The days when ripspeed was a name to go to , now its one to run from since halfords bought the name and went chavtastic

 

Is that Slough High Street?

 

no mate that was their old HQ in edmonton

 

That accessories shop looks just like the 1 they had in Slough.

 

no this is it now as used to almost live there in the 80s like most teens with cars

 

Cool pics. The days of you kids spending a fortune on there fiestas,novas, Peugeots have long gone. Now the young ones just got to a car sales and get finance on an Audi,bmw or Merc.

what has this world come too lol. Imo it's all about showingoff these days.

 

sadly its changed for the worse like most things car related

 

Yeh I agree matey. There was always modded cars going about years ago where now we are lucky if we see 1 a month.

I bet Halfords have noticed a drop in sales over the years.

 

I remember making the trip to Ripspeed and it was like heaven! Keith Rip was the owner IIRC.

It is such a shame that the modding culture has died as it taught people where the oily bits were on a car.

 

yes mate it was keith and his sons they later opened extreme and R-tec st albans after selling the name ripspeed to halfords in 99

 

Happy days, visited once, but mainly mail order for me, Janspeed brings it all back.

 

Lived just round the corner - oh man you bought back some memories - still mates with one of the ex employees

 

used to go there every saturday and what ever keith did not have drove down the road to andy burtons place and got it there , happy days

 

 

Can you blame them? Why spend a grand on an old shed then Ł10k on modifying it, when you can get a brand new Golf R/S3/Leon/whatever on PCP, not break down every week and, with a remap, have 400bhp to play with.

The car modifying scene is probably in better health than its been in for a decade, it's just changed from what a lot of older people remember. On the odd occasion I've passed by the local modified car hang out, it's been busier than I've seen it in years.

We should be jealous of how things are to be honest. People have never had such easy access to such high levels of performance.

 

For me I have modified EVERY Ford I have owned ( Anglia 105E, Cortina 1600e, V6 Mk1 Capri,Lotus Cortina Mk2, 1600E Savage V6 and my current Saff 2wd ) and that has always been the enjoyment, suprising people with cars which were never very powerfull and getting them up to a high performance level.

 

Great pics there. I enjoyed the 90s a lot with the scene then.

 

Cars back then had more character and the scene now is boring, its a case of who has the biggest cheque book.

 

I don't blame them no. When I first past my test I had a 250 quid banger not 250 quid a month on finance on a car for over 5 years. I've never had finance for a car and I'm 40.

 

My first car was a 1.3 bonus popular in blue that my parents bought me. First car I started modifying and was a nice clean car. Wish I still had it now and it makes me want another mk4 which I want to get soon.

 

use to wander in with my 'ringer' xr2 18 year old lol didnt know wat the hell i was looking at - all i knew was Koni & Janspeed- i still speak to Jon ( lol i remember he ran a spare battery in front seat with spare jumpers looool) didnt know any of the other lads only Jon...

 

Is never having a car on finance something to be proud of though? My first car was Ł800 and most of my friends were too. What a lot of people don't consider is that having the car on finance is sometimes barely any more expensive than having something cheap. I know a guy who is sad enough to have done lots of sums on cost of ownership and, by the time you take into account maintenance on the old car, lack of maintenance on the new one, the overall cost of ownership can be closer than you think. The difference is, one person is driving around in an old snotter, the other is driving round in a shiny new car

I've done both and both have good and bad points. Each to their own I think. If people can afford it, good luck to them. I wish I had a 400bhp TT RS when I was in my early 20s like one of my mates did

 

even once ive saved up the cash to buy a car im after outright id rather keep my lump sum of savings and get a bank loan. on a Ł20K loan your only paying about Ł1500 interest over 5 years. nowadays its so much easier and affordable to get something bigger/better.
even 17-18 year olds can get behind the wheel of a brand new car in all in one packages of car/tax/insurance for only a couple of hundred quid a month.

 

did the same

 

Some people enjoy working on their cars and owning a new car which can only be serviced/repaired at a main dealer does'nt appeal to everyone.I am not saying that your daily should be an old banger which could let you down as that is no good for most people but talking more about your other week-end toys. My Son likes doing as much as possible himself when it comes to his Subaru Impreza WRX as it is still a car that can be worked on at home. The cleaning and detailing is not his cup of tea so that is left up to me!! I will be getting a newish Mondeo Estate soon and that will be serviced at the Ford dealers which makes sense as I need a reliable car for both work and trips away.

 

Isn't having an interest in mechanical engineering and learning how things work all part of being interested in cars? I think a lot of young ones nowadays like the idea of being into cars so they buy performance hatches, but they don't really have an interest in getting involved in the maintenance side of things. They just seem to be interested in looking good....
The amount of 'basic' questions that I see posted on social media is embarrassing, a bit of common sense and knowing their way around a toolbox will get them along way. They just don't seem interested in figuring it out themselves and rather post up a question and get given an answer....