Writing to previous owners of your car.
Discussion
It really is worth a try, I bought a P38 Rangie just before christmas with only 1 key & patchy history. I found the old owner on face book and sent him a nice message. I now have history, 2 keys a load of bulbs and a metal RR dog guard.
It turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
It turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
Edited by Vulgar LS2 on Monday 14th March 16:15
Vulgar LS2 said:
It really is worth a try, I bought a P38 Rangie just before christmas with only 1 key & patchy history. I found the old owner on face book and sent him a nice message. I now have history, 2 keys a load of bulbs and a metal RR god guard.
It turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
Will the guard keep Allah out tooIt turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
R60EST said:
Vulgar LS2 said:
It really is worth a try, I bought a P38 Rangie just before christmas with only 1 key & patchy history. I found the old owner on face book and sent him a nice message. I now have history, 2 keys a load of bulbs and a metal RR god guard.
It turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
Will the guard keep Allah out tooIt turns out that the sherriff hads taken the car away and thats why there wasn't much with it.
The previous owner was at work and his mrs just handed over her key and anything she could find to hand.
Result
lexdistic moentmRVVUNM said:
I saw my old 3.2 Carrera sport at a Porsche club meeting once and approached the current owner who bought it off the guy I sold it to some three years previous. Bloke was not a bit interested in what I had to say and his wife was rude tutting and making like I'm delaying their day. Bloody hell, if a prevous owner of my car made himself known I'd be all ears.
Hate people like that. I pulled into a petrol pump yesterday, think this old couple in a van had been waiting for it but were dawdling and hadn't noticed me cruise in. The woman was giving me right evils as if I had just defacated on the bonnet of their van. I just stared back until she gave up. 
SEE YA said:
Hitler Hadrump said:
Send off DVLA form V888 (PDF), enclose £5. They send copies of the car's old V5s. My car had seven previous owners, so it was a pretty fat envelope.
Here's the form:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_...
Thanks, you beat me to it with the answer.Here's the form:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_...
Oddly enough, I saw 4 owners of my old Polo on Friday.
The new owner came to pick it up, so I saw him. Me, obviously, I went bowling later and the guy I bought it from was working there Then in the pub after I bumped into a fella I work with who also used to own it.
Small world, etc, etc.
The new owner came to pick it up, so I saw him. Me, obviously, I went bowling later and the guy I bought it from was working there
Then in the pub after I bumped into a fella I work with who also used to own it. Small world, etc, etc.
Worked both ways for me. We had a Volvo 940 Turbo - a special edition, that we bought at a year old.
The boot handle broke and I had noticed in the receipts that a boot handle had been ordered under warrantly. I thought I would call the previous owner to see if it had been fitted or if the part was still at the garage.
He coulcn't remember. Indeed there wasn't much he wanted to remember about the car after the fatal accident it had been involved in.
He was a bit upset, and I was sorry to have bothered him. He hadn't been hurt but said that that last he saw of the car was when he went to the Volvo dealer to get his bits out of the car. He sounded quite a wealthy chap because he just ordered a new car and sold the other one to the garage.
He did point me to the front page of the local paper from 6 months previous which featured our car at the scene of the fatal crash.
The garage were great. The Manager - who had sold us volvos for years, knew nothing about the repaired crashed car. He had no legal obligation, but swapped it for a similar model the hisotry of which he vouched for.
So, that call did me a favour.
I had a call once about 5 years after I sold another car. Really nice family had it and wanted to know more about it. Told them what I knew. A few months later I came across some paperwork for it and a spare key - It had 3. I knew where they lived, so dropped the lot off to them.
They kept the car 10 years or more. It was parked at their house on my way to work and always looked well cared for. Often saw it polished up on a Monday morning....
The boot handle broke and I had noticed in the receipts that a boot handle had been ordered under warrantly. I thought I would call the previous owner to see if it had been fitted or if the part was still at the garage.
He coulcn't remember. Indeed there wasn't much he wanted to remember about the car after the fatal accident it had been involved in.
He was a bit upset, and I was sorry to have bothered him. He hadn't been hurt but said that that last he saw of the car was when he went to the Volvo dealer to get his bits out of the car. He sounded quite a wealthy chap because he just ordered a new car and sold the other one to the garage.
He did point me to the front page of the local paper from 6 months previous which featured our car at the scene of the fatal crash.
The garage were great. The Manager - who had sold us volvos for years, knew nothing about the repaired crashed car. He had no legal obligation, but swapped it for a similar model the hisotry of which he vouched for.
So, that call did me a favour.
I had a call once about 5 years after I sold another car. Really nice family had it and wanted to know more about it. Told them what I knew. A few months later I came across some paperwork for it and a spare key - It had 3. I knew where they lived, so dropped the lot off to them.
They kept the car 10 years or more. It was parked at their house on my way to work and always looked well cared for. Often saw it polished up on a Monday morning....
I bought an old white and green mk1 cortina years ago, with no log book, keys and a broken bonnet catch. It sat in my yard for about 3 years, under a tarpaulin.
I found an old envelope with an address on it in the glove box. I 142'd the guys number, believe it or not, he answered the phone!
He only lived half a mile away, and came straight round with a full history file, original log book, original keys, and delivery note.
He even opened the bonnet for me.
Imagine to my surprise when it turned out to be an original mk1 lotus cortina!
His wife was quite tasty, and gave me a blow job in our shed later, while he went off to get me a few lagers from the offy.
Do I win a prize?
I found an old envelope with an address on it in the glove box. I 142'd the guys number, believe it or not, he answered the phone!
He only lived half a mile away, and came straight round with a full history file, original log book, original keys, and delivery note.
He even opened the bonnet for me.
Imagine to my surprise when it turned out to be an original mk1 lotus cortina!
His wife was quite tasty, and gave me a blow job in our shed later, while he went off to get me a few lagers from the offy.
Do I win a prize?
CraigyMc said:
Judging from this thread there are lots of spare keys for previously owned cars knocking about.
Isn't anyone worried that the former owner might rock up with a key and boost the vehicle when he finds out where you live?
C
Yep! When writting to a former keeper, I put my address as my parents address for that very reason.Isn't anyone worried that the former owner might rock up with a key and boost the vehicle when he finds out where you live?
C
stuttgartmetal said:
I bought an old white and green mk1 cortina years ago, with no log book, keys and a broken bonnet catch. It sat in my yard for about 3 years, under a tarpaulin.
I found an old envelope with an address on it in the glove box. I 142'd the guys number, believe it or not, he answered the phone!
He only lived half a mile away, and came straight round with a full history file, original log book, original keys, and delivery note.
He even opened the bonnet for me.
Imagine to my surprise when it turned out to be an original mk1 lotus cortina!
His wife was quite tasty, and gave me a blow job in our shed later, while he went off to get me a few lagers from the offy.
Do I win a prize?
No, the same happened to me but Jim Clark was the previous owner.I found an old envelope with an address on it in the glove box. I 142'd the guys number, believe it or not, he answered the phone!
He only lived half a mile away, and came straight round with a full history file, original log book, original keys, and delivery note.
He even opened the bonnet for me.
Imagine to my surprise when it turned out to be an original mk1 lotus cortina!
His wife was quite tasty, and gave me a blow job in our shed later, while he went off to get me a few lagers from the offy.
Do I win a prize?
I've been in contact with the first owner of the Tuscan i've just bought. It probably helps that she's a PHer and therefore a thoroughly normal person!
Both she and her husband have been great, sending me some original photos and details of the car, and have said they'll see if they can dig out the factory build photos, even giving me a call for a chat about the car's origins.
I'd definitely do it again where the car is a little bit special, and the history just adds to the story.
Just don't do it on a mk3 Fiesta 1.1 Popular tho
Both she and her husband have been great, sending me some original photos and details of the car, and have said they'll see if they can dig out the factory build photos, even giving me a call for a chat about the car's origins.
I'd definitely do it again where the car is a little bit special, and the history just adds to the story.
Just don't do it on a mk3 Fiesta 1.1 Popular tho
I've often thought about contacting the one previous owner of my 205 GTI. He sold it to me (via ebay, it arrived on a transporter, I never met him) in an absolute state. There was literally rubble in the back of it, I think it had been used as a skip.
Rolling restoration over the last 6 years until it was on the grid at Goodwood (pic in my profile), I wonder if he'd like to see the photos of the car looking as good as it did when he bought it back in 1988.
Rolling restoration over the last 6 years until it was on the grid at Goodwood (pic in my profile), I wonder if he'd like to see the photos of the car looking as good as it did when he bought it back in 1988.
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