Guest Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Woke up this morning to find this in the inbox: Hi have daihatsu spider for sale. Martin Bit random, but there you go. Then I started thinking, Daihatsu Spider? Oh yes, Daihatsu Leeza Spider. Could be one of those I suppose. Maybe they found my contact details and assumed I'd want it given the Mira etc. Fair enough, but not my bag really. Then it hit me - could they be talking about the Daihatsu Compagno Spider?! The first "proper" car Daihatsu ever made? Bloody hell. A bit of Google action had me come back with this..... THIS is the actual car being advertised to me. It's on the other side of the world. It's probably for sale for a lot more than I can afford. And sourcing even service parts will be ludicrously difficult. But it's a Compagno, not just any Compagno, a Compagno Spider!! The ultimate! Should I even dream of pursuing this further by hitting reply or should I just pretend it never happened and save myself a lot of grief when I find out in no uncertain terms that it will never be in my life?
Cavcraft Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 But at the moment you don't know you can't afford it as you don't know the asking price. How would you feel if the next time you Googled it you discovered it'd been sold for like 1.27 Yen or something?No harm in asking how much he wants then working out cheapest shipping etc.If all else fails though just weld the front of an A40 Farina to the back of a 304 cabriolet and Robert is your aunty's fella.
Spottedlaurel Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 I don't think such concerns would have troubled NigelBickle for more than two seconds given such an opportunity.I think you've got to ask...Look at that chap in there, you could be that cool! Imagine cruising downtown Wakefield in it.
Mash Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Did we ever hear any more about the saloon that popped up earlier in the year? Devon was it?
pogweasel Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Of course you should!Think, all the laydeez of Wakefield & surrounding areas will be hurling themselves at you as you cruise the boulevards.
Volksy Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Wow! thats pretty cool!Of course you should at least get a price, and i'm sure Mr Bickle would be able to advise you the best way to get it over here!
michiel Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 I'm curious about the price too... maybe I can become a shareholder and come around once or twice a year for a drive? Saw the 'advertisement' on JNC I think. Wonderful car!
Guest Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Dunno what happened with the restoration one, I fired off an Email to Practical Classics and got no reply.Might as well fire off an Email on this one too, then I've tried, I guess!As for Vanilla Ice-esque cruising adventures, I've got the Charmant for that. Driving into town with one hand on the wheel, window rolled down, MW radio blasting..... attractive ladies just stare in awe, presumably dreaming of how comfortable the moquette seats are as they press their bare feet into the luxurious deep-pile carpet (obviously their dirty shoes would be stored in the rear cargo area and would be automatically illuminated upon opening the boot, a thoughtful feature of the "Luxury Extra" specification).
reallyloud Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 Difficult one. Especially if the driver comes with it. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Depends on the price I suppose - offset it with the cost of the vehicle and whether you will continously kick yourself for ever for not getting it now.
Jazzy Jeff Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 As long as the deal dosen't include any dealings with Nigerian Prince's or setting up holding accounts in Senegal it seems too good to miss!!
seth Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 attractive ladies just stare in awe, presumably dreaming of how comfortable the moquette seats are as they press their bare feet into the luxurious headlining.
King Maz Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Dan, if it does all that and ladies do impressions of vases over it, I'll lend you the money myself.
nigel bickle Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Ask. Then negotiate. Then negotiate againWhere is it? Shipping costs have gone through the roof in the past 3 months -and they are all travelling much slower, with all the ramifications thats going to incur.If you need help -pm me
Ratdat Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Do it. You most likely won't get the chance of one again. I was offered this CSP311 Silvia a few years ago for £3000. It was in Sweden. I didn't go for it and regret it deeply as I'll never get the chance or have the money for another again. When I got the offered of my '62 Bluebird Estate, I'd learned the lesson and went for it. It cost me over £600 to get it back to Blighty via trailer and ferry but it was worth the cost and the hassle because I'll most likely never get the opportunity to get such an old Datsun again.
vicsmith Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 What would you do though if you got there and there was no car to be seen, and the seller gave you a hat that can only really be worn during the day, Soo the Panda from "The Sooty show" and a Daddy-long-legs in a big matchbox? "Oh no, it was THAT sort of Day-hat Soo Spider!" and you had to give him three grand for it, because you`d promised.
nigel bickle Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Alas -life is full of missed opportunities. Its a one off- the least you've got to do is investigate.Or pass the details on to me....
Guest Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Well then, got an Email back with more pics - it looks absolutely mint, has 64000km on the clock, bodywork all looks as near to perfect as you could really want.However, he wants $18000 for it, taking it multiple times out of my price range - even if I sold everything I own, I wouldn't be able to rustle that up.In all honesty, it probably is worth that - the Compagno Spider is in Daihatsu desirability terms equivalent to something like a Toyota 2000GT (price heavily reduced with Daihatsu un-scene tax) and this looks on the surface to be about the mintest example you could ever wish for.But as a result, I'm certain it will find a deserving home (probably export to Japan) so I don't feel guilty about it. The fact it exists is enough for me, I don't need to own it!On the other hand, if a (probably even rarer) Compagno Pickup Truck appears somewhere, I'll start auctioning off my limbs.
Mr_Bo11ox Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Its a great thing, but not the sort of car that floats my boat. even if it was £2000 i would not buy it! Too nice! Wheres the fun? You would turn into a detailling dweeb and county show veteran. You could never be comfortable blezzing along the A641 bypass on the way to pick up a 'new' s/h kitchen table off a mate, while eating a bag of crisps and talking on the phone in it! Maybe if I lived in Italy or the south of France and wor lass wanted a classy mota for carrying her wicker basket back from the fruit/veg market I would consider it.Give me a mid-70's Subaru off yahoo japan anyday, or a 1984 929 saloon with a turbo, digidash, burgundy velour and pop-up headlights. Much cheaper, more usable and most importantly - 100% cooler.
nigel bickle Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 With you Mr B -that sort of cash would buy a nice Mota.Pretty -but nowt that special
Guest Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Yeah in terms of lifestyle it's a pretty inappropriate vehicle for me, I like my stuff to be rare, but incredibly dull to the untrained eye. I think I'd just feel daft driving a red convertible, 4 door box-o-rama all the way methinks. Still love it though.Reminds me that I need to get that Cuore punted on so I can start saving for that ultimate car, instead of leaving it to sit miserably in the drive taking up space that could be housing a Ballade, Stanza or Tredia.For info, the ultimate potential Hirst-ride shortlist is currently:- Daihatsu Charmant Altair- Isuzu 117 Coupe (facelift)- Mazda Luce/929 Stacklight Hardtop (with pointless B-Pillar)- Mazda Luce/929 Fliplight Hardtop- Nissan Cedric/Gloria 430 Hardtop - Nissan Leopard F30Other import-only velour-filled J-saloon suggestions welcome.
Spottedlaurel Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Other import-only velour-filled J-saloon suggestions welcome.You definitely need to add a C32 Laurel Medalist Hardtop to that list, a solid 9.5/10 on the velour chintziness front. I’ve spent the last two days wafting around in mine, which included a couple of detours after work to do other things giving me an excuse to open it up a bit on quiet roads and drive round in traffic with the windows down – it did well at both.
Guest Posted July 3, 2008 Posted July 3, 2008 As much as I like the C32, I'll leave you to that! I could really fancy a C31 though.
The Reverend Bluejeans Posted July 3, 2008 Posted July 3, 2008 As much as I like the C32, I'll leave you to that! I could really fancy a C31 though. Now THAT is pure gold. I can feel the shitomatic auto trans and lack of damping from here! Looks like a Japanese Viceroy/ Royale.
MrRegieRitmo Posted July 3, 2008 Posted July 3, 2008 Is that the Laurel of the early 80s? My uncle had a gold A or B plate one languishing on their drive for quite a while
Spottedlaurel Posted July 3, 2008 Posted July 3, 2008 Yes Reg, C31 model code. Nice, but L-series was getting on a bit by that time and they still had a steering box, not rack. RB in mine is a lovely engine.And the front end isn't square enough on C31.
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