Tracing your old cars - Ever had the fortune/mis-fortune?
Discussion
Easy to get nostalgic about old motors you've had, especially if they were something a bit different or that you just really liked and had to sell for other reasons beyond your control!
Has anyone ever attempted to trace back a car they owned 5+ years ago?
What about randomly spotted it miles away from your home town?
Have you tried to buy it back, or been shocked or pleased at the condition of it?
I often wonder what happened to my old cars, is there a site you can check the current status or anything of them?
Has anyone ever attempted to trace back a car they owned 5+ years ago?
What about randomly spotted it miles away from your home town?
Have you tried to buy it back, or been shocked or pleased at the condition of it?
I often wonder what happened to my old cars, is there a site you can check the current status or anything of them?
www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk will tell you whether it's still taxed, or when the tax ran out.
I once spotted my grandfather's old Escort, which he'd had from new, in a car park a year after he sold it. It was in a terrible state, with a bashed in front end and junk spread about inside. It was a bit upsetting, considering how he had looked after it so well. Hasn't been taxed since 1997, so it didn't last long after that.
I once spotted my grandfather's old Escort, which he'd had from new, in a car park a year after he sold it. It was in a terrible state, with a bashed in front end and junk spread about inside. It was a bit upsetting, considering how he had looked after it so well. Hasn't been taxed since 1997, so it didn't last long after that.
I bought back a BMW I used to own. I wasn't hunting for it, but saw it for sale quite by chance on here. The guy selling it had taken fantastic care of it and it was in a much better condition than when I had sold it, so I bought it back for half the price I had sold it for three years previously.
That was about four years ago and I still have it. I don't regret it for a second.
That was about four years ago and I still have it. I don't regret it for a second.
I had a Peugeot 106XSi 1.6 that I'd bought as an ex-demo from a main dealer in 1995. I ran it for a few years until I got a company car, so I gave it to the wife. She ran it for a few years until we had our son.
Typical new / 1st time parents we traded the Pug in for a hatefully practical Daewoo Matiz. We spent the next two years looking for something to replace the Matiz, nearly every weekend was spent test driving potential replacements to no avail.
Eventually I cracked and demanded to know what her "ideal" car would be. She admitted she wanted the Pug back. So I had a look on ebay to find out how much they were fetching. Lo and behold "my" 106 was listed and with a very reasonable BIN. So I bought it, and we went down to pick it up that weekend.
Turns out the kid had been at uni in our town, bought it off the dealer we'd traded it into and spent his student loans on putting lexus lights, crap mirrors and big alloys on it. Thankfully he'd kept all the original parts.
So we swapped all the original parts back, sold the crap on ebay and the Mrs ran it for another couple of years. Until she got pregnant again.
Determined not to make the same mistake again, rather than trade it in, I got a mate to store it for me in his barn, while she bought a practical Fiat Grande Punto.
Now three years later, I'm out of work and selling my daily driver. So tomorrow, I'm loading the 7 onto a trailer, taking that to my mates barn, collecting my 106 and bringing it back home.
Hopefully it won't need much to get it roadworthy again!
Typical new / 1st time parents we traded the Pug in for a hatefully practical Daewoo Matiz. We spent the next two years looking for something to replace the Matiz, nearly every weekend was spent test driving potential replacements to no avail.
Eventually I cracked and demanded to know what her "ideal" car would be. She admitted she wanted the Pug back. So I had a look on ebay to find out how much they were fetching. Lo and behold "my" 106 was listed and with a very reasonable BIN. So I bought it, and we went down to pick it up that weekend.
Turns out the kid had been at uni in our town, bought it off the dealer we'd traded it into and spent his student loans on putting lexus lights, crap mirrors and big alloys on it. Thankfully he'd kept all the original parts.
So we swapped all the original parts back, sold the crap on ebay and the Mrs ran it for another couple of years. Until she got pregnant again.
Determined not to make the same mistake again, rather than trade it in, I got a mate to store it for me in his barn, while she bought a practical Fiat Grande Punto.
Now three years later, I'm out of work and selling my daily driver. So tomorrow, I'm loading the 7 onto a trailer, taking that to my mates barn, collecting my 106 and bringing it back home.
Hopefully it won't need much to get it roadworthy again!
I see my old VR6 golf from time to time, and my last Honda Integra is seen by my old man regulalry.
I randomly stumbled across my old VFR 400 on the site of a bike breaker i know, where i sold the bike to about 5 years previously.
The only recognizable feature was the tank, as it was an urban tiger coloured bike, and had some silly carbon fibre looking tank pads, which were still on it, but every other panel was a different colour and now fibreglass lol.
It was up for a grand, i almost bought it, as a do-er upper, but i bought a pristine red white and blue UK spec bike for £2k on flea-bay and sold it 3 years later for £2100!! happy days.
I heard my old suzuki swift was crushed
I randomly stumbled across my old VFR 400 on the site of a bike breaker i know, where i sold the bike to about 5 years previously.
The only recognizable feature was the tank, as it was an urban tiger coloured bike, and had some silly carbon fibre looking tank pads, which were still on it, but every other panel was a different colour and now fibreglass lol.
It was up for a grand, i almost bought it, as a do-er upper, but i bought a pristine red white and blue UK spec bike for £2k on flea-bay and sold it 3 years later for £2100!! happy days.
I heard my old suzuki swift was crushed
In 2000 I bought a mint LHD mk1 Golf GTI with only 27k miles on it from new freshly imported into the UK from a German gentlemans estate who bought it on his 60th birthday and kept it till he died.
I bought it to use it, but it was in such amazing condition I couldn't bear to so had to sell it on. Last time it was on DVLA was 2002 so it's either in a barn somewhere, had a new reg or exported back to a LHD country.
I bought it to use it, but it was in such amazing condition I couldn't bear to so had to sell it on. Last time it was on DVLA was 2002 so it's either in a barn somewhere, had a new reg or exported back to a LHD country.
Perd Hapley said:
www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk will tell you whether it's still taxed, or when the tax ran out.
I once spotted my grandfather's old Escort, which he'd had from new, in a car park a year after he sold it. It was in a terrible state, with a bashed in front end and junk spread about inside. It was a bit upsetting, considering how he had looked after it so well. Hasn't been taxed since 1997, so it didn't last long after that.
Just tried my old car, comes up under Vehicle Status as "SORN Not Due" - guessing that this means that it is no longer on the road I once spotted my grandfather's old Escort, which he'd had from new, in a car park a year after he sold it. It was in a terrible state, with a bashed in front end and junk spread about inside. It was a bit upsetting, considering how he had looked after it so well. Hasn't been taxed since 1997, so it didn't last long after that.
I sometimes check plates on Clio 172 Cups out and about or in the classifieds, hoping to see my old one.
Perd Hapley said:
Says its not taxed. Gulp I used to see my old 924S driving around quite a lot. A few years later I thought about buying an Excel and went to chat to a guy about it ... turned out to be the guy I'd sold the 924S too and he'd moved on to the Lotus in between.
Also seen my old 205 GTi stooging round too.
Worst of all is seeing my first car when I go back. It's a Quantum 2+2 kit car which I loved to bits, which is now covered in some sort of icky green lichen in my parents' farmyard. I don't even have the excuse of having sold that one...
Also seen my old 205 GTi stooging round too.
Worst of all is seeing my first car when I go back. It's a Quantum 2+2 kit car which I loved to bits, which is now covered in some sort of icky green lichen in my parents' farmyard. I don't even have the excuse of having sold that one...
I stupidly forgot to send of the change of owner on a 330i and forgot about it until the police called saying
they'd found "my" car (which I had sold for cash), in a remote layby with a broken window. Not reported
as stolen when they called back a week later and it hasn't been taxed since. They have the new owners
details and changed it on the DVLA, never got the fine for failing to inform them.
Most likely a getaway car I think.
they'd found "my" car (which I had sold for cash), in a remote layby with a broken window. Not reported
as stolen when they called back a week later and it hasn't been taxed since. They have the new owners
details and changed it on the DVLA, never got the fine for failing to inform them.
Most likely a getaway car I think.
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