Cars becoming 30 years old in 2019

hi5

Some of my favourite cars will be classic in 2019 although it will probably be 2020 before we will see any in real numbers.


Lexus ls400.



Mazda mx5



Mercedes R129



Nissan 300zx z32



Any others?

alias no.9

Slightly more modest

My first motor was a 1990 Fiesta

Seweryn

BMW E31:



Alfa Romeo SZ (rare):



Citroen XM:



Nissan 240SX:



Peugeot 605:

Dades

I'd say there's a few MB R129s hidden in sheds awaiting a new life under "chape tax"!

And the 8-Series are lovely beasts.

circadian

The Alfa SZ still looks great. I loved the old boxy 155 as well.

Wibbs

Seweryn wrote: »

Alfa Romeo SZ (rare):

I want one of these so badly. I love how they divide opinions on the looks. In fairness it has the ugliest arse in Christendom. Typical Italian design, a whole heap of gorgeous with a side order of WTF?. Brilliant. The high waisted design was well ahead of its time. A concept car that escaped. Lovely interior too, though a real pity they weren't a hatchback. Early use of carbon kevlar for various bits and the exterior panels are plastic, though in the flesh panel gaps are hilariously all over the place. The underlying chassis still rusts mind you. Again cos Italian.

Fantastic underpinnings too. One of the finest engines to ever suck in petrol and air to turn it into power and opera and a chassis tuned by one Giorgio Pianta, head engineer for Lancia rally cars. Cabin adjustable suspension too, though that feature rarely still works today. I seem to recall reading about them at the time having scary levels of grip in bends and the engines gave out more power than advertised. 30 horsies more on average IIRC. Pity they only came with the steering wheel in front of the passenger. Defo one for my Lotto list.

Dades

Wibbs wrote: »

A concept car that escaped.

Great description. Love the madness of them.

fancy pigeon

hi5 wrote: »

Nissan 300zx z32



Any others?

I'd almost forgotten my one is 30 next year... I can't say that with a straight face! :P

It'll be on the road all year once it's got it's €56 tax disc instead of the few months here and there throughout the year :cool:

Wonder how many other 1989 Z32's are in the country

unkel

This is my favourite thread of the year every year

Not a single Lexus for sale on Autotrader. Not from 1989, not even from 1990. Where are they? Perhaps they didn't go for sale here or in the UK until a bit after 1989?

circadian

Forgot about how good the Z32 looks, that's a lovely motor you have there.

hi5

fancy pigeon wrote: »

It'll be on the road all year once it's got it's €56 tax disc instead of the few months here and there throughout the year :cool:

And NCT every 2 years too.

unkel wrote: »

This is my favourite thread of the year every year

Not a single Lexus for sale on Autotrader. Not from 1989, not even from 1990. Where are they? Perhaps they didn't go for sale here or in the UK until a bit after 1989?

You could pick the early ones up for about 7-800 euros back about 10 years ago, they were bought and stripped for their engines.

Duke O Smiley

A Mk1 LS400 on classic tax will be an absolutely cracking car to own. Like the Mk1 Legend posted over on the bargains thread, it'll be something you can drive everyday just as you would a modern car, but cocooned in leather and wood, and without a care in the world of it overheating in traffic, rusting away outside or anything of the sort that is a worry with a car from the 60s/70s/(early)80s etc. I'd say there is a good number of them sitting tucked away in garages at the minute. Lucky owners. Back in 08/09 I distinctly remember early LS', GS' and even E38s etc going for peanuts..€250-300 etc.

unkel wrote: »

This is my favourite thread of the year every year

Not a single Lexus for sale on Autotrader. Not from 1989, not even from 1990. Where are they? Perhaps they didn't go for sale here or in the UK until a bit after 1989?

Theres this one on DoneDeal, which is quite expensive IMO

https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/90-lexus-ls-400/19607262



I'd imagine they will be worth around this sum when they actually hit 30 years old.

Arthur Daley

The LS400. I remember you had to try and beat one up in street fighter on the mega drive.

selectamatic

A clean black 1990 lexus ls400 sold in Galway about 5 years ago for around €1000 I remember at the time thinking it'd be a great buy for putting in the shed till 2020. I had no shed and no money at the time though

My pick would be the second generation 1989-1992 rev1 mr2.
Although again it'll be 2020 really before there's any significant number of them on classic tax.

Duke O Smiley

They don't exactly float my boat, but the R32 Skyline is 30 next year too

Dades

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

They don't exactly float my boat, but the R32 Skyline is 30 next year too

Take away a lot of the crap that gets stuck onto them and the shape is timeless.

Not too many hanging around like luxobarges in classic limbo though!

Tommyboy40

Dades wrote: »

I'd say there's a few MB R129s hidden in sheds awaiting a new life under "chape tax"!

And the 8-Series are lovely beasts.

The 129 isn't a car that likes being left idle. Leaving one without a charged battery is inviting expensive disaster and it's one car you should never jump start.

Thinkingaboutit

Doesn't a form have to be filled out to change it to to the vintage tax rate? I had to do that for my motorbike.

duskyjoe

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

The 129 isn't a car that likes being left idle. Leaving one without a charged battery is inviting expensive disaster and it's one car you should never jump start.

Having had 3 R129s in a previous life, I can safely say they are a technical nightmare especially the later ones re electrics.....replacement parts especially for the roof mechanism which goes on all of them are savage dough.....avoid

unkel

Can you not get parts from a specialist scrap yard? I found some parts that I needed back in the day for my Porsche 928 from a US company that was specialised in Porsche parts. Including shipping it was 80% cheaper than the part new from Porsche

davidglanza

BMW E34

Seweryn

davidglanza wrote: »

BMW E34

No, the E34 was launched earlier.

davidglanza

Seweryn wrote: »

No, the E34 was launched earlier.

1988/89

Seweryn

davidglanza wrote: »

1988/89

November 1987.

davidglanza

Seweryn wrote: »

November 1987.

Never seen a 87 one on the road..

unkel

davidglanza wrote: »

Never seen a 87 one on the road..

You're quite right, I don't think they were made in RHD in '87

The oldest E34 on Autotrader at the moment is from '89. Oldest E34 on carandclassic is from November '88, so only just gone 30