AND HE COULD HAVE BOUGHT…
Let’s assume our fictional used car buyer opted to spend his £999 – about £12,468 today – on a two-year-old Ford Capri. But what else could you have got for the money? Sure a Jaguar E-type would have been in a different league...?
Think again. In September 1971, a 1965 Roadster described as being ‘outstanding throughout’ was advertised in Autocar by a private seller in Plymouth for £1055. If he went down there with the cash. But ah yes, the kids. Err, what kids?
Or what about a 1966 Jaguar 3.4 S-type, advertised in Shropshire for £700 as ‘an immaculate and genuine example of this classic car’... in 1971!
Adopting a more sensible approach, a 1967 Rover P6 would have set our man back £985 at Elmbridge Motors in Tolworth, Surrey.
Meanwhile a super six-cylinder alternative would have been a Triumph 2000, surely one of the best cars of its day and a budget of £999 would mean access to a three-year-old example. Or how about a superbly equipped 1500 model? A new one would cost £1124 in 1971 but a one-year-old example could be haggled over for less.
Rootes-wise, 1970 saw the Hillman Avenger arrive in dealer showrooms, but surely a late model Humber Sceptre would have satisfied all needs with its genuinely luxurious interior, a perky 1725cc engine and a nice big boot?
Vauxhall could have offered a late Vauxhall Victor, still in FD form with ‘coke bottle’ styling and plenty of interior space, not forgetting a good choice of engines. His money could have got a much sportier-looking VX4/90 with Rostyle wheels too... well, assuming a Morris Marina was out of the question, and remembering that Mr Hero puched the wall with his fist and screamed when we suggested he might like something ‘as vulgar as an estate car, or even worse one of those foreign jobs’.
All this brings us back at the Bristol Street Motors forecourt and sheepishly picking up those Capri keys. No, we didn’t want to try the 1968 Ford Zodiac that had been in stock since January!