What's the longest a dealer has kept a car for unsold?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

forzaminardi said:

I was vaguely interested in very nice dark green late 90s Merc SL500 that was on sale in a garage in Paisley about 4 years ago. I would log on every now and then to check it out over a period of about 2 years but never really got round to doing anything about it. Strangely enough, a new job with a significant pay rise and no need to commute prompted me to enquire further and I phoned only to be told it had been sold the previous week. I was a bit gutted at the time but on reflection it probably saved me a lot of expensive heartache...

I had one of these a few years back, for about 2 years.

You're right - it DID save you from a lot of expensive heartache!

For a supposedly quality top-of-the-range Merc, it had an amazing and breathtaking amount of things go tits up.

I think that for a car conceived well over 20 years ago, it carried a lot of technology on board, most of which gave me massive grief and hassle.

Luckily I repaired everything myself - parts were expensive enough, it would have bankrupted me if I'd been paying a mechanic to do all the work!

[CoolHands]

no specifics but this garage on the north circular (london thread) never seems to sell anything. Just has these dusty old motors outside. There's nothing about the place that would make you want to stop and go in... I might have a look tomorrow and compare their stock with the google pic

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=elm+way&ll=51....

[forzaminardi]

CoolHands said:

no specifics but this garage on the north circular (london thread) never seems to sell anything. Just has these dusty old motors outside. There's nothing about the place that would make you want to stop and go in... I might have a look tomorrow and compare their stock with the google pic

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=elm+way&ll=51....

Bloody hell, something makes me want to find out how much that blue Nissan Bluebird is.

[CoolHands]

lol I'll see if it's still there tomorrow & let you know

[pistonring]

I went to look at an ERA Mini Turbo at GC Motors in Swanley in 1999 and it was up for £8000 but they wouldn't give me decent money for my part ex. I went back in 2008 and the same car still unsold was up for £8995. I offered £8000 and they turned it down so walked away, two weeks later it sold for full asking price.

[wildcat45]

There was a corner garage with a little showroom near our house Round 1980 they got a blue S Reg Opel Manta in, and about the same time an early model Chrysler Alpine.

We moved away in 1981, and when we went back there to visit in 1984 both cars were still there.

[DukeDickson]

IIRC, this may well have been up for a wee while. Not sure quite how long that wee while is, but it immediately popped into my mind when I started reading this as it seems to always have been there.


http://pistonheads.com/sales/2491626.htm

[Dapster]

forzaminardi said:

Bloody hell, something makes me want to find out how much that blue Nissan Bluebird is.

If you zoom out and click forward a frame you'll see it's up for a bag.

There is a veritable smorgasboard of nastiness on sale there. White Cav Estate anyone? Another Bluebird in the showroom, a Montego Estate and that first shape red C class up for 5 grand!!! Either the pic was taken 12 years ago or he needs to put the top back on the bottle of turps....

[sdmurray]

When I bought one of my cars I was digging into its history but could find nothing for the last 15 years. I met the dealer that had it and asked where it had been for those years only to be told that it was in the dealer's showroom for all that time!

[Panda76]

PaulB81 said:

Theres that dealership, I think its in a America that was abandonned in the 60's with all the cars still left in it. I think the owerner died and his wife kept it preserved exactly as it was

Actually, just found it and pretty much every one of my facts above was totally wrong

here http://jalopnik.com/5632032/the-mystery-of-flickrs...

There is a place similar to this close to me,it's been locked up for as long as I can remember.
There used to be another VW Beetle in there but it looks like someone local managed to buy it and do some restoration work.


http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=church+gresley&amp...

Edited by Panda76 on Friday 13th April 07:22

[Bibbs]

1989 -> 2006 Mk1 MR2.

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44345

[forzaminardi]

Dapster said:

If you zoom out and click forward a frame you'll see it's up for a bag.

There is a veritable smorgasboard of nastiness on sale there. White Cav Estate anyone? Another Bluebird in the showroom, a Montego Estate and that first shape red C class up for 5 grand!!! Either the pic was taken 12 years ago or he needs to put the top back on the bottle of turps....

The pic must be newer than that, Google Streetmap hasn't been around that long - and there's a Prius and Mk2 Focus in the same shot.

[les3002]

These three E36 M3s have sat at this dealer in Wigan for a good few years, they were overpriced to begin with but even more so now. All three are in pretty good condition but being convertibles, SMG and now starting to compete with E46 prices I can see them being there a while.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3059558.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3059536.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3059527.htm

[Blayney]

mat777 said:

When I was in year 10 of school I remember reading through the classifieds of a classic car magazine and seeing an AC427 "Continuation" advertised by Rod Leach's Nostalgia (tied in with that lot that sold the Superformance Coupes and now do "new" GT40s). It was listed as immaculate and having featured in "Clarksons Car Years", and looked stunning in that metallic blue with white stripes and while knock-on Halibrands.

I am now in my second year at University. I opened the latest issue of Classic and Sports Car last week, and guess what car is at the top of the full-page Nostalgia Advert?

If I had a spare 100k or so I'd have it instantly

Came in to post Rod Leach.

I seem to remember him having an "ex-midnight club" RX7 : "does over 200mph" apparently, for a very long time as well.

[VumGarda]

Bibbs said:

1989 -> 2006 Mk1 MR2.

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44345

Any idea what happened to that car in the end?

[CoolHands]

forzaminardi said:

CoolHands said:

no specifics but this garage on the north circular (london thread) never seems to sell anything. Just has these dusty old motors outside. There's nothing about the place that would make you want to stop and go in... I might have a look tomorrow and compare their stock with the google pic

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=elm+way&ll=51....

Bloody hell, something makes me want to find out how much that blue Nissan Bluebird is.

Well I went and took some pics. It's quite sad really a bit like that american flikr garage thread looks abandoned even though it's not - I think I saw movement inside (probably wondering what the hell I was doing taking pics). Having said that, the stock (on the outside) seems to be different from the google images so they do seem to sell stuff. It just doesn't look like it! The cars inside mostly had flat tyres etc

Edited by CoolHands on Friday 13th April 12:09

[Robb F]

No wonder they aren't selling, look at them prices

[Fox-]

That is truely strange all those cars in there. There must be a story behind this surely?

[Alfa numeric]

CoolHands said:

If it wasn't for the Corsa reflected in this pic those photos could pass for being 10 years old plus!

[Fox-]

Alfa numeric said:

If it wasn't for the Corsa reflected in this pic those photos could pass for being 10 years old plus!

Which is why its so odd. The cars outside are not so bad, though not bargains, but the inside looks like its been sealed up since 1999?