Matt Bird

4 days ago | pistonheads.com | Matt Bird

It’s always nice to see just a few owners associated with a car for sale. It’s not the be-all and end-all, of course, but having a couple of people keep something for a good few years between them - rather than being passed from pillar to post - is reassuring. They will know the car, have learned its quirks, and presumably have cared for something they’ve long enjoyed. Services don’t tend to be skipped, for example, when keeping a car for years.

5 days ago | pistonheads.com | Matt Bird

We all know the temptation of a higher mileage motor. Some of us will have taken the chance and come out smelling (mostly) of roses. When it all goes well, when a car has been maintained properly and money spent where required, it can be a smart way into great cars for less money. Nothing spooks the average car buyer like a six-figure mileage. But when it goes wrong, and more cash ends up being spent than would have bought a regular example, you feel a bit silly. All part of the used car fun.

5 days ago | pistonheads.com | Matt Bird

You know how it goes with an end-of-an-era special edition these days. There’ll be a social media teaser campaign, a lavish launch video, a luxuriant press release that extends into many thousands of words and lots of disappointed customers who didn’t get an allocation. Whether it’s the final manual, last combustion engine or the retirement of a nameplate, a similar sort of frenzy is whipped up every single time. The very opposite was true when this car was made.

5 days ago | pistonheads.com | Matt Bird

We all know the temptation of a higher mileage motor. Some of us will have taken the chance and come out smelling (mostly) of roses. When it all goes well, when a car has been maintained properly and money spent where required, it can be a smart way into great cars for less money. Nothing spooks the average car buyer like a six figure mileage. But when it goes wrong, and more cash ends up being spent than would have bought a regular example, you feel a bit silly. All part of the used car fun.

6 days ago | pistonheads.com | Matt Bird

Recently, I haven’t had the best luck when it comes to clutches. Promise I’m not a car killer - at least I hope not. But having spent c. £1,500 having the clutch and flywheel changed on the Mini last year, it cooked a head gasket a matter of weeks later. I sold it for a third of that clutch change cost, which still hurts. Now I’ve spent the same again doing an identical job on the Compact.