The One That Got Away - your version of the story.
Discussion
a standard 1991 E30 M3.. in lovely conditon with around 80k miles, £6k ish in 2005 (just found the pics/"should I buy it" thread on s14.net!). Must be at least double that now.. but I'm sure I'd have spent most of that increase getting/keeping it good nick. Decided it didn't feel quite as fast as others I had tried, and it did need a little tidying cosmetically so I made my excuses.
often consider whether I should sell my E46 CSL and do something more useful with the money, but in 10/20/30 years time will that be the one that got away? ;-)
Edit: Oh and also a late phoenix yellow Z3MC in Windsor, the seller was emigrating and it was a very good price, called up to see it but when I arrived he'd let someone more local come before me, and they'd just put a deposit on it...was not happy.
often consider whether I should sell my E46 CSL and do something more useful with the money, but in 10/20/30 years time will that be the one that got away? ;-)
Edit: Oh and also a late phoenix yellow Z3MC in Windsor, the seller was emigrating and it was a very good price, called up to see it but when I arrived he'd let someone more local come before me, and they'd just put a deposit on it...was not happy.
Edited by danp on Wednesday 8th August 15:10
GadgeS3C said:
A friend's Uncle has an Ace (
). I learnt at the weekend that when he bought it he wavered between an MGB and the Ace. At the time the Ace was 50% more than the MGB. I think he made the correct decision...
Funny enough I did the opposite back in 1980, was looking for a car as a keeper. It was a toss-up between a B roadster and an early 911 which was twice the price of the B and would have left me skint if I'd bought it.Fear of big bills made me play safe and go with the B, no regrets though as I've still got the B. And still time yet for the 911.). I learnt at the weekend that when he bought it he wavered between an MGB and the Ace. At the time the Ace was 50% more than the MGB. I think he made the correct decision...Saxx
My Dad had a Midtec Spyder kit car when i was 15. He bought it in a bit of a state and together we rebuilt it and brought it upto a good standard. It was a lovely thing and quite quick too.
It was dads pride and joy but he sold it the week before I did my driving test. Insurance was cheaper on it than on the 1.25 fiesta that I had bought and Dad admitted that he couldnt be cruel enough to not insure me on it but he was sure I would have ended up in a bush! 150bhp in a 500kg rear wheel drive car with a new driver is ideal!
He sold it and then sadly a little over a year later, aged 47, he passed away suddenly due to a highly aggressive form of brain cancer.
A year after that the car came up for sale again on here for a little under £5k. Sadly as a student, living in halls I could neither raise the cash or find somewhere to store it and had to watch as it sold to someone else.
Its not worth much and I wouldnt have made money like some examples on this thread but the sentimental value of the car would have ment I'd have never sold it.
However the current owner is on the forum. It appears the car has become his pride and joy as he has recently replaced the old pinto engine for a turbo duratech unit which spits flames!
For now its the car that got away but perhaps one day this story will conclude with me owning the car again.
It was dads pride and joy but he sold it the week before I did my driving test. Insurance was cheaper on it than on the 1.25 fiesta that I had bought and Dad admitted that he couldnt be cruel enough to not insure me on it but he was sure I would have ended up in a bush! 150bhp in a 500kg rear wheel drive car with a new driver is ideal!
He sold it and then sadly a little over a year later, aged 47, he passed away suddenly due to a highly aggressive form of brain cancer.
A year after that the car came up for sale again on here for a little under £5k. Sadly as a student, living in halls I could neither raise the cash or find somewhere to store it and had to watch as it sold to someone else.
Its not worth much and I wouldnt have made money like some examples on this thread but the sentimental value of the car would have ment I'd have never sold it.
However the current owner is on the forum. It appears the car has become his pride and joy as he has recently replaced the old pinto engine for a turbo duratech unit which spits flames!
For now its the car that got away but perhaps one day this story will conclude with me owning the car again.
not so much the car that got away, I have an old Packard which had cracks in the cylinder head, with no chance of finding a replacement in this country I looked to some specialists in the USA, One such specialist in New York had one and as it was still when air travel was cheap I thought about combining a wee holiday with picking up the head and looked for last minute flights. The one that took my fancy was with a 747 out and returning with Concorde for the grand sum of £600 return.
I ended up finding someone that would weld it here so went down that road but after over 3 feet of cast iron welding it would have been cheaper to have done the flights and had an experience of a lifetime thrown in, it wasn't long after that when Concorde crashed in Paris and air travel went downhill from there.
I ended up finding someone that would weld it here so went down that road but after over 3 feet of cast iron welding it would have been cheaper to have done the flights and had an experience of a lifetime thrown in, it wasn't long after that when Concorde crashed in Paris and air travel went downhill from there.
I have a couple.
In 1983 an old guy my dad knew died and when his farm was checked he had dozens of cars stashed in his barns which resulted in a massive barn sale/auction.
My dad came back on a saturday lunch time and said i could buy 2 austin champs with RR engines still in factory packaging pre auction.
They wanted £100 cash each i did not have the cash and was ill in bed so missed out.
They made i think 3/4 k the next week at auction.
In the mid 90's i was offered a bmwz1 for next to nothing again no cash available.
Also offered a number plate with my initials which dont come up often due to the years they were issued, turned it down the guy who bought it made 32k!
In 1983 an old guy my dad knew died and when his farm was checked he had dozens of cars stashed in his barns which resulted in a massive barn sale/auction.
My dad came back on a saturday lunch time and said i could buy 2 austin champs with RR engines still in factory packaging pre auction.
They wanted £100 cash each i did not have the cash and was ill in bed so missed out.
They made i think 3/4 k the next week at auction.
In the mid 90's i was offered a bmwz1 for next to nothing again no cash available.
Also offered a number plate with my initials which dont come up often due to the years they were issued, turned it down the guy who bought it made 32k!
Reminds me of a story my uncle told. At the end of the war companies with contracts to fulfill were allowed to complete them even though what they were making wasn't required. My uncle was RAF ground crew and he was instructed to take a gaggle of blokes and dismantle, grease for storage, reassemble and crate a huge number of Griffon engines. He was grafter and would have thrown himself into this task with gusto. When the job was done, the crated engines were transported to a disused mine and dropped down the main shaft. He never quite got over the waste of it all.
Thought of another one. A colleague in the eighties said his brother was looking for a Granada and if I ever wanted to sell mine could I bear him in mind. It turned out the guy wanted to get rid of his Jensen Interceptor. Would he like a swap, I asked. Both cars were worth about £1100 at the time. What could possibly go wrong? I went to meet him at the weekend and he drove my Granada and I drove his Interceptor. It was all going so well. Then he said he'd let me know on the Monday. By the Monday he'd decided with the Jensen being automatic, he'd prefer an automatic Granada to my manual. Okay, I'll buy the Jensen and sell the Granada. He'd think about it. He thought about it and decided to keep the Jensen.
Get a grip man.
I do still quite fancy one. It's on my "one day" list.
Get a grip man.
I do still quite fancy one. It's on my "one day" list.
danp said:
a standard 1991 E30 M3.. in lovely conditon with around 80k miles, £6k ish in 2005 (just found the pics/"should I buy it" thread on s14.net!). Must be at least double that now.. but I'm sure I'd have spent most of that increase getting/keeping it good nick.
Similar story to the above. I spent £8k on an e36 328i Sport in summer 2004. I was torn between this an an e30 M3. Went with the newer car because I was worried the e30 would cost too much. Two months and a £3.5k bill for a new short engine (bloody Nikasil) was just the start. ABS pump, suspension, etc all needed doing within 18 months. Then it rusted. All the while the cues tumbled. Where we know where e30 M3 values went!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff