[Closed] Rat car suggestions

I have had.

Fiesta 1.1 popular

Citroen ax

Fiat panda 750.

They were all great. Terrible but great in their own unique shit way.

I'd have another fiat panda that was hilarious and you can get a dishwasher in the back.

However i'd think they are all gone now pretty much atleast to the point where keeping them going will be a ball ache.

Kind of like the ka has to be purple with faded grey bumpers.

Or maybe a little lupo?

I’d say a Yaris, I don’t know how they ‘rat up’ but they’re fairly unbreakable, reliable, cheap to run etc and you can get a DH bike in the back if you’re committed enough.

Oh and KAs are compete rot boxes.

I had a Ka for a couple of months. It cost basically nowt, and was hilarious to drive (1.6 and didn't weigh much).

It was an utter, utter rotbox though. Less than 70k on the clock and it was falling to bits.

So yea, don't buy one of those.

If I wanted a regular use rat, I'd be tempted by an old Merc or Volvo estate. Not small, granted, but big, comfy, reliable tanks.

Mk1 Fabia or an old Suzuki Swift (the boxy one) would be my shout.  Or even a Toyota Starlet?

Oh and KAs are compete rot boxes.

It seems I was beaten to it. This duct tape was not for aero gains. The surrounding bodywork was so rotten that the fuel filler cap fell off one day 😀

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I’d say a Yaris, I don’t know how they ‘rat up’ but they’re fairly unbreakable, reliable, cheap to run etc and you can get a DH bike in the back if you’re committed enough.

If the brief had been 'small, reliable car' I'd have totally agreed. Ms kenneththecurtain has had one since new (it's now 12) and it's been a great car. It'll never be rat* though. It's just an old Yaris.

*I'm not entirely sure what 'rat' is, but a know that a yaris will never be it.

Whereabouts are you? We're soon going to get rid of our Seat Ibiza 1.4 diesel. It's a decent car, though the fan / heater is weird. Getting rid as we now don't need two cars.

As above not the ka unless you like to weld , most of the rest is easy to work on and mostly reliable.

Power steering pipes can rot and are crazy mint new.

I’m guessing most of what you want has been traded under the scrapage over the years.

Or or a small van ? Somthing French with a dw8 engine

Anything 40 years old is now tax and mot free. So something from 78 or 79.

Previous Panda - not the original, not the current one. I had a 1.2 petrol - so much fun to drive, flat out everywhere without breaking speed limits. £4500 brand new in 2008.

If you can get a MkII Nissan Micra that hasn't been ragged to death by delivery drivers it will be the most reliable car you'll ever own, rust permitting.

BREADVAN!

http://www.bradleyjamesclassics.co.uk/vehicle/vw-polo-mk-2/

6th gen civic

Suzuki Ignis. We have one and it has been brilliant.

Previous Panda – not the original, not the current one.

+1 - Mrs Pondo had the multijet diesel from 08 to about 14, great bit of kit. Never let us down, entertaining to drive, took it to France numerous times on two week camping trips with a couple of bikes on the back and it lapped it up. We miss it to this day. 🙁

I have a soft spot for the suzuki wagon r - just because they are a little ovrrlooked, except by the blue rinse brigade. Seem to be very cheap now.

I regularly drive a Toyota Startlet ; I can fit my Orbea Rallon in the back with just the front wheel off .

It is like driving a go kart ; 1.1lt petrol engine .

it was my grandad , not many miles and my mum partner used to be a Toyota dealer and mechanic so no trouble with mecanic side .

Classic mini.

Mk II Golf GTI or a BMW E30 325i Touring.

Classic minis are about the only thing that rusts quicker than a ka. But You can buy everything for them still just good luck finding a bargain anymore

I miss my 205XS, 1.4 with a twin choke carb was a right laugh. Easy to work on as well.

Suzuki Swift GTI's are fun though I did have to push my mates into Tesco carpark when the gearbox went....

Charade Gtti are also crazy fun but rust is a killer on them.

I always regret not buying my mates mum's Skoda Estelle for £50, bringing good money now.

VW Polo.

The Wife has one that's now 18 years old. It's still in really good nick, definitely not a rat. She'd like a new car but it won't die, so she won't replace it until it does.

Or buy a big Volvo estate, fantastic workhorse and bikers won't come near you.

You could do a lot worse than the previous gen Ibiza with the 1.9 TDi engine, preferably the 130 version which is the same as in the MK1 Fabia vRS.

They also do a 100 bhp version, but it's nowhere near as pokey and only has a 5 speed box.

The 100 and 130 were both badged as Sport models until around 06 when the 130 turned into the FR and the 100 stayed at the sport.

I loved mine - took it from 24k miles at 3 years old to 274k miles at 13yrs old. Only got rid because we had a daughter and needed something more practical. The target was 300k, but hey ho...

Nissan Pulsar

Toyota MR2

Honda Integra

Honda CRX

Mazda 323

Unfortunately all of the above attracted certain kinds of owners who royally abused them. Most older sporty models have been modified and thrashed to within an inch of their life and beyond! The more mundane models maintained on a shoe string and ran into the ground.

I'm selling my mk1 octavia vrs with 130,000 miles.

I've had it since 2006 and it has a full service history.

Mechanically sound, cosmetically scruffy, so perfect for the rat look.

Nottingham based if you are interested.

£500

In terms of being common I'd suggest an old vauxhall corsa there's loads about. Unfortunately that makes them likely to have been ragged to death by yoofs...

Alternatively there's the similar vintage suzuki 'waggon R' or it's vauxhall badged cousin the old version 'Agila' so utterly unsexy and old personey that Billy boyracer will never go near one, less common but less chance of it having been launched off speed humps or taking the racing line in asda carpark...

Thanks very much for all the suggestions.  Mrs B and I have been having a right laugh at some of the suggestions and remembering some of the shi* cars we’ve previously had, but had forgotten about.

My old Mk1 Panda 4x4 - hilarious fun off road, but the rust problems encouraged me to swap it for a turquoise Mini Metro...er, enough said on that.

Mk1 UNO - super economical and reliable up until the point that the gearstick came away in my hand on the M42!

My favourite impulse buy mistake was Mrs B buying a Mk2 Panda 4x4 because she liked the colour and thought it looked cute.  She didn’t look underneath the car or open the bonnet etc.  It turned out to have been used off road by a farmers wife for about 4 years to take animal feed around a remote hill farm and everything from the waistline down on the car was absolutely knackered - but I have to say, it was a really practical and comfy little car.  Just starting to cost too much money in repairs and spares.

Hmmm....maybe a cosmetically scruffy Mk2 Panda 2wd?

I’m tempted by the Mk1 Octavia VRS, but unfortunately I’ve got to get something small enough to fit in the garage.

However, I do like the idea of an old Polo, as it’s encouraging to hear of their longevity.

I do really like the suggestion of the Suzuki Waggon R/Vauxhall Agila though - cheap, small and practical, and utterly naff looking.  I guess most will have been owned by pensioners, so paintwork might be a bit posh for my taste - I’ll just have to park it under some sappy trees for a few weeks and never wash it😁

Have a chat with Will Mellor and he might sell you his old motor ...

I love my ratty old Mk4 Golf GTi 1.8T, bought years ago for the princely sum of 700 dabs. 20 years old, lowered on Bilstein struts, Seriously kerbed 18” BBS Monzas, remapped to 175 BHP, coming up to 200,000 miles on the clock and still going strong. Cheap as chips to run and great fun! 🙂

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/388/32164233901_7d38040283_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/388/32164233901_7d38040283_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/R1f79V ]Golf GTI[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr

Psikk whip, brah!

Da plate is da shizzle, innit

Totally chavtastic Flashy! 😀

i cracked one of the Monzas on a massive pothole on the winter, so bought another off eBay for fifty quid that’s a different colour from the other 3. Which only adds to its ratty appeal IMHO

Daewoo Nexia?

RIP Shedric, finest of cars.

Free, as it had every panel kicked in or jumped on.

Took us all over.

Classless, like syphilis.

Even had the good manners to blow up outside my favourite boozer.

(Don't tell anyone, Binners, but I think that looks rather excellent. Good Golfs usually do, though!)

Jesus wept that Daewoo is ugly. I want it!

Suzuki Jimny. The dirtier they are the better they look.

I have an 02 plate Audi A3. Gave a mate £90 for it as the gearbox had thrown a wobbly. Took a punt on one on Ebay for 50 notes and spent a day fitting it. Also replaced a couple of bushes and tyres and it has proved fantastically reliable over past 12 months. As an 1.8 turbo petrol it is also a flying machine while able to give me 35-40 mpg. Best bit is that it was already a bit dented, peeling alloys, faded paint, few rust spots etc so I just don't give a damn if I have to get up in the hedge to pass a car in lanes round here. On the other hand it is perfect underneath, like new in fact, and has a lovely full leather sports interior. All in all it is a near perfect "almost rat car".

It also has a lowered stance too. Not because of some trick suspension, just the springs are all ****ed 🙂

mk1 or mk2 MX5.....

GF has a mk2.  i was toying with the idea of stripping the scratched paint work until her work colleague borrowed it for a weekend and took the liberty of valeting it.  paint work came up good.

Budget?

MG Maestro. Oddly appreciating classic nowadays. Mint ones are expensive, scruffy ones are cheap.

Mk3 XR3i.

Both easy to fix, finding not thrashed ones might be tricky though.

Lol at amdrewh.

When was the last time you saw one of either on the road being driven.

They were both shite when they were new. And rotted for fun.  MK3 being regarded as the worst of the escorts. And the maestro....not even gti"ing could save that .

Now a rover tomcat. On the other hand

There's an old guy with a mint black MG Maestro Turbo near my parent's house, he also has a white standard one as a daily driver!  The Turbo one is surprisingly quick and worth a few quid now.