Buying your dream car......
Discussion
Im very very close to buying a car that Ive dreamt of owning for the last 15 years or so.....whilst its no mid engined exotica, its a car that seriously appeals to me as a no compromise kind of guy....
And altho not big money in car terms, it will also be the secong biggest expense Ive ever had in my life....
How the hell do you choose the one to buy logically without just buying the fisrt one you drive ?
Im stupidly excited and yet scarily frightened of dropping this amount of cash on a toy, even with the blessing of the OH.....
How many have had buyers remorse after doing this ?
How do you inspect the car objectively ?
And altho not big money in car terms, it will also be the secong biggest expense Ive ever had in my life....
How the hell do you choose the one to buy logically without just buying the fisrt one you drive ?
Im stupidly excited and yet scarily frightened of dropping this amount of cash on a toy, even with the blessing of the OH.....
How many have had buyers remorse after doing this ?
How do you inspect the car objectively ?
My S1 Elise was this 9 years ago and in retrospect I came close to buying some mutts. However, I went to Paul Matty and saw the one I knew was mine being polished - I figured that buying from one of the most respected lotus dealers there is took out the risk of buying a wreck and so it proved. Get one from somewhere reputable and you’ll find the (slight) premium well worth it for the insurance and peace of mind.
Look with your head in gear - not your heart. Many years ago I persuaded someone not to buy a very poor MGB - he'd put £50 deposit on it (I said it was many years) and it was about to break in 2. He was very upset (clearly set his heart on it ) and said "I asked you to look at it to tell me it was ok to buy" I told him he'd be better stuffing his money down the drain, as it would be cheaper - I've never seen such a poor car. Guy was so smitten - one of his 'buying points' was that it had a nice new rad and bumper....... almost undoubtedly due to the outcome of a recent crash, which of course gave the wavy floorpan and main rails! Vendor gave him the deposit back without question (block of council flats, cars for sale in a row).
Do your homework, drive some examples, don't go for the first one (unless you are SURE it's outstanding), another will arrive soon.
Do your homework, drive some examples, don't go for the first one (unless you are SURE it's outstanding), another will arrive soon.
Looking to change car at the moment myself, and whilst not a ‘dream car’ as others are describing here, I’m really rather keen to get the particular car, so I know I’ll be likely to get over excited and jump in with two feet. To overcome this childish tendency, I bring a good friend along with me who I know will tell me if something is wrong that I miss out, and it’s generally handy to have two pairs of eyes look over the car.
JamesRR said:
Looking to change car at the moment myself, and whilst not a ‘dream car’ as others are describing here, I’m really rather keen to get the particular car, so I know I’ll be likely to get over excited and jump in with two feet. To overcome this childish tendency, I bring a good friend along with me who I know will tell me if something is wrong that I miss out, and it’s generally handy to have two pairs of eyes look over the car.
That's a sound method!If you are sensible you can rule some out via the adverts and talking on the phone, I'd say the type of car reduces your chances of issues to be honest. I always like to leave to think on it unless it's mint and reasonably price.
Once home you can rationalise everything and with banking these days call them and transfer a deposit easily if you are comfortable.
Once home you can rationalise everything and with banking these days call them and transfer a deposit easily if you are comfortable.
As above:
1) take your time - do your research online ahead of time on issues your target car generally has
2) buy from reputable shop (or from a guy who is active in the Caterham owner’s club)
3) ask friends for advice / to come along
4) if need be, ask a local mechanic to go and check it for you
When buying my dream car, I initially jumped at the first one and was all excited (rare colour too!). Friend suggested I get it looked over, so I did. One axle was out of alignment, basically meaning that the car had a bad smash and poorly repaired (garage was saying no crash, mint...). Was humbling.
Went back to the drawing board and spent the next 3 months researching everything about the car’s issues, ways to buy, reputable shops... found a shop I believed I could trust, they sourced the car, still got it inspected (got the same mechanic to drive 350miles for inspection), bought. That incurred a 6-month delay and a budget revised upward but so far, happily ever after!
1) take your time - do your research online ahead of time on issues your target car generally has
2) buy from reputable shop (or from a guy who is active in the Caterham owner’s club)
3) ask friends for advice / to come along
4) if need be, ask a local mechanic to go and check it for you
When buying my dream car, I initially jumped at the first one and was all excited (rare colour too!). Friend suggested I get it looked over, so I did. One axle was out of alignment, basically meaning that the car had a bad smash and poorly repaired (garage was saying no crash, mint...). Was humbling.
Went back to the drawing board and spent the next 3 months researching everything about the car’s issues, ways to buy, reputable shops... found a shop I believed I could trust, they sourced the car, still got it inspected (got the same mechanic to drive 350miles for inspection), bought. That incurred a 6-month delay and a budget revised upward but so far, happily ever after!
JamesRR said:
Looking to change car at the moment myself, and whilst not a ‘dream car’ as others are describing here, I’m really rather keen to get the particular car, so I know I’ll be likely to get over excited and jump in with two feet. To overcome this childish tendency, I bring a good friend along with me who I know will tell me if something is wrong that I miss out, and it’s generally handy to have two pairs of eyes look over the car.
I also did this. Was after a c63 (maybe not dream car but up there for me) and after finding a decent spec one went to look with the mrs and told her to have a good look over with me as id be too excited and forget the important stuff to check! If you aren't already, get yourself onto the Caterham Facebook groups (chat, tech and sale) and also it may be worth pre joining the L7C, but definitely perusing their sale pages on the forum.
Now is a great time to be buying. There's no real rush as you're unlikely to be using it much before March, so getting the right car with the right bits will be fun. Also worth figuring out your must have kit. Some is cheap and fun to retrofit. Some is expensive and a pain in the arse. Buy the car with the expensive stuff already in place as far as possible. Must haves also stop you buying the wrong car.
Enjoy, as a Seven is an amazing thing to drive.
Now is a great time to be buying. There's no real rush as you're unlikely to be using it much before March, so getting the right car with the right bits will be fun. Also worth figuring out your must have kit. Some is cheap and fun to retrofit. Some is expensive and a pain in the arse. Buy the car with the expensive stuff already in place as far as possible. Must haves also stop you buying the wrong car.
Enjoy, as a Seven is an amazing thing to drive.
Whilst not my dream car ‘hello F430 Scuderia’, I bought my Vantage without seeing it or driving any 
Sometimes you just know it’s a good one, it’s been pretty good since having had a few services and only 1 issue (leaky A/C) fixed under warranty, I did put it in to a well known specialist and got every jiggle sorted.
For me as long as you tackle any issues straight away and don’t let things build up most modern(ish) cars will be ok.
Sometimes you just know it’s a good one, it’s been pretty good since having had a few services and only 1 issue (leaky A/C) fixed under warranty, I did put it in to a well known specialist and got every jiggle sorted.
For me as long as you tackle any issues straight away and don’t let things build up most modern(ish) cars will be ok.
Jasandjules said:
Take someone sensible who will rein you in..
This gets my vote too. With my Skyline I went through an importer to get one from Japan, they acted as the sensible person and rejected cars that looked good but has major issues upon inspection. The car I ended up with was better than I ever anticipated and has been the only car I've really loved, I enjoyed every mile driving it and it was a case of do meet your heroes as that car is utterly fantastic. Deeply regret selling it but life likes to make sure it turns the screw on you occasionally... removing the emotion from that statement I can always get another when situation improves, doesn't stop me missing it badly though.
Since i'm a little boy a wanted a 911. Just turning 30, I bought a 997.1 C2 16 months ago.
First I was set on a 996, simply from a financial pov. I went to see several and drove a couple, but the one for me was not one of them.
Then a very high mileage 997 popped up that was very cheap. I went to have a drive and bought it on the spot. It was the first 997 I ever drove and to be honest I already knew I'm buying this on the way to view. Of course I knew everything about them that is on the internet and I knew what to look for, but I'm by no means a mechanic!
So 16 months and 12.5k miles later I still very, very happy with buying what is one of my dream cars!!
I'm an advocate for buying cars on gut feeling.
Terrible advice, I know!! But it worked for me before on several occasions..
First I was set on a 996, simply from a financial pov. I went to see several and drove a couple, but the one for me was not one of them.
Then a very high mileage 997 popped up that was very cheap. I went to have a drive and bought it on the spot. It was the first 997 I ever drove and to be honest I already knew I'm buying this on the way to view. Of course I knew everything about them that is on the internet and I knew what to look for, but I'm by no means a mechanic!
So 16 months and 12.5k miles later I still very, very happy with buying what is one of my dream cars!!
I'm an advocate for buying cars on gut feeling.
Terrible advice, I know!! But it worked for me before on several occasions..
If getting the absolute best example you can is imperative, then a second set of eyes is invaluable.
My heart led my head when I bought my TVR (the first one I saw) and now 2 years and a lot of time/money/blood/sweat/tears invested into it later, it's still not up to scratch. I adore it nonetheless, but if I'd been more patient I could have saved myself a lot of headache.
My heart led my head when I bought my TVR (the first one I saw) and now 2 years and a lot of time/money/blood/sweat/tears invested into it later, it's still not up to scratch. I adore it nonetheless, but if I'd been more patient I could have saved myself a lot of headache.
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