Recent-ish cars that were once ubiquitous but which you don't see anymore

Old diesel

Micras of that K11 era were great mechanically.

They like to rust though.

Can't figure why Nissan seemed to be starting to get the hang of rust protection with the last of the Bluebirds but then lost the plot and got sloppy on rust with P10 Primera - that K11 Micra, P11 Primera and both gens of Almera having rust issues of one kind or other.

N14 Sunnys aren't exactly strangers to rust either.

Looks like Nissan all round quality peaked with the T12/T72 Bluebirds and then started to trend downwards.

Because said Bluebirds were excellent cars there was still epic scope for later Nissans to be less good but still reliable.

Of course the Bluebirds were an evolution of a design which which had the potential to be excellent in the Stanza but which had some silly flaws in it.

The Bluebird fixed those flaws and was a much better car for it.

Dillosk412

Back in my early driving days, the Renault Fuego and Datsun Cherry were popular.

But THE car was the Toyota Celica!

horseofstone

Daewoo matiz and lanos were very common in their day.cheap as chips, the dacia of their time.matiz was a real city car with the small engine.

horseofstone

Daewoo matiz and lanos were very common in their day.cheap as chips, the dacia of their time.matiz was a real city car with the small engine.

AMKC

artanevilla wrote: »

I actually like the Figaro. Especially the interior. *ducks*

You never see Lagunas around anymore.

I do. Very few mk 1's do.

Nixonbot wrote: »

Mk1 Mondeos. Must have rusted to nothing, because they used to be everywhere! Compared to a fair few Corollas, Primeras, 406s and Carinas from the time, there's very few Mondeos left.

The Ford Mondane as it was known too. Can't say I miss them. Thankfully most of the boring Carina's are gone too.

Mech1 wrote: »

Mercedes ML range, thank god they are gone, broke my heart.

There is still one where I live and its in good condition too.

firemansam4 wrote: »

Daewoo Lanos, I got mine in 2000 and there seemed to be a few about back then but I can't remember the last time I seen one now...

One of my neighbours has one so I still see one nearly every day.

handlemaster wrote: »

Carina E were a good car.

It might have been good but it was so dreary. Even the brochure for it was boring. There was nothing in it that would make you say; yes that's nice or that's a good idea I think I might buy this car.

horseofstone wrote: »

Daewoo matiz and lanos were very common in their day.cheap as chips, the dacia of their time.matiz was a real city car with the small engine.

One of my neighbours still has a Lanos. Was talking about replacing it this year but I think they are not just going to keep driving it until it either dies or becomes to expensive to keep.

You do not see many Renault Espace around anymore. It was not Renault's best car reliability wise do.

galwaytt

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Odd statement considering they're everywhere lately

Yes, you can add Clio Mk2 to that list.

Never noticed them much, and then the daughter got an 06 one to learn and I now literally can't stop seeing them everywhere. They just have sold an awful lot of them.

elperello

AMKC wrote: »

Thankfully most of the boring Carina's are gone too.

It might have been good but it was so dreary. Even the brochure for it was boring. There was nothing in it that would make you say; yes that's nice or that's a good idea I think I might buy this car.

All those taxi drivers and farmers were wrong so

Larbre34

The Fiat Punto.

Saw a 93 Carina E yesterday as it happens. Bit shmokey but structurally sound looking

AMKC

galwaytt wrote: »

Yes, you can add Clio Mk2 to that list.

Never noticed them much, and then the daughter got an 06 one to learn and I now literally can't stop seeing them everywhere. They just have sold an awful lot of them.

They were a good car with a good 1.2 litre engine.

elperello wrote: »

All those taxi drivers and farmers were wrong so

I agree they were.

corks finest

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I realised the other that day that it's been ages since I saw a Volvo S40 Mark I on the roads. At one point there were loads of these doing the rounds but now they seem to have fizzled out and it's rare to see one. I also remember the E39 5 series was a very plentiful sight on the road but thinking about it I can't actually recall the last time I saw one on the road.

Any others that spring to mind?

S70 Volvo Opel Kadett,Opel as ona

elperello

AMKC wrote: »

I agree they were.

Would you stop

chicorytip

Mercedes E Class 1996 - 2002.

rn

Honda Accord 2008 model - there were lots of them brought in from the UK.
BMW 3-Series coupe 03-06 model - Again for a while there, there seemed to be lots and lots of them.

Both seem to have been replaced by VW Passats, Audi A4's and Audi A6's, with an almost complete disappearance of the 2-door car.

CiDeRmAn

Mitsubishi Galant all but gone.
Even Grande Puntos are getting thin on the ground.
Suzuki Vitaras, from the late 90s to early 00s have vanished too.
Anything with a Rover badge, and the PT Cruiser is a faint memory too.

AMKC

Citroen ZX and Xsara's. You don;t see many of either on the roads anymore.

fancy pigeon

AMKC wrote: »

Citroen ZX and Xsara's. You don;t see many of either on the roads anymore.

Xsara Picmyasso is rare enough these days, those eggs were once everywhere

corks finest

AMKC wrote: »

Citroen ZX and Xsara's. You don;t see many of either on the roads anymore.

2 in Cork yesterday

AMKC

You don't see any Mitsubishi Carisma's anymore. It was built alongside the Volvo S40. They used to be quiet popular as they had good engines, were reliable and were a good price. There name was not the best do.

elperello

AMKC wrote: »

You don't see any Mitsubishi Carisma's anymore. It was built alongside the Volvo S40. They used to be quiet popular as they had good engines, were reliable and were a good price. There name was not the best do.

They were never a big seller and I'd forgotten about them but thanks for reminding me.
I went looking, there are two on DD. Look at this one owner, low mileage, plastic still on back seats 400 quid.
Maybe all is not as it seems !

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mitsubishi-carisma-saloon-petrol-red/20558801

JohnBoy26

AMKC wrote: »

You don't see any Mitsubishi Carisma's anymore. It was built alongside the Volvo S40. They used to be quiet popular as they had good engines, were reliable and were a good price. There name was not the best do.

As another poster said they weren't a big seller and they were horrible yokes, they had a terrible Renault gearbox.

JoeA3

AMKC wrote: »

You don't see any Mitsubishi Carisma's anymore. It was built alongside the Volvo S40. They used to be quiet popular as they had good engines, were reliable and were a good price. There name was not the best do.

With good reason. It was a truely dreadful car. It had the deadly combination of bland Japanese styling and ropey Renault/Volvo engineering.

gerardk55

Moved to Madrid for work and it's an absolutely wonderful trip down motoring nostalgia lane from Peugeot 405s to Renault 19s and Mk1 Clios.

It's great walking around the city seeing old stuff still on the roads.

Arthur Daley

gerardk55 wrote: »

Moved to Madrid for work and it's an absolutely wonderful trip down motoring nostalgia lane from Peugeot 405s to Renault 19s and Mk1 Clios.

It's great walking around the city seeing old stuff still on the roads.

If only we had this single market in insurance we were promised, and the insurers that can operate profitably in Madrid would come here to keep our motoring costs down.

gerardk55

And break up the cosy cartels? Unlikely!!

elperello

It is interesting that in countries like France, Germany and Spain that actually have motor manufacturing industries you will see more older cars than here.

road_high

I don’t think car insurance is necessarily the issue- the costs of maintenance and general throw away attidude we have here are stronger factors. No one would want to be seen in a 30 year old Renault whereas on the continent people don’t seem to care less.

gerardk55

You're right of course, it's a combination of factors, vanity, insurance, climate and possibly scrappage schemes. How many decent cars go to the crushers for a 191 Dacia?

EPAndlee

gerardk55 wrote: »

You're right of course, it's a combination of factors, vanity, insurance, climate and possibly scrappage schemes. How many decent cars go to the crushers for a 191 Dacia?

Nearly all the cars we get in against new Dacias are only fit for scrappage

AMKC

elperello wrote: »

They were never a big seller and I'd forgotten about them but thanks for reminding me.
I went looking, there are two on DD. Look at this one owner, low mileage, plastic still on back seats 400 quid.
Maybe all is not as it seems !

Your welcome.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mitsubishi-carisma-saloon-petrol-red/20558801

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

As another poster said they weren't a big seller and they were horrible yokes, they had a terrible Renault gearbox.

I disagree. I think for the time they were quiet a stylish, reliable well made car with a stylish dash too. The family even thought of buying one in the 90's but went for a French saloon instead as they got a good deal and the dealer done a good job selling the car.

JoeA3 wrote: »

With good reason. It was a truely dreadful car. It had the deadly combination of bland Japanese styling and ropey Renault/Volvo engineering.

I disagree. I thought it was quit stylish at the time compared to what Toyota, Nissan or even Mazda had.
Nothing wrong with Renault engineering.

gerardk55 wrote: »

Moved to Madrid for work and it's an absolutely wonderful trip down motoring nostalgia lane from Peugeot 405s to Renault 19s and Mk1 Clios.

It's great walking around the city seeing old stuff still on the roads.

I had an uncle that had a new Renault 19 back in the early 90's. I remember how bad the remote central locking used to be. It had to be aimed at the drivers door mirror as that's where the sensor for it was. It was one of the first on a mass produced car.

JohnBoy26

AMKC wrote: »

I disagree. I think for the time they were quiet a stylish, reliable well made car with a stylish dash too. The family even thought of buying one in the 90's but went for a French saloon instead as they got a good deal and the dealer done a good job selling the car.




I disagree. I thought it was quit stylish at the time compared to what Toyota, Nissan or even Mazda had.
Nothing wrong with Renault engineering.

In reality they were terrible car's though. They were poorly built not all that reliable and renault gearboxes back then were horrible to use. Even the lancer and the colt with a mitsubishi gearbox were much more pleasant to drive.

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the carisma was far from stylish even in comparison to nissan toyota and mazda's offerings.