The distance you'll go to buy a second hand car...
Discussion
Saturday morning rant incoming, it's been eating away at me for a week...
When I were a lad, I used to have no issues driving all over the country to buy cars... sometimes we even embarked on 1,000 mile round trips with a V6 Omega and a trailer and there were times where the fuel alone outweighed the cost of the car we were bringing back. But it was a) necessary and b) good fun. Necessary because to find rarer stuff like Calibra Turbos and such nonsense, you had to travel. Good fun because it was a manly day out, buying cars, burning fuel and setting off to new lands. Numerous cars have come north of the border over the years, some were a waste of time but hey.
These days, I'm still happy to accept that for the right car or something the wee bit different, you do need to travel and that's still sometimes part of the fun, But, it's just become a bit more of a chore. I don't know if it's because the roads are busier, public transport is a bit of a ball ache or if it's because people selling cars seems to be a bit more... just, less accommodating these days.
Last Monday... finally decided that my aging but utterly dependable and lovable old V70 had to go, long story short... it's worth little so decided to trade it in against a similar aged V70R. Makes sense eh? Anyways, this seemed easier than public transport or enlisting a mate to help. One car down, deal done, one car home. So, spoke to the trader and yes, car's great... fresh MOT... runs perfectly etc etc. Looked fine, checked out fine so final words of "Now, it's ready to drive away yes?" Good, game on then.
Monday 06:30hrs and the old Volvo is fueled, I'm fueled and we're set to go... aaaaaand so it begins. Forth Road bridge congestion, M8 congestion, Ballieston, congestion... it's 7am for Christ sake but it's fine. M74 and time to open up the taps. Great, lorry racing, potholes, man in a van doing 62 in lane two. Relax... hit three lanes and here we go. No, middle lane sitters, people in 1 series driving like utter tools. Carlisle and a McDonalds and that'll sort me out. M5 and then off towards Leeds and a caravan, a lorry and a four tractors. Meanwhile all this time, sat reminding myself that I'm doing the right thing, the old Volvo is ruined, rattles, looks ruined... this is a good thing.
Get to said dealers... no sign of your man even though he knows I was coming and I called him an hour before arrival. There's the car though, here's what the high blood pressure was for. And it's utter garbage. One walk round sees a list as long as my arm... OSR tyre flat, NSF borderline illegal, brakes corroded, unwashed and flung in the corner of a yard. Quick look under and it's looking damp and rusty. Your man arrives, there's the key and off he goes to sweet talk the Autosmart rep. Interior stinks, floors covered in general filth. Fire it up... ABS light on (fresh MOT aye?, TRACS light on, service light on, 5 miles range and a squeak from behind the timing belt cover. I switch it off.
"It's not for me" I say, thanking him for his time... I know, I'm polite and patient man... "What's wrong with it?" he asks. Now clearly this guy is the Jason Manford of dealers and he's just having a laugh right? I smile and say "It's just for me, but cheers" and with that I get back in my old, ruined Volvo which suddenly feels like a Rolls Royce all of a sudden, reset sat nav for home via the misery of the M5 once again and having been there for all of 4 minutes, 10hrs and 525 miles after leaving the house I'm home.
My frustration over this whole farce has grown over the past four days... why was I so polite? Why did that lady in the one series drive for 23 miles in the middle lane? Why did I spend over £80 on fuel for this? Why did I think this was a good idea? I then spent the next few hours on Autotrader, distance set of "under 10 miles" looking at things like Renault Scenics and Suzuki SX4's. I've since found another V70R and also a nice A6... one's in Manchester, one's in Birmingham however where once I'd have been straight back down, now I just can't be bothered with the hassle and the let down. Now I think a Renault Bongo or whatever they are on a £99 a month PCP from the dealer 3 minutes up the road would be better.
Anyways, cool story / not enough swearing I know... but help me here, rekindle my desire to embark on a mission to buy cars in foreign lands, alternatively feel free to add your own stories / rants on the subject whilst I go off and price up a train ticket to Bolton. Wherever that is.
When I were a lad, I used to have no issues driving all over the country to buy cars... sometimes we even embarked on 1,000 mile round trips with a V6 Omega and a trailer and there were times where the fuel alone outweighed the cost of the car we were bringing back. But it was a) necessary and b) good fun. Necessary because to find rarer stuff like Calibra Turbos and such nonsense, you had to travel. Good fun because it was a manly day out, buying cars, burning fuel and setting off to new lands. Numerous cars have come north of the border over the years, some were a waste of time but hey.
These days, I'm still happy to accept that for the right car or something the wee bit different, you do need to travel and that's still sometimes part of the fun, But, it's just become a bit more of a chore. I don't know if it's because the roads are busier, public transport is a bit of a ball ache or if it's because people selling cars seems to be a bit more... just, less accommodating these days.
Last Monday... finally decided that my aging but utterly dependable and lovable old V70 had to go, long story short... it's worth little so decided to trade it in against a similar aged V70R. Makes sense eh? Anyways, this seemed easier than public transport or enlisting a mate to help. One car down, deal done, one car home. So, spoke to the trader and yes, car's great... fresh MOT... runs perfectly etc etc. Looked fine, checked out fine so final words of "Now, it's ready to drive away yes?" Good, game on then.
Monday 06:30hrs and the old Volvo is fueled, I'm fueled and we're set to go... aaaaaand so it begins. Forth Road bridge congestion, M8 congestion, Ballieston, congestion... it's 7am for Christ sake but it's fine. M74 and time to open up the taps. Great, lorry racing, potholes, man in a van doing 62 in lane two. Relax... hit three lanes and here we go. No, middle lane sitters, people in 1 series driving like utter tools. Carlisle and a McDonalds and that'll sort me out. M5 and then off towards Leeds and a caravan, a lorry and a four tractors. Meanwhile all this time, sat reminding myself that I'm doing the right thing, the old Volvo is ruined, rattles, looks ruined... this is a good thing.
Get to said dealers... no sign of your man even though he knows I was coming and I called him an hour before arrival. There's the car though, here's what the high blood pressure was for. And it's utter garbage. One walk round sees a list as long as my arm... OSR tyre flat, NSF borderline illegal, brakes corroded, unwashed and flung in the corner of a yard. Quick look under and it's looking damp and rusty. Your man arrives, there's the key and off he goes to sweet talk the Autosmart rep. Interior stinks, floors covered in general filth. Fire it up... ABS light on (fresh MOT aye?, TRACS light on, service light on, 5 miles range and a squeak from behind the timing belt cover. I switch it off.
"It's not for me" I say, thanking him for his time... I know, I'm polite and patient man... "What's wrong with it?" he asks. Now clearly this guy is the Jason Manford of dealers and he's just having a laugh right? I smile and say "It's just for me, but cheers" and with that I get back in my old, ruined Volvo which suddenly feels like a Rolls Royce all of a sudden, reset sat nav for home via the misery of the M5 once again and having been there for all of 4 minutes, 10hrs and 525 miles after leaving the house I'm home.
My frustration over this whole farce has grown over the past four days... why was I so polite? Why did that lady in the one series drive for 23 miles in the middle lane? Why did I spend over £80 on fuel for this? Why did I think this was a good idea? I then spent the next few hours on Autotrader, distance set of "under 10 miles" looking at things like Renault Scenics and Suzuki SX4's. I've since found another V70R and also a nice A6... one's in Manchester, one's in Birmingham however where once I'd have been straight back down, now I just can't be bothered with the hassle and the let down. Now I think a Renault Bongo or whatever they are on a £99 a month PCP from the dealer 3 minutes up the road would be better.
Anyways, cool story / not enough swearing I know... but help me here, rekindle my desire to embark on a mission to buy cars in foreign lands, alternatively feel free to add your own stories / rants on the subject whilst I go off and price up a train ticket to Bolton. Wherever that is.
sparkythecat said:
OP, In view of your isolation, have you not considered asking a PHer local to any car you maybe seriously thinking of buying to Bob round and give it the once over for you ?
I don't mean conducting an extensive assessment, but perhaps just a bit of mobile phone video and a peak inside or a listen to the engine would weed out the dogs for you.
Yes, definitely something I’d consider and something I’d be happy to do in return however on this occasion it was a dealer (something I rarely buy from!) and thus based on images and a few emails exchanged and discussions had, it seemed to be a good one. Quite cheap too, hence my gut feeling was he wasn’t even sure what it was thus could be a “find” as it were, thus on that… made the trip. That one backfired though! I don't mean conducting an extensive assessment, but perhaps just a bit of mobile phone video and a peak inside or a listen to the engine would weed out the dogs for you.
But indeed, would be great if such a thing was easily accessible… as you say, quick video walk round and a glance over could save us all a lot of time, money and hassle travelling the length of the country on wild goose chases.
The Mad Monk said:
I don't know where you are in Scotland, but picking a loch lomond post code, there are dozens of V70s within 100 miles on Auto trader? http://tinyurl.com/zce59aj
Appreciate that, but this was a V70R in a good colour and with an auto box… I could count on one hand how many of those have been available for sale within the past 12 months. For something different / rare / special, you have to be prepared to travel but sadly, as per my rant… these days even buying such cars is just more hassle than it’s worth.
Maybe just a changed market, people are less honest / too many Mike Brewer wannabe’s out there and perhaps the days of a gentleman’s word are long gone.
Just in case other's fall in to the trap, this is the car in question:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I know, I know... Keighley... but did my homework and asked the questions... think I'm more annoyed at myself for having too much faith in humanity!
Bizarrely, the car was £2100.00 last weekend and by the time I'd got home, it was £3289.00... makes the whole situation even more farcical!
On the bright side, A65 was a fairly nice drive on the way back and my current V70 seems to be running much better after a decent run.
Ironically, the second car I've since found... it's 26 miles away from where I was 5 days ago.
Trying to muster up the enthusiasm to do it all over again this coming Monday... 10 years ago I wouldn't have even questioned it. I'd have already had my sandwiches made and drawn the route on my well thumbed copy of "AA British Road Map 1998 Edition" and dug out several CD's in readiness.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I know, I know... Keighley... but did my homework and asked the questions... think I'm more annoyed at myself for having too much faith in humanity!
Bizarrely, the car was £2100.00 last weekend and by the time I'd got home, it was £3289.00... makes the whole situation even more farcical!
On the bright side, A65 was a fairly nice drive on the way back and my current V70 seems to be running much better after a decent run.
Ironically, the second car I've since found... it's 26 miles away from where I was 5 days ago.
Trying to muster up the enthusiasm to do it all over again this coming Monday... 10 years ago I wouldn't have even questioned it. I'd have already had my sandwiches made and drawn the route on my well thumbed copy of "AA British Road Map 1998 Edition" and dug out several CD's in readiness.
That's an interesting point about driving and not liking...
Previously, I've mostly traveled to buy cheap (ish) performance stuff in the knowledge that a) it's a bit of a roadtrip b) things were easier back then and c) if it wasn't that great / didn't take to it, I'd take it anyways and 99% of the time you'd move it on north of the border with minimal loss.
But now, I don't know if it's because I'm nervous about committing to a car I haven't owned / driven previously thus don't want to travel to have a go and decide I simply don't like the drive or if it's because I'm worried that if I bought something and didn't gel with it, would I shift it on as easily?
Maybe it's because the majority of sellers these days are happy to brand the "no time wasters" tag around... seems if you don't buy it, you're instantly a time waster. I dear say your man there in Keighley thinks I'm a time waster but such is life... perhaps a sign of the sort of 'defensive selling' that's going on these days. It's almost like perspective buyers are bullied in to buying, ok a bit of a extreme view but still.
Maybe I've just got too soft, too cautious and time is too precious these days... reading some of these stories, I need to MTFU and get back on it!
Previously, I've mostly traveled to buy cheap (ish) performance stuff in the knowledge that a) it's a bit of a roadtrip b) things were easier back then and c) if it wasn't that great / didn't take to it, I'd take it anyways and 99% of the time you'd move it on north of the border with minimal loss.
But now, I don't know if it's because I'm nervous about committing to a car I haven't owned / driven previously thus don't want to travel to have a go and decide I simply don't like the drive or if it's because I'm worried that if I bought something and didn't gel with it, would I shift it on as easily?
Maybe it's because the majority of sellers these days are happy to brand the "no time wasters" tag around... seems if you don't buy it, you're instantly a time waster. I dear say your man there in Keighley thinks I'm a time waster but such is life... perhaps a sign of the sort of 'defensive selling' that's going on these days. It's almost like perspective buyers are bullied in to buying, ok a bit of a extreme view but still.
Maybe I've just got too soft, too cautious and time is too precious these days... reading some of these stories, I need to MTFU and get back on it!
I'm sat here (browsing the classifieds / Google Maps to hand) and trying to generate some enthusiasm for the next mission, fondly remembering those days gone by where big efforts just paid off and the story ends well.
A mate and I drove down to Chester one afternoon to look at an Astra Turbo (for said mate) and long story short, it wasn't to be... another car not as described / wasted trip. Or so we thought. I'd also looked at buying a Calibra which was near York, plan being Chester for the Astra first weekend, York for the Calibra the following. So, come 5pm, sat in Chester having dinner it was decided 'Baws to it, lets just go get it... it's on the way home... sort of'
Rang the seller of said Calibra who seemed a bit bewildered but none the less, very accommodating chap and so off we went. Few hours later we rolled up and the seller, who was out of an evening celebrating his birthday, cut short his Indian meal to meet two random Scottish guys at his house at 10pm on a Saturday night. Car was spot on, better than expected, deal done within 5 minutes and having told the guy that no, we're not staying locally... we're going home... nigh on 5hrs later, somewhere around 3am I got back to the house and rolled out of bed three hours later for work.
Matey deserved a medal for that effort... though to be fair, he wasn't adverse to a road trip back then too. Like driving to deepest South Wales to look at a 'mint' Cavalier GSi to be met with a seller, V5c in hand thinking this was in the bag and his next holiday was covered. Garage door went up, car came out and 5 minutes later we were driving the 475 miles back home empty handed leaving a seriously confused vendor in our wake.
Ahhh, those were the days... where did it all go wrong!
A mate and I drove down to Chester one afternoon to look at an Astra Turbo (for said mate) and long story short, it wasn't to be... another car not as described / wasted trip. Or so we thought. I'd also looked at buying a Calibra which was near York, plan being Chester for the Astra first weekend, York for the Calibra the following. So, come 5pm, sat in Chester having dinner it was decided 'Baws to it, lets just go get it... it's on the way home... sort of'
Rang the seller of said Calibra who seemed a bit bewildered but none the less, very accommodating chap and so off we went. Few hours later we rolled up and the seller, who was out of an evening celebrating his birthday, cut short his Indian meal to meet two random Scottish guys at his house at 10pm on a Saturday night. Car was spot on, better than expected, deal done within 5 minutes and having told the guy that no, we're not staying locally... we're going home... nigh on 5hrs later, somewhere around 3am I got back to the house and rolled out of bed three hours later for work.
Matey deserved a medal for that effort... though to be fair, he wasn't adverse to a road trip back then too. Like driving to deepest South Wales to look at a 'mint' Cavalier GSi to be met with a seller, V5c in hand thinking this was in the bag and his next holiday was covered. Garage door went up, car came out and 5 minutes later we were driving the 475 miles back home empty handed leaving a seriously confused vendor in our wake.
Ahhh, those were the days... where did it all go wrong!
rossub said:
I'm driving 600 miles to Devon tomorrow and driving 600 miles back home on Monday.
Can't say I'm looking forward to it. Neither car is motorway friendly!
Fair play! Can't say I'm looking forward to it. Neither car is motorway friendly!
As for buying locally, I was looking for a V70R or even a decent later spec T5 but there are none... to put it in to perspective, if I do under 100 miles, estate, petrol, under £5000 and 0-60 in under 8 seconds... Autotrader throws up 13 possibilities. But that's a broad spectrum ranging from a 325i to a Jaguar X-Type so again, start getting more specific... ie fast Volvo / fast Audi im estate guise and there's bugger all up here!
So yes, fully prepared to make the trip for the right car but it just seems like so much of ball ache these days... maybe it is a lack of time and patience that make me loathed to commit to such adventures, add to that the fact that there seems to be more people out there who are far from honest and it rapidly starts to look like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.
Don't get me wrong, I will still do it and I have a lot over the pat couple of years... my current T5 came from Blackpool, my sisters GSi came from York (after a couple of failed trips to Dunoon (ferry included!) and also Peterhead) and recently my V70R (the last one) came from Newcastle and Mrs Davie's Astra came from Berwick upon Tweed, so yes despite being in the Central Belt, car buying still does necessitate a day out to buy something specific.
But and it's a big but, the novelty is rapidly wearing off... so maybe I will ask if some local PH's could have a once over of anything specific before I write off another day. Currently chasing a V70R in Manchester but not had any contact with the seller for a while now so that looks like another dead end.
I need my mojo for car buying back... though some of these hero spec trips are helping, plus I haven't been forced on to a Megabus yet so there is hope!
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