Has anyone ever 'chased after' their perfect next car?

Has anyone ever 'chased after' their perfect next car?

Author
Discussion

Fattyfat

3,301 posts

195 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Once, my car was the one being chased, happened back in about 2005 from memory.

Came out of a supermarket to find a guy standing beside my E36 coupe (nothing special, just a clean 318is sport). Said he'd seen it about a few times and was after one exactly like mine. I wasn't really interested as I'd only had the car about 4 months and had very little money tied up in it.

He got it in the end after offering me about £800 more than I'd paid for the car. A week or so later I saw it and it'd had the M3 replica treatment, seemed to keep it quite some time too as it was a regular in my home town until around a year ago.

graham22

3,293 posts

204 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I sold a Honda CRX this way. Was aware of a car following me so stopped at an industrial estate & sure enough, the following car stopped too, owner jumped out wanted to know if I was selling.

As it happened, I was looking for a VTEC CRX and agreed, yes I would sell the car but needed it to go to Brands Hatch this weekend after I have had it serviced - he was that keen that he hired a Rover 214 for me at mates-rates via his mate who worked at Enterprise and took the CRX un-serviced.

Good deal all round, the hire costs were less than the price of oil, it was more economical than the CRX plus it had air-con on the hottest weekend of the year set in race day traffic!

schmalex

13,616 posts

205 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I had a chap with an Irish accent park his transit van across our drive and ask if my Landy was for sale last year. I gave a very firm "no" and promptly went out and bought some extra security for it!

OscarIndia

1,126 posts

171 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Sort of!
My father was part of the British Bobsleigh team back in the 60's. Part of that meant funding the team and for his part he donated a Series 1 Landy.
The team did well, he was commonwealth Gold medalist twice and the two man Olympic team won Olympic Gold.
When the team broke up the treasurer was owed money, so got to keep the LaNDY.
I would see him every year at various parties and constantly asked him for first refusal should he ever get rid.
On year he came to stay and asked me if I had a birthday coming up, to which I replied in a couple of months yes!
He gave me the Landy.
Two owners, my Dad and him, now me.

CRA1G

6,500 posts

194 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I found out who owned my perfect number plate....and contacted him but it took about 18 months of negation before I managed to do a deal and buy it and 25 years on I still have it.... driving

Geekman

2,863 posts

145 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I've had people offer to buy both my cars - two people offered me the same as what I paid for my Jag (another guy offered me £2k more but backed out at the last minute), and a guy on the dartford bridge driving alongside me offered £900 for my MR2 (£100 less than I paid).

I've refused all offers as I like the cars, but I was surprised I got any offers at all as neither are particularly rare or valuable.

HereBeMonsters

14,180 posts

181 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I tried this once with a Bluebird Turbo, but I was in a 205 Diesel. The guy thought I wanted an 80s race, and disappeared. Come back Bluebird!

Hudson

1,857 posts

186 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Two guys in a van mounted the pavement and drove past the traffic i was in to ask me about my Golf 4motion, if it was 4WD (i know right) etc.

It was a piece of st and i should have sold it to them on the spot but hey ho biggrin

Rude-boy

22,227 posts

232 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I have spoken to a local chap about his E28 M5. I know someone with an M1, M635Csi, E30 M3 and this would neatly fill the one gap I see wink

It looks immaculate and he has owned it since new. He's not selling but we speak every so often.

I have had a few people ask me if I am interested in selling the CS. It has also spent a few weeks at a friendly garage being fettled and they have been asked by quite a few people if it is for sale. I used to give the flippant answer "Give me a call if anyone comes up with a figure that starts with a 2". In reality, for the foreseeable, you'd have to pay me so much over the odds to get it out of my ownership that you'd be better off buying a couple from elsewhere. I love that car and know all it's little ways and what it has had done - I suspect it would cost me over £25k to replace it with one that is as thoroughly sorted.

John145

2,447 posts

155 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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A friend spotted a Polo G40 parking up in a multi story and a woman with 2 toddlers got out.

He enquired about buying it and she didn't want to sell because of the hassle of buying a replacement. So, they swapped numbers and he bought her a newer Polo which had power steering, ABS and a nice efficient engine. Then they swapped cars!

He spent the next year rebuilding the whole car from scratch, awesome project... About 10 years ago now... How time flies!

POORCARDEALER

8,523 posts

240 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I had an XK150 some years ago, a bloke offered me a (then)insane price for it on a petrol station forecourt as I was putting fuel in it...he turned up the next day, paid for it and off he went.


Several years ago I bought a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, advertised it, lady came and looked and bought it...when they came to collect it, it turned out their late father had bought it brand new when he sold his company in 1981, then sold it in 1987....she brought a photo album with her with pics of her in it as a very young child.

hondansx

4,562 posts

224 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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OscarIndia said:
Sort of!
My father was part of the British Bobsleigh team back in the 60's. Part of that meant funding the team and for his part he donated a Series 1 Landy.
The team did well, he was commonwealth Gold medalist twice and the two man Olympic team won Olympic Gold.
When the team broke up the treasurer was owed money, so got to keep the LaNDY.
I would see him every year at various parties and constantly asked him for first refusal should he ever get rid.
On year he came to stay and asked me if I had a birthday coming up, to which I replied in a couple of months yes!
He gave me the Landy.
Two owners, my Dad and him, now me.
Fantastic story!

OscarIndia

1,126 posts

171 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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hondansx said:
Fantastic story!
The Landy towed the 1964 Gold medal winning Olympic two man bob, so has quite a provenance.


V8forweekends

2,481 posts

123 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Mate of mine was looking for a VR6 Corrado (back in the day when they were current) but wanted an exact colour and spec. He spotted one on the motorway in a huge traffic jam, put his window down and was mouthing and signing "do you want to sell?". The Corrado driver smiled, lent down to passenger footwell and held up a dealer price ticket - he had borrowed the car from work, and it was indeed for sale.

I was a passenger for many hundreds of miles in that car. As I've always suffered from anoraxia about cars, I used to advise him which cars we'd be able to pull away from or overtake safely, even if they started playing silly buggers. Luckily badging was a bit more simple on most cars in those days.

Matt UK

17,649 posts

199 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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There was an old camper van with a number plate I wanted.

Knocked on the door one day and an old fella appeared. Told him I'd be interested in buying if he wanted to sell. He gave me a load of verbal abuse and literally chased me off warning me never to return. I never saw that camper parked there again.

I've not tried anything like it since hehe

Bradley1500

766 posts

145 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Only ever tried this once, it was an Integra Type R DC2. Seen it parked in someone's drive for years, moss covering most of it.

Decided to knock on their door and see if it was for sale. A woman answered the door telling me it was her husbands pride and joy and it wasn't for sale, he's waiting to restore it.

Apparently they got a lot of notes left and people asking about it, but she was still very polite.

That was six months ago and it hasn't moved since.

Annoys me a little when I seen rarer or older cars sitting there not being used.

amstrange1

599 posts

175 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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John145 said:
A friend spotted a Polo G40 parking up in a multi story and a woman with 2 toddlers got out.

He enquired about buying it and she didn't want to sell because of the hassle of buying a replacement. So, they swapped numbers and he bought her a newer Polo which had power steering, ABS and a nice efficient engine. Then they swapped cars!

He spent the next year rebuilding the whole car from scratch, awesome project... About 10 years ago now... How time flies!
White G40 and a bloke called Dan up in Geordie land?

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Ah the one that got away...

There was a Formula Ford in someones front garden near to where I previously lived, it was wrapped in tarpaulin and slowly disappearing under a bramble hedge, I would have it eventually but I didnt have the cash or the guts to buy it, bits of it were visible and it was on road tyres, had twin carbs on a kent or pinto block and would have needed a fair bit of money thrown at it to get it trackworthy, bushes, pipes etc. I kept thinking it would be nice to have but was too scared that I'd never have the cash to get it prep'd and it would be a money pit, after 5 years of watching the bramble take over I eventually went to make an offer last month but it was gone frown

speedtwelve

3,510 posts

272 months

Wednesday 3rd September 2014
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Cheating slightly, as the 'perfect' car was owned by a mate, but....

Years ago, as a serial owner of Golf GTIs and Mk2 Sciroccos my attainable perfect car was a Corrado VR6. I'd have been happy with any Corrado, but a mate had just traded his G60 for a VR6. It had one owner from new, an engine bay full of Schrick & AMD intakes, cams, ECUs, throttle body etc. Immaculate leather interior, very rare dealer air con. He kept it for 8 years, and for several of them deliberated about replacing it, always dangling me on the end of the hook (I'd have first dibs....). I waited years for that car, and just as I'd started looking seriously at other good VR6s he sold me it out of the blue.

I kept it for 3 great years, and wish I'd never sold it in retrospect, but TVR was the next step for me, and I wasn't mad enough to try and run a V8 from Blackpool and a tuned Corrado at the same time financially.

On the 'stalking' front, I had two incidences of people following me on the road to ask if my (admittedly tidy) MR2 Turbo was for sale when I had it.


Raman Kandola

221 posts

122 months

Wednesday 3rd September 2014
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Some great stories, awesome thread!