How far have you travelled to view shite?

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Londonderry. 140 mile round trip to see a supposedly tidy 944. In terms of distance, not really that far. As a "cultural" experience, though, poles apart from my neck of the woods. Everyone seemed to be called Collum, but it could just as easily been Gollum.

 

The seller just kept saying "She's a Porsh, sur". He also didn't think the fact that he had no documents, the doors didn't lock and the boot wouldn't stay shut was a big deal. And he wanted 4 bags for it.

 

Still, it was a nice day for a drive all the way across Northern Ireland, and back.

That's the crazy thing about Northern Ireland - we can drive to any part of the province from any other part within 2 hours. But the cultural differences even between two neighbouring towns is scary.

 

Also EVERYWHERE outside Belfast is more or less rural and feels like the back arse of beyond.

 

(I had family in Fermanagh so I'm well qualified to say this)

[maxustaxus]

Hertfordshire to Dublin to veiw an Audi 200 5t

 

Got up as silly o'clock, drove through England, the Welsh mountains, caught a Ferry, got lost near the Dublin docks, struggled through a multitude of Fans attending an international match at the Aviva Stadium, finally got to the destination 20 minutes late, and the vendor was just leaving as I think he thought I was not going to turn up!

 

Thankfully he could spare me 15 minutes, and I bought the car.

 

Nice bloke, probably not sure how far Hertfordshire was from South Dublin.

[oman5]

Merthyr to Wakefield to buy my first volvo, a 740td. It was a fantastic car that was much cheaper than it should have been.

Newport to st.neots for my current 940, the seller struck me as an honest guy and the cars been great.

Newport to frome for my leyland daf 200, a total piece of shit, and that's what the seller told me!

Merthyr to Barnstaple for my Sierra 2.3d. Again, a great car.

Newport to st.Austel for the allegro.

 

I'll always travel for the "right" car, tbh I like the train journey and when dad was alive I used to take him along for some quality dad 'n lad time plus the fact he'd drive back for me.

[Lord Sterling]

Personally I think the furthest I travelled was from Birmingham to Boston in Lincolnshire to look at a Mk1 Rover 827Si, one of the best cars I've ever bought. It was so nice to travel up there by train. I went the first time to have a look, and the second time to buy the car. Those were great days...

 

I have probably travelled further with mates to bring a car down as a second driver from such places like, the Wirrel, Oxford, Welwyn Garden City etc...

[beko1987]

Stokenchurch to Raurdean for the xm from Campbell. Cheated slightly as my step dad drove me...

 

On my own, Marlow to Peterborough to my dads for the puma, which was dropped off at his office, by his secraterys boyfriend who was selling it.

[rml2345]

Buying blind seems to work. The farthest I've been is Armadale to Northampton to buy a Volvo I'd only ever seen through a telephone line. Already agreed to buy it, of course.

[sierraman]

Sheffield to Penzance for a Sierra cvh. It had had 9 owners and a claimed 92,000. Likely?

[Partridge]

Sore point. When I was in P'bro last, I left a day early and missed an event I really wanted to do, so I could go and look at a Jag here dhaaaan sahaaaath. After getting the National Express down early the seller wasn't even there. I got his Mrs who gave me GBH of the ears for asking very nicely, where her husband was. I never even saw the fucking Jag in the metal. I was well pissed off.

[Cavcraft]

Ha Billy I knew you'd like that one! Did 'the walls' as you call it!

 

Tell me you took the Corsa.

[Lord Sterling]

Buying blind seems to work. The farthest I've been is Armadale to Northampton to buy a Volvo I'd only ever seen through a telephone line. Already agreed to buy it, of course.

Not always. I agreed to buy the 827 Coupe (I'm currently trying to sell now) over the phone whilst I was in the South of France. So I travelled via Brussels-Istanbul-Brussels-Holland-Germany-Brussels-England where I picked it up in Worcester to bring back to Birmingham.

 

Most of that was cheating anyway as I wasn't travelling all over the world to get to the Coupe, that just happened between agreeing to buy it and picking it up.

[Guest rebel2cv]

Saw a 2cv van on a website, phoned the guy, sent a £500 deposit after seeing about 5 pics and a half hour phone call, drove from Lowestoft to Birmingham, no test drive, I just looked round the car, gave the guy the cash and drove it home.

[Cavcraft]

Oh, not a massive distance, but I did go to Machynlleth for my Cavalier Calibre. I won't forget that journey home, it was a highly enjoyable tale of mostly 3rd gear wellying round some brilliant roads, then trying to overtake absolutely everything between Oswestry and Chester.

[AldridgePrior]

On the whole, relatively good experiences from people then, above company and a couple of others excluded.

Seems a lot of us are quite happy to travel to buy a car. That and enjoy the day out. For some its local or nothing.

I thought I maybe had some kinda screw loose (as so many friends have told me).

 

Another thing a few o you will have experienced.

The long drive home and the continual checking of gauges and the listening for noises

[Cavcraft]

I only really worry about keeping an eye on gauges if it's a car I haven't owned before, or one I've had trouble with in the past. If it's something I'm familiar with and really like I get a sort of feeling I'm not going to get any trouble at all and settle in immediately.

Then again, when you're buying Vauxhall Corsas from 2.3 miles away even they can make it back. Usually.

[2MB]

In a lot of my past cars the checking of gauges never really stopped. Usually attributed to paranoia, dodgy gauges or both

[Vince70]

I've been more than lucky when viewing shite as every Car I've viewed Which has been miles away has been a real gem.

 

I traveled from Bexhill to Lancaster for my Audi Cab and I had a nice trip to Glastonbury for my old Audi A4,

My current A4 was a trip up to Buckingham and even came with enough juice to get me home and travel around in for the week.

 

I also did a trip from Kent To Cardiff for a Smart Roadster once which worked out to be the bargain of the century but that was only about a year old so doesn't really count.

 

I may be travelling on Sunday for my next project to the other side of London but that's only about a two and hour drive for me.

[dome]

I've done Glasgow to Aberdeenshire to buy my first Saab-from our very own kinkersaab as it happens.

 

Did Glasgow to Bridgwater for my e32 735-it was a bit ropier than described so I nearly walked, managed to haggle him down though and took it. Was a cracking car once I'd sorted it.

 

Got as far as Newcastle from Edinburgh-roughly half way to wherever I was going to look at a TVR wedge to be told that because of a vin number problem it wasn't for sale. Was gutted at that one.

[CortinaDave]

Fife to Saltash in Cornwall to view the 2.0S cortina I subsequently bought and still own.

 

A photo of it at a car show with a for sale sign in the window and a mobile number was posted on the cortina forum. Since I was a kid I've always wanted an "S".

 

This was at 8pm one monday night.

 

Rang the guy - "I'd like to view the cortina - where about are you? 

 

"Just west of Plymouth."

 

Bollocks says I.

 

 

Ten minutes later I rang my mate, asked if he fancied a road trip, he said yes and we left there and then.

 

Phoned in sick to work.

 

arrived in Cornwall after a 9 hour drive early the next morning, bought it, turned around and drove straight back up the road. Cortina didnt miss a beat.

[garbaldy]

I have given this a bit more thought and realised that out of the 180 odd cars I have collected I have only ever broken down once, believe it or not it was a then 4 year old car which I bought 6 miles away   maybe I have just been lucky.

 

The old gallant turbo I bought from Nottingham over the phone was the car I least expected to make the journey home, when started it rattled and smoked like a chimney, I set of thrashing its nuts of passing everything that moved fully expecting to arrive home on the back of the RACs truck but nope one tank of petrol and a gallon of oil had it sitting on my drive    

[Pete-M]

1371 miles to view the Escort.

[cort1977]

Aberdeen to Essex for my Mk 2 Cortina.   With a trailer on a Mk 3 Cavalier diesel.   Not the safest thing journey back I have ever made...

[STUNO]

12,000 miles and I bought a Corsa !

[brickwall]

A corsa for 12000 mile journey?

[dugong]

Sale to Lancing for the Amazon - bought and drove back that night. 

Sale to Sudbury for the Piazza - bought and drove back that night.

Salford to Paddock Wood for the 480ES - bought and drove back that day. 

Stockport to Forest Hill for the Charade - bought and drove back through the night. 

[jonny69]

As stated. How far have you traveled to view a car you thought might have been a good one?

 

Only to get there and think, "What a waste of fucking time"

Well, it's looking like most people on here may have thought that but just bought it anyway

[Richard]

I drove my friend from Fife to Bedfordshire, a round trip of over 900 miles in a day, to collect a free 305 estate. It didn't have a wooden knob but it did have its original timing belt at over 180k and a buggered fuel pump that made it break down lots on the way home. It did make it though,

 

[prab]

Im often not inclined i try to get detailed pics and buy blind

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AldridgePrior]

Well, it's looking like most people on here may have thought that but just bought it anyway

 

You Sir, are correct.

 

What the fuck was I thinking making a thread of that title on a forum where people love shite? Being a new doofus I possibly had underestimated the level of commitment that you guys have for weapons grade junkers.

Don`t get me wrong, I love a shitter. There`s something liberating about driving around in your heathen level chariot while the rat race scurries round you obliviously.

 

I`m still looking at volvo 240s and old Nissans.