28th Apr 2009, 03:07
My first car was a Talbot Samba, and I thought it was great. Mine was yellow with a grey and pink stripe down the sides. I always found the gears hard to change, so I usually ended up going round the corners in 4th gear, but it got me from A to B at that time. I was pregnant at the time, so couldn't afford to get any repairs done on it, so I just drove it into the ground. God, it seems like a lifetime ago now. My twins are now 15, but I'll never forget my Talbot Samba.
16th May 2015, 23:27
What a great comment - really personalises what old cars can mean to people, and how even the most unloved of models always means something to somebody somewhere.
My own fond memory is the SEAT Marbella - great memories of the car that took me the length of the country to the lady who is now my wife of 20 years.
12th Jan 2024, 12:06
My second car was a Talbot Samba style silver, a late-ish 86 model I bought cheap from a car dealer back in 1996. I bought it for believe it or not a tiny sum of £90. It had no MOT and tax, and was sold as seen. We towed it home, and I booked it in for an MOT at my local garage only half a mile away. It passed; it needed a headlight bulb and headlight beam adjustment, and only had 30000 miles on the clock. I had a 10 year old low mileage car for less than £140; try that now.
It was economical and reliable, but the tappet rattle did my head in. I adjusted them and adjusted them, but could never quiet them. Apart from that it was a good little town runabout until I crashed it on ice the following winter and it was a write off.
31st Mar 2008, 15:55
My first car was a 1985 Samba Trio in metallic midnight blue - a 1.1 if memory serves. Being 15 stone and 6'2, it wasn't the best choice, but for 175 quid what are you going to do?
I remember the wobbly speedometer needle would only narrow down your speed to the nearest 10mph. Other than that, and being mocked by other kids whose parents bought them cars, it was a great little vehicle. The engine was bulletproof, cheap on fuel and insurance, and minus the pink piping around the seats, the interior was passable.
It served me well for about 9 months and 15,000 miles before I parked it into the front of a Fiat Uno at about 30mph. The Uno came off far worse, but alas the Samba was a write-off too.