I was thinking back to my first car the other day. I was 17 and the Land Rover Series 3 SWB petrol was a 1979 model. It only just hit me that the car was 13 years old when I bought it. ONLY 13 years old! It seemed like a lot back then, it seemed ancient.

That Land Rover was riddled with rust. The back half of the chassis was rotten to the core and was condemned by the DOT, every door frame was so rotten the doors flexed as the aluminium skins were basically holding it all together, the bulkhead was shot in so many places, the footwells rotten, door pillars etc. All of the steering components were shot, leaked oil, seals , and the engine dripped enough oil on a daily basis to fill a coffee cup.

None of this is exageration. But I loved it, and I gradually repaired and replaced things over the 5 yrs I owned it.

Let's travel to the present day. A 13 year old Range Rover is one of the earliest L322 models and most likely still in good condition and won't be anywhere near as shyte as my old Series 3 was. It will still drive well, be comfortable, won't leak water down your neck, won't fall in half and last a lot longer! I realise all cars can have their faults and some are worse than others but the overall build quality and material quality is vastly improved. Perhaps we take it for granted. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Yes, but what would a 13 year old Defender be like today? Probably just as bad as your Series 3. Lovely, but full of problems.

Paul

Yes, for all our moaning cars are a lot better than when I first started driving 30 years ago.

My L322 is 12 years old, and I think has probably another 5 years of life in it at current usage. It has a bit of rust that needs treating, the steering wheel doesn't go up or down or in or out, and it eats a battery seemingly every year. Although it's slow and noisy it's still a fantastic car I'm delighted to own, and as well as being a working vehicle it gives me much driving pleasure.

Compare that to the state of a 1973 Range Rover in 1986 when I started driving.

Adam you speak the truth , but you will never love a car as much as that first one .( I'm getting all doe eyed about an 850cc Mk1 Renault five right now , and it was too ) 2008 MY Supercharged
Rimini Red / Jet
four zone climate
remote park heater
and no ugly kid windows.
magnus satis quod turpis satis

Yes, I agree! you used to see cars on wrecker's trucks, with very obvious rust problems, flat paint, multi coloured panels, and when it was lifted, you had to sweep underneath as you waved it goodbye!
nowadays, I see shiny, nice looking cars on top of each other, with no obvious signs of degradation. they hardly even get used as banger racers now, as theyse guys prefer the older, big cars, from '70'+80's etc.
When you ask what was the reason it went to the scrapper, they just say, -'it's old!, it goes alright, I just didn't fancy gambling it on another MOT'
or the old 'vulgar fraction' analogy, cost more than its worth to sell, just to keep it going. ie repair over value...
in other countries like the States, and say Australia, the climate is much better, and the land space to park it up to come back to is vast, but here, land is premium, so it just doesn't 'earn it keep'....
However, lets not lose fact of the stuff you had to do to keep the old stuff going. -if you didn't have a garage to keep it dry, you had to lay a blanket over the engine,(and tuck it in and read it a story) then, pour some hot water in the lock, get in, scrape ice off both sides of the windscreen.. then initiate the delicate starting procedure, that being, turn off any accessories left on, ie wipers heated rear window, (as you need all the cranking amps). carefully pull out the choke, -push it in a bit and twist, then pump the pedal maybe three times, and rest foot on it 1/4 way down, say a prayer, and try it. If you were lucky it went on the second attempt, then you had to carefully revv it, and guess when you could drive it without it dying, stuck out in street.
In the boot were old cans of 'easy start' or 'wet start', some tubs of 'Plastic Padding', and some old bits of washing machine panels and some tin snips. a large tin of brushable underseal and a greasy loose-headed club hammer to hit the starter motor. Cloths to wipe up the rainwater from leaking windscreens. a Haynes manual. trolley jack, cans of primer and dupli-colour top coat rolling in the toolbox.

-ahh, those days, Sundays, car repair days. down at the motor factors......water pumps, rocker gaskets, dizzy caps, the £1 lucky-dip box with old radiator hoses, and awful colours of touch-up paint..
or Saturdays, down at the breakers yard...paying to take it off yourself! trying not to get oil on your knees, filling your pockets, throwing better bits over the fence.... -climbing on a stack of teetering cars.

I still seem do this on my old classic jags!

now it's just: walk up, reach in, turn key, push a screen button , wait a minute, -drive off! what in the boot? -not much at all!

I have a 15 year old Defender...

That's too! Diesel - Just Say No!

2000 110 4.6 V8 (mmm Megasquirt)

The starting procedure of my Mustang on a damp day requires patience. And around 15 turns of the key until the carbs are primed and there's enough reduction of moisture to initiate electrical conductivity in all the right places.

Our Series 3 LR is much the same, but admittedly easier, although by no way an immediate start after prolonged rest.

My 21 year-old Defender works just fine. No rattles and hardly any dropped oil. Just sufficient to mark her territory and ALWAYS fires first flick of the key.

Our 15 year-old E55 still feels nearly new.

I recently had use of a 51-plate Ka as a loaner. 85,000 miles. Bought for £200 and abused by many but looked after properly. No squeaks, rattles and handled far better than I ever thought possible. Nothing falling off and nothing out of order. You really can't fault that.

The modern things will be auto this and auto that. They'll be economical and quiet and reasonably quick as a base model and won't have any handling vices as the electronics won't let you get into trouble and they'll be cheap to service and will never break down. Apparently.

But, you know what? I find many of these new cars utterly devoid of soul. They may just work and be easy to own and drive, but there's rarely any involvement. Good as they are, I find you rarely form a real bond with your car until you've brought them back from a malady of some kind or where they demand your attention when you drive them. When that happens, you often get rewarded as you feel part of them, and them an extension of you. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.