RE: PH Blog: Regretfully Yours
Discussion
pSyCoSiS said:
I'm not a dealer.
I'm serial car buyer who has a 'hit list' of cars to own before I reach a certain age and a soft spot for older German barges and Jags. Feel free to read through my car history.....
Some cars I keep for longer periods, some only for a very short period of time, i.e. 'stop gap' cars. It works out maybe at one per month, but that's not necessarily an accurate representation of how long I keep them.
And so what even if it were one car per month? Are you saying it's not possible?!
There are only a few cars which I have kept for longer periods, which are the ones I want to keep for a very long time...
But, they have ALL been owned by me, and registered in my name.
So, no, I am not making it up. And Yes I have owned them. And I won't be pulling anything, thanks!
I don't doubt that you have done it but I have to ask why? I looked at your car history and see so many very similar cars - and some not particularly exciting cars at that. I'm serial car buyer who has a 'hit list' of cars to own before I reach a certain age and a soft spot for older German barges and Jags. Feel free to read through my car history.....
Some cars I keep for longer periods, some only for a very short period of time, i.e. 'stop gap' cars. It works out maybe at one per month, but that's not necessarily an accurate representation of how long I keep them.
And so what even if it were one car per month? Are you saying it's not possible?!
There are only a few cars which I have kept for longer periods, which are the ones I want to keep for a very long time...
But, they have ALL been owned by me, and registered in my name.
So, no, I am not making it up. And Yes I have owned them. And I won't be pulling anything, thanks!
How do you even have the motivation to swap them so regularly for something that's maybe simply a different colour? Selling, buying, registering and insuring cars is a ball-ache - why would you put yourself through that every month! Not to mention any taxing, MOT-ing or repairing you might need to do on every new one you get.
I have a `hit list` of cars I sometimes think I'd like to try and have thought about making my daily driver the `hit list` car and changing it every now and then to work through them. What puts me off is the high likelihood some will be a let down and the hassle of changing them. On the plus side at least my hit list is quite diverse (205 GTi / Astra GSI (c.1994) / Delta / Escort Mk2 / Evo MR340 / etc etc.)
Genuinely interested.
Hmmm - where to start....
1969 Triumph Vitesse convertible, always parked on a hill pointing downwards for obvious reasons, wheel trims which regularly overtook the car itself, and a drivers door that swung open when tackling roundabouts in a mildly enthusiastic manner. It (OUN39G) still lives according to the DVLA which is a miracle given that a) it was a bag of nails b) it was stolen from outside my flat in North London and found a year later in a field 22 miles from Lands End. With the roof down. Hats off to the thief - I would NEVER dared driven it that far...
1970 Mercedes 250CE - in apparently 'pristine' condition until I decided to have the sills replaced as they were getting slightly frilly at the edges - upon which we discovered there was nothing to weld them to - the floor was totally, and I mean totally, glassfibre. Took my welder two solid weeks working 8 hours a day to fix it. Do not buy a car based on the associated glamour (to my eyes) that the first service was carried out in the French Riviera...last seen on eBay 10 years ago being sold by the next owner after he'd left it for a month with the sunroof open (is there a theme here?) and rotted out all the lovely new metalwork I'd had done. XAP202J do you live in a quiet corner somewhere awaiting resurrection?
1999 BMW 840CI - for no other reason than it couldn't hold a candle to the 1982 Porsche 928S it replaced. SOW 292 - I miss you, come back.
But the one that really broke my heart was this - a 1985 Lancia Gamma coupe. Bought at a Coys auction in Westminster having consumed several glasses of complimentary wine (cunning that) on a school night it was mine for a paltry 800 notes. No matter that there wasn't even enough juice in the battery to power the interior lights, or that I was essentially the only bidder, or it was the dreaded automatic, or indeed the MOT was only a week old yet when I drove it home the osf wheel bearing was clearly shot. I felt well smug when my purchase was reported in no less than 3 classic car journals as an absolute steal, and even smugger when Jack Romana of the Lancia Gamma consortium told me he'd personally rebuilt the engine in my car and it was a peach. Unfortunately a few years had passed since then..... a brand new battery could discharge in an afternoon, it ate plug leads every few months, it constantly jumped out of gear, it boiled more frequently than my flatmate made tea, and at idle the dashboard
chattered more loudly than a fishwife. 18 months, 600 miles and £2500 later I threw it to the mercy of eBay. Where it sold for 800 notes....and no write ups this time...
But did I regret it? Not really - I mean look at it (which admittedly is all I could do for most of my ownership) - I think one of the most coherent and beautiful coupe designs of all time. Lancia - what a missed opportunity to produce a modern great.
And speaking of regrets, how about the ones we should have bought - the mint prototype Jensen Interceptor HEA 1D for I think 7K around 10 years back, a one owner BMW 3.0 CSA for 4K about the same time, and the one I really regret not pursuing - Sean Connery's silver BMW 3.0 CSL which was kicking around Loot in the mid 90's for a mere 2/3K....
1969 Triumph Vitesse convertible, always parked on a hill pointing downwards for obvious reasons, wheel trims which regularly overtook the car itself, and a drivers door that swung open when tackling roundabouts in a mildly enthusiastic manner. It (OUN39G) still lives according to the DVLA which is a miracle given that a) it was a bag of nails b) it was stolen from outside my flat in North London and found a year later in a field 22 miles from Lands End. With the roof down. Hats off to the thief - I would NEVER dared driven it that far...
1970 Mercedes 250CE - in apparently 'pristine' condition until I decided to have the sills replaced as they were getting slightly frilly at the edges - upon which we discovered there was nothing to weld them to - the floor was totally, and I mean totally, glassfibre. Took my welder two solid weeks working 8 hours a day to fix it. Do not buy a car based on the associated glamour (to my eyes) that the first service was carried out in the French Riviera...last seen on eBay 10 years ago being sold by the next owner after he'd left it for a month with the sunroof open (is there a theme here?) and rotted out all the lovely new metalwork I'd had done. XAP202J do you live in a quiet corner somewhere awaiting resurrection?
1999 BMW 840CI - for no other reason than it couldn't hold a candle to the 1982 Porsche 928S it replaced. SOW 292 - I miss you, come back.
But the one that really broke my heart was this - a 1985 Lancia Gamma coupe. Bought at a Coys auction in Westminster having consumed several glasses of complimentary wine (cunning that) on a school night it was mine for a paltry 800 notes. No matter that there wasn't even enough juice in the battery to power the interior lights, or that I was essentially the only bidder, or it was the dreaded automatic, or indeed the MOT was only a week old yet when I drove it home the osf wheel bearing was clearly shot. I felt well smug when my purchase was reported in no less than 3 classic car journals as an absolute steal, and even smugger when Jack Romana of the Lancia Gamma consortium told me he'd personally rebuilt the engine in my car and it was a peach. Unfortunately a few years had passed since then..... a brand new battery could discharge in an afternoon, it ate plug leads every few months, it constantly jumped out of gear, it boiled more frequently than my flatmate made tea, and at idle the dashboard
chattered more loudly than a fishwife. 18 months, 600 miles and £2500 later I threw it to the mercy of eBay. Where it sold for 800 notes....and no write ups this time...
But did I regret it? Not really - I mean look at it (which admittedly is all I could do for most of my ownership) - I think one of the most coherent and beautiful coupe designs of all time. Lancia - what a missed opportunity to produce a modern great.
And speaking of regrets, how about the ones we should have bought - the mint prototype Jensen Interceptor HEA 1D for I think 7K around 10 years back, a one owner BMW 3.0 CSA for 4K about the same time, and the one I really regret not pursuing - Sean Connery's silver BMW 3.0 CSL which was kicking around Loot in the mid 90's for a mere 2/3K....
Edited by js68 on Sunday 13th January 12:10
This little gem
The day after I got it home it had dumped all the oil on my drive. Turned out the washer in the oil cooler had bust.......simple fix cost me £1.50.
I then found that the MOT paperwork I had with the car was infact not correct and the car was not MOT'd (I did the stupid thing of purchasing the car without doing too much digging).
So got the car MOT'd, needed some work done on the exhaust hangers and a touch of welding on the rear due to rust (I knew the tin worm was there).
On the way back from the MOT the headgasket decided to blow, this also warped the head big time and fecked up 3 of the piston rings.
I fixed the HG and didnt know too much about what to look for so didnt see the piston rings. So it still sounded very rough and didnt run that well. After weighing the cost of a second hand bottom end and also the rust issues and a vast amount of filler on one one of the sills that I discovered, I decided to call it a day.
The day after I got it home it had dumped all the oil on my drive. Turned out the washer in the oil cooler had bust.......simple fix cost me £1.50.
I then found that the MOT paperwork I had with the car was infact not correct and the car was not MOT'd (I did the stupid thing of purchasing the car without doing too much digging).
So got the car MOT'd, needed some work done on the exhaust hangers and a touch of welding on the rear due to rust (I knew the tin worm was there).
On the way back from the MOT the headgasket decided to blow, this also warped the head big time and fecked up 3 of the piston rings.
I fixed the HG and didnt know too much about what to look for so didnt see the piston rings. So it still sounded very rough and didnt run that well. After weighing the cost of a second hand bottom end and also the rust issues and a vast amount of filler on one one of the sills that I discovered, I decided to call it a day.
Ari said:
You're welcome. 
I think we've all been there, but it does always make me smile when the usual suspects lambaste someone for buying a decent recent car with crazy tales of how they could have bought a 10 year old Jag or a million mile BMW 7 Series "for half that mate".
I've bought recent cars and old ones. The old ones have certainly been more fun and interesting I think we've all been there, but it does always make me smile when the usual suspects lambaste someone for buying a decent recent car with crazy tales of how they could have bought a 10 year old Jag or a million mile BMW 7 Series "for half that mate".
Just caught up with this, some good tles there I think that cars are really just like people, though, the least reliable ones with a prodigous thirst are the most fun to be with and vice versa.
Earlier this year, Mrs Case bought a two-year Toyota Auris; very reliable, comfortable, roomy and economical, but the worst car to drive that either of us had ever had. the electric power steering is devoid of feel, the stop-start is stop for the first mile or so and the ride is so bad that even our dog had enough of it. Within 25 miles of our first decent run he had escaped from his cage, opened the window (note to self, do not buy another car with electric rear windows) and was attempting to make a bid for freedom, which was only prevented by an emergency stop and pushing him back in against much protesting!
Now, off to the classifieds to look for a rusty W210 with the dash lit up like a Christmas tree;)
I think that cars are really just like people, though, the least reliable ones with a prodigous thirst are the most fun to be with and vice versa.Earlier this year, Mrs Case bought a two-year Toyota Auris; very reliable, comfortable, roomy and economical, but the worst car to drive that either of us had ever had. the electric power steering is devoid of feel, the stop-start is stop for the first mile or so and the ride is so bad that even our dog had enough of it. Within 25 miles of our first decent run he had escaped from his cage, opened the window (note to self, do not buy another car with electric rear windows) and was attempting to make a bid for freedom, which was only prevented by an emergency stop and pushing him back in against much protesting!
Now, off to the classifieds to look for a rusty W210 with the dash lit up like a Christmas tree;)
js68 said:
Hmmm - where to start....
1969 Triumph Vitesse convertible, always parked on a hill pointing downwards for obvious reasons, wheel trims which regularly overtook the car itself, and a drivers door that swung open when tackling roundabouts in a mildly enthusiastic manner. It (OUN39G) still lives according to the DVLA which is a miracle given that a) it was a bag of nails b) it was stolen from outside my flat in North London and found a year later in a field 22 miles from Lands End. With the roof down. Hats off to the thief - I would NEVER dared driven it that far...
1970 Mercedes 250CE - in apparently 'pristine' condition until I decided to have the sills replaced as they were getting slightly frilly at the edges - upon which we discovered there was nothing to weld them to - the floor was totally, and I mean totally, glassfibre. Took my welder two solid weeks working 8 hours a day to fix it. Do not buy a car based on the associated glamour (to my eyes) that the first service was carried out in the French Riviera...last seen on eBay 10 years ago being sold by the next owner after he'd left it for a month with the sunroof open (is there a theme here?) and rotted out all the lovely new metalwork I'd had done. XAP202J do you live in a quiet corner somewhere awaiting resurrection?
1999 BMW 840CI - for no other reason than it couldn't hold a candle to the 1982 Porsche 928S it replaced. SOW 292 - I miss you, come back.
But the one that really broke my heart was this - a 1985 Lancia Gamma coupe. Bought at a Coys auction in Westminster having consumed several glasses of complimentary wine (cunning that) on a school night it was mine for a paltry 800 notes. No matter that there wasn't even enough juice in the battery to power the interior lights, or that I was essentially the only bidder, or it was the dreaded automatic, or indeed the MOT was only a week old yet when I drove it home the osf wheel bearing was clearly shot. I felt well smug when my purchase was reported in no less than 3 classic car journals as an absolute steal, and even smugger when Jack Romana of the Lancia Gamma consortium told me he'd personally rebuilt the engine in my car and it was a peach. Unfortunately a few years had passed since then..... a brand new battery could discharge in an afternoon, it ate plug leads every few months, it constantly jumped out of gear, it boiled more frequently than my flatmate made tea, and at idle the dashboard
chattered more loudly than a fishwife. 18 months, 600 miles and £2500 later I threw it to the mercy of eBay. Where it sold for 800 notes....and no write ups this time...
But did I regret it? Not really - I mean look at it (which admittedly is all I could do for most of my ownership) - I think one of the most coherent and beautiful coupe designs of all time. Lancia - what a missed opportunity to produce a modern great.
And speaking of regrets, how about the ones we should have bought - the mint prototype Jensen Interceptor HEA 1D for I think 7K around 10 years back, a one owner BMW 3.0 CSA for 4K about the same time, and the one I really regret not pursuing - Sean Connery's silver BMW 3.0 CSL which was kicking around Loot in the mid 90's for a mere 2/3K....
It lives!! Though curiously it's a different colour, has a different bonnet and dashboard and just why would you remove the overdrive that it came equipped from the factory with...1969 Triumph Vitesse convertible, always parked on a hill pointing downwards for obvious reasons, wheel trims which regularly overtook the car itself, and a drivers door that swung open when tackling roundabouts in a mildly enthusiastic manner. It (OUN39G) still lives according to the DVLA which is a miracle given that a) it was a bag of nails b) it was stolen from outside my flat in North London and found a year later in a field 22 miles from Lands End. With the roof down. Hats off to the thief - I would NEVER dared driven it that far...
1970 Mercedes 250CE - in apparently 'pristine' condition until I decided to have the sills replaced as they were getting slightly frilly at the edges - upon which we discovered there was nothing to weld them to - the floor was totally, and I mean totally, glassfibre. Took my welder two solid weeks working 8 hours a day to fix it. Do not buy a car based on the associated glamour (to my eyes) that the first service was carried out in the French Riviera...last seen on eBay 10 years ago being sold by the next owner after he'd left it for a month with the sunroof open (is there a theme here?) and rotted out all the lovely new metalwork I'd had done. XAP202J do you live in a quiet corner somewhere awaiting resurrection?
1999 BMW 840CI - for no other reason than it couldn't hold a candle to the 1982 Porsche 928S it replaced. SOW 292 - I miss you, come back.
But the one that really broke my heart was this - a 1985 Lancia Gamma coupe. Bought at a Coys auction in Westminster having consumed several glasses of complimentary wine (cunning that) on a school night it was mine for a paltry 800 notes. No matter that there wasn't even enough juice in the battery to power the interior lights, or that I was essentially the only bidder, or it was the dreaded automatic, or indeed the MOT was only a week old yet when I drove it home the osf wheel bearing was clearly shot. I felt well smug when my purchase was reported in no less than 3 classic car journals as an absolute steal, and even smugger when Jack Romana of the Lancia Gamma consortium told me he'd personally rebuilt the engine in my car and it was a peach. Unfortunately a few years had passed since then..... a brand new battery could discharge in an afternoon, it ate plug leads every few months, it constantly jumped out of gear, it boiled more frequently than my flatmate made tea, and at idle the dashboard
chattered more loudly than a fishwife. 18 months, 600 miles and £2500 later I threw it to the mercy of eBay. Where it sold for 800 notes....and no write ups this time...
But did I regret it? Not really - I mean look at it (which admittedly is all I could do for most of my ownership) - I think one of the most coherent and beautiful coupe designs of all time. Lancia - what a missed opportunity to produce a modern great.
And speaking of regrets, how about the ones we should have bought - the mint prototype Jensen Interceptor HEA 1D for I think 7K around 10 years back, a one owner BMW 3.0 CSA for 4K about the same time, and the one I really regret not pursuing - Sean Connery's silver BMW 3.0 CSL which was kicking around Loot in the mid 90's for a mere 2/3K....
Edited by js68 on Sunday 13th January 12:10
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C471536
js68 said:
It lives!! Though curiously it's a different colour, has a different bonnet and dashboard and just why would you remove the overdrive that it came equipped from the factory with...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C471536
Do you think it's one that got missed from here:-http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C471536
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
havoc said:
Do you think it's one that got missed from here:-
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
you might think that, I couldn't possibly comment....!http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Vw corrado 1.8 16v, terrible, 2 engines and 2 gearboxes in 3 months, cost me over 2k in the short time is owned it, we had a new baby and it ate all our savings, seemed like a nice idea at the time but I could have quite happily chucked it over a cliff, luckily it was followed by the best car I have ever owned. Get what you pay for though I suppose.
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