Red 350i in Falkirk Scotland

[JLow7]

Newbie requiring further advice...

There has recently been a red 350i advertised on Ebay & in Autotrader - hasn't been one here though. 89F, 72K

I have been in contact with the seller & offered him a price - which he has accepted, it looks in good condition & has had a full respray last year. He has also
been very honest in answering all my questions.

But I'm a bit wary of buying a wedge without viewing it first - basically it's situated in Maddistone Falkirk, nearly 400 miles from me, I'm also wary of the drive home - what are the wedges like on a long journey?? - It is also going to cost me over £100 to pick it up, with the train fare up & fuel bill back down!.

Firstly does anybody have any knowledge of this wedge?, or have seen it?

Secondly, can anybody advise me on the above situation

Cheers in advance

Jamie

[Gerry Attrick]

Under these circumstances a Wedge is no different from any other car. If it's well maintained and has no problems a long drive isn't a problem - in fact it will be a pleasure. The problem is that the seller may not be telling you all that's wrong with it and, in fact, if he doesn't so long journeys himself, he may not know all the faults.

I'd consider it a risk and only do it if a) I was sure it was so good I couldn't find one more locally and b) I would be happy to spend the time travelling and then turing it down, if I didn't like it when I got there.

[jchase]

Be prepared to walk away if the chassis is rotten, as it will cost more than the cars worth to fix it. I had this happen recently when I went to view a V8s, which was very cheap. It transpired the chassis was as rotten as a rotten thing with a degree in rotteness. Plus it was not as much fun to drive as a wedge...
Still, it only cost me £100 to find that out, could have been several thousand!

-Jim

[grahamw48]

Does it have a recent MOT ?

Is it in regular use ?

Are you in the AA/RAC ?

[JLow7]

The seller claims it was MOT't last month prior to advertising. It has been garaged, but not been used frequently. He hasn't mentioned thing about the condition of the chassis/outriggers etc, despite this being one of my first questions. He has however been honest in saying upcoming work may include manifolds (says they are starting to crack?) & there is slight play in the UJ's)

I have decided to pay the train fare up there, take the payment (which was my first offer, which he accepted straight away - more than £300 less than he wanted & around £800 less than they are going for off a Forum member, or enthusiast - does that sound dodgy??) & take a look.

I will ask him again about the condition of the chassis/outriggers etc, - he has been honest about everything else up to now, If that response comes out satisfactory I will take a chance & buy

if he doesn't like my terms when I get up there, he won't stop me walking away - I done Ju-Jutsu for 14 years!

[Number 7]

The other thing is that at that sort of mileage, has the cam ever been changed? If not, that would be the upper end of the mileage that I'd expect one to last. Depending on whether you can do it yourself, you'd need budget anything from c. £300 to c. £600. And is the gearbox good? What oil does he run it on? Again, you could be looking at significant money to fix one that's on its way out.

7.

[nigel_350i]

I live up in scotland but unfortunately don't know the car...(unless mine isn't in the garage anymore)
The chassis would be a big one for me as others have noted. But it's all the other small things like trim/seals etc that you just can't see properly in photos and which do add up.

If it's got a scottish dealer service history give Mr Luti a call at dreadnought he may know the car. It's the only TVR approved service place in Scotland.
www.dreadnought-tvr.co.uk/

Have you tried the classifieds on here for something more local?

[Number 7]

[quote=nigel_ It's the only TVR approved service place in Scotland.
www.dreadnought-tvr.co.uk/


[/quote]

What about Glenvarigill - they're TVR dealers.

7.

[nigel_350i]

Yes, I stand corrected, but Glenvarigill only got it's TVR franchise a few years back, it previously did ferrari and Porsche IIRC. Dreadnought has been around for most of the life of the wedge thats up for sale.

[broadside]

Take it for a long test drive and see how it behaves on a run and in traffic just to check if it overheats etc.
As the guys have said chassis condition is critical. If the guy is genuine he should not have a problem with you having a really good look in all the cars intimate places !!

Check out the buying guide on the wedgepages website too.

Nige'

[JLow7]

He has replied regarding my questions on the condition of the chassis, he said the chassis is ok, slight surface corrosion on outriggers. What concerns me though is the chassis hasn't been waxyoiled, or has had any form of rustproofing since he has owned it, it has obviously been kept in a garage. There is also no stamped S/H - he said he's a vehicle technician & does it himself - he has owned it for 3 years. If the chassis had any rot though - wouldn't it have failed the MOT??.

If he was asking top banana price for this - I wouldn't even be in conversation with him - reason I'm interested is I may get this for a bargain price,It's my prefered colour & has had a full respray & is mint in/out.

I may take a risk & go up with the payment, but I'll obviously have a good look round, take for long drive.

If I end up walking away, it will have only cost me the train fare & a £10 charge for the bankers draft, which I would turn to ash with a lighter upon walking. & if I do end up buying, I've asked him to re-imburse me the cost of the train fare picking it up & fill the tank up, which I think he will concede to.

Won't be going till 19th July though - he goes on hol Sunday for two weeks

[wedge girl]

Our chassis has never been waxoyled, it is being replaced due to cracking not rusting.

[wedg1e]

On the offchance that the chassis sill rails are shot, you'd be looking at around £250-300 including materials for someone like myself to repair them.
For a 'TVR specialist', maybe more like £750

[grahamw48]

You know that once he's heard the noise, it will be deal done anyway.

[Number 7]

JLow7 said:

the bankers draft, which I would turn to ash with a lighter upon walking.

I wouldn't literally do that, as the money will have come out of your account at the moment the draft is issued. You'd have to return it to the bank.

7.

[JLow7]

No, I woudn't really destroy the draft, then again I cancelled an already issued draft on a deal for an MGF that fell through at the last minuite - there was just a cancellation charge. That was about 4 years ago though. I did take it back, whether they needed it back I don't know, I think it's the same for a lost/stolen draft - you can't take it back then!, as long as you phone up the bank straight away & report it

If I go up with the draft - I'm 99% sure it will be handed over to him!, unless I discover something MAJOR (that he has delibretly withheld), which I don't think he will as he has been honest about everything so far.

Just go to wait till he comes back off hol now

[grady]

Deliberately withheld...

The first TVR I was serious about was across the country so I had a video inspection done by a local specialist. Everything was mint or near to it, except the last 15 seconds of the video whenin he showed me that the ENTIRE passenger side had been scraped along a post or guard rail, no mirror, etc. He assumed I knew about it and just want to include the footage.

For some reason the seller had not bothered to mention it. Good luck Grady

[JLow7]

I bet that was real bummer! - just goes to show you what sellers think they can get away with!

Fair play to this seller, he has sent me 10-12 high resoloution photo's covering all angles of the car & interior & underbonnet. It's what you can't see (or hear!) on a photo that is always my concern!

[grady]

Got off easy on that one.

Remember, wedges are like hen's teeth over here so the REAL bummer was - after spending 6-9 months looking all over, finally finding, visiting and buying at top dollar and then trucking my wedge in from from the East coast - I found another wedge within a MILE of my house!

With only 7k real miles (I know not enough use) and new interior just installed by the local Ferrari dealer!

[blaineuk]

some people will not release a car untill the money is in there account, due to dodgy bankers drafts, so check first
blaine