Buying a car you owned previously?

[Chris_w666]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

I loved that car when it was mine, it was a very late registered 54plate when I got it and despite the fuel I really enjoyed driving it, it doesn't look like its had a hard life since it left me except for those silly stickers.

So the question is would I be better of spending my money on something different or going back over old ground?

[FRA53R]

I've through a bit of this myself.

Though I've never seen a previous car for sale I have seen a previous car i've owned being driven around the same area as myself. I still wanted to be behind the wheel .

To be honest I feel it's best to let it go, because, if you got the car back I'd imagine what you'd experience was not waht you remembered. These things are best left to memory and you can always go back and say it was the best car i drove instead of it was the best car i drove until i drove it again.

[Jasandjules]

Chris_w666 said:

So the question is would I be better of spending my money on something different or going back over old ground?

Better the devil you know?

[Johnnytheboy]

Why did you sell it if you now want to buy it?

[Chris_w666]

Johnnytheboy said:

Why did you sell it if you now want to buy it?

At the time I sold it I was averaging about 20,000 miles a year could only afford one car and I was spending £80-100 on petrol most weeks. Now I do about 20 miles a week and could use it for weekends and fun runs out as it would be one of 3 cars.

[sebhaque]

I've seen my old MG for sale a few weeks ago (it's sold now), but I was very tempted to buy it back. I do miss that car, but then again I remember the happy memories, and not the frustrations when it wouldn't start or when the doors jammed open.

[Chris_w666]

sebhaque said:

I've seen my old MG for sale a few weeks ago (it's sold now), but I was very tempted to buy it back. I do miss that car, but then again I remember the happy memories, and not the frustrations when it wouldn't start or when the doors jammed open.

I remember early Sunday morning and empty North Yorkshire roads, but that was in a car that was less than 3 years old and had done small miles.

[Liquid Knight]

Whenever I sell a car I always tell the buyer to keep in touch and give me first refusal when they decide to sell the car on.

Having said that car's are like women. Never go back. Remember why you got shot in the first place before you put your rose tinted nostalger glasses on and walk away.

[sebhaque]

Chris_w666 said:

I remember early Sunday morning and empty North Yorkshire roads, but that was in a car that was less than 3 years old and had done small miles.

That's another worry I always have with previously owned cars - I part ex'd mine and I don't know who it ended up in the hands of, nor how they drove. It could have gone to an enthusiast who looked after it - but then again it could have gone to Daz who floored it from cold and hasn't serviced it. Still, I'm happy with the cars I have at the moment, and I'm sure I'll have fond memories of early mornings and empty roads when/if I get rid of my cars.

[durbster]

Always go forwards.

I think it'd be like going back to an old job. You think it'd be exactly as you left it but it won't be and you'd be ultimately disappointed.

Besides, it's far too practical to be a weekend fun car. There are far better options to fill that role.

[Engineer1]

There will be a reason the car is up for sale, the reason may be with the driver but more likely the car.

[Marf]

Granted there is the nostalgia factor, but surely there are cars more attractive to you as a weekend car that you could purchase for £4k?

[Chris_w666]

Marf said:

Granted there is the nostalgia factor, but surely there are cars more attractive to you as a weekend car that you could purchase for £4k?

There are lots of cars I could list that I would choose as weekend cars, I just liked that and it is probably nostalgia value that it holds for me. I think its because it isn't just an ST170 but because it is the one that was once mine that appeals.

In fact the V8 capri I posted elsewhere would probably be a much more amusing way to spend c£4k on another car.

[Twincharged]

Engineer1 said:

There will be a reason the car is up for sale, the reason may be with the driver but more likely the car.

That seems to be a bit of an odd assumption, surely only a small proportion of used cars are sold because of mechanical problems?

[The Infidel]

I wouldn't do it, years ago I had a TurboTechnics XR4x4, it was spectacular but at the time (apprentice mechanics wages) I struggled to run it. Then came the whole settling down and getting a house bit and reluctantly I sold it on. In the time I owned it I only ever had to put a clutch cable on it.

Fast forward a good few years, I'm driving home from work and spy my old car being washed on a driveway, I decide to pull over for a chat to discover the car now belongs to the boyfriend of an ex, turns out he is putting it up for sale, I leave my number and address and ask them to get in touch if they want to get rid.

Two days later they turn up at my house, we agree a price and the deal is done. I was over the moon for about two days, then it became apparent it hadn't been loved by the next two owners quite as much as it had by me, I still get a cold sweat now thinking about the money I threw at that car to try and get it right, I gave up in the end and sold it at a loss to get rid. Now I am left with a somewhat jaded view of my time with the car which wasn't really the case overall.

Also sold a Lotus Excel to my dad, it has sat in his garage for years and is absolutely immaculate, there have been numerous conversations about me buying it back and each time I find myself misty eyed reminiscing about crisp early sunday mornings and empty B roads, the noise, even the smell.

Then the reality of nearly losing my son out of the passenger seat when the door decided to open for no reason, of nearly dying when the throttle arm jammed behind the temperature sender after overtaking a car, of sitting on an empty car park at 10pm willing something to happen when I attempted to turn the ignition on and the subsequent autoelectricians bill to fix the problem, of spending the majority of every weekend I'd used the car having to re adjust the power steering belt (not easy on your back as Im sure you will appreciate if you've ever tried).

I don't think I'll ever revisit a car I've previously sold again, whatever the reason you have already decided to part with it once.