Quote:
Originally Posted by gadget1960
My very first brand new car was a Marina 1.7 HL in a rather fetching colour I called 'trouser brown' lol. V plate 1979. it was so cheap new I just couldn't say no to the special offer from Mumfords BL in Launceston Cornwall. it cost New ... £4,110 on the road and the brown colour was the only one they had in stock at the time of the offer. All my mates called me a total t**T for buying it and it ended up being the worst thing I ever did, in the 18 months I owned it ... it spent 59 days in total back in the garage to be fixed for any number of things .... wiper failure, brake failures (more than once), clutch failure, electrical failures (many), finally the rear axle let go ... turned out it was almost dry with no signs of leakage which indicated it had not been filled from the factory !! everything was sorted on warranty but with all the problems ... it kind of took the shine off the whole 'new car' thing.
Was a real shame tbh as a guy I worked with had a Mk1 1800 TC coupe and he never had a single bit of trouble with it, so I guess I used that as a bench mark for my purchase. ooops.
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Strangely enough I learned to drive in a 1980 Russet Brown Marina 1700L estate car.
My old man bought it almost new (nine months) in 1981, it was fitted with a towbar with single electrics which it transpired had been used by the original owner to tow a horsebox to transport his prize Jersey stud bull around Europe.
He had part exchanged it for a 2 litre Ital estate as he felt it was a little underpowered for towing, this was when the Marina had, with are you ready for this 47,000 miles on the clock
This car was completely reliable in use, so much so that several years later, after I lost the use of a company car and needed cheap transport, I bought a Marina 1300L Coupe in the same colour.
Cumulatively, I have covered in excess of one and a half million miles in a Marina in one guise or another, and even with the benefit of hindsight, and rose tinted spectacles, I've never owned both the most and least reliable of cars.
My marina pickup Douglas for instance has covered 560,000 miles (it had 23,000 miles on the clock when I bought it from it's original owner).....I'm planning on bringing him on his final voyage this month from my former "man cave" home to Gadani Beach.
These were a car that could be repaired with very few tools, and certainly within the scope of DIY repair for most owners.
It should be remembered that despite the best efforts of Derek Robinson, these cars kept British Leyland afloat in the 1970's, and if the company had folded, there would have been no subsequent ARG products, R40 included.
Brian
