Don't you hate it when...
Discussion
This is more by way of catharsis than anything really I suppose.
I'm on a seemingly eternal hunt for a replacement car for my dad's V6 Mondeo. Repair costs are just getting too high. Anyway, I have an Autotrader search set up and a few days ago it sent me a notice of a £6795 Mk 4 2.5T Estate Tit X Sport in black that was "coming in soon" (I never like it when they do that). The garage is 40+ miles away so not easy to just drop in.
Anyway, the details went up today, and it is 79k miles, 58 reg. MOT history is okay, but not perfect. Looking around the car photos, it seems fine, it is what it is, ticks all my boxes. All the expected stuff. It is a rare spec these days, so maybe the price is understandable, if a bit high. Looking promising anyway, I may have finally found the car. I was even considering checking how much the Mk 4.5 front lights and bumper were with a view to an update. I carried on clicking through the pics...
Oh FFS.
No mention in the write-up about modifications. Googling "RS Performance" gives any number of hits, and it has the smell of generic cheap parts. I wonder if it has had a cheap piggy-back chip on it, and they are getting rid because "vague reasons". I feel like I pulled a good looking well clothed 30-something woman, and then find she's offering me a Benson and Hedges and requesting a pint of Tetley Bitter.
I have asked for info about any mods be emailed to me, but in all reality I'd always know it had been around the block a few times, and spent a lot of evening hours hanging around the docks. With a reg like that, she should be good at crafty BJs.
Sigh, I knew it had to be too good to be true. Thank goodness I didn't travel down to Mansfield to find out!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... if anyone wants a peek at the car in question.
BMW 325i 3 litre estates are starting to look tempting!
ETA, found it, it was AS not RS... https://autospecialists.co.uk
I'm on a seemingly eternal hunt for a replacement car for my dad's V6 Mondeo. Repair costs are just getting too high. Anyway, I have an Autotrader search set up and a few days ago it sent me a notice of a £6795 Mk 4 2.5T Estate Tit X Sport in black that was "coming in soon" (I never like it when they do that). The garage is 40+ miles away so not easy to just drop in.
Anyway, the details went up today, and it is 79k miles, 58 reg. MOT history is okay, but not perfect. Looking around the car photos, it seems fine, it is what it is, ticks all my boxes. All the expected stuff. It is a rare spec these days, so maybe the price is understandable, if a bit high. Looking promising anyway, I may have finally found the car. I was even considering checking how much the Mk 4.5 front lights and bumper were with a view to an update. I carried on clicking through the pics...
Oh FFS.
No mention in the write-up about modifications. Googling "RS Performance" gives any number of hits, and it has the smell of generic cheap parts. I wonder if it has had a cheap piggy-back chip on it, and they are getting rid because "vague reasons". I feel like I pulled a good looking well clothed 30-something woman, and then find she's offering me a Benson and Hedges and requesting a pint of Tetley Bitter.
I have asked for info about any mods be emailed to me, but in all reality I'd always know it had been around the block a few times, and spent a lot of evening hours hanging around the docks. With a reg like that, she should be good at crafty BJs.
Sigh, I knew it had to be too good to be true. Thank goodness I didn't travel down to Mansfield to find out!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... if anyone wants a peek at the car in question.
BMW 325i 3 litre estates are starting to look tempting!
ETA, found it, it was AS not RS... https://autospecialists.co.uk
Edited by Zad on Tuesday 9th October 05:31
I wouldn't dismiss it personally.
It's easy and natural to assume it's had a hard life but it's not always the case - especially with Ford Fanboys
I have a car related business and see all sorts of cars and owners. Some just love their car so much that they seek to 'improve' it or personalising it albeit with some questionable or tasteless mods.
Ive got a customer with a MK2 RS focus that has every bolt on bit going but he's an old boy with too much money and just keeps buying add ons and doesn't know when to stop. He drives it like miss daisy and it lives under a car cover in a heated garage.
You even state you were thinking of sticking on a facelift bumper and lights - to some that may be seen as a bad mod/sign of a hard life/bad taste
If its only 40 miles away its worth going for a look, checking the history and maintenance and assessing it without the assumption its a nail
You might be pleasantly surprised - then you can strip off the bits and get some money back by selling off ebay.
It's easy and natural to assume it's had a hard life but it's not always the case - especially with Ford Fanboys
I have a car related business and see all sorts of cars and owners. Some just love their car so much that they seek to 'improve' it or personalising it albeit with some questionable or tasteless mods.
Ive got a customer with a MK2 RS focus that has every bolt on bit going but he's an old boy with too much money and just keeps buying add ons and doesn't know when to stop. He drives it like miss daisy and it lives under a car cover in a heated garage.
You even state you were thinking of sticking on a facelift bumper and lights - to some that may be seen as a bad mod/sign of a hard life/bad taste
If its only 40 miles away its worth going for a look, checking the history and maintenance and assessing it without the assumption its a nail
You might be pleasantly surprised - then you can strip off the bits and get some money back by selling off ebay.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 9th October 05:45
I would not dismiss it either, chances are anyone who modified a mondeo must have really loved it and I would wager it has probably been better cared for than a standard one owned by the average joe who only did the bare minimum to it when the dashboard told them too!
AS have been around for a long time making shiny bits for fast fords.....and apparently mondeos 😂
AS have been around for a long time making shiny bits for fast fords.....and apparently mondeos 😂
nigh on 7k for that?????
walk away!!!!!
far far better options out there, newer and nowhere near those miles.
Im a stuck record but ... i did an estate purchase centering on the Avensis and Accord. In the end I paid 5k for a 2010 Avensis 1.8 auto with 18k on the clock. No complaints. Jap safer 2nd hand buy too
walk away!!!!!
far far better options out there, newer and nowhere near those miles.
Im a stuck record but ... i did an estate purchase centering on the Avensis and Accord. In the end I paid 5k for a 2010 Avensis 1.8 auto with 18k on the clock. No complaints. Jap safer 2nd hand buy too
Good point about having 4 matching tyres, I'll certainly try to remember that. It is so long since I have actively been out on a car hunt, that I have forgotten some of the simple stuff! I did notice on the MoT history, that if failed once due to having no liquid in the washer. Not really the sort of thing a super fastidious person does, especially given the warning display for it. Nothing massively bad in the other MoTs though, just niggles. Also mention of child seats preventing inspection, which is probably a sign of being run by a parent rather than a single bloke (or bloke-ette).
I am still waiting for an email reply, so I'll send a message via their own (its a dealer) email address rather than via Autotrader.
ZX10R: I saw that one, but it is >180 miles away, and I can't imagine showing my dad a car with those wheels (we'll be sharing the car). Dad's getting on a bit now (heck, I won't be seeing 40 again) and neither of us really want to be travelling that sort of distance unless the car comes with free coke and hookers.
I have a search stored on Autotrader for Passats and A4s (and somewhat optimistically S4s), they do seem to be quite rare in "interesting" spec. i.e. more than 4 cylinders, leather. About a 500-1000 more than BMW sixes too. I take the point about sensible Japanese 1.8s on a low mileage, but neither of us do huge miles, and after a somewhat life changing event 18 months ago, life now feels too short sensible upholstery. In truth, we don't need an estate, but dad's expressed a preference for one. I'm working on that though...
I am still waiting for an email reply, so I'll send a message via their own (its a dealer) email address rather than via Autotrader.
ZX10R: I saw that one, but it is >180 miles away, and I can't imagine showing my dad a car with those wheels (we'll be sharing the car). Dad's getting on a bit now (heck, I won't be seeing 40 again) and neither of us really want to be travelling that sort of distance unless the car comes with free coke and hookers.
I have a search stored on Autotrader for Passats and A4s (and somewhat optimistically S4s), they do seem to be quite rare in "interesting" spec. i.e. more than 4 cylinders, leather. About a 500-1000 more than BMW sixes too. I take the point about sensible Japanese 1.8s on a low mileage, but neither of us do huge miles, and after a somewhat life changing event 18 months ago, life now feels too short sensible upholstery. In truth, we don't need an estate, but dad's expressed a preference for one. I'm working on that though...
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff