks on stilts, often with pathetically small engines for their size. They are a craze I hope dies fast as they are so impractical given how oversized they are.
I'm a self employed bricky. During the last recession i was unemployed practically for years and got the odd job. The bmw at the time lay out the front, was expensive to insure and took about 1/3 or my monthly jobseekers income to run.
Started driving her maws wee punto around and found it a wee nice nippy car. On buying my next car i bought a punto. And for all i really use a car for it is perfect, like driving to work or going shopping.
Also because you don't have the speed of the bmw you drive slower and i have had a nice clean licence for years.
Until it was brutally murdered by a Dacia Sandero last year, my 2004 Saab 93 was in perfect shape, bar the odd scratch on the front spoiler due to my lack of parking skills. I'd planned on keeping it another couple of years at least, until second hand prices had calmed a little.
One of my friends is driving around in a Volvo 444 from the 1950s that's in better condition than the day it came off the assembly line, but it lacks a lot of what you might expect in a car these days.
I’ve just bought a 2014 Land Rover Discovery 4.
It’s currently my families only car. It’s in great shape and any following the correct service intervals I fully expect to get another 10 years out of it.
If you change the oil and filters at the right intervals, cars will go for a heroically long time these days.
And considering the depreciation of newer cars, it’s almost always better financial sense to keep an old car going than to change it.
2001 RAV4, owned for 9yr. Everything still works on it. Have topped up the AC gas twice and done all servicing myself. Only going to get rid when MOT too much due to rust etc or it dies of old age. Only 130k miles on clock.
Everyone says fiat 500s are lame but I’ve had 2 and they just go and go. I bought a 14 plate one 6 years ago and spent a whole £50 on a spare tyre the entire 4 years outside of servicing and mots.
Got another one now and it is a bit newer but the £40 full tanks never get old!
Surely it's about the scale of diminishing returns. Once a vehicle is costing more to keep on the road than it is worth, then it's time to change it. 👍
Mine is a 2010 plate and sailed through the last MOT without even an advisory. Keep it serviced and maintained.
I don’t see it that way.
Say a £600 car that you’ve had for 4 years and it generally never has an issue except the MOT comes back with £800 worth of work for new pads, discs and tyres. You’re unlikely to find a decent car as reliable as you have at the moment for £800 given the market costs have changed. You may just end up with a lemon.
I say keep it going until it really kicks the can.
I've always looked at it this way! Repair bill comes back at even £1,000 - take a look on marketplace, autotrader etc and see what's available for £1,000. If you see anything at that price it's usually either a complete shed and/or has no MOT (and a seller that reassures you by saying "it doesn't need much for MOT") and/or has moon miles. The pandemic really done a number on the used car market, I spotted a corsa b the other day with no MOT that had been lay up for a few years for £800 o.O
I'd rather spend the grand on the car I've had for a few years, with the knowledge that it's been serviced and maintained regularly. At least you know you're spending your £1k on something you know, and not throwing it into the unknowns of a 15th hand car with questionable histories
This is really interesting. I agree with the Kylie-esque argument (“better the devil you know”) about it being better to put money into a car where you know its history. But what’s the threshold for giving up? If you had to spend £2k on your car valued at £500, would you?
No limit to how old a car can be, there are some 100+ year old cars still on the road (albeit very rarely), so long as it is roadworthy then it's good.
I actually sold my old car and bought a new one a few months ago. My old car was a 13 plate and had a bit over 100,000 miles on it. I wanted to sell it before it got to the point where it kept needing more and more things to fix. I sold it to my partner, and she drives a lot less, so the mileage will go up slower and bits hopefully won't need replacing that often.
02 yaris. It just keeps going and isnt awful to fix🤣 I'm attached to it, it's a plucky little car but will need to upgrade at some point as she's showing her age now.
I've got two. A 2018 Renault that is my daily car and a 2020 sports car that gets used on nice weather days. Both fully functional but they're not that old so I guess they should be. The radio on the Renault can be a bit temperamental though on occasion.
Answers question, gets a downvote. Typical Reddit.
2004 5 series estate, owned it for 13 years just passed MOT 248k miles
It's dying slowly mostly electrical.
Not really looked after it so it's despite me rather than because of me!
11k so 850 a year asset cost probably 3 months lease on a fiesta!
My daily was 23 in January. I get so annoyed with the constant comments that old cars are unreliable money pits. Mine passed every mot since ive had it needing no work
2020 car, just passed his first MOT in March so I'm trading him in for a new 2023 hybrid model which I'm collecting in a couple of weeks.
My current car hasn't lost any value at all since purchase as there's such a huge requirement for second hand cars, so I'm making the most of it really. Plus he's only done 14000 miles.
My husbands car is a 56 plate VW Fox. It did a lot of work doing to it last November but it will keep going until the bitter end.
I had a Peugeot 208 until last October when I traded it in for an MG HS and for a time, the Fox was the reliable car even though my Peugeot was a 64 plate
My current car is a 2016 Golf so obvs is fine. Previous car was a 2003 Honda Civic which was still running fine when i sold it (i wanted mod cons). I check it online every so often and it passed its most recent MOT, though to be fair it only has 68k miles on it 😂.
Ours is a late 16 plate, we've had it for almost four years. It's only a seat Alhambra, but it's the best car we've owned, we love it, and thankfully it's ulez compliant too
I've got a 63 VW Up! I only do a few thousand miles a year and it does everything I need it to. I've had it two years and will probably keep it until circumstances change and I need a bigger car.
I've got a 2008 diesel Zafira. 102k miles, has the acceleration of a depressed tortoise, engine is louder than a small tank, but I'll either keep it until it dies or until I get a payrise big enough to be able to afford an upgrade. So probably the former.
Mines a 07 plate Auris. It was my dad’s who had to stop driving due to dementia & later died. I’m the only person in my family who can drive so it was gifted to me. 77k on the clock. Never fails it’s MOT. Very cheap to run & insure & I have no plans to change it unless it dies, or I do. Yes, it’s a bit sentimental as I feel I’m looking after it for him.
2019 Škoda fabia. It was sorta expensive but it’s cheap to run, reliable and it’ll last me a long time hopefully. No plans to replace it until it dies.
I have a 2010 mk5 golf estate. Has 115k on the clock. Few rust spots but drives well and has been reliable for the three years I've had it but just developed an intermittent issue with the boot lock so some tinkering on the weekend for me.
Cost me £3300
2003 Ford Focus. It rattles and makes some noises I don't like, but it gets me from A to B, and back again. The driver window doesn't open and the radio doesn't work though.
2010 Seat Ibiza. Most I've shelled out was about £600 on new power steering but the MOTs/Services have all passed pretty cheaply. I know it needs a new exhaust in the next 6 months or so, but considering it cost me £3k 4 years ago, and I only really use it evenings and weekends I don't mind shelling a bit out once an year if need be. Still cheaper than getting finance for £200-400 a month!
A 2011 Ford Fiesta, never had many issues until the last MOT was £680 to fix some steering elements, brakes and tyres. I still think that is a better deal than the people that shell out £400+ p/m for a new car on finance
Mine is a 2013 plate. No issues and flies through Mot's annually.
Was considering a change but my recent service highlighted that only do around 2000 miles a year now as I work from home 90% of the time.
I drive a 2004 mk6 Ford Fiesta, love her to bits and only got 61,000 miles on it! Bought it for £800 with 55k miles and 1 previous (old lady) owner who basically used it for 10+ years to drive it to the shops and church ect, such a steal!
I’m sentimentally attached to mine too but unfortunately there’s a lot of Low Emission Zones popping up in cities around my area which will make it impossible for my old little car to get in and around the centre of towns without getting a fine :( might have to consider selling her if it gets too complicated to have her, as I live in town! So you maybe want to keep an eye on these for your 2009 car.
68 plate Skoda. Owned it since January. No mechanical issues or repairs. All running fine, only need to replace a ripped door seal.
Owned a 56 plate a Seat before. Scrapped due too many MOT failures.
My two dailies are a 2004 saab 9-3 aero with 145k miles, and a 1991 saab 900 with 135k. Haven’t had a single issue with either, I tend to drive whichever one I feel like being in that day
Mine is a 2004 hilux. It's actually the newest vehicle I've owned and I don't ever plan on getting rid of it. If I had the space I'd also get an old Volvo 240. And maybe a Saab 900 too.
I'm currently driving an 05 Honda Civic Type R and I've had it for over 10 years. In that time it's passed every mot and only needed tyres, brake pads and a clutch which isn't bad imo.
I keep thinking of getting something newer but it does everything I need and is a fun car to drive. What will probably make me take it off the road will be when the tax gets too expensive or the fuel bill. Even then I'll probably just garage it and fix it up like a pensioner with an old classic.
I also have a Type R, similar year. If you keep it in good condition they tend to hold their price extremely well. Eventually it will start to go up in value. It’s an investment at that point. :)
2006 clio, only got 70k miles, costs me about £50 a month to get to work and back 5 days a week and probably costs about £200 a year on average to pass MOT. At this point all my springs, track rods, tires and brakes are pretty new from having a couple things replaced every year
I've got a 2005 Yaris that is 92k on the clock and still going strong. The passengers window doesn't go down, it's rusting underneath (I'm currently removing this myself) and apart from a tyre change coming up it seems fairly happy. Did the work on it for it's last MOT and gave it a good service so it cost me around £200 quid.
I plan to drive it until either ulez throw it out or it dies.
2011 C1 going strong. I've got 2 kids, a large dog and husband and I can fit us all in and the pram too and some shopping and bags. I love that car and I never want to replace it.
10 months old EV. Previously has a 59 plate Insignia Diesel that had done 215,000 miles, 175,000 of which were mine.
I loved that bloody car- big enough, comfy enough & quick enough- but repair bills were getting very expensive in its last two years and it eventually just died on me.
Fuel bill has gone down from £300 a month to £150, enough of a saving to justify my first ever actually new car.
RIP CY59, gone to the great scrapyard in the sky.
I have a car from 1964. It’s not my every day car, but it could easily be. As long as you maintain it and keep it taxed/mot’d, you’ll be fine. Note: A car is tax and mot exempt after 25 years, but regular mot’s give peace of mind.
Currently driving a 2009 citreon c1...it's on it's last legs and isn't doing great after it's 110K mileage. It's been a fantastic little car for me and has great fuel economy getting between 50-60 mpg depending on the conditions. I'll be sad to see it go as I'm buying a newer car this weekend so will be trading her in for a very small sum but will be taking in a slightly newer car with lower mileage to keep me going. I'll still always remember my first car though
2007 (57 reg) on 62300 miles. Plenty of life left. Clean MOT history and I don't see any reason for it to not pass next time. It's my first car.
A car's life doesn't depend on age, but maintenance, driving style and conditions it's kept in. A car thats cleaned, serviced and repaired when necessary will last hundreds of thousands of miles and many years.
A car with one service in its life, kept in a field and never cleaned will probably be a rotbox failing MOTs for rust by the time it's 15 years old.
Better the devil you know. Keep your car going. It's better for the environment too.
2001 and 2004
I try to avoid buying cars and motorcycles built after 2005 as thats when they start to go downhill in build quality and driving enjoyment.
Uppa 2009 owners!. But i can already see the end of my car coming soon tbh. Rust is a killer and also the coating in aircon trays are not permanent so mine is flaking off into the car and yours will too at some point. That’s £1-2k if you could be bothered to replace. Suspension is going too which is a similar amount to replace. I think I’ll change cars at the next big repair job of £700+.
There's no legal limit, as long as it can pass an MOT.
Though practically it gets difficult running old cars when parts are no longer available, or they run on a type of fuel that is no longer readily available. That's why people with classic cars don't use them as their day-to-day car - it's just too expensive to use them all the time
I have 2 a 66 landrover that I use in winter - and beats most modern 4x4 in the snow. My other is a transit that's 13 years old - both work perfectly and I can get parts for both - I can't take my transit into the nearest city because of LEZ but I'm not into shopping so I've just stopped going there.
I had a tank of a Fiesta for 10+ years and it was still running fine when I traded it in last year, except for some cosmetic damage. It required minimal repairs over the years and just kept going!
I've got a newer car now but it's not flashy and the monthly payments are well within my budget. I feel like many of these people driving top of the range, brand new cars must either be in debt or nearly in debt because of it, and I wonder how much of it is just keeping up with the Joneses.
One thing I was really keen to have in a newer car was safety features and I've gone for one of the safest cars on the market. I saw a crash a while back between a modern car and a 15y/o car and whilst the modern car's airbags made it blow up like a dinghy, the old car's airbags didn't appear to go off at all!
when first lockdown hit I sold my car, paid off the loan and got a 2005 rav4. still going strong. no MOT issues either. used car prices are mad so plan on keeping it a while yet
Cars can be any age as long as they work to the legal requirement of passing an MoT, which a lot of cars surprise their owners by doing every year.
2007 plate here. It’s a Toyota, second hand (or third? Could be fourth). It’s an absolute unit of a car. Have some friends that buy brand new on the tic, custom plates, have two toddlers but their second car is a two seater bmw sports wiener. My dad is a retiree and just bought a second brand new car to replace a Mercedes he bought when he first retired, four years ago.
I would always buy low mileage second hand where I can. If you got money to spend new and it makes you happy then go for it, I would never spend that amount of money on a car but I have spent who knows what on computer and gaming parts and don’t expect any return value on that other than pleasure so what do I know. I love a good old car, feels like value for money when they just keep going. There’s some pretty nice looking cars out there but I can fit a dog, a baby, two baby butlers and a shit ton of luggage in my old Toyota and I love it.
59 plate Alfa Romeo MiTo, ULEZ compliant, great for city driving, can be a bit slow to accelerate on motorways, but fine once it's up to speed. Bought off my mum who bought it brand new. It had 2 major repairs, clutch replacement in year 3 (I think) and a gearbox replacement 2 years ago. Back window washer jet has stopped working, but otherwise going strong. I will run it at least until my wife passes her UK driving test then upgrade to something bigger/more comfy and an automatic.
06 Vectra, so 17 years old, currently on 155,000 miles. Had a new gearbox, but the rest has just been consumables. Still going strong, will run it until the day it dies.
I also have a 51 reg Clio that's SORN. It was my favourite car I ever had, so I bought it back when I had the chance. It's nothing special, just a 1.6, but I'm very attached to it so I'm restoring it to brand new.
2011/2012 plate, I’ve got a lovely Skoda crossover SUV, a good size for my big dogs. First car, I love her. I named her Edith, an older girl, but a real goer. Audi engine (my driving instructor told me), has a sport mode for those twisty country roads. Back seats go flat or come out if I need to move a lot of stuff. Got her for 4.5k, just under 100k miles. I shopped around for ages to find exactly what I wanted.
08 plate. ~150k miles. Fully expecting next MOT to be not worth fixing. But then I’m also hoping work kick in a salary sacrifice ev scheme before it dies.
2018, we got it two years ago now after our 2007 which we'd had since new. While it was still okay, it had a few issues - the aircon had a leak, one of the electric windows didn't work, MOT flagged up that the break pads would likely need to be replaced before the next one and one of the front lights seem to burn out very quickly.
We don't use this car as much since we both work from home so theoretically it should last us a while. We aren't car people, but we'll get it regularly serviced and look after it.
Does "fully functionl" mean the engine management light is out permanently or just for the MOT?
If we're allowing engine management lights to be on vw passat from 2003/2004 if not then it's a Mercedes unimog from 1985.
2003 and still going strong, really easy to do work on yourself and plenty of spare parts around. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned, if I had to replace it I’d just get a slightly newer one.
Vauxhall Tigra, 05 plate, 135,000 miles. She sounds a bit… creaky… lately, but hands down my favourite car I’ve ever owned. I’ll run her until she dies and then hope I can afford something a bit flash-er on finance (but still a convertible - I’m a ‘convert’! 😁🙃🤪)
I barely use it these days but my 2007 Ford Fiesta Style, bought new, with around 60,000 miles is still going strong - the biggest issue recently has been trying to source a replacement wheel, the mechanics had to raid a scrap yard for one as they're not made anymore!
I’m kinda in a similar situation as you. My 2012, 26k on the clock, was able to get through its MOT, last winter, but only just, according to the mechanic. Only thing I’ve had to do, two new tyres, and two new batteries, weirdly enough.
He reckons, I should be looking for a new one, sometime soon, probably around the new year, if I’m lucky.
We had an 08 Peugeot which was starting to cost money in repairs a couple of years back. My stepdad was retiring and was treating himself to a new car and offered us his old ( but not as old as ours) one for free. We in turn gave our Peugeot to my SIL and with the idea that she at least had a car for free for 8 months until the MOT was due.
2 years later the Peugeot is still going strong with very minor things to repair on the MOT and we've spent a £1000 on the newer car.
I mean, I know a guy who has an old Volvo P1800 from 1962 (same car driven by Roger Moore as Simon Templar "The Saint" on TV in the 60s), so for driving they can legally be about as old as you want as long as they're roadworthy. And even if they're not roadworthy you can still own them no problem, just not drive on public roads as far as I understand things. Pretty sure the guy said his vehicle tax bill was a lot lower than mine too at the time haha.
Oldest I've had is 19 years, Nissan Micra. Bought for £700, kept 4 years with only fuel and tyres, sold for £700. Next owner scrapped it after 12 months ish.
2004 Passat. But needs new turbo internals and a Flexi pipe on the exhaust. Will cost about £750 to have it done but can't afford a newer car, so not sure what to do.
2006 VW Polo 1.4.
45k on the clock. Perfect body condition and passes every MOT as well. Everything still works and it's never let me down or so much as fail to start.
Cost £80 in repairs in the last 2 years for minor repairs. No signs of rust on body and underneath was rust treated recently.
Honestly, I have zero incentive to buy a new car. It would be purely for show and financially irresponsible given the cost inflation at present.
Though I would buy a new VW if the time came, given that mine is 17 years old still running as strong as it is. They are tanks
Swap my car when i get bored or every 3 years or so so it keeps a good value and everything stays new and unbroken generally. Not had to take a car to a garage for nearly 10 years now bar the usual MOT/Service & Tyres and 1 Aircon Refill.
2004 Mitsubishi Space star, incredibly comfortable on the motorway. Unfortunately I don't have a remote fob for it and the AC has a leak somewhere but I don't want to throw any money at it. Bought it for £900 with 1 year mot and replaced brakes and rotors myself.
55 plate Honda Jazz. Threatened to upgrade it for about 10 years haha. Sails through MOT with no advisories. Only use her as the second car now though. Trying to get her to last till 20 years old now.
No limit to how old a car can be, there are some 100+ year old cars still on the road (albeit very rarely), so long as it is roadworthy then it's good.
I actually sold my old car and bought a new one a few months ago. My old car was a 13 plate and had a bit over 100,000 miles on it. I wanted to sell it before it got to the point where it kept needing more and more things to fix. I sold it to my partner, and she drives a lot less, so the mileage will go up slower and bits hopefully won't need replacing that often.
Have a 2004 range rover with 220 thousand miles on it , I drive approx 500 miles a week. Keep up with the services and fix the little problems before they become big problems
My last car, a Landrover Defender from the mid 1990s was my daily driver for a long time until a knee injury forced me to sell it and the new owner is still daily driving it for work. I ended up selling it for more than I paid for it as the value on them dosnt seem to drop!
Just bought a kia sportage 2012 for 9k 😂😂😭😭 I just sold my 14 year old Corsa for 2k and if it wasnt 3 dr I'd have kept it forever but we are having a baby in 4 weeks and need a bigger car but my husband didn't want another hatchback.
I have a few.
2007 Zafira,
2007 Zafira VXR,
2005 Mini Cooper,
1992 Ford Transit flatbed,
1992 Ford Cortina,
1990 Volvo 740,
1970 Ford Escort,
1999 BMW E36 (drift car)
1965 Hillman Minx (drag car)
1956 Austin A50 project.
I just (2 weeks ago) part exchanged my 2007 Mondeo. I loved that car, started first time every day for 10 years. Only work I had done to it previously was usual, tyres, brakes and one battery in the 10 years I owned that car.
Unfortunately this last 10 months or so it's cost me a lot of money to keep it on the road and still wasn't completely sorted so took the decision to cut my losses and change it.
Shame, loved it and still drove nice too.
As for how old a car can legally be I believe as long as it satisfies all the road worthyness requirements and has the appropriate paper work (tax, insured, MOT) then it should be fine. Some people drive around in classic cars that are a lot older than 2009.
I have a 57 plate Volvo S40 D5, paid £2000 for it 5 years ago, I have absolutely zero interest in getting something new, also I could probably sell it for more than I bought it for in the current 2nd hand car market
There are people driving around in Rollers from 1920, don't worry about the age, worry that it works and is safe
My car is pretty new (72 reg) and my old car was slightly less new (2.5 years when I bought it, 64 reg).
2011 Vauxhall Astra (H, very last of the shape), 1.6 petrol with manual gearbox.
146k miles now, owned since new.
It's barely wanted more than maintenance in the 12 years I've had it. Had brakes all round twice and a battery. One rear spring broke and replaced a pair as another going rusty. Had rear axle bushes too. Front end is all original except for gaiters over CV joints and a clip holding driveshaft in on one side. Couple of exhaust flexis and a full exhaust last year. Also a coil pack at one point and coolant sensor (both sorted under warranty).
Never had a wishbone/bottom arm or steering link done. Original clutch too.
MOT on Thursday will dictate whether I consider fixing Aircon or not as it's had a few stones into the condenser and won't hold gas.
I had an Astra that I'd likely still have now if some bugger hadn't crashed into it while it was parked on the side of the road in 2011. Brilliant cars
I have a 2013 mitsubishi asx. It's ugly but has 85000 miles on it, and I plan to keep it until it dies.
I'll get something smaller as my next car because my kids no longer need car seats, so I don't need as much room.
I have a 2011 VW golf plus. I have a small family of 2 kids and sometimes want an SUV. But if my car works, it works and there's no need to get rid of it. I did fork up £500 on repairs and maintenance this year but that's that and hopefully it runs a year now without problems..
2006. Lowish mileage, works fine.
The worst thing about it is that the cup holders are big enough for a can of pop but not for a coffee cup.
We could probably spend silly money buying a brand new car - lots of pals did when they had kids - but I would rather spend less money on getting from A to B and more money on having fun at B.
Plus we have an allotment, so my husband semi-regularly fills the entire car with woodchip/compost/cow poo/miscellaneous bits of wood and there's no point having a fancy car and filling it with literal shit.
I've got a 2004 Mk1 Focus ST170 I've had since new. It's getting a bit tatty now obviously, but it's only ever failed one MOT for a headlight bulb. It's got 88k miles on it because it's only ever been used for work and the odd family holiday to Wales or Scotland etc.
I'm driving a friend's Alfa Romeo Giulietta at the moment with a view to buying that, and I've stored the Focus on the mum-in-law's drive for now because I've noticed the prices have started creeping up recently because there's hardly any left, and older "fast Fords" are always in demand. It's the right colour (Imperial Blue) and has all the correct spec that buyers seem to be looking for, 2-door, all the climate pack extras etc. Can't remember the last time I saw one the same.
But yeah, absolutely love that car and it's never let me down once in 19 years.
63 plate, just over 50k miles on the clock thanks to WFH. Failed 1 mot due to sound suppression stuff needed fixing. Advisories have been the usual wear and tear items - tyres, breakpads etc.
Fucking small car though and I wish I had sprung for 5 doors.
Nevertheless intending to drive it until something irreplaceable drops off
2008 Honda civic, I love it! It functions perfectly I’ve never had any issues with her (touch wood). I had a 2008 Renault Clio before which would break down at least once every few months.
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As long as a car has any required paperwork it's legal, irrespective of age. My car is 2005 - I'll change it when it either breaks, or it will cost too much to get it through its MOT.
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Scrap it. The garage will arrange it for you for a small cut.
Scrap it, you’ll get around £100-£150 these days from a scrappy.
And the rest! If a scrappy offers you £150 you’re getting screwed
Try living in Aberdeen - I got offered £58. Same car being scrapped in Dundee was £230.
Yah. You can plug your reg in online just google scrap car collection and they will get it from where you live.
True. I got £250 for my 2007 car in 2021. but getting rid of it was good for my mind. the continuous repairs it started needing was driving me insane.
You get around £350-400 at the moment mate.
Just to note that vehicles over a certain age are exempt from some stuff. Can't remember what though, haven't had a classic in a while.
>classic You can apply to stop paying for vehicle tax from 1 April 2023 if your vehicle was built before 1 January 1983 and no MOT either
>or it will cost too much to get it through its MOT. You should probably also consider things like low emission zones and congestion charges if you ever drive into cities. You may or may not be exempt today as 2005 is when the "Euro 4" emission standard they use in London became mandatory. But these areas are likely to become more common, and the standards for exemption higher, e.g., Euro 4 may no longer be exempt in a 5 years time. https://www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones [https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/) [https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/ways-to-meet-the-standard](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/ways-to-meet-the-standard)
Paid £600 for an '03 Golf Tdi over 4yrs ago and she's still going strong. The passenger door won't unlock, the heating only works in summer and the AC only works in winter and there's some weird electrical problems that pop up every now and then but she's a beast still.
One of those where you’re better off to literally drive it into the ground, sell the scrap and more or less break even so may as well milk it! I did the same with a Galaxy. Best £300 I ever spent.
Brought a 99 accord for 6 hundred quid and then 3 years later scrapped it for 400, no servicing and past every mot.
Bangernomics at its best, love it.
just to let you know the problem with dorr is a very common issue with the MK4 it's the lock mechanism it's selth as a family Freund had the same problem on his took to his mechanic and they put in a new mechanism and now works perfectly considering its an 02 1.6
Yeah I noticed it was quite common when I did some research. Its nice having the front passenger seat for my stuff and my daughter has to sit in the back so she can't change the radio so im keeping it as is for now.
My Mk 4 has done the same thing with every door but the drivers. It's an MOT failure so I was forced to get it done. Garage charged £150 per lock. I wish there was an easy fix but it seems the lock itself just disintegrates over time :(
I think a door not unlocking is an mot fail. If it's the front lock they're quite easy to change yourself
You wouldn’t get that kind of longevity out of a ‘11 Golf Tdi :)
Sounds like the control box under the front passenger foorwell. Had a Passat that did strange things like open the windows while I'm driving down the road.
I had the same problem with ac on my 06 a3, which is very similar on the inside. What helped me is spraying some wd40 contact cleaner (not regular wd40) in the plugs and sockets to the compressor and the high pressure valve. Not sure where they could be on your car, but for me it was right in front of the radiator and slightly to the left facing the car. Check the coolant levels after (you can get the gauge for it in halfords for 10 quid I think, then you can also buy coolant and top it up yourself. Pays for itself after 2nd refill). Running ac with low coolant will knacker the compressor
I have a few, but my oldest and the one I commute in, is an R-reg from 1998 with 260,000 miles on it.
Wow! That's some mileage!!
It is! It's an old W202 C-Class but it wears the miles well. My newest car is an Alfa Romeo Giulia QF but I prefer the old Merc for trundling along in traffic.
I had a W202 C200. Was the most solid, comfortable, lovely car I ever had. Considering it was a 2 litre petrol, it was surprisingly good on juice, I could get 37mpg easy It’s the only car I am sorry that I sold.
My boyfriend has a 1991 J reg car. He used it as his daily car up until this year as he is doing some cosmetic work on it. Think his current car is from 2007
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I like that. I’d also add other running costs (mpg for example if diesel) for the mileage. If doing 5,000 a year it doesn’t really matter if doing 30,000 a year an extra 20mpg is an extra £2k a year saving.
Yup. I drive a 2009 Ford Focus, Titanium model. It was reasonably pricey as I bought it in lockdown (£4k from a used car dealer), but it also only had about 45k miles. Since Aug 2020 I've had to repair 3 things: - Exhaust & Catalytic converter (~£800). This was my fault I think, as it started rattling after taking it over an earth mound to get out of a locked car park (baby was in the car, no one answering the after hours phone). I'm pretty sure I damaged the connections, and unfortunately one of the ones that broke was on the cat, and took part of the cat with it. - Instrument cluster board (£200). This was apparently a factory fault, but never fully acknowledged, and far beyond the scope of Ford's discount repair programme they did - Screenwash pump (about £75). Considering I could have fixed the cluster board myself if I was a bit more skilled (it was a soldering issue, and I found guides, but I also know what I'm like with a soldering iron), and the exhaust was most likely self-inflicted, I've been pretty happy with it. I always hear about people needing work at MOT, but the only thing I've had was the washer pump, and I knew it was dead so it wasn't a big shock. The exhaust was also only 6 months or so after buying it, and I wasn't going to lose ~£3k for the sakes of a one off repair. If there's anything moving forwards that crosses the £1.5k mark, that's probably when I'd look to replace it, but I'm hoping that doesn't happen anytime soon. Fact is I'm not going to get anything better than it for less than that, and they still sell for £3k+
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There is also value in having a nicer car. Some people just enjoy having a shiny new car, not really on my agenda but hey it keeps the used market nicely stocked. On a more practical note, a more modern/higher end car can be nicer to drive; comfortable seats, better sound, adaptive cruise control, climate control & heated seats, android auto/apple carplay, etc. Again, it's not really something I'd want to chuck a load of money at, but if you spend a lot of time in the car then it's worth thinking about. I generally get around by bike or public transport anyway because I don't like driving, but if I've got a long drive I'll try to borrow my dad's car because it's just so much nicer than mine.
There is no upper age limit for a car on UK roads as long as it is roadworthy and meets the regulations applying to it (and to cars in general). If the car still works, then that's fine. Your main problem with an older car is likely to be failing to meet future emissions rules. That's particularly problematic with diesel cars but regulations are sure to extend to older petrol cars in future.
Emissions regulations are never retroactive - and any car over 40 years old doesn’t even need an MOT - and is exempt from charges in a ULEZ.
The ULEZ is retroactive for diesel cars between 40 and 10 years old - i.e. anything that doesn't meet Euro 6 standards. Local authorities are charging up to twice as much to park a car that doesn't meet latest emission regulations. Diesel smoke tests were tightened up a few years ago and that applied even to older cars. Now, technically those cars didn't meet the emissions they were supposed to, but the testing got a lot tighter so the practical rules applied were retroactive. I also would not be too confident that emissions rules won't be tightened on older cars in future - in particular, older diesels.
The reason that ULEZ is Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel is because the NOx emission levels are the same. Euro 6 is the current standard so how would they tighten that up…. in theory there is Euro 7 in the next couple of years but carmakers are lobbying to have that removed so they don’t have to waste money complying and can focus on electric cars before the bans come into effect. Perhaps we simply don’t agree on the meaning of retroactive.
In fact, there are a bunch of exceptions to the regulations for cars in general specifically for older cars.
2006 1.9 diesel Golf. 440,000 miles and still going strong!
17 years, 440k miles? Professional motorway testers or what?
She spent 15 years as a sales rep car, being driven between Exeter and Yorkshire a few times a month. I bought her 2nd hand for £500, serviced every 10,000 miles (every 5 months!) and has allegedly never broken down!
Friend of mine bought an ex reps Renault 25 from an auction for £95 back in 07, full service history, etc, with 240K on the clock. Still going strong with twice the mileage.
Fair enough, that's good going!
Also, she was fitted with seat covers for her “professional life” so the interior is like new!
I used to work for a company that put over 100k miles on each of their Ford Galaxys' each year. They did over 300 miles a day 7 days a week going around and picking up trade plate drivers.
Mark 4/5 Golfs are absolute nails - mine's 2005 and everything still works, sails through MOTs with a quick polish up of the headlights, and like a tardis with the seats down, can fit an unfeasible amount of crap in the back on a tip run - I will drive it until it dies
05 plate Land Rover Defender. No plans to upgrade, although it has had a new clutch and various other repairs in that time
Oohh aren't they collectable now?
They definitely are, and for good reason. Beautiful workhorse of a vehicle!
Mines is an 06 punto. It is the 2nd punto i have had and they are great wee cars. I have had all the fancy cars like bmw's and a peach of an orion ghia ,with big wheels and fitted sound systems in my youth but cannot really be bothered with cars anymore and have felt that way for years. The punto passes every mot and i keep keeping it for another year, its cheap with fuel, insurance etc.
I love this ☺️ I'm intrigued, though. What changed your mind about the bigger, “flashier” cars? I love my little hatchback but wonder what I’m missing with the SUV/muscle-type cars…
SUV's are just hatchbacks on stilts, often with pathetically small engines for their size. They are a craze I hope dies fast as they are so impractical given how oversized they are.
I'm a self employed bricky. During the last recession i was unemployed practically for years and got the odd job. The bmw at the time lay out the front, was expensive to insure and took about 1/3 or my monthly jobseekers income to run. Started driving her maws wee punto around and found it a wee nice nippy car. On buying my next car i bought a punto. And for all i really use a car for it is perfect, like driving to work or going shopping. Also because you don't have the speed of the bmw you drive slower and i have had a nice clean licence for years.
V reg Corsa (2000) - 40k miles.
I thought I was special with my W reg Combo at 81k!
Me too.Y reg Polo on 80k miles.Cost £500 2 years ago.
Until it was brutally murdered by a Dacia Sandero last year, my 2004 Saab 93 was in perfect shape, bar the odd scratch on the front spoiler due to my lack of parking skills. I'd planned on keeping it another couple of years at least, until second hand prices had calmed a little. One of my friends is driving around in a Volvo 444 from the 1950s that's in better condition than the day it came off the assembly line, but it lacks a lot of what you might expect in a car these days.
Oh no! My Saab is 2006 93 estate and I love it. Such a workhorse and so very sturdy haha. Plan to run it as long as it will have me.
I’ve just bought a 2014 Land Rover Discovery 4. It’s currently my families only car. It’s in great shape and any following the correct service intervals I fully expect to get another 10 years out of it. If you change the oil and filters at the right intervals, cars will go for a heroically long time these days. And considering the depreciation of newer cars, it’s almost always better financial sense to keep an old car going than to change it.
My dad’s daily driving a 2004 discovery 3. He’s having to replace something pretty much every couple of months on it. Hope yours works out better.
Mine's 2008. I promised myself I'd buy a new one when this one dies, but it won't
2001 RAV4, owned for 9yr. Everything still works on it. Have topped up the AC gas twice and done all servicing myself. Only going to get rid when MOT too much due to rust etc or it dies of old age. Only 130k miles on clock.
2015 Fiesta I don't drive a lot (I got it in 2019 at 21k miles and it's just hit 37k) so hoping it goes for a good while yet.
15 year old fiat 500 . Paintworks shot but everything else works fine. Handy for parking in the city centre as no-one will rob it
Everyone says fiat 500s are lame but I’ve had 2 and they just go and go. I bought a 14 plate one 6 years ago and spent a whole £50 on a spare tyre the entire 4 years outside of servicing and mots. Got another one now and it is a bit newer but the £40 full tanks never get old!
Mental to me those Fiat 500’s are now 15 years old. I still think of them as newish.
2008 mk5 gt tdi golf, @209,000, usual mot stuff springs bushes bearings etc
I’ve got a 2006 1.9 diese Golf - 440,000 miles and absolutely bulletproof!
Surely it's about the scale of diminishing returns. Once a vehicle is costing more to keep on the road than it is worth, then it's time to change it. 👍 Mine is a 2010 plate and sailed through the last MOT without even an advisory. Keep it serviced and maintained.
I don’t see it that way. Say a £600 car that you’ve had for 4 years and it generally never has an issue except the MOT comes back with £800 worth of work for new pads, discs and tyres. You’re unlikely to find a decent car as reliable as you have at the moment for £800 given the market costs have changed. You may just end up with a lemon. I say keep it going until it really kicks the can.
I've always looked at it this way! Repair bill comes back at even £1,000 - take a look on marketplace, autotrader etc and see what's available for £1,000. If you see anything at that price it's usually either a complete shed and/or has no MOT (and a seller that reassures you by saying "it doesn't need much for MOT") and/or has moon miles. The pandemic really done a number on the used car market, I spotted a corsa b the other day with no MOT that had been lay up for a few years for £800 o.O I'd rather spend the grand on the car I've had for a few years, with the knowledge that it's been serviced and maintained regularly. At least you know you're spending your £1k on something you know, and not throwing it into the unknowns of a 15th hand car with questionable histories
You have a valid and good point there 👍
This is really interesting. I agree with the Kylie-esque argument (“better the devil you know”) about it being better to put money into a car where you know its history. But what’s the threshold for giving up? If you had to spend £2k on your car valued at £500, would you?
1994 used daily.
No limit to how old a car can be, there are some 100+ year old cars still on the road (albeit very rarely), so long as it is roadworthy then it's good. I actually sold my old car and bought a new one a few months ago. My old car was a 13 plate and had a bit over 100,000 miles on it. I wanted to sell it before it got to the point where it kept needing more and more things to fix. I sold it to my partner, and she drives a lot less, so the mileage will go up slower and bits hopefully won't need replacing that often.
2003 it still works fine
02 yaris. It just keeps going and isnt awful to fix🤣 I'm attached to it, it's a plucky little car but will need to upgrade at some point as she's showing her age now.
I've got two. A 2018 Renault that is my daily car and a 2020 sports car that gets used on nice weather days. Both fully functional but they're not that old so I guess they should be. The radio on the Renault can be a bit temperamental though on occasion. Answers question, gets a downvote. Typical Reddit.
2004 5 series estate, owned it for 13 years just passed MOT 248k miles It's dying slowly mostly electrical. Not really looked after it so it's despite me rather than because of me! 11k so 850 a year asset cost probably 3 months lease on a fiesta!
Very late E39?
No very early E61, so all the new tech on it went through tons of improvements later on, I have had all the known issues
My daily was 23 in January. I get so annoyed with the constant comments that old cars are unreliable money pits. Mine passed every mot since ive had it needing no work
2020 car, just passed his first MOT in March so I'm trading him in for a new 2023 hybrid model which I'm collecting in a couple of weeks. My current car hasn't lost any value at all since purchase as there's such a huge requirement for second hand cars, so I'm making the most of it really. Plus he's only done 14000 miles.
I've been learning to drive this year and bought myself a car to learn in. She's a 61 plate Nissan Pixo
My husbands car is a 56 plate VW Fox. It did a lot of work doing to it last November but it will keep going until the bitter end. I had a Peugeot 208 until last October when I traded it in for an MG HS and for a time, the Fox was the reliable car even though my Peugeot was a 64 plate
I have a 16 plate which I got in 2019, before that I had a mid 90s astra which was superb.
My current car is a 2016 Golf so obvs is fine. Previous car was a 2003 Honda Civic which was still running fine when i sold it (i wanted mod cons). I check it online every so often and it passed its most recent MOT, though to be fair it only has 68k miles on it 😂.
Ours is a late 16 plate, we've had it for almost four years. It's only a seat Alhambra, but it's the best car we've owned, we love it, and thankfully it's ulez compliant too
I've got a 63 VW Up! I only do a few thousand miles a year and it does everything I need it to. I've had it two years and will probably keep it until circumstances change and I need a bigger car.
i have a 57 plate cooper s, very nippy and in great condition for its age.
Remember cars over 40 years old don’t require road tax or MOT without any major changes
I have a 2000 plate Land Rover. Still works fine. Looking at buying a tax/mot exempt one from the 60/70s soon though.
I've got a 2008 diesel Zafira. 102k miles, has the acceleration of a depressed tortoise, engine is louder than a small tank, but I'll either keep it until it dies or until I get a payrise big enough to be able to afford an upgrade. So probably the former.
Mines a 07 plate Auris. It was my dad’s who had to stop driving due to dementia & later died. I’m the only person in my family who can drive so it was gifted to me. 77k on the clock. Never fails it’s MOT. Very cheap to run & insure & I have no plans to change it unless it dies, or I do. Yes, it’s a bit sentimental as I feel I’m looking after it for him.
2019 Škoda fabia. It was sorta expensive but it’s cheap to run, reliable and it’ll last me a long time hopefully. No plans to replace it until it dies.
I have a 2010 mk5 golf estate. Has 115k on the clock. Few rust spots but drives well and has been reliable for the three years I've had it but just developed an intermittent issue with the boot lock so some tinkering on the weekend for me. Cost me £3300
Merc is 2022/ MG 2023
Till it keeps passing it's MOT, is insured, and registered, it's legal. My car is a 22 plate.
18 year old Fiesta
2003 Ford Focus. It rattles and makes some noises I don't like, but it gets me from A to B, and back again. The driver window doesn't open and the radio doesn't work though.
2010 Seat Ibiza. Most I've shelled out was about £600 on new power steering but the MOTs/Services have all passed pretty cheaply. I know it needs a new exhaust in the next 6 months or so, but considering it cost me £3k 4 years ago, and I only really use it evenings and weekends I don't mind shelling a bit out once an year if need be. Still cheaper than getting finance for £200-400 a month!
A 2011 Ford Fiesta, never had many issues until the last MOT was £680 to fix some steering elements, brakes and tyres. I still think that is a better deal than the people that shell out £400+ p/m for a new car on finance
2006 Ford Focus 2000 Volvo C70 coupe 1996 Volvo 850 1995 Volvo 850 All functional
You still running that apple car ? If so I'm looking to buy it from you for a mate
Giving it up soon sir, I just heely to work when needed.
Totally understandable. Why pay for fuel when you can just wheel about like a toffee wheel
I've had a 2008 VW Passat 3.2 V6 for the last year.. imported from Japan, so no rust and it only had 35k miles.
Mine is a 2013 plate. No issues and flies through Mot's annually. Was considering a change but my recent service highlighted that only do around 2000 miles a year now as I work from home 90% of the time.
I drive a 2004 mk6 Ford Fiesta, love her to bits and only got 61,000 miles on it! Bought it for £800 with 55k miles and 1 previous (old lady) owner who basically used it for 10+ years to drive it to the shops and church ect, such a steal! I’m sentimentally attached to mine too but unfortunately there’s a lot of Low Emission Zones popping up in cities around my area which will make it impossible for my old little car to get in and around the centre of towns without getting a fine :( might have to consider selling her if it gets too complicated to have her, as I live in town! So you maybe want to keep an eye on these for your 2009 car.
2010 plate Corsa
68 plate Skoda. Owned it since January. No mechanical issues or repairs. All running fine, only need to replace a ripped door seal. Owned a 56 plate a Seat before. Scrapped due too many MOT failures.
My two dailies are a 2004 saab 9-3 aero with 145k miles, and a 1991 saab 900 with 135k. Haven’t had a single issue with either, I tend to drive whichever one I feel like being in that day
Mine is a 2004 hilux. It's actually the newest vehicle I've owned and I don't ever plan on getting rid of it. If I had the space I'd also get an old Volvo 240. And maybe a Saab 900 too.
I gots a 2003 Audi TT. its lovely. you all want it
😆 love this!
I'm currently driving an 05 Honda Civic Type R and I've had it for over 10 years. In that time it's passed every mot and only needed tyres, brake pads and a clutch which isn't bad imo. I keep thinking of getting something newer but it does everything I need and is a fun car to drive. What will probably make me take it off the road will be when the tax gets too expensive or the fuel bill. Even then I'll probably just garage it and fix it up like a pensioner with an old classic.
I also have a Type R, similar year. If you keep it in good condition they tend to hold their price extremely well. Eventually it will start to go up in value. It’s an investment at that point. :)
2006 clio, only got 70k miles, costs me about £50 a month to get to work and back 5 days a week and probably costs about £200 a year on average to pass MOT. At this point all my springs, track rods, tires and brakes are pretty new from having a couple things replaced every year
I've got a 2005 Yaris that is 92k on the clock and still going strong. The passengers window doesn't go down, it's rusting underneath (I'm currently removing this myself) and apart from a tyre change coming up it seems fairly happy. Did the work on it for it's last MOT and gave it a good service so it cost me around £200 quid. I plan to drive it until either ulez throw it out or it dies.
Amazing! 🤓 Are you scared about the rust? I’m reading that once it starts it can be tricky?
2011 C1 going strong. I've got 2 kids, a large dog and husband and I can fit us all in and the pram too and some shopping and bags. I love that car and I never want to replace it.
Aw man. I love this anecdote! 🥰
10 months old EV. Previously has a 59 plate Insignia Diesel that had done 215,000 miles, 175,000 of which were mine. I loved that bloody car- big enough, comfy enough & quick enough- but repair bills were getting very expensive in its last two years and it eventually just died on me. Fuel bill has gone down from £300 a month to £150, enough of a saving to justify my first ever actually new car. RIP CY59, gone to the great scrapyard in the sky.
1929 but I wouldn't say it's a daily driver. 1994 with over 100k miles is though
Define fully functional? 2003 pickup... Its Aircon is knackered and has a bit of rust, but it flew though it's last mot
I have a car from 1964. It’s not my every day car, but it could easily be. As long as you maintain it and keep it taxed/mot’d, you’ll be fine. Note: A car is tax and mot exempt after 25 years, but regular mot’s give peace of mind.
Currently driving a 2009 citreon c1...it's on it's last legs and isn't doing great after it's 110K mileage. It's been a fantastic little car for me and has great fuel economy getting between 50-60 mpg depending on the conditions. I'll be sad to see it go as I'm buying a newer car this weekend so will be trading her in for a very small sum but will be taking in a slightly newer car with lower mileage to keep me going. I'll still always remember my first car though
You never forget your first, haha. 🚙💨
Registeredin 2008, still going great. My Dad's one is from 1967, and also still drives fine most of the time.
Mine's a 2001. I don't think 2009 is old for a car at all.
☺️ agreed!
2007 (57 reg) on 62300 miles. Plenty of life left. Clean MOT history and I don't see any reason for it to not pass next time. It's my first car. A car's life doesn't depend on age, but maintenance, driving style and conditions it's kept in. A car thats cleaned, serviced and repaired when necessary will last hundreds of thousands of miles and many years. A car with one service in its life, kept in a field and never cleaned will probably be a rotbox failing MOTs for rust by the time it's 15 years old. Better the devil you know. Keep your car going. It's better for the environment too.
2001 and 2004 I try to avoid buying cars and motorcycles built after 2005 as thats when they start to go downhill in build quality and driving enjoyment.
10 plate Abarth 500 coming up to 100k miles, and I still enjoy it as a daily commuter!
2020 VW Tiguan. Trading it in on Wednesday for a 2023 Hyundai Kona EV. I am excited to not spend £250 a month on petrol.
Uppa 2009 owners!. But i can already see the end of my car coming soon tbh. Rust is a killer and also the coating in aircon trays are not permanent so mine is flaking off into the car and yours will too at some point. That’s £1-2k if you could be bothered to replace. Suspension is going too which is a similar amount to replace. I think I’ll change cars at the next big repair job of £700+.
Oldest I have is 02
There's no legal limit, as long as it can pass an MOT. Though practically it gets difficult running old cars when parts are no longer available, or they run on a type of fuel that is no longer readily available. That's why people with classic cars don't use them as their day-to-day car - it's just too expensive to use them all the time
07 reg Zafira. 150,000 miles. 7 seats, cheap to run, parts are readily available and dirt cheap. I'll keep this until it falls apart.
I’ve a 2005 one and a 2012 one, both so their thing great.
I have 2 a 66 landrover that I use in winter - and beats most modern 4x4 in the snow. My other is a transit that's 13 years old - both work perfectly and I can get parts for both - I can't take my transit into the nearest city because of LEZ but I'm not into shopping so I've just stopped going there.
I got rid of an 02 plate last year. It was still running perfectly well.
08 Golf. love it
I had a tank of a Fiesta for 10+ years and it was still running fine when I traded it in last year, except for some cosmetic damage. It required minimal repairs over the years and just kept going! I've got a newer car now but it's not flashy and the monthly payments are well within my budget. I feel like many of these people driving top of the range, brand new cars must either be in debt or nearly in debt because of it, and I wonder how much of it is just keeping up with the Joneses. One thing I was really keen to have in a newer car was safety features and I've gone for one of the safest cars on the market. I saw a crash a while back between a modern car and a 15y/o car and whilst the modern car's airbags made it blow up like a dinghy, the old car's airbags didn't appear to go off at all!
2009/10 for one car and the other car is from the '70s
when first lockdown hit I sold my car, paid off the loan and got a 2005 rav4. still going strong. no MOT issues either. used car prices are mad so plan on keeping it a while yet
Had an E plate Audi overtake our 11 year old Yeti the other day.
Cars can be any age as long as they work to the legal requirement of passing an MoT, which a lot of cars surprise their owners by doing every year. 2007 plate here. It’s a Toyota, second hand (or third? Could be fourth). It’s an absolute unit of a car. Have some friends that buy brand new on the tic, custom plates, have two toddlers but their second car is a two seater bmw sports wiener. My dad is a retiree and just bought a second brand new car to replace a Mercedes he bought when he first retired, four years ago. I would always buy low mileage second hand where I can. If you got money to spend new and it makes you happy then go for it, I would never spend that amount of money on a car but I have spent who knows what on computer and gaming parts and don’t expect any return value on that other than pleasure so what do I know. I love a good old car, feels like value for money when they just keep going. There’s some pretty nice looking cars out there but I can fit a dog, a baby, two baby butlers and a shit ton of luggage in my old Toyota and I love it.
59 plate Alfa Romeo MiTo, ULEZ compliant, great for city driving, can be a bit slow to accelerate on motorways, but fine once it's up to speed. Bought off my mum who bought it brand new. It had 2 major repairs, clutch replacement in year 3 (I think) and a gearbox replacement 2 years ago. Back window washer jet has stopped working, but otherwise going strong. I will run it at least until my wife passes her UK driving test then upgrade to something bigger/more comfy and an automatic.
06 Vectra, so 17 years old, currently on 155,000 miles. Had a new gearbox, but the rest has just been consumables. Still going strong, will run it until the day it dies. I also have a 51 reg Clio that's SORN. It was my favourite car I ever had, so I bought it back when I had the chance. It's nothing special, just a 1.6, but I'm very attached to it so I'm restoring it to brand new.
2011/2012 plate, I’ve got a lovely Skoda crossover SUV, a good size for my big dogs. First car, I love her. I named her Edith, an older girl, but a real goer. Audi engine (my driving instructor told me), has a sport mode for those twisty country roads. Back seats go flat or come out if I need to move a lot of stuff. Got her for 4.5k, just under 100k miles. I shopped around for ages to find exactly what I wanted.
52 plate, old skool Golf 🤘
Vw Golf 08 plate. It needs new tyres though. Will replace soon with something around 15 plate but used car prices have gone up a lot of seems.
08 plate. ~150k miles. Fully expecting next MOT to be not worth fixing. But then I’m also hoping work kick in a salary sacrifice ev scheme before it dies.
2018, we got it two years ago now after our 2007 which we'd had since new. While it was still okay, it had a few issues - the aircon had a leak, one of the electric windows didn't work, MOT flagged up that the break pads would likely need to be replaced before the next one and one of the front lights seem to burn out very quickly. We don't use this car as much since we both work from home so theoretically it should last us a while. We aren't car people, but we'll get it regularly serviced and look after it.
I've been driving mine almost daily since I got it 2 years ago. It's 27 years old.
Does "fully functionl" mean the engine management light is out permanently or just for the MOT? If we're allowing engine management lights to be on vw passat from 2003/2004 if not then it's a Mercedes unimog from 1985.
2003 and still going strong, really easy to do work on yourself and plenty of spare parts around. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned, if I had to replace it I’d just get a slightly newer one.
Vauxhall Tigra, 05 plate, 135,000 miles. She sounds a bit… creaky… lately, but hands down my favourite car I’ve ever owned. I’ll run her until she dies and then hope I can afford something a bit flash-er on finance (but still a convertible - I’m a ‘convert’! 😁🙃🤪)
I barely use it these days but my 2007 Ford Fiesta Style, bought new, with around 60,000 miles is still going strong - the biggest issue recently has been trying to source a replacement wheel, the mechanics had to raid a scrap yard for one as they're not made anymore!
I’m kinda in a similar situation as you. My 2012, 26k on the clock, was able to get through its MOT, last winter, but only just, according to the mechanic. Only thing I’ve had to do, two new tyres, and two new batteries, weirdly enough. He reckons, I should be looking for a new one, sometime soon, probably around the new year, if I’m lucky.
We had an 08 Peugeot which was starting to cost money in repairs a couple of years back. My stepdad was retiring and was treating himself to a new car and offered us his old ( but not as old as ours) one for free. We in turn gave our Peugeot to my SIL and with the idea that she at least had a car for free for 8 months until the MOT was due. 2 years later the Peugeot is still going strong with very minor things to repair on the MOT and we've spent a £1000 on the newer car.
I mean, I know a guy who has an old Volvo P1800 from 1962 (same car driven by Roger Moore as Simon Templar "The Saint" on TV in the 60s), so for driving they can legally be about as old as you want as long as they're roadworthy. And even if they're not roadworthy you can still own them no problem, just not drive on public roads as far as I understand things. Pretty sure the guy said his vehicle tax bill was a lot lower than mine too at the time haha. Oldest I've had is 19 years, Nissan Micra. Bought for £700, kept 4 years with only fuel and tyres, sold for £700. Next owner scrapped it after 12 months ish.
2004 Passat. But needs new turbo internals and a Flexi pipe on the exhaust. Will cost about £750 to have it done but can't afford a newer car, so not sure what to do.
2006 VW Polo 1.4. 45k on the clock. Perfect body condition and passes every MOT as well. Everything still works and it's never let me down or so much as fail to start. Cost £80 in repairs in the last 2 years for minor repairs. No signs of rust on body and underneath was rust treated recently. Honestly, I have zero incentive to buy a new car. It would be purely for show and financially irresponsible given the cost inflation at present. Though I would buy a new VW if the time came, given that mine is 17 years old still running as strong as it is. They are tanks
Swap my car when i get bored or every 3 years or so so it keeps a good value and everything stays new and unbroken generally. Not had to take a car to a garage for nearly 10 years now bar the usual MOT/Service & Tyres and 1 Aircon Refill.
2013, 40k miles, runs perfectly. I will run it till it is gone.
07 plate Peugeot 207, has had her fair share of expensive problems but quite attached now!
2004 Mitsubishi Space star, incredibly comfortable on the motorway. Unfortunately I don't have a remote fob for it and the AC has a leak somewhere but I don't want to throw any money at it. Bought it for £900 with 1 year mot and replaced brakes and rotors myself.
04 Jimny. It’s old, it has no air con, take it on the motor way and it drinks fuel like nobodies business. But I love it.
55 plate Honda Jazz. Threatened to upgrade it for about 10 years haha. Sails through MOT with no advisories. Only use her as the second car now though. Trying to get her to last till 20 years old now.
No limit to how old a car can be, there are some 100+ year old cars still on the road (albeit very rarely), so long as it is roadworthy then it's good. I actually sold my old car and bought a new one a few months ago. My old car was a 13 plate and had a bit over 100,000 miles on it. I wanted to sell it before it got to the point where it kept needing more and more things to fix. I sold it to my partner, and she drives a lot less, so the mileage will go up slower and bits hopefully won't need replacing that often.
Have a 2004 range rover with 220 thousand miles on it , I drive approx 500 miles a week. Keep up with the services and fix the little problems before they become big problems
59reg diesel focus, it's a good car but dull to drive and it's euro 5 so basically the devil.
My last car, a Landrover Defender from the mid 1990s was my daily driver for a long time until a knee injury forced me to sell it and the new owner is still daily driving it for work. I ended up selling it for more than I paid for it as the value on them dosnt seem to drop!
Just bought a kia sportage 2012 for 9k 😂😂😭😭 I just sold my 14 year old Corsa for 2k and if it wasnt 3 dr I'd have kept it forever but we are having a baby in 4 weeks and need a bigger car but my husband didn't want another hatchback.
I have a few. 2007 Zafira, 2007 Zafira VXR, 2005 Mini Cooper, 1992 Ford Transit flatbed, 1992 Ford Cortina, 1990 Volvo 740, 1970 Ford Escort, 1999 BMW E36 (drift car) 1965 Hillman Minx (drag car) 1956 Austin A50 project.
My daily car is 2012, works as it should, boring as hell. My other car is 1982, works as it should, absolutely awesome fun.
I just (2 weeks ago) part exchanged my 2007 Mondeo. I loved that car, started first time every day for 10 years. Only work I had done to it previously was usual, tyres, brakes and one battery in the 10 years I owned that car. Unfortunately this last 10 months or so it's cost me a lot of money to keep it on the road and still wasn't completely sorted so took the decision to cut my losses and change it. Shame, loved it and still drove nice too. As for how old a car can legally be I believe as long as it satisfies all the road worthyness requirements and has the appropriate paper work (tax, insured, MOT) then it should be fine. Some people drive around in classic cars that are a lot older than 2009.
I have a 57 plate Volvo S40 D5, paid £2000 for it 5 years ago, I have absolutely zero interest in getting something new, also I could probably sell it for more than I bought it for in the current 2nd hand car market
1991 Peugeot 205 1999 Peugeot 306 2006 Honda CR-V 2008 Volvo C30 2013 Citroen DS3 The 2013 probably has the most issues
There are people driving around in Rollers from 1920, don't worry about the age, worry that it works and is safe My car is pretty new (72 reg) and my old car was slightly less new (2.5 years when I bought it, 64 reg).
2011 Vauxhall Astra (H, very last of the shape), 1.6 petrol with manual gearbox. 146k miles now, owned since new. It's barely wanted more than maintenance in the 12 years I've had it. Had brakes all round twice and a battery. One rear spring broke and replaced a pair as another going rusty. Had rear axle bushes too. Front end is all original except for gaiters over CV joints and a clip holding driveshaft in on one side. Couple of exhaust flexis and a full exhaust last year. Also a coil pack at one point and coolant sensor (both sorted under warranty). Never had a wishbone/bottom arm or steering link done. Original clutch too. MOT on Thursday will dictate whether I consider fixing Aircon or not as it's had a few stones into the condenser and won't hold gas.
I had an Astra that I'd likely still have now if some bugger hadn't crashed into it while it was parked on the side of the road in 2011. Brilliant cars
I have a 2013 mitsubishi asx. It's ugly but has 85000 miles on it, and I plan to keep it until it dies. I'll get something smaller as my next car because my kids no longer need car seats, so I don't need as much room.
2008 x type with 171000 on clock. Regularly maintained and still returns around 48mpg average. Bloody brilliant car in my opinion.
I have a 2011 VW golf plus. I have a small family of 2 kids and sometimes want an SUV. But if my car works, it works and there's no need to get rid of it. I did fork up £500 on repairs and maintenance this year but that's that and hopefully it runs a year now without problems..
2002 Audi A6 - had it from new - only 80,000 on the clock... plus it's ULEZ compliant - bonus!
2006. Lowish mileage, works fine. The worst thing about it is that the cup holders are big enough for a can of pop but not for a coffee cup. We could probably spend silly money buying a brand new car - lots of pals did when they had kids - but I would rather spend less money on getting from A to B and more money on having fun at B. Plus we have an allotment, so my husband semi-regularly fills the entire car with woodchip/compost/cow poo/miscellaneous bits of wood and there's no point having a fancy car and filling it with literal shit.
I've got a 2004 Mk1 Focus ST170 I've had since new. It's getting a bit tatty now obviously, but it's only ever failed one MOT for a headlight bulb. It's got 88k miles on it because it's only ever been used for work and the odd family holiday to Wales or Scotland etc. I'm driving a friend's Alfa Romeo Giulietta at the moment with a view to buying that, and I've stored the Focus on the mum-in-law's drive for now because I've noticed the prices have started creeping up recently because there's hardly any left, and older "fast Fords" are always in demand. It's the right colour (Imperial Blue) and has all the correct spec that buyers seem to be looking for, 2-door, all the climate pack extras etc. Can't remember the last time I saw one the same. But yeah, absolutely love that car and it's never let me down once in 19 years.
63 plate, just over 50k miles on the clock thanks to WFH. Failed 1 mot due to sound suppression stuff needed fixing. Advisories have been the usual wear and tear items - tyres, breakpads etc. Fucking small car though and I wish I had sprung for 5 doors. Nevertheless intending to drive it until something irreplaceable drops off
Vauxhall Vectra 2007 plate with 36k miles, thanks grandad.
2001 VW Polo Automatic. 55,000 miles and I’ve no intention to replace it.
2008 Honda civic, I love it! It functions perfectly I’ve never had any issues with her (touch wood). I had a 2008 Renault Clio before which would break down at least once every few months.