‘Both cars are easy to service, brilliant fun and cheap to run’

1993 Honda Civic CRX ESI, 1997 Honda CRX del sol Transtop Pete Naylor, Shropshire

I always wanted a drop-top, but with a limited budget and only two seats this was not possible with a family. Then my son David bought a Honda Civic ESI. It had stood for two years unused. The front driver’s side wing, headlamp and indicator were damaged, the back box was unserviceable, the brakes seized and battery dead. David found the parts on ebay and we soon had it on the road. He used the car for a number of years, but a new job with a car and marriage meant it was not required. So, I took it on. The power-assisted steering, light gearchange and excellent brakes make it easy to drive – my wife loves it. As I am now in my Sixties, the frailty factor prompted the purchase of the newer car, an ESI Transtop model. These cars have an amazing mechanism that lifts the bootlid vertically, tilts the roof, and some rods then pull the roof into the bootlid.