All The Cars I Ever Bought
Audi 100 GLS-5E
WHY DID YOU WANT ONE?
How I made it into Audi ownership at the delicate age of 18 was entirely accidental. One evening, while waiting at a junction, minding my own business in my Cavalier, a local taxi driver decided to cut the corner, using me as his marker post. He misjudged it and scraped my Cavalier quite badly. A deal was struck with the taxi firm (they wanted to keep the accident off the books), whereby the firm offered to fix it at its own bodyshop. Considering that my car was in pretty poor shape before the accident, I was hoping that they’d just give me some cash.
But instead I wished them luck as I dropped it off and walked home. On my way, I strolled past a rather shabbylooking appliance-white 1978 Audi 100 (C2) with a note in the screen… and figured that this would be a nice way of keeping me mobile while the Cav’ was being refreshed. You know the rest…
WAS IT A JOY – OR A NIGHTMARE – TO LIVE WITH?
The car was being sold by a nice old lady. Her son was ‘away’, and she needed the car gone as soon as possible. The note on the screen said £250, but I made a respectful offer of £150, which she accepted. It was an exhilarating moment, which switched me on forever to the power of haggling. Excitedly, and after the most cursory of once-overs (it started, it was fine), I handed my money over, called my insurer and drove away. It was an absolute revelation after the Cavalier, not least because it was the first car I’d ever driven with powerassisted steering… I was in heaven. As I wasn’t planning on keeping it long, I limited maintenance to changing the oil and filters and fitting a few new bulbs; working on it was easy. The Cavalier came back after a few weeks so I sold the Audi on to a mate at no loss… and immediately regretted it. The Cavalier was slow, boring and in far worse condition.
WHAT’S YOUR ABIDING MEMORY OF IT?
was so much more, as this big box of a car was great for transporting mates, keeping my tools in and generally wafting around in great comfort. I remember the impressive three-dial instrument pack and the longest, brightest line of warning lights that I’d ever encountered. I also loved how the rear end would shimmy like a happy Labrador wagging its tail when you made it to 70mph on the motorway. I finally looked underneath and saw that it had a slightly bent beam axle. Oops. But despite that, the few weeks of ownership of this car in my formative car years taught me a few important lessons – five-cylinder engines are awesome; look under a car before buying it; and always haggle politely!
WHAT I PAID
PRICE NOW
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR BUYING ONE?
Ha! If you’re reading this in the UK, your top tip will be finding one! I’d say that I’ve seen maybe two for sale in the past decade and they were snapped up before I had a sniff. If you’re reading this, own one, and fancy making an old man happy, do please sell it to me. That aside, check everywhere for rust, especially around the suspension mounts and sills, and accept that if it needs interior parts, you might be in for a long and expensive wait. The engine and gearbox are very robust, but do have a liking for fresh oil, changed very regularly. So ensure that the seller was well-versed in servicing it.