Wow - I grew up in the UK and lived there until 1980. This is an interesting choice.

As other folks have said, if it was a MkII Lotus Cortina or even a hot Escort Mk 1 then I might have gone for it. But the newer Cortina you are looking at looks plain butt ugly to me after 27 years in Canada.

I suspect a lot of the decision should be driven by which vehicle can get through the MoT with an affordable amount of body work. The Merc is more repairable as the Cortina is basically built out of tinfoil in comparison.

If the 240d you are looking at has a manual gearbox, go for it. Forget it if it's an automatic, as your mates will laugh you out of the pub as a hopeless wimp.

Mercedes parts are really cheap in Germany. I had a friend in Glasgow who had an old 300d Wagon (estate) and he used to take short vacation trips to Germany to get parts. Parts for the older cars are about 50% of the retail price you'll have to pay in the UK.

That Ford looks like a tweaked Maverick. Go with the Merc.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

I'm split 50/50 still. I think it's generally going to be a case of going to see Cortina's and W123's till I find one I like. Just went to see a Cortina today but it was a bit of a wreck so I'll keep looking. Some of my mates are warming to the idea of the Merc though. They're hard to find out here though so I think it's going to be a case of getting an auto and swapping the gearbox when I get the opportunity. Otherwise I'll never find one.