Regrets

[Stixy]

I have looked at an been offered hundreds of cars  since i was a youth in the 1980's  most i have forgoten about but ...

 

In 1989  i was offered a mint T reg Chrysler 180 auto  in blue with light brown trim  with  mot  for £30  

 

at the time i was running a Viva  and thought insurance might have been an issue on the 2.0 Chrysler so i passed up on the offer and diddnt buy .  

 

I seen it in a scrapyard as bottom car in a stack of three a  few weeks later  , a sad end to a lovely car 

 

Ive never seen one as good since and the memory of it still haunts me 

 

This isnt the car 

 

 

 

Whats your  biggest bargain you should have bought but diddnt that you  regret ?  

 

 

[Station]

There's a company in Chester called MW Performance who specialise in Vauxhall tuning, and they had a Vauxhall Carlton GSi in black which had a tuned twin turbo 3000 engine (professionally installed by Courtenay) for sale for £900 in 2006. I was close to buying it, but the petrol costs put me off!

Also a South African Opel Astra/Kadett TS200TS in about 2005 local to me, which is an Astra mk3 saloon with a GSi bodykit and a Calibra Turbo engine, it was local to me, they pretty rare.

 

[mercrocker]

Years ago  I had a BMW 316 - I had got  it cheap from a German scrapyard and my mate converted it to RHD and fixed up the rear end damage.   It wasn't that  old, probably the newest car I ever owned.   I needed £200 to clear an overdraft so  the bank would give me a bigger mortgage to move  house.   I still needed  a car so tried  to punt it around the shite dealers in town.   Best  offer I had was a straight swop for a pale mauve 66 Mustang which in hindsight was probably rotten but still looked the bollocks.   Sheepskin wouldnt cut any readies my way and I  still had  an unused  credit card (with a £250 limit) but let common sense get the better of  me.   Three years later the Citroen GSA I eventually did a  deal  with shat itself, the first Mrs Rocker fucked off  with a university lecturer and I threw the house keys back through the letterbox and did one myself.   I did a similar thing again a few years afterwards but thats enough spleen for today.....

[dollywobbler]

In 2002 or 2003, I found a Citroen Bijou for sale as a rolling project for £400. It had a Dyane engine so it could actually move. I didn't have a garage so turned it down. Not only are they ace but they're fetching £8000+ these days. 

[scruff]

Peugeot 205 Lacoste, with white GTI spoiler, twin webers, fruity exhaust and alloys colour-coded white & green (looked better than it sounds)... could have had it for £100 back in '05 when my mate split up from his fiancee and had to evacuate his workshop. Unfortunately I was skintola and in the misguided belief that a rusty battered Series 2a Landy with a V8 shoehorned in was all the car I'd ever want. 

[Tetleysmooth]

Way back in the eighties, I was offered a scruffy Mustang.

It was the really classic shaped one. I don't know the model or mark of the thing, but I could have had it for about fifty quid.

If only I could have that time again.

[M'coli]

Christmas day, 2004: a Saab 900 with good MOT&tax that ended without bids at a starting price of £50.  Relisted the same day, it sold for £450 5 days later.

[Angrydicky]

I was offered an A30 a while back for £1000, it had a year's MOT but at the time I wasn't really looking for one, plus it had had a lot of rather mediocre welding underneath and tacked on sills. Ran really well though. I left him with an offer of £800 and never heard anymore, drove past a while ago and it had gone from the driveway so I presume he sold it to someone else. I've always regretted being so tight.

Also, an elderly friend of my grandparents offered us her mint 1981 Mitsubishi Colt Celeste 2-litre GT a few years ago. She'd owned it from new, always garaged until being replaced a few months previously by an MGF, and it had only 18,000 miles on the clock. Proper Doctor material. She wanted £2000 for it, at the time this seemed rather a lot. I loved the car, but as I was only 15 or 16 at the time I couldn't buy it. It went to a collector up North in the end. Hopefully it's still around, it was the same blue as the one Trigger nearly bought and the registration was TAR---W. 

[HillmanImp]

I once split up with my girlfriend so decided to spunk £4k on a fancy classic car to impress all the ladies. I looked at several cars that I could buy for that money, Lotus Elan 2+2, Porsche 914, Porsche 912 and Triumph GT6.

 

I bought a Triumph GT6 which has remained static in value whilst the other 3 have pretty much tripled or quadrupled in price from what I was looking at paying at the time.

 

Bumhats.

[saucedoctor]

In 2001 I was offered a near-mintola, tuned to the nuts 1990 Escort RS Turbo for a bag. At the time I was doing mega miles as Field Service for ICL, and was actually making money on the mileage by driving a 98 Polo diesel atmo, so the RS would have fucked up my penny-pinching.I also had nowhere to keep the Escy at the time. Shame, as it was a bloody rocket.

<sigh>

 

Edited to add: I just remembered, the mods on the car were pukka, done by BBR, or Brodie Brittain racing. Double sigh!

[Rocket88]

Regrets, I've had a few........................Gull wing Impala I could have bought in 1976 for £300.......nice condition as well. Mk2 Zodiac Farnham bodied Estate £250 in 1979.....................Fin tail 63 Merc 220 £300 1986...............I could go on, but it's far too depressing.

[fotorabia]

Aussie Chrysler Charger with a Interceptor 383 in Edinburgh 1986 for 300squid...

Ford Granada-Consul Mk1 Coupe in bronze with orange interior..Munich 1991..1000DM 

[barefoot]

Vanden Plas 4 Litre R - £50 - twat

[trigger]

There's been a few years over the years that I should have bought but let though my fingers for one reason or another, the one that sticks to my mind the most is the A reg black XR2 Mk1 identical to this one.

 

 

A friend had bought it as a trade in from a garage we did bodywork for in 2001, it was a 1 owner from new, mint example even with it's Trimoco number plates and only done 40000 miles. It sat in my mates lock up for a few months until he decided he didn't have any space for it so offered it to me for £500, I couldn't afford the insurance so had to turn him down, I still kick myself.

[Skizzer]

Regrets, I've had a few........................

 

...But then again, too few to mention.  I've mostly regretted buying the stuff I've actually bought. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Vanden Plas 4 Litre R - £50 - twat

I've done worse, got 2 VdPs a 4 Litre and a 3 litre plus a manky wedding white DS420 for nothing when taking on a unit . Sold all three for £200 to a banger racer. The Daimler and the 3.0 drove away-- Cunt!

[fordperv]

in 2003 i got offered an immaculate 2 door wrx sti impreza from an unscrupulous character for £1000 as it was "marked" by the police, looked similar to this

 

[Lord Sterling]

Around 2004/5 I was offered a 1989 Ford Fiesta XR2i for £300. It wasnt in bad nick. I regret that I never bought it. What a prat. It looked like this, but not as clean:

 

 

When I had the Ford Sierra Sapphire, I was offered a straight swap for a Rover 216GTi in Black like this:

 

 

I couldn't get insured on it to save my life, every insurer either thought I was joking, laughed at me or simply said they wouldn't insure me. I couldn't take the deal on and eventually it was sold to another lad who lived in it for a few weeks and eventually towed after being found with no insurance.

[Station]

in 2003 i got offered an immaculate 2 door wrx sti impreza from an unscrupulous character for £1000 as it was "marked" by the police, looked similar to this

 

 

That's a 22B.

[DVee8]

Around 1990 a Peugeot 505 GTi estate in left hook flavor for around £500

 

And a couple of years ago an 800 vitesse coupe that come in as a px for £400 the wife took one look old mans car grrrrrrr women

[fordperv]

Station it isn't a 22b fella, it's not wide enough lol the picture is of a standard width wrx 2 door

[nigel bickle]

DB4, complete, for £3k in the late 90's. Gave it a miss -what a dork!

[eddyramrod]

1985:

2010:

I regret buying both of these.  I'm totally cured of Granadas now, I can't see myself ever having another one.

2004:

2003:

Chrysler convertible and MG Maestro, I don't regret buying.  They overlapped a bit too.  I don't even regret selling, really, as I'd had my fun with both of them and it was time to move them on.  However... in each case, I was later offered the car back at an even more bargainous price than I paid first time, and would have grabbed it if I'd had the cash available.  THERE is the regret in these two!  I loved them both.

 

In about 1994 I had the chance of a 1978 Ford Thunderbird.  I sat in it, even started the engine (351 V8) but it was clear I wasn't going to be able to afford it.  Some years earlier I had been offered a piss-yellow Mustang 2 Ghia hatchback with the 2.8 V6, which had been standing in a neighbour's shed for years.  Again, poverty held me back, but really, I shouldn't have listened to the voices (of sense).  I wonder if BMA 3M still exists?

[Negative Creep]

No specific cars, but I do wish I'd bought a Capri or Mini just after I passed my test since they were pretty worthless back then

[v8 scania]

was offered a mk4 zodiac Farnham estate,just needed a suspension leg,  for £25,  the only problem was my dad wouldn't let me have it

[tooSavvy]

...well, I passed my test and bought a MM1000 Van.... ex builders shed @ £180.

 

My neighbour had spilt his own blood into a very nice [but.. er, quilted finish]RED 850 mini >> Button Start. Totally welded to be good enough to entrust his missuss... he was very capable in the Auto Mendinn area.

Car was ready for MOT.. and, perhaps, needing a De-Quilting respray..

 

His missuss declares herself 'knocked -up' and doesn't want to drive in a spam-can mini..

 

He offers me the car for nowt..NOWT!!. I decide I'm wedded to MMs >> next week, car gets the full AXE treatment [two halves, to fit in his trailer] and over weighbridge.

 

I actually feel pain to recall this event.... WOT A PR*TT!!

 

* he had a 'parts' woodie green traveller on the drive, robbed of bits for the red sal !!

 

my head hangs in shame to admit all......

 

Later I got an Ex P.O. yellow van........

 

photomockup

 

.... quite capable as a shagginn wagginn, though!

 

tooSavvy

[fordperv]

was offered a mk4 zodiac Farnham estate,just needed a suspension leg, for £25, the only problem was my dad wouldn't let me have it

I hate parents saying no, my mum wouldn't let me have a Mk1 sierra 2.3 ghia when I was 15 she wasn't even paying :'(

[Lord Sterling]

I wonder if BMA 3M still exists?

DVLA Says it wasn't taxed beyond 1988:

 

The vehicle details for BMA 3M are:

 

Date of Liability: 01 02 1988

Date of First Registration: 10 06 1974

Year of Manufacture: 1974

Cylinder Capacity (cc): 2798cc

Fuel Type: PETROL

Export Marker: N

Vehicle Status: Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour: GREEN

 

Interestingly, the colour stated on the free car check site states it to be: GREEN AND YELLO (sic)

[eddyramrod]

As Harrison Ford said: "kind of a cross between piss-yeller and puke green, ain't it?"

[ProgRocker]

In 2002 I bought a T reg SEAT Ibiza 1.4 S. For a few hundred more I could have had a metallic burgandy Fiat Marea 100 SX saloon with a/c. I'm a bit of a perv for booted Fiats, having written off my Tempra 18 months previously - and losing some no claims bonus years too.

 

Like Stixy and the Chrysler in the OP I was a little concerned about the insurance cost of the Marea. Despite being a moderate 1.6, I feared it would be fairly expensive as Fiats were pokey and perhaps a perceived high risk insurance wise. Facter in my lack of NCB too, so I plumped with the more sensible Ibiza.