1975 Wartburg Tourist Estate review from UK and Ireland

The steering box failed (all of a sudden, I had 12" free play at the steering wheel and the directional stability of a three legged cow in a sandpit). Luckily (?) the car came with a load of spares and a replacement box took about two hours to fit without even the need for a jack (accessed from under the bonnet).

There was a chronic vibration from the nearside front wheel when I bought it. I found that the roller bearing spider joint on the driveshaft had collapsed. A new one cost £13 through the owners' club and took an hour to fit.

Water in the carburettor resulted in assistance from the AA, but this was fixed by the roadside.

It finally 'died' at MOT time when the clutch failed, one of the chassis (remember them?) outriggers rusted through, the exhaust cracked and several brake cylinders started leaking. Not major problems, but I didn't have the time or space to fix them.

You don't drive a bright yellow car that sounds like a lawnmower if you don't want to be stared at!

I had always wanted one since my childhood, so when I saw what I thought was the last one left on Planet Earth, I had to have it, even though it turned out to be not the most perfect specimen of the breed.

Despite the two stroke engine, it still returned over 30 mpg and could just about hit 80 mph (not bad for a 1000cc engine in a car almost the size of a Cortina estate).

Comments from other people were priceless, such as the garage attendant who said "I was about to warn you over the tannoy; are you supposed to put unleaded in something that old?", or concerned drivers who tell you "your car is smoking a bit". It was a shame I was never pulled over by one of the police roadside emission testing units - It would probably have wrecked their equipment (two stroke vehicles of any age are not subject to any emission regulations at all in the UK).

The single circuit non-servo drum brakes were a liability. They would always stop the car, but not always in a straight line.

Spares were never a problem. Over a million were made in East Germany between 1966 and 1991 and there is a fanatical owners club in the UK.