Furthest you have travelled and not purchased?

[Bren]

A weekend in the Lake District (wedding) reminded me of travelling from Widnes to Kirby Lonsdale to look at an L plate mondeo for fatha.

 

The car looked promising but was not purchased due to having many suspension parts replaced and a painted cam cover (ALWAYS a bad sign) somebody obviously thought they were driving in the kielder forest.

 

How far have you travelled and not bought? Did the vendor deserve a kicking? Did you give him one?

[Cavcraft]

I went to Manchester once (though in fairness I was going anyhow to move a car for one of our gang on here) and decided to buy a Fiesta for £250 (or thereabouts) on eBay.

Collected/moved the car, went to pick up the Fiesta and it was beyond knackered. It had a HUGE dent in the nearside, rattled like an oil starved Ford Ka and was utterly, utterly shit. I only bought it because I got it for £40 so it was enough to make a handful of quid on by the time I weighed the bastard thing in. 

[doug]

Got the bus from Glasgow to Kettering to buy a bike from Motorcycle News, it was their project bike. Took something like 12 hours stopping at every second bus stop. Bike would not start, had to walk away and get the train home. Train ticket cost a fortune.

[Jim Bell]

The train fare home is usually more expensive than buying the fucking car for me, so I don't think I've ever walked away once there.

 

I've been reasonably lucky too mind.  Never turned up to any really bad surprises.

[stripped fred]

Only based on my one recent purchase but I would travel to buy a car off someone on here. Don't think I'd travel too far to look at anything else unless it was rare.

[stripped fred]

I would avoid the train on the Saturday of half-term week though!

[scaryoldcortina]

I travelled from Durham to Leicester recently to look at/buy a LT35 that was on ebay described as "good" and "ready to work" which turned out to be derelict, non running and rusty. I even checked before going that it was going to be capable of driving home in! Total and utter waste of a day and as a bonus we got stuck in the mother of all jams on the way home because that was the day a lorry full of explosives caught fire in the middle of the M1.

[anonymous user]

I'm afraid that I'm the idiot who used to think, "Oh well, I'm here now and it can't really be that bad, I might as well buy it anyway" Although I did travel down to Hampshire from South Wales a few years back to buy a Morgan, but had to leave it because I couldn't get behind the wheel. (No I'm not that fat, it was obviously the seat adjustment on that particular one, as I used to fit in them before and did subsequently buy another one that I could get into)

 

More annoying is when I have arranged to go to look at something, with a view to buying and got there to find it has just been sold.

[FakeConcern]

I went to Manchester from my home on the East Sussex coast (300 miles each way) to look at a Citroen C4 VTS. Didn't buy it as the dealer offered me a crap trade on my V70 and the C4 was not as good as it looked in the photos.

[ruffgeezer]

I went from South Lincs to Pontefract and looked at a shite Ax Gt, i had been royally fucked about with, including holes drilled in the doors etc, the brakes didn't work and it broke down during a road test.

 

I didn't buy that one.

 

I did drive one home from Crawley to Essex with no working brakes. Getting that stopped at the dartford crossing was "interesting"

[Vince70]

I travelled from Bexhill to London which is about 60 miles to buy an old Audi B4 coupe for £850 about 6 years ago which was supposed to be immaculate apart from a small scratch on the door.

 

I ended up getting to the dealers home address to find the car was a write off and it needed a new door and front wing plus it really needed a rear wing also but it might of pulled out if I was lucky also both bumpers were cracked and the mileage had gained another 20000 from the eBay classified advert and he couldn't start it because the battery was flat.

 

He even said to me that he's had So much interest for the car so wouldn't take a penny under the asking price and it was only any good for parts but he must of been good with a camera or the pictures were of someone else's motor.

[eddyramrod]

I've only really done two big trips and not bought.  Both were when I lived in Southport.  One was Manchester for a four-door Range Rover which I decided wasn't good enough.  The other was Huddersfield for a 1977 Cadillac.  I did actually put down a deposit on that, "subject to passing MoT."  Naturally it failed, badly, so I got my deposit back and bought a (very similar) 79 from Liverpool.

 

However: on two of our US road trips I've come across cars for sale that I really did like, and might have bought if I had more money available.  Does across the Atlantic count if the purpose of the trip wasn't actually to buy cars?

[Junkman]

I'm surprised how many people travel to Manchester to buy a car.

How often do I have to tell you, that one doesn't travel to Manchester to buy a car?

If one wants to buy a car, one travels away from it.

[EssDeeWon]

From down here in Essex (SS4) to Darrington (WF8) in West Yorkshire to buy a Rover 2600 VDP (SD1)

 

Major disappointment, and no paperwork or S/History as mentioned. 

 

Promptly left, with the seller looking quite gobsmacked because he thought the sale was nailed on because I travelled so far. About a 420 mile round trip...

[wuvvum]

 

I did drive one home from Crawley to Essex with no working brakes. Getting that stopped at the dartford crossing was "interesting"

I once lost the brakes on a Saab 9000 Turbo automatic on the Paris périphérique.  Handbrake didn't really work either.  I drove it from Paris to Norwich with no brakes - luckily it was a late ferry so most of the driving was in the small hours.  The Dartford tunnel was indeed interesting, although not quite as interesting as the exit ramp from the ferry - steep, narrow and with a sharp 90º bend at the bottom.

 

The furthest I've travelled was St Leonards for a Seat Ibiza - got nearly there and got a text from the seller to say she'd lost the keys and paperwork.  I'd gone down after work so it was already about 8.30pm by the time I got there.  I met the seller and she gave me 40 quid towards my ticket home - I just missed one train back to London and the next one was delayed, so got into London Bridge station 15 minutes before the last train to Norwich left from Liverpool Street.  I ran all the way - damn near killed me, but I made it, just.  Got a message a couple of weeks later saying she'd found the docs and keys, but the MOT was out by then so I didn't bother.

[cort16]

I drove from Ayrshire to Wigan to swap my CL500 for an SL and when I got there the roof wouldn't work on the SL so I had to drive back in the CL. I also got a speeding ticket. 

[xtriple]

First to Bournemouth and the to North Wales on the same day to look at fucking Bentleys - both were utterly shit. Are we seeing a pattern yet?

[spike60]

I drove from Ayrshire to Wigan to swap my CL500 for an SL and when I got there the roof wouldn't work on the SL so I had to drive back in the CL. I also got a speeding ticket. 

Slightly off topic but I recently drove about 5 miles and didn't buy your old CL500!

[AlabamaShrimp]

Can't remember the exact place but it was on the other side of Morecambe Bay took ages from Wakefield to look at an XR2. EBay add said it was all good and stuff.

 

Of course it was an utter piece of shit. No clutch, no breaks and bodged over rust everywhere. Seller just couldn't understand why I didn't want it.

 

Got one from Sheffield instead which turned out to be crap as well.

[spike60]

The furthest I've travelled and not bought a car will be about 120 miles round trip, several times. They've been on Ebay and I don't consider it a waste of time, better than bidding blind and being disappointed when you got there to collect. One was a Porsche 944 that a body shop was selling and looked lovely on pics. It was a matt white shed, they'd obviously thrown a bucket of water over it for the pics.

I drove 60 miles to Newcastle airport, flew to Exeter then got a lift to Torquay to buy a Corvette a couple of years back. Seller picked up the price of the air tickets, I drove 420 miles home in a LHD car in a storm on a Bank Holiday!

[Matt]

Personally I did a 320 mile round trip to look at a K reg Polo that turned out to be generally shagged. Ended up buying a much nicer but otherwise identical one near Glasgow instead. I've also done a 160 mile round trip to Workington and not bought before. Twice! First was a petrol BX that I just didn't 'click' with and the second was a really high spec K11 Micra that like the Polo turned out to be a well past it. Fuck that place.

[Paul Dupart]

200 mile round trip Warwickshire to Doncaster to look at a Merc estate, assured original, no rust, no body repairs/paintwork.

 

When I got there, I noticed straight away that rear bumper was a different colour, so were rear wings and tailgate, which didn't close without a good slam.

Boot floor and spare wheel well had hammered out creases, rear wheel arches full of wob.  Had obviously had a really hard thump up the arse and should have been fragged.  I could have fragged the bloody tosser and given him a hard thump up the arse for wasting my time and fuel and to add insult to injury had the shits for two days after a dodgy breakfast butty from a greasy spoon trailer on the way up.

[panhard65]

I went to France the other year with a trailer and a list of cars to look at. Had to turn down an R2087 truck due to it not running and the rear brakes were stuck on so I couldn't get it on the trailer. The second car was a Fregate Domaine that was buried at the back of a container and he couldn't get it out in time for my ferry home. I finally bought an Arcadiane that I viewed first just outside the port so I didn't go home empty handed. I eventually bought both the R2087 and the Domaine but had them shipped over. I used to nearly always buy when I went to look at a motor but I am getting better and walking away from a lot of them now. Pissed off I didn't walk away from the ZT though

[Ghosty]

Furthest for Old Man and I was Holmes Chapel to look at a tidy looking sub-100k 2004 Impreza 2.0GX wagon we'd seen on Auto Trader for £2k, having already been to Warrington (we live on the east side of Manchester, M67 land) to look at a 2002 Civic Coupé that morning, and deciding it just wasn't that special. Not the first time we'd been to Warrington and left empty handed either - Old Man went to look at a Mk4 Polo Match that turned out to be covered in lacquer peel, and to top it off he was offered an insultingly low PX value against our Prelude. I digress anyway.

Having finally found the place - it was a farm building with a load of slightly shonky cars outside and not a dealer as Auto Trader had suggested, we were shown to the back of the cars where a dirty, sorry looking Impreza sat. It was much worse than advertised, like it was actually a farm hack - scuffed on all the corners, fucked seat bolster conveniently hidden in pictures, hideously dirty inside and full of junk. Bastard wouldn't start or turn over, and I think the boot was stuck shut too.

Seller seemed quite proud of it and was rather "offended" when we walked. He seemed surprised it wouldn't start.

[cort16]

Slightly off topic but I recently drove about 5 miles and didn't buy your old CL500!

What was up ? I recon its a pretty good car for the money

[spike60]

I always do all my own work except paint and the ABC suspension was a step too far, confirmed by the £240(?) reciept to reset ride height. Reading up on it didn't reassure me! I'm not shy, I ran BMW 540i for 10 years and 90's corvette for 6years but this wasn't some thing i could do. I don't want to be on Mercspec xmas card list! Nice car though.

[Jazoli]

Travelled from Kendal to Glasgow to buy a track bike only for the bloke to text me when I was 10 miles away saying 'sorry mate I've just sold it' the cunt, I very nearly put a.brick through his window, that was 5 hours and £50 wasted.

[tul66]

Went from Edinburgh to Bodmin to look at a Lancia HPE VX but didn't buy it as it was not as good as expected. Phoned about another one when driving back which happened to be in Lyme Regis. Bought that one; still got it so not entirely wasted trip.

 

Wasn't as bad as when we were looking for an integrale though. Edinburgh to Reddich to Reading to Kings Cross and back. Did buy one from Zagato Lancia in Kings Cross later on though.

[Jazoli]

Personally I did a 320 mile round trip to look at a K reg Polo that turned out to be generally shagged. Ended up buying a much nicer but otherwise identical one near Glasgow instead. I've also done a 160 mile round trip to Workington and not bought before. Twice! First was a petrol BX that I just didn't 'click' with and the second was a really high spec K11 Micra that like the Polo turned out to be a well past it. Fuck that place.

There is nothing worth buying in Workington or Whitehaven, it's mostly populated by thick inbred retards who can't even write, some of the local fb car selling pages are just unbelievable when it comes to that part of Cumbria.

[Negative Creep]

Travelled from Kendal to Glasgow to buy a track bike only for the bloke to text me when I was 10 miles away saying 'sorry mate I've just sold it' the cunt, I very nearly put a.brick through his window, that was 5 hours and £50 wasted.

 

 

But we've all had the "on my way now mate" brigade who never turn up