Plan to buy a few cars, advice needed
Discussion
Morning all,
I recall there was a thread a while back about a chap who was going to buy all his dream cars for £100k, one at a time, keep for a couple of months and then sell and move to the next on the list. I have decided to try something similar, albeit with a much smaller budget. There’s a whole bunch of cars that for whatever illogical reason tickle my fancy but not necessarily ones that I would want to keep as a main driver. So the plan is to buy a car, keep it for 3 months then sell and try something else for 3 months. Hope to buy cars that have long MOTs and tax and require no work, so unexpected bork aside, I hope to not lose too much with each transaction, certainly no more than if running a single car for a couple of years. Appreciate that insurance could end up being a cost and there is the potential grief of always trying to sell a car and all that entails.
The cars will be the 3rd car in the house so have no role to fill other than scratching an itch. A quick list of potentials includes hot hatches, sports, classics and barges and as the list is quite long, should be no problem sourcing the right cars. I currently have a BMW E36 M3 convertible that will be sold and with a few extra quid added, budget is £8k.
Thought I could write a report on the buying and selling process and a write up on each car as they come and go.
So before I start this, I’m after people’s thoughts on the where you think the potential pitfalls are in the cunning plan, if you’ve tried something similar or am I just being an arse. Also would be interested in what cars you would add to the list. In no particular order the following are on my list;
E39 M5
E24 6 series
Jag XJS
Audi S8
Merc 560 SEC/SEL
Caterham style kit car
Boxster
944
RenaultSport Clio/Megane
Golf mk1 Gti
205 Gti
TVR Wedge/Chimaera
Impreza/EVO
Cheers
kitsell
I recall there was a thread a while back about a chap who was going to buy all his dream cars for £100k, one at a time, keep for a couple of months and then sell and move to the next on the list. I have decided to try something similar, albeit with a much smaller budget. There’s a whole bunch of cars that for whatever illogical reason tickle my fancy but not necessarily ones that I would want to keep as a main driver. So the plan is to buy a car, keep it for 3 months then sell and try something else for 3 months. Hope to buy cars that have long MOTs and tax and require no work, so unexpected bork aside, I hope to not lose too much with each transaction, certainly no more than if running a single car for a couple of years. Appreciate that insurance could end up being a cost and there is the potential grief of always trying to sell a car and all that entails.
The cars will be the 3rd car in the house so have no role to fill other than scratching an itch. A quick list of potentials includes hot hatches, sports, classics and barges and as the list is quite long, should be no problem sourcing the right cars. I currently have a BMW E36 M3 convertible that will be sold and with a few extra quid added, budget is £8k.
Thought I could write a report on the buying and selling process and a write up on each car as they come and go.
So before I start this, I’m after people’s thoughts on the where you think the potential pitfalls are in the cunning plan, if you’ve tried something similar or am I just being an arse. Also would be interested in what cars you would add to the list. In no particular order the following are on my list;
E39 M5
E24 6 series
Jag XJS
Audi S8
Merc 560 SEC/SEL
Caterham style kit car
Boxster
944
RenaultSport Clio/Megane
Golf mk1 Gti
205 Gti
TVR Wedge/Chimaera
Impreza/EVO
Cheers
kitsell
Sounds like an excellent plan! And most of the cars on your list can be insured on the cheap on classic / limited miles policies.
Just two words of caution...
1. if you sell a car after 3 months, some will assume there must be something wrong with it.
2. the market for some of these cars is quite small, so you might find it takes a little longer to find a buyer than you're perhaps assuming.
But otherwise it's a cracking plan. I'll look forward to reading about how it pans out.
Just two words of caution...
1. if you sell a car after 3 months, some will assume there must be something wrong with it.
2. the market for some of these cars is quite small, so you might find it takes a little longer to find a buyer than you're perhaps assuming.
But otherwise it's a cracking plan. I'll look forward to reading about how it pans out.
Sounds like a lot of fun but you may find it difficult to sell cars of that age after a couple of months of ownership. Buyers will get suspicious about why you're selling so soon and may not believe your story.
EDIT: Post above was submitted while I was writing this one. Same sentiments.
EDIT: Post above was submitted while I was writing this one. Same sentiments.
thanks gents, I'm hoping that the kind of cars I'm hoping to get are the kind that are bought by similar minded minded people who would be more inclined to understand. I guess a new MOT before I sell each one will help.
The 3 months for each is a rough guideline, always the risk I end up really liking something and keeping for longer, but have a couple of years to try some different cars before planned house purchase and possible school fees will swallow up all my cash and leave me with just the daily runaround.
The 3 months for each is a rough guideline, always the risk I end up really liking something and keeping for longer, but have a couple of years to try some different cars before planned house purchase and possible school fees will swallow up all my cash and leave me with just the daily runaround.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Hmmmm. I fear it's going to cost you a lot more than that. But good luck with the plan!
thanks Ozzie, the £8k is to buy the car. I have additional budget set aside for general running costs on my current cars and appreciate there is a risk of buying something that throws up a big bill, but I'll sacrifice something to the gods of bork and wear my lucky pants... or if Mrs K has stumbled across this, get each purchase thoroughly inspected by a specialist
bqf said:
It's going to take you ages to buy some of those cars, and ages to sell them too. I reckon it will be a right royal pain in the ass.
Laudable, but eventually annoying
I think the buying is the enjoyable bit, as mentioned earlier I think the biggest potential pain will be the selling. I guess if it becomes too much of a arseache then I'll just knock it on the head.Laudable, but eventually annoying
CO2000 said:
I can see your 8k going doing all the jobs that need doing that the sellers haven't done !
I'd buy a Westfield or similar and you may still have 8k in a couple years and have great fun along the way.
always liked the idea of a Westfield but not sure my slightly knackered back would appreciate one. Also don't have a garage at the moment and wouldn't want to leave one outside long term.I'd buy a Westfield or similar and you may still have 8k in a couple years and have great fun along the way.
top lurking mate 
start with the Clio, you won't need to do the others then
also one of the cheapest on the list at 2k for a fairly tidy 172. for the most "driver's car" you want either a ph1 or a ph2 Cup. Have you considered a Willy?
Throw in an RX8 as they're dirt cheap (not sure what RX7s go for these days but significantly more than 8s), Supra too, you'll get a turbo Supra in budget. 300ZX TT (ideally a slick top SWB manual but they're a bit rare but can be had for 5k for a really nice one, although all are bound to have an aftermarket boost controller by now
)
start with the Clio, you won't need to do the others then
also one of the cheapest on the list at 2k for a fairly tidy 172. for the most "driver's car" you want either a ph1 or a ph2 Cup. Have you considered a Willy?
Throw in an RX8 as they're dirt cheap (not sure what RX7s go for these days but significantly more than 8s), Supra too, you'll get a turbo Supra in budget. 300ZX TT (ideally a slick top SWB manual but they're a bit rare but can be had for 5k for a really nice one, although all are bound to have an aftermarket boost controller by now
)kitsell said:
good shout on the 928 but I thought a decent one would be above my budget, off to the classifieds...
I had a similar idea. £10k bucket list. Started a thread on here and was all set to go.Then a 964 C2 came up on my doorstep and i blew double the budget on that
I do also have a very nice 928 S4 i'm about to put up for sale this week which will be in your budget!
Following thread closely to see how you go though.
I'll be picking the idea back up again next year when i sell the 911 though. If i can bring myself to do it.
[quote=scarble]top lurking mate
some sort of Clio could be a good start, will be available to afford a good one and is less likely to have expensive potential problems, will look into...
RX8's not my cup of tea but a turbo Supra or Skyline, added to the list and looking at.
cheers Scarble
some sort of Clio could be a good start, will be available to afford a good one and is less likely to have expensive potential problems, will look into...
RX8's not my cup of tea but a turbo Supra or Skyline, added to the list and looking at.
cheers Scarble
OlberJ said:
I do also have a very nice 928 S4 i'm about to put up for sale this week which will be in your budget!
Following thread closely to see how you go though.
need to sell the M3 first before getting the next one so not sure timing would work out, but would interested to see your ad when you post it. Considered a 911 but think that my budget would only get me a high mileage early 996 and a whole potential load of expensesFollowing thread closely to see how you go though.
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