Buying Guide

Which classic Mini should you buy, and what should you check before you do? A plain-English guide to choosing between the standard Mini, the Cooper, the Clubman, the Traveller, the Moke and the rest, where these cars rust, the mechanical points to check, and how to avoid a cloned Cooper.

From the rear-wheel-drive rally Escorts to the Capri V6, the XR hot hatches and the mighty Sierra Cosworth, the classic fast Fords are some of the most loved and fastest-rising British classics. A plain-English guide to the main families, how they differ, what they cost, how to choose, and how to avoid a cloned car.

The classic Triumph TR roadsters run from the side-screen TR2 of 1953 to the muscular TR6 of the 1970s, and they are very different cars to live with. A plain-English guide to the differences between the TR2, TR3, TR4, TR4A, TR5 and TR6, what each is like to own, what they cost, and how to choose the right one.

A practical, plain-English guide to owning a classic or vintage tractor in Britain. How to register an old tractor with the DVLA, the historic tax class and the forty-year rule, why tractors are MOT exempt, the licence and rules for driving one on the road, the red-diesel question that catches people out, and what to look for when buying and running one.