If you are thinking of having fun and getting your first classic car, here we propose five with which you will be sure. They will give you a lot of satisfaction in exchange for little money and, in addition, you will be able to carry out much of its maintenance yourself.

The world of classic cars in Spain has little fondness, but it is in a certain boom and there are many people who consider getting one, either out of nostalgia for their childhood trips, for fun or to find an excuse and something to do. weekends. We propose five cars which you will enjoy a lot in exchange for very little.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons why there is little love for classic cars is because we still think that owning an old car is an eccentricity or a whim of the rich, but it is not like that, or at least it does not have to be. You can get a classic car even for less than a thousand euros, its insurance can cost as little as 50 euros and there are even municipalities in which you will not pay municipal tax. That is, it is a hobby in which you can spend what you want / can, but it can be very cheap and give you many joys, meet people or, best of all, share it with the little ones at home.

In this of the classics, there is something for all tastes. Many enter this world because they have a thorn stuck in their childhood, the neighbor’s car that they always envied, the car in which they made trips as children, etc. There is also the one who has always wanted a model and finally, he is put to shot and all his savings are spent on it, but if it is your first classic, the best advice I can give you is not to complicate your life too much and prevent yourself of three things :

• Flee from the false “handymen”
• Look for a model that is simple and for which it is easy to get spare parts
• It is better to buy a unit in good condition something more expensive than a bargain to make, especially on these cheap cars

There’s nothing more frustrating than turning a hobby into a nightmare over a car that turns into a bottomless pit and you spend more time in the shop than enjoying it. It is better to have a simple car and use it every time you have the chance than a marvel that only serves to take up space in the workshop.

With this in mind, here are our recommendations and their prices for “plug & play” units, that is, you can enjoy them from the moment you buy them because they do not need repairs or restorations.

Citroën Dyane 6

Here we could have put a 2CV, but the problem is that for an objectively worse car (although with more charisma and sympathy), you would have to spend more than double. The Dyane 6 is a car that has everything that the 2CV has and even more and that you can get for prices around 3,000 euros, almost half of what they will ask for a 2CV in identical conditions.

As with the 2CV, the aftermarket for the Dyane 6 is very abundant, many original parts still exist and countless new references are being reproduced, so it is very easy to keep it in perfect running condition.

For just 3,000 euros you can enjoy a trip back in time, a convertible car, a saloon with which to travel with 5 people, and get to where you want and that will only ask for gasoline and oil in exchange.

One of the great disadvantages of classic cars is that they tend to have breakdowns in the cooling circuit due to lack of use. The Dyane 6 has air and oil-cooled engine where you can forget about having to change hoses, thermostats, radiators, water pumps or cylinder head gaskets. You just have to worry about keeping the oil level well and a set of points to reach the end of the world with it whatever the weather conditions.

With it you will learn mechanics and you can do many things yourself, but don’t be fooled by its simplicity, some operations require expert hands and specific tools. If you keep those few details (ignition adjustment, brake shoes, heating hoses, exhaust manifold gaskets …) up to date, you are going to enjoy it like crazy and you will forget about tolls and highways.

Volkswagen Beetle

The VW Beetle is another car with very simple maintenance and that you can get at very affordable prices. As it was manufactured many years and there are countless versions, there are some that are at prohibitive prices, but unless you are determined to buy a Hebmuller Cabrio (for which you will have to spend more than 100,000 euros), you can get a 1,200 in good condition around 3,000 euros, although my advice, if you are starting, is to look for 1303, something more comfortable and with disc brakes on the front axle, as well as a 12V electrical installation.

As with the Dyane, in the Beetle you can forget about all the problems of water cooling, just bring the correct oil level. You can also fix almost all the problems yourself, but there are things that you should scrupulously take care of: oil quality, ignition point, spark plug thermal degree, dynamo belt, and ventilation flap thermostat in order.

With all that in good condition, the Volkswagen Beetle is a car that will give you many joys and in which you will not lose money if at any time you have to get rid of its company.

Mini

Although it is not air-cooled, the Mini is another car with very simple mechanics and for which it is very easy to find spare parts and accessories. Its price is not too high (unless you are looking for a 1275 GT, Cooper or Cooper S) and it is a lot of fun to use. In addition, it is an easy car to sell and in which you can recover the investment.

If you like regularity rallies, it is an excellent alternative since its size makes the roads on which these tests are usually carried outlook like motorways, which is an advantage. Be very careful about corrosion if you are looking for one. We tend to give less importance to a rust bubble under the windshield than to a seized engine when the severity of the problem is just the reverse.

As it is a car that was manufactured until almost before yesterday, make sure that the one you buy is more than 30 years old to be considered a classic and to be able to adhere to the advantages that this implies.

Seat 127

We could have put a Marbella or a Panda here, but the famous “Panda Raid” is making the prices of those models absurdly crazy. For much more reasonable figures than those that are being asked for a Panda or a Seat 600, you can buy a Seat 127 that is much more fun to drive and much more car.

It is still easy to find most of the spare parts for this car and if there is no one in Seat you probably have it with a Fiat reference.

Its strengths are its excellent handling (you will be surprised how well it goes, even compared to modern utility vehicles), the costs of maintenance and use (it spends little) and that you can do most of the maintenance yourself.

Its main weak point is corrosion. Look for a specimen that has not lived in coastal areas, you can find units inside that are impeccable bodywork. As it was a very lively car, beware of accidents, many served as a school car for “frustrated drivers” and ended up dislodged in a ditch.

Renault 4l

The current fashion with this car has caused its prices to double, but it is still easy to find a «four cans» for just 2,500 euros in very good condition, although not the «Parisienne» version of the photograph that heads this pulled apart.

It’s central/front engine makes it have a good weight distribution and a more pleasant drive than its quirky appearance can suggest, but the best thing is that it is a true desert camel, a car with formidable reliability thanks to its simplicity. mechanics.

With it you can do the maintenance yourself, it consumes little, it is still easy to find any spare parts for it and it is fashionable thanks to the fact that it is Pope Francis’s car and sports events for classics such as the Spain Classic Raid.