I don't know much about Series Landies except for the basics - reputation and so-on. Been in one once or twice, and helped my father-in-law work on restoring his 2a(? - I think) a little bit. I liked how simple and easy to work on it was, and I don't think I'm bothered about the, er, old-fashioned driving experience.
Recently I've been looking for a vehicle for work purposes. I'm doing well under 5k miles a year, all urban, mostly in rush-hour traffic. Currently I'm doing it in a BMW E30 3 series, which isn't the right car for the job - particularly given that I'm carrying enough stuff around that the E30 is packed to the roof liner.
I'm doing few enough miles that insurance and road tax on most cars costs more than a year's fuel, unless it's in something really ridiculously thirsty. That means something tax exempt and on classic car cover is a good option - in theory.
First question: is it totally bonkers to be considering a pre-73 Landy for the job? Generally, they seem to fit the bill on paper, but I don't know enough about them to say if that's true in practice.
Second question: I'm happy enough working on vehicles, especially relatively uncomplicated ones like these, but I don't have a lot of free time right now. If I buy one in good running order to start with, what's it going to cost me in time and money to keep it maintained to a decent standard? What about if I end up paying someone else to work on it?
Third: what's real-world fuel economy going to be like in urban driving? Is there much difference between petrols and diesels?
Fourth: how much does a decent tax-free runner actually cost? I'm not bothered about the looks, so bodywork and interior are unimportant as long as they're functional.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things I should be asking, but this is long enough already
Thanks in advance for all your help.
Recently I've been looking for a vehicle for work purposes. I'm doing well under 5k miles a year, all urban, mostly in rush-hour traffic. Currently I'm doing it in a BMW E30 3 series, which isn't the right car for the job - particularly given that I'm carrying enough stuff around that the E30 is packed to the roof liner.
I'm doing few enough miles that insurance and road tax on most cars costs more than a year's fuel, unless it's in something really ridiculously thirsty. That means something tax exempt and on classic car cover is a good option - in theory.
First question: is it totally bonkers to be considering a pre-73 Landy for the job? Generally, they seem to fit the bill on paper, but I don't know enough about them to say if that's true in practice.
Second question: I'm happy enough working on vehicles, especially relatively uncomplicated ones like these, but I don't have a lot of free time right now. If I buy one in good running order to start with, what's it going to cost me in time and money to keep it maintained to a decent standard? What about if I end up paying someone else to work on it?
Third: what's real-world fuel economy going to be like in urban driving? Is there much difference between petrols and diesels?
Fourth: how much does a decent tax-free runner actually cost? I'm not bothered about the looks, so bodywork and interior are unimportant as long as they're functional.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things I should be asking, but this is long enough already
Thanks in advance for all your help.