I find it ironic (Vauxhall version)

[L14MNP]

that in this day and age a lot of us are still quick to weigh in shells rather than repair and scrap donor cars without much hesitation as it's "only a Corsa" etc. I can see the reasons why some choose to reshell and find a donor for cheaper parts but this supply will not last forever.

Give it a few years and these 'common/ugly/modern/cheap/gay' Corsas etc will become the new Nova. Once their numbers have been sufficiently culled and they are not a common sight on our roads they will once again be desirable.

The thing i find it hard to get my head around is we have all seen how 70/80/90's stuff becomes cool and wanted again, and with the added benefit of the internet I believe that no genre/marque/era will ever be forgotten about again, they will always have their place in some corner of the net.

Think about it in 10 years time when you can't get a shell or Corsa's are demanding the 'extravagent' money that Nova's are starting to...


I'm not on a crusade to save ervery car, but I do think there is a massive throw away mentaility and short sighted view on what is currently on the roads.

We all know retro has never been cooler, be it due to styling, mechanical symplicity, lightweight construction, lack of electronics or whatever and the more advanced cars become the less we can do (and want to do) to them.
So it seems strange to me to see the past repeating itself (I want to kick myself for not snapping up mk1/2 Escorts in the early 00's!)

I can understand this with 'non car' people, but enthusiasts?


My point may have become blurred somewhat as I am on the phone, but hopefully you get what my rambling intends.


[paddy quinn]Comments and discussion weclome[/paddy quinn]

[mk1nova_rich]

I scrapped a Corsa on Saturday, that is all

[L14MNP]

lol I don't even like them tbh, but you see what I am getting at?

I'm amazed at how many Nova's are left tbh, given the sh!t they are made out of and the amount that were ruined, crashed and have done the old classic of rotting away!

Maybe the 'rare' Nova needs to reduce in numbers a bit more before you lot feel the same as me. Then again, most on here think Vauxhall parts are expensive, so aside from Nova love we may never be on the same page. lol

[Bubba]

my mate scrapped a mk1 fez at the weekend...oh how i laughed lol

but im keeping my eye on some of the nova's around here in the hope that when they become a bit tatty i might be able to snap them up

[mark69]

I scrapped a Corsa on Saturday, that is all
lol quality reply!

what cars of today will be the next: nova, mk1/mk2 fiesta that sort of thing ?
like you say, the time will come when you wish your hadnt scrapped that crappy corsa you had because now you cant find a good one for cheap...

[bmw156]

there are different reasons why i would scrap a shell.

vauxhalls in general are full of wasters. time wasters, saying they will buy a shell. and never turning up. so thats one reason.

scrap is so high atm.
space. people cant just store shells. parts are not to bad, but shells are big and not attractive to neighbours.

and i think, the "era" of cool cars has been reduced massivly, there are very few modern cars which will be worth some money. Clio V6, ford high models, and some other RWD's. at this time. no one wants corsa 5 door shells, or nova 5 door for the reason they are good for no one.

The time of cool cars has gone. back in the 80's when it was a small team making mk1 escorts for lotus has gone. now they are all special jobs which not many people could recreate. like works focuses etc.

i cant see the price of retro stuff dropping for a very long time. ease of working as well, i know i wouldn't want to touch a car much newer then 2000, because of all the crap on them.

this is one reason why i love my chevette, its retro, RWD, powerful and has a "modern" engine stripped back to its bare.

Long live the retro.

[Jack]

Lets be honest, aside from the Sport - which is only valuable due to its heritage and rarity - Novas are generally crap, its only us lot that are keeping prices high lol

Corsas may well go the same way, as Saxo's etc, but it'll die down in the same way as Novas will eventually. 205 GTi's IMO though will stand out.

There are plenty of modern cool cars out there, its just they're still modern and generally a few around so haven't hit the "rarity due to age" thing yet. Plus the people who can afford to buy the decent spec <8 year old cars that may one day become future classics usually have enough money to not bother keeping them and buy whatever else is new on the market a few years later.

[Edd]

Yeah I agree with Martin bout the shells, any one that breaks a nova 99% of the time is stuck with the shell

Storing shells is a problem tho, I can't do any more I have 3 tucked away lol

Also IMO one of the main reasons that prices soar is that along comes rich kid with daddy's wallet wants a 'retro' car, ie nova, and pays mega bucks for a minter, then everybody thinks there worth loads and bang there all now dear as fook :roll:

Sloth got it spot on when he posted 'Scene kids killing the scene'

Love the PaddyQuinn quote :d

[paul james]

Yeah I agree with Martin bout the shells, any one that breaks a nova 99% of the time is stuck with the shell


I think people are too quick to break a car for parts, especially those that aren't even modified. I don't see much point in breaking a near standard nova thats not rotten, yet people seem to do it often. There simply aren't that many people who can collect and store a shell, and then get all the parts to make it a complete car again.

[peester]

Not all car club/forum/internet users/members are proper enthusiasts though. It has also become a look-up/referance for (non-enthusiastic) people to get advice, info, pinch ideas.. (bit like me on martin lewis' moneysavingexpert website)
It happens because these novas/corsas are still currently in large enough numbers, but as said when they wont be - it wont happen. Like it always has been.
In 1998 i bought a gold viva hc for £200, faffed with it, ended up scrapping it (not very knowledgable back then) it was worth sod all, and bought an mot'd road worthy viva, ran that for over a year, then sold it and got what everyone was in at the time; a nova mk2. The old PNG/Novaload stands @ billing are what 'sold' the nova to me. Over on the viva stand, in our late teens we felt a bit out of place..

[Paul]

Id happily scrap anything than deal with the messers on here!

[bazil]

Id happily scrap anything than deal with the messers on here!

sometimes the sellers can be a problem too though paul, tried to buy parts recently and the seller took the view that i was to far away to be a serious buyer!! fcuk me i drove 2500 miles to buy nova parts lol 100 mile is fook all!


on topic, some of us are actually committed to restoring cars like me

i was looking at the EX mandy from hollyoaks car thread and why did it get cut up? it had a bent leg! these parts were readily avalible at that time.


the problem is the fact very few are willing to pay the price and spend the time to restore novas when a reshell is soooooo much easier!

[Andy]

Because to most people, a project is slammin a valver in or putting a gsi kit on.
Imo if you own an old car you need to be a good all rounder ie good with spanners AND welding or know someone who is.Failing that,be prepared to spend money.
People scrap them usually (cos of rust) as theyre out of their league of capabilities.
Im going to restore another one very soon,what annoys me is the lack of available panels,and then the price the ones that are available command.Its a joke!

[bazil]

putting .
Im going to restore another one very soon,what annoys me is the lack of available panels,and then the price the ones that are available command.Its a joke!

TOTALY AGREE!:thumb:

[marc69]

I think the arguement is a little naieve to be honest that all cars will become desireable in the future.

Mk1 minis command the most money and there are far more mk1s than 70s/80s minis in existence. The mk 3 were not as well made (british leyland) and did not have quite as much charm, also, the original is always the most desirable. A good example is a 1275 GT vs a cooper...fewer people want the 1275, this is also reflected in the price.

The Nova was groundbreaking for vauxhall/opel at the time, the shape was quite cool with the wheel arches/long nose and the Nova was fairly competitive even with just the 1300cc Colin McRae did well. The corsa B does not have the same character and didn't really compete as well in the hothatch category and I doubt it will ever have the same sort of following even though it was originally not much more than a rounded Nova with mostly the same mechanics. I suspect apart from highly modified vehicles, it will go the same way as the metro did in comparison to the mini.

Even 10 yeras ago when there were far more Novas on the road, they still commanded some money, especially SR/GTEs.

I do agree that we live in a disposable throw away society, but that is the way marketing works, cars are not primed/painted in box sections so that they start to fail by the age of 10. It means new cars have to be bought.

The scrap[ yard though, is so environmentally great as it is a recycling centre!

As I only drive very old cars, I think the governement should give me money for being green, (or stupid!)

On another note, we have now reached the stage that if you go into a motor shop and ask for points, you are responded with "what?"