Waiting for the perfect car
Discussion
I am currently looking for a new car and I am looking for quite a specific car. I mean by the mileage, colour, optional extras, price etc.
Been looking for about a week now which I know is not long at all, but have had no luck finding the car I want yet.
Just wondered what was the longest you have spent looking for your perfectly specced? car to come up for sale and what car was it?
The car i am looking for isn't exactly rare so I'm sure i will find one soon enough.
Been looking for about a week now which I know is not long at all, but have had no luck finding the car I want yet.
Just wondered what was the longest you have spent looking for your perfectly specced? car to come up for sale and what car was it?
The car i am looking for isn't exactly rare so I'm sure i will find one soon enough.
I've spent five years looking for the perfect specification before.
Some of my friends have spent over 20 years looking for the perfect specification.
ie a friend of mine spent quite a while looking for a 1996 Jaguar XJ12 which was the very last V12 engined Jaguar ever imported to North America. He wanted that particular car/chassis number, not just a certain specification, and he spent years tracking it down and waiting for it to come on the market.
It all depends what you're looking for. The older the car gets, the harder it will be to find what is in your mind the perfect spec.
Some of my friends have spent over 20 years looking for the perfect specification.
ie a friend of mine spent quite a while looking for a 1996 Jaguar XJ12 which was the very last V12 engined Jaguar ever imported to North America. He wanted that particular car/chassis number, not just a certain specification, and he spent years tracking it down and waiting for it to come on the market.
It all depends what you're looking for. The older the car gets, the harder it will be to find what is in your mind the perfect spec.
Edited by MPoon on Sunday 27th February 01:22
Just shy of 3 months, then I did a 400 mile round trip to have a look at it and thankfully it was in the condition I had been assured it was in and bought it.
Car in question was an (import) Integra Type Rx DC2 in Championship White with red Recaro's, standard except for an exhaust and earthing kit.
I'd looked at 6 different cars both private and dealer prior to this and none of them came even remotely came close to the advert or what I had been told in telephone conversations and emails.
If it's a comparitively rare car you will have to be prepared to wait for the right car if it's not maybe your standards are to high or your not looking hard enough.
You say you've only been looking a week, I spent longer than that looking for a temporary 1k barge, whats the car BTW ?
Car in question was an (import) Integra Type Rx DC2 in Championship White with red Recaro's, standard except for an exhaust and earthing kit.
I'd looked at 6 different cars both private and dealer prior to this and none of them came even remotely came close to the advert or what I had been told in telephone conversations and emails.
If it's a comparitively rare car you will have to be prepared to wait for the right car if it's not maybe your standards are to high or your not looking hard enough.
You say you've only been looking a week, I spent longer than that looking for a temporary 1k barge, whats the car BTW ?
Mines no where near as exciting as the ones already posted 
Facelift Honda civic sport in milano red without the type r spoiler or badges with the optional 17" 5 spoke alloys, standard cd player, gear knob and steering wheel, about 50,000 miles around the 4k mark full service history.
I actually did find one that matched most of these requirements but i phoned and it had been sold the day before!
Searching every classified i know
Facelift Honda civic sport in milano red without the type r spoiler or badges with the optional 17" 5 spoke alloys, standard cd player, gear knob and steering wheel, about 50,000 miles around the 4k mark full service history.
I actually did find one that matched most of these requirements but i phoned and it had been sold the day before!
Searching every classified i know
I've been waiting 2-months for something to come up to buy that I like and is within budget...
So far all I've found has either been written off, clocked, missing history, damaged in some other way, sold before I got to view it or for sale by someone I don't trust. £50 down the drain on HPI checks so far.
Luckily I'm in in no rush and the cash is in the bank so I'm prepared to wait for something that meets my requirements exactly.
So far all I've found has either been written off, clocked, missing history, damaged in some other way, sold before I got to view it or for sale by someone I don't trust. £50 down the drain on HPI checks so far.
Luckily I'm in in no rush and the cash is in the bank so I'm prepared to wait for something that meets my requirements exactly.
Waiting for the perfect car is like waiting for the perfect woman. Sometimes it's easier just to compromise on a few details like colour and number of previous owners, and concentrate on the important attributes like whether the back doors have been kicked in and how regularly she has been serviced. More importantly, once you get inside her all and take her for a ride all those little requirements just don't really matter after all.
Its worth it in the end. If you just go out and buy the first car you find you end up regretting it when something better comes up a few days/ weeks later. I'm currently using a saved Autotrader search so I know as soon as something that fits my requirements is listed. Clean and well priced cars can sell within hours of been listed for sale, its the sheds and overpriced stuff that sits there for ages.
davepoth said:
I'm too impatient. I've bought four cars. The first was sight unseen off ebay, the second I paid more than was asked for because it had a full tank of fuel (!) the third again sight unseen off ebay, and the fourth I spent a whole day looking.
I'll be in touch when I'm selling!fido said:
Waiting for the perfect car is like waiting for the perfect woman. Sometimes it's easier just to compromise on a few details like colour and number of previous owners, and concentrate on the important attributes like whether the back doors have been kicked in and how regularly she has been serviced. More importantly, once you get inside her all and take her for a ride all those little requirements just don't really matter after all.
So your suggestion we should be on the look out for tired old w
es? 
fido said:
Waiting for the perfect car is like waiting for the perfect woman. Sometimes it's easier just to compromise on a few details like colour and number of previous owners, and concentrate on the important attributes .
Dead right, life's a compromise. I just can't believe how sad it must be to hang on year after year waiting for some idealised dream car. Meanwhile the rest of us are out there having fun! 
Haytch said:
Mines no where near as exciting as the ones already posted
Facelift Honda civic sport in milano red without the type r spoiler or badges with the optional 17" 5 spoke alloys, standard cd player, gear knob and steering wheel, about 50,000 miles around the 4k mark full service history.
I actually did find one that matched most of these requirements but i phoned and it had been sold the day before!
Searching every classified i know
An EP2 with those wheels will be very hard to find! Very few have the Type R spoiler as the proper one costs around £400 from Honda, and if they do have a spoiler 99% are the replica's which cost £60 on eBay, so may well be worth buying one with a normal spoiler and fitting a Type R style one yourself. Facelift Honda civic sport in milano red without the type r spoiler or badges with the optional 17" 5 spoke alloys, standard cd player, gear knob and steering wheel, about 50,000 miles around the 4k mark full service history.
I actually did find one that matched most of these requirements but i phoned and it had been sold the day before!
Searching every classified i know
I think you may also have to go a little above your £4k budget to get a good one. Mine will probably for sale in August, wrong colour, wheels and spoiler but otherwise it matches your description perfectly
I spent about six months waiting for the right Alfa 156 to turn up - I wanted a tidy 2.0TS in a specific date range in black with red leather, which needed to be Veloce spec, not be a million miles away or have done a million miles itself, have had the cambelt done recently, and be a bit cheaper than it should be since I was a little short of what they were really worth.
Then the Escort failed its MOT and I had to grab something quickly, so I now have an A4 instead
Then the Escort failed its MOT and I had to grab something quickly, so I now have an A4 instead
southpaw said:
An EP2 with those wheels will be very hard to find! Very few have the Type R spoiler as the proper one costs around £400 from Honda, and if they do have a spoiler 99% are the replica's which cost £60 on eBay, so may well be worth buying one with a normal spoiler and fitting a Type R style one yourself.
I think you may also have to go a little above your £4k budget to get a good one. Mine will probably for sale in August, wrong colour, wheels and spoiler but otherwise it matches your description perfectly
After reading this thread and looking at the classifieds, I'm now happy to sacrifice some things for the sake of having one!I think you may also have to go a little above your £4k budget to get a good one. Mine will probably for sale in August, wrong colour, wheels and spoiler but otherwise it matches your description perfectly
Obviously good service history is still a must but i am starting to take a liking to the Vivid Blue now too. The 17" alloys are quite rare as you say and I could do without the type r spoiler.
£4600 absolute tops seeing as my insurance came down so much this year.
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