The great Subaru Brat relay
How a bunch of strangers helped get an impulse purchase from Whitstable to Aberdeen...
Now, sensible people will tell you the internet is basically a sharkpool full of scammers, tricksters and conmen out to separate you from your cash in any number of creative ways. And there's more an element of truth in this. Basic precautions would include not entrusting people you've met online with your money, asking them to pick up a car you've just bought without ever having seen it and then drive it for a couple of hundred miles to hand it over to another person you've never met in the hope they'll repeat the process all the way to Aberdeen. But if the internet really is just a reflection of human nature in general it turns out there are some good folk out there. And if you're willing to take a punt and invest in some trust then you may well reap some rewards. Or, at the very least, a Subaru Brat delivered to your door by a bunch of blokes you met on forum.
The forum in question here is Northloop.co.uk, on which Findlay put out an appeal to see if there'd be anyone willing to drive an old Subaru pick-up from Whitstable to Aberdeen. Perhaps fuelled by Christmas cheer (or whatever they were drinking whilst online) a willing group of volunteers was assembled to relay the car from one end of the country to the other. Usefully a few of them - though not all - were blessed with sufficient sense of direction to know which way north is. Over to Findlay...
"I'm deeply indebted to Simon S who collected the car and moved it from Whitstable to Chessington, Steve M (Chessington to Milton Keynes), Neil Mac and Simon R, who must share my sense of geography and managed to drive it SOUTH from MK to Stansted, Dave G who did Stansted to Chester, Mike R (Chester to Yorkshire), Dave B (across Yorkshire), Stu P (Yorkshire to Carlisle, via Newcastle) and Iain F, who completed the final stint from Carlisle to Aberdeen.
"Each one of them also left me a gift (mostly alcohol, maybe they know something) and also tolerated the little oily calling card that the car left on their driveways," he continues. "They gave of their time, and most of them I've never met. Guys, thank-you. I'm only sorry that you couldn't enjoy the Brat for longer as, weirdly, you all seemed to fall for the car's charms."
Would he advise anyone else to do the same? "If you're completely bonkers, you can send someone you've never met a lot of money and they won't run off with it," he says. "Although this may not work with royal family from Cameroon that email you. People are brilliant. Most of them. If you try it and it doesn't work out then, well, don't blame me."
For the full story on how and why Findlay bought the Brat and how he's been getting on with it since its arrival in Aberdeen check the PH Carpool we'll be posting up soon.
Lead pic: Steve M
And said mean mother below :
Great story I doff my hat to all involved.
Personally I tend to share the belief that most ordinary people, most of the time, are honest and decent. Hence why I'm generally happy to buy and sell cars privately; yes there's less protection, but you're dealing with a fellow enthusiast, rather than a professional dealer.
In ominous 2017, good to know there are lots of good folk about.
The Brat looks great; in reality, just what a lot of us need. Nippy, neat, useful carrier.Cute-like my old Nissan S-Cargo.
Great fun though and in the snow stick it in 4wd and it would embarrass many a 'proper' 4x4!
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