My dad and mum's cars starting in 1978 with a Renault 4.
He posted about them all on facebook a while back so there's plenty of notes to go with most of them.
I posted this a while back in another thread so apologies if you've seen them before.
1) Renault 4 1978
Bought from a painter and decorator in Berwick upon Tweed for £120
It had holes in the floor under the mats where you could watch the road going by.
He learnt to drive in it, and had loads of fun - it ran like a little tractor in the snow when other cars had ground to a halt.
2) Vauxhall Viva Estate 1978—79
Didn't have this one long- 6 weeks and this is the only photo.
The car was a complete dog. Its temperature gauge was jammed at normal so he had no warning when it brewed up.
It needed a very expensive engine re-build. Then he drove it into a flood from which it was still damp when he sold it.
3) Renault 6 1979-80
"A wonderful little car, surprisingly speedy (?), roomy and comfortable".
It needed one new drive shaft but was otherwise very reliable and it explored most of north-east England.
Unsurprisingly it was nicknamed 'Double-up' because of the numberplate.
I think he fitted a sporty steering wheel - probably the only mod he ever did.
4) Renault 16 1980-1981
An armchair on wheels, SO comfortable and roomy, column gear shift, sun-roof.
Costly to maintain though, with an alloy cylinder head prone to warping, and valves which needed re-grinding.
The spongy suspension did not help passengers prone to car-sickness.
5) Audi 80 Estate 1981-82
The hard teutonic seats were a bit of a shock after the Renault 16 armchairs, but it was very reliable and the luggage space was big enough for a shed-load of camping gear.
6) Volkswagen Passat Estate Mk1 1982-84
From the era when the Audi 80 and the Passat were basically identical except for small details.
This was the newest car he owned, only 8 months old, an ex-demonstrator - the year letter X was still current.
7) Cavalier MkII GLS 1984-85
Bought as a clean low mileage example at about 2 years old.
Comfortable, very modern for its day, and very capable.
It did 650 miles in one hop on our first holiday abroad.
Only one fault during ownership—a leaking petrol tank.
8) Cavalier MkII CD 1985-7
A bit posher trim than the GLS (velour seats, electric sunroof, more toys) but not quite as quick.
9) Renault 11 Turbo , 1987-89
Proper hooligan motor for the mid-life crisis years and indecently quick.
Managed to turn it through 360 degrees in the wet on a roundabout in Birmingham, fortunately without damage.
First car that came with an early trip computer.
10) VW Polo Mk2 Breadvan 1989-91
Bought for cheaper insurance so children could learn to drive - a Spanish-built VW Polo.
It turned out to be a dog; all four wheel-bearings needed replacement.
And SO slow, ran out of steam on every hill.
It was not helped by being rammed up the rear by a nutter taxi driver - it meant we had a whole summer holiday with the tailgate jammed shut.
11) Renault 21 Saloon Ti 1991-93
Another very swift motor, with air dam, side skirts, and go-faster stripes. Bought fairly cheaply as a high-mileage example.
Was racking up almost 30,000 miles a year at the time so nearly-new was too expensive an option because of the depreciation.
12) Citroen BX Diesel 1993-94
This one was a shocker. Must have been sleep-walking when buying not to spot that it had been used as a taxi and had been clocked.
Ran (when it ran at all) like a bag of spanners, clouds of blue smoke on start-up, and deeply uncomfortable.
A missed replacement timing belt at service interval meant he engine seized at traffic lights;
13) Renault 21 Hatch 1994—98
Extremely comfortable, capacious, and well thought-out car.
Faultless, only routine servicing needed.
14) Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 1998-00
Gave 2 years of faultless service.
15) Renault Laguna Mk1 2000-06
The usual excellent Renault comfort and drive-ability. (No Renault bias from my dad AT ALL)
16) Peugeot 406 Estate 2006-11
Bought relatively cheaply as a high-mileage ex-fleet car
The plan was to run it into the ground then scrap it when it became uneconomic to repair, as an old right-hand drive car would be unsaleable in France. (He moved to France)
The plan worked. It was completely reliable, swift and comfortable until the rear brakes died. (My dad doesn't really do big repairs)
Bonus list - my mum’s cars. Always second fiddle, often Shart-boxes apart from the Panda. Austin 'All Aggro' Allegro
Bought off a local farmer. Rusty. Smelt of vinyl and dung. Square Steering wheel, Cold. Awful.
Chrysler Avenger
aka ’Snoopy’ because of black/white paint/roof combo (Ours had a black vinyl roof). I remember helping paint a liberal coat of Black Hammerite on the wheel arches to curb the tinworm and add to this effect
Panda 750 FIRE MkII
Bought new. Thrashed by me and my Brother when we first passed our tests. Rusted like nothing on earth and the electrics hated cold, wet, hot - actually any weather.
Such fun, so pointable and nippy despite tiny engine. Would own again in a heart-beat - maybe with an Abarth Twin Air swap…
Mk1 VW Golf GL More-door
Panda rusted like hell (remember when new cars rusted in the first year?!?!?!) so this Late model Golf Mk1 was bought rather than fixing it after an MOT failure!
This was a bit of a dog, bought at night. Sump plug was a piece of wood and I think it may have been 2-golfs cut-n-shut into one. Engine blew up at 85 on the M4 near south wales - looked like the Challenger disaster in the rear view mirror (pic is me and friends waiting for AA truck and subsequent 200 miles of UB40 on the grumpy AA Relay man's stereo)
Seat Marbella
This seemed a retrograde step to me as it’s essentially a mk1 Panda, not mk2. Cheapness a factor I suspect.
Not half as fun as the Panda. Cheap dash switches broke like bird's-eggs.
Peugeot 106. Diesel I think, with 90s-tastic green metallic paint. Not loveable like the petrol and Rallye versions.