VDP 958S
1978 Opel Rekord 2.0S Berlina
Bought: November 2004 for £600, 51,000 miles
Sold: August 2005 for £1,170, 52,000 miles
My argument to this is "When did you last see one of these?" Big old Opels like this have virtually disappeared from our roads. Once again this car came from eBay - it coincided with an unexpected bonus from work and, well, the money was in my pocket...and I got special dispensation from Jo (once I had cleared the garage of crap). Oddly enough the car didn't attract any bids, but I e-mailed the seller anyway and the next day was on my way down to Southampton to pick it up.
So what did I get for my £600? For starters she's as straight as she looks - the only rust is a tiny hole in the bottom of the driver's side wing, which I'll get sorted in the spring. The interior (gold velour! You can't make these things up) is factory fresh, as is the gold (yup) and black dashboard. An old boy had it from new until he laid it up in May 2002 (that was when the last tax disc expired) because it was too heavy for him to drive. I'd agree with this - the unassisted steering is unbelieveably heavy. Runs like a dream though, although I need to do some tweaking to the carb as I can't get it to idle very well when cold.
Driving the Opel is an experience - I couldn't run it every day (not a problem as I've got the Accord and the insurance - £130! - limits me to 3,000 miles a year, so it's run every Friday night to band and back). Very, very heavy to drive and the back end is very skittish in the wet or on inside lanes of motorways where the trucks have worn grooves. It makes you realise how basic "executive" cars were back then - no 5th gear, electric windows, power steering (it needs it), central locking, or even a nearside door mirror. It fits in my garage though - no mean feat, as our water softener (looking like something out of the truck in Knight Rider) sticks out 18 inches from the nearside wall.
At the moment she's not being used very much as they are salting the roads, but when the spring comes she'll have a service (the oil is two and a half years old, so it needs doing) with new plugs, oil filter and a K&N, a good Waxoyling and then it's off on the show circuit. Mmm - cheesy.
Update 6.8.05: Well, after doing everything that needed
doing (full service and engine tune, new radiator and coolant, replaced the
brake fluid, got the wing sorted and front valance resprayed),
I bought another one
(this time more of a project) and decided it was time to sell this one. It’s difficult to value a car like this, so I
put it on eBay and was pleased with the result.
She’s now gone to a caring new owner in