The "cars you were going to buy, but somehow didn't" thread

[Station]

I was going to buy this yesterday ... but somehow didn't.

 

 

 

 

A bit masochistic as not everyone likes these small 3 cylinder cars, but I missed out on one a couple of years ago, and this came up and it was 3 minutes from work at a 300 quid starting bid. I'm not assed about driving round in a 20 'urban mpg' motor if I'm just going to the shop and this would've done it perfectly.

It went for nearly 800 quid, thanks to 29,000 miles, 1 owner and looking absolutely fantastically spotless.

I don't think I'd have been able to look after it due to lack of garage or space and would've felt guilty putting the miles on it, plus 800 quid was over budget for me and I sensibly backed out, even though I had ebay ticking down on my phone on the dashboard when I was driving home from work last night.

What a tidy looking car though.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370775000647? ... 1436.l2649

 

Was also going to buy this in 2012, it was for sale for about 4 months, and when I got the money together, it had sold a day before!! I've regretted getting my Nissan Z31 instead of this, esp seeing as taxed/MOT'd Starions don't tend to go for sub-£1000.

 

 

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.c ... ead=120302

[Shep Shepherd]

In summer 2000, I nearly bought a really tidy 1982 Escort 1.3 Ghia three door (a rare car even then) for £800, but I decided to buy a 1994 Rover 214Si for £2995 instead. I've regretted my decision ever since, although I might not have bought The Volvo had I bought the Escort.

[seacow]

When I lived in Texas I was offered two cars (seperately) that I came close on but couldn't quite stretch to. First was a 1967 Mustang Convertible absolutely mint and a smokey and the bandit trans am - wish I'd borrowed the money as the 'stang would be over here now!!!

 

I also regret not buying VNDs jag (twice!!) but circumstances conspired against me both times!!

[quicksilver]

A timely thread as my dad and I have just come very close to buying this fine Maestro and should have been going to view it this afternoon.

1990 Rover Maestro 1.3 LX by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

The old lady who has owned it from new was giving up driving due to illness and didn't know what to do with the car, so we got the details and were seriously interested to the point that we'd got insurance quotes for it. Then came a phone call saying her doctor (rather irresponsibly under the circumstances IMHO) had told her she may be able to drive again, so she's keeping the car, all our effort was a waste of time and we don't have a Maestro in our lives

[SambaS]

Fastforward to 2005 I was going to buy this:

 

 

but bought this instead:

 

[Guest]

I'm sure the charade seemed like a good idea at them time.

[Charlie Croker]

A Escort Mk2 1.6 Ghia 2 door. It was around 1986 and it wasnt in the best nick then. I think Ford only made the 1600 Ghia 2 door for around 9 months. I know you could only get them on N or P reg. Anyway i did a DVLA check on OFV 80P and by some miracle the old girl survived until 2001. My pal wanted 250 notes for it but i bought a 200E Cortina instead.

[Richard]

I looked at an A plate Polonez in 1990. It was advertised in the Spar window as "1500cc car, £150". Not even a make or model. I phoned in the hope of getting a donor for the 1500 Allegro I had at the time (or even a better car to make mine the donor). I was tempted by the Polonez, "A" was still a pretty new car then, but it was needing quite a lot of welding. It looked decent enough and there were no actual holes, but every bit of at least one sill was crunchy.

 

My Allegro was an exceptionally sure-footed example, it held the road better than any other one I've driven, so I suspect I'd have found the Polonez a bit lumbering if I'd bought it.

[phil_lihp]

Back in 2006, a Morris Marina Coupe 1.3 Super in a weird greenish yellow* on an N plate. It was sat in the back yard of a local garage & ex-Rover dealer & had been supplied by them new, it had 45,000 miles on it and a 1989 tax disc in the window - the giant bedsheet-sized cobweb under the bonnet and the very, very flat tyres confirmed that was the last time it moved, as well as the bush that had completely grown over the rear half of it. I had grand plans for period Wolfrace slot mags and big spotlights. The front wings and bonnet were completely shot but oddly enough the rest of it appeared to be rock solid. They wanted £50 for it and assured me that 'oh yes, we start it up and drive it round the yard ever six months' which was the best example of barefaced bullshit I've ever heard as there was no way it had any hope of moving without heavy machinery, let alone under its own power. Before I could find storage for it, I got a job in Bristol and moved away. I reported it to the Marina Owner's Club who were looking for unroadworthy ones at the time - they phoned the garage but unbelievably, after all those years, someone had actually bought it and taken it away a month earlier. Never did find out what happened to it.

 

* Definitely original but seemed to be a rare one, can't even find a Google image.

[Cavcraft]

A genuine Lotus Cortina Mk2 from Christopher Neil in Northwich, about 28-30 years ago. It was a bit rough and the engine was in the boot so I decided the £500 (which was negotiable) was too much.

[Albert Ross]

I helped a mate rebuild a Holbay Hunter.... we were a lot of the way through it, and we were offered silly money for the engine and gearbox... He had a rear damaged P6 V8S, and a plan was hatched. So he sold the engine, and we plopped a V8/manual into the Hunter. (Turquoise, rusty door bottoms, and rusty Rostyles) Our first trip out was fun.... sideways Sir? It was great at luring in the Hooray Henries in Daddy's Jaguar.... Wasted them all. I was offered it for £300, and didn't buy it. I bought an Austin 3 Litre instead. And then a 1973 Citroen DS.

 

Also, just before this, I was offered a P5B Coupe for £350, and couldn't raise the cash. Had I bought it, it would not have been used as a donor for a flip front Zodiac Mk3 Estate in Yellow with flames....... BMF 345H.

[ShiteRider]

I nearly bought a forest green 2.0 gls cortina from skem in 2002 (reg; ALK 3 Y) got as far as putting a £50 deposit down (it was only £850), but my mum was having none of it (i was only 18 and she'd have been the source of a big chunk of the cash).

So i stuck to my g-reg orion, never saw the cortina again i hope it's still knocking about but i'm guessing it got plate raped/scrapped/bangered/kit car'd

[Shep Shepherd]

^

Forest Green (my favourite early 1980s Ford colour) AND a 2.0 GLS (my favourite Cortina 80 spec). I bet you were as sick as a parrot when you realised that you weren't in a position to buy it. At least you've made up for it since - I missed on an a couple of bargain Cortina 80s when I was in my late teens, as I had nowhere to keep them apart from at the roadside. By the time I had off-street parking, good examples were almost impossible to find, hence the reason why I got into Volvos. I still hanker after one

 

Pawnote: The DVLA has no record of the car's number plate, so it's probably long gone

[Albert Ross]

ALK3Y is on a 2002 Polo DIesel.

[ShiteRider]

ALK3Y is on a 2002 Polo DIesel.

A POLO DIESEL! poor bastards' grave has been well and truly pissed on.

[R9UKE]

 

This Safrane V6. Posted in the tat thread the one week I didn't check it regularly. Auction ended afternoon i caught wind of it. Sod's law.

 

And this is quite shameful to admit but despite being 21 and having no children (and no plans to have any) I came very close to buying this Grand Scénic. A 2.0 Auto with loads of options added, real one of a kind. Amazingly the then owner of my Avantime called me the morning the auction was due to end

 

 

[pandarus]

I agreed to buy a little white Panda once but when I got there the doors were hanging off and it was not as advertised. I had a change of heart much to the annoyance of the seller.

 

I actually regret not buying it now.

[garycox]

This:

 

 

Well documented on here at the time, it was £495 with an MOT. Wings were rusty but apart from that it looked pretty solid, and any tax exempt MOTd car at that price just doesn't exist. I called the guy and offered the full asking price, collect immediately etc, but he already had someone coming to look at it that afternoon. It was sold, stripped and scrapped within a couple of weeks.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

I remember that. What a shame

[SambaS]

Ooh I've found the actual photographs used in the eBay advert:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car is now with a collector in Germany, after being advertised on eBay in 2005 it was used on a couple of SALT rallys so I'm unsure whether it ever actually changed hands in the UK. The strange thing about this is the fact it's orange and the one I said I would have one day, in primary school was too... so it was like THIS is the one for me. But never materialised.

 

Also came very close to buying this Charade Turbo Diesel, again the GTti scuppered that:

 

 

[Mr Lobster]

Only two I really should have bought. Firstly a brand new Peugeot 106 Rallye phase 2 in blue. Spent ages thinking about it but chickened out in the end.

 

Second was this -

 

1.8 TDCi 115 with climate pack and CD multichanger. My company car from new and I did 30k in it over nine months. At the end of the nine months at the end of its lease I enquired about buying it. Was ridiculously cheap for a virtually new car but in the end I decided against.

[STUNO]

Many years ago, about 1985, walked past a dealers yard, in there were two cars I wanted, both absolutely immaculate both 1500 pounds.

A Humber Snipe series V, and a Rover P5b coupe. At that time I could have afforded both (not the usual situation).

I walked away and have regretted it ever since

[Spiny Norman]

Came very very close to buying one of these last year.

 

Sadly although I went to the seller's house with the deposit money burning a hole in my pocket it was just far too tatty and needed too much money spent on it so with a heavy heart I returned home, sans Avantime.

 

I'd still love one though.

[TagoraSX]

The ebay Tagora SX. I paid a mechanic to go and have a butchers but to say it was not as described would be an understatement. I chickened out, and even though it was a mess I still sometimes regret it.

[meshking]

The thread about hippos has reminded me that I nearly bought a camel trophy one a few years back. My stepdad had one left by some Dutch colleagues in his yard in Great Yarmouth. He checked it over but there was zero coolant in it, being the 1.8 k series (of course). Unfortunately, I hadn't found autoshite by then, otherwise it'd be sitting on my drive right now.

[ProgRocker]

A couple of mark 2 Astras in 1997. Bought an Escort 1986 1.4 GL instead. Really kicked myself as I reckon that both the Astras would have lasted a few more years. Had I known about Ford and their low quality steel used in their 1986-87 cars then I'm sure that I would have walked away. There was an E reg Rover 213S that I also remember seeing on a used car lot for £1,995 but I developed a loathing for white cars.

 

In late July 2002 browsing the Richard Nash used car lot, http://www.richardnash.co.uk/ there were quite a few cars that interested me for just within my £5k budget. As far as non franchised dealers go, Richard Nash is highly recommended, hence the plug.

 

The one that pulled the heart strings tightest was the burgandy metallic W reg Fiat Marea 1.6 100 SX saloon with aircon. These seemed like bargains to me compared to Mondeos and Vectras, which would have been a grand or 2 more for one of a similar age.

 

There was also a VW Polo 1.4 CL (slightly over budget) and a SEAT Arosa too. Both moderately interested me but I went for the T reg SEAT Ibiza 1.4 S instead, which seemed to represent the best value for money out of the 4.