Passed test in 1963. 1st car second hand A35, then old Ford popular van (flat in London cost money so no choice but social life great - partied all weekend every weekend!, then morris 1000, healey frogeye (brother in law had tr2 which did 140mph on the straight mine went better on the bends) loved the frogeye, healey mark 2 sprite - loved that as well, children arrived , second hand morris traveller estate, more children, Morris traveller and old frogeye sprite (rebuilt it totally from a wreck could not have afforded it and the children and the traveller otherwise, wolseley 18/85 (100 plus on M1at last! nothing like this since someone elses Jag in 1964 at 125mph, rover p6 (same one as now), Morris Ital (rubbish but new and new marque at time all I could afford as the school fees go up and up!) kept p6, more children (4 now), new Countryman 2000 7 seater estate went well but some trim fell off and it developed rust but cruised nicely and kept up nicely with big volvos which I did not buy o/a lip into rear area - countryman was flat, children grown up so bought BMW 3181 and still have P6 plus and bought new 206 for wife - could have shared and had new 320i or M instead - big mistake!, still Val did 135 in BMW in Yorkshire thinking she was doing 70 or 80 - a great car and it came with allows, power roof, dark windows and all the other extras, but it blew hair at speed so part exchanged at Mercedes forgot a mercedes main dealer for a W202 2000 saloon with tiptronic - great car, very comfortable (e series better but would not fit in garage - and P6 is now 28 years old and has lived outside all its life poor thing, 9 years later still have the mercedes and the P6 is now 37 years old, bought val a new Peugeot Sport great little car -same spec as cc but has a proper roof - no accidental hair blowing at the press of a button. The mercedes has been great and it came with a 30 year parts guarantee, a thirty year rust corrosion warranty, and free mobilo roadside help from mercedes for thirty years. It has been very reliable but caught the dreaded rust bug at 8 years. This was all to do with the early switch to water based paint and an apparent cost saving by having paint with less pixels but the rust guarantee came into play here and all 4 wings, the inside of a door and the boot lid were stripped, repaired and rust proofed and resprayed with a few more pixels in the paint at Mercedes expense. Luckily I have always had it maintained by Mercedes as otherwise the 30m year rust guarantee is voided. One service by them every 2 years is enough but thank goodness I kept an eye on the bodywork and caught it early. No other problems with the car at all and its nearly 10 years old now. I find that incredible. BMW best drivers car but Mercedes and P6 most cost effective on problems and maintenance. P6 has its 38th birthday soon! I would like a Maserrati but think I would still keep the P6 if it keeps going. Still use it every day for local journeys. Plan to keep Mercedes till it is 15 years old and then get another but may change my mind. Now that is a boring lot of cars is it not.
Cheers
Tony Bunting