Being too Specific when looking for a car

[dave j]

Anyone else guilty of this? I am looking for a car but want a specific colour and trim level. There are currently none for sale on autotrader or Ebay. The car of choice isnt particularly shite, its a B5.5 Passat Estate TDI Sport in Inky Blue. Been looking for a few weeks and the only 1 I was going to look at has gone now. It was 200 miles away and I couldn't get there quick enough. I am not in too much of a rush as long as my mk4 Golf doesn't die before the MOT runs out in June. There are a couple on Gumtree but both have issues. I missed one by a couple of hours a couple weeks ago. 

I may end up having to compromise on something, depends on how desperate I get!

 

 

[eddyramrod]

No harm in having a clear idea what it is you want.  I would suggest that being prepared to compromise would be A Good Thing.  The only question then is, how far?

 

 

Oh and: good luck!

[Squire_Dawson]

But all Wassats come in one version: bland.

[garbaldy]

That sounds like the same car I have and will be for sale when I can be arsed to mot it.

[John F]

Anyone else guilty of this? I am looking for a car but want a specific colour and trim level. There are currently none for sale on autotrader or Ebay. The car of choice isnt particularly shite, its a B5.5 Passat Estate TDI Sport in Inky Blue. Been looking for a few weeks and the only 1 I was going to look at has gone now. It was 200 miles away and I couldn't get there quick enough. I am not in too much of a rush as long as my mk4 Golf doesn't die before the MOT runs out in June. There are a couple on Gumtree but both have issues. I missed one by a couple of hours a couple weeks ago. 

I may end up having to compromise on something, depends on how desperate I get!

 

There's nowt wrong with knowing exactly what you want, so long as you're not in too much of a hurry to find it.

 

Last year I was looking on & off for a rare manual V8 Discovery 2 with the top-spec ES interior & Jewish Racing Gold paintwork, and sure enough one showed up eventually. At a good price too.

[Slartibartfast]

Well my (hopefully) new car is one of four available for sale total to my knowledge. Two are silly money and one is not in good enough condition, and the one I've put a deposit on is 450 miles away. And it was the only car that would do one I knew it was a thing that exists. So yes I know your pain.

[dave j]

That sounds like the same car I have and will be for sale when I can be arsed to mot it.

Tell me more!

 

I have been specific in the past but have been lucky. I was prepared to travel anywhere in the country to buy a Jetta gti and got one 5 miles away! I was looking for a Passat sport a couple years ago and compromised with a different model and colour so this time i want to hold out for the exact 1 I want

[SierraMikeHotel]

I'm doing this at the moment. I'd like a Volvo V40 but it's got to be 2.0T automatic. I know they exist because I've seen one.

[Pillock]

Just be careful about being overwhelmed when you find it.

 

I was looking for a Leon SE TDI, in a dark colour, and not the 90hp engine.

So when one turned up locally, I jumped at it, quick test drive, sorted.

 

Sadly it was a heap of shit that cost me another £1000 to put right. Had I been a bit less choosy I might have been a little less eager to press money into the sellers dirty lying hands.

[John F]

I'm not surprised with that spec.

 

Ben

 

My old mum used to say "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything".

 

Take her advice, matey.

[Zelandeth]

Yep...this is probably why I've still not had a Cherokee.

 

Colour I'm not too fussed on, though preferably not silver. Must be in Limited SE spec though and have leather that's not black. Also 4.0 petrol only please...

 

So far only ones I've come across have all been either accompanied by a problem list longer than my arm or having more rust than metal underneath.

 

Or they're diesel...which totally defeats the purpose.

 

Oh, and only the first generation cars with the ergonomic disaster of an American interior please...lost all the character when they facelifted it in 1997.

[Bren]

I won an inky blue 5.5 estate on ebay in December. It was clocked.

[purplebargeken]

Being too specific when looking for a car.

 

What does that mean? I no understand.

[dave j]

I won an inky blue 5.5 estate on ebay in December. It was clocked.

I remember that one! I was watching that one but wasn't really actively searching for one then. There's 1 on Gumtree at the mo that lost 80k in 2011 going by the mot history.

[UltraWomble]

Yes

And the only car meeting my criteria for make, model, trim, price, miles, engine, gearbox and colour is in Swansea and they offered the square root of feck all for the C8 as a trade in. So nobs to them.

[alcyonecorporation]

I'm doing this at the moment. I'd like a Volvo V40 but it's got to be 2.0T automatic. I know they exist because I've seen one.

Yup, my mate has one. It also has LPG and farting beige paintwork.

It had very little character apart from the LPG readout, which was installed upside down if memory serves.

 

Probably a good daily, though.

 

Yep...this is probably why I've still not had a Cherokee.

 

Colour I'm not too fussed on, though preferably not silver. Must be in Limited SE spec though and have leather that's not black. Also 4.0 petrol only please...

 

So far only ones I've come across have all been either accompanied by a problem list longer than my arm or having more rust than metal underneath.

 

Or they're diesel...which totally defeats the purpose.

 

Oh, and only the first generation cars with the ergonomic disaster of an American interior please...lost all the character when they facelifted it in 1997.

You've described my ideal XJ spec to a tee; preferably with the spindly three spoke steering wheel and diamond cut cross spoke alloys.

Bugs has a lot to answer for. That AMC 242 did Indy back in the Sixties when a hot rodder called Barney Navarro stuffed one in the back of a single-seater.

I think Eric Broadley of Lola Mk6 fame was distantly involved, too. The seats were apparently adapted Renault pews in the cars we got (weird how they arrived in the US in '84, like the Espace....)

 

Serviceable ones appear to start at £800 or so.

 

Oddly, I've found the 2.5L petrol manuals to fetch more than Limiteds and Limited SEs, perhaps because they're better workhorses.

I'd have a VM diesel if it was cheap, or a 4.0 litre Sport if one popped up.

 

Grand Cherokee ZJs seem to be worth less. In Land Rover terms, that's like Discoverys fetching more than Range Rovers.

[Mally]

I need towbar, engine big enough to use towbar, something I can afford to insure.

Room to throw crap in the back. Nothing else matters.

[mercrocker]

I don't know about TOO specific but I had a very specific shopping list for my 190E 8 years ago. 

 

Had to have light coloured (not grey) interior. 

Must have wind-ey windows but electric roof. 

Must not be silver-grey

Ideally should have local reg. or come from a local dealer. 

No rear headrests 
No air-con.  
No alloys. 

Auto only,.

Not diesel.

 

On top of all the usual things of course, like mustn't have blown head gasket, fucked gearbox, rusty arches or a piss-awful wooden steering wheel.    

 

Took bloody ages to find but still got it.   

[danthecapriman]

Nothing wrong with it at all. If you want something specific why the hell not!?

 

I wanted a Volvo 740, original front end, had to be a 2.3 auto estate, had to be in a good colour with good interior colour combo, had to be a GLE.

 

Not necessarily the easiest ask given the cars are now at least 30 years old and thinning out in number.

Eventually one came up and I got it for free!

 

Just be prepared to wait for the perfect car to come up.

[Zelandeth]

Yup, my mate has one. It also has LPG and farting beige paintwork.

It had very little character apart from the LPG readout, which was installed upside down if memory serves.

 

Probably a good daily, though.

 

 

You've described my ideal XJ spec to a tee; preferably with the spindly three spoke steering wheel and diamond cut cross spoke alloys.

Bugs has a lot to answer for. That AMC 242 did Indy back in the Sixties when a hot rodder called Barney Navarro stuffed one in the back of a single-seater.

I think Eric Broadley of Lola Mk6 fame was distantly involved, too. The seats were apparently adapted Renault pews in the cars we got (weird how they arrived in the US in '84, like the Espace....)

 

Serviceable ones appear to start at £800 or so.

 

Oddly, I've found the 2.5L petrol manuals to fetch more than Limiteds and Limited SEs, perhaps because they're better workhorses.

I'd have a VM diesel if it was cheap, or a 4.0 litre Sport if one popped up.

 

Grand Cherokee ZJs seem to be worth less. In Land Rover terms, that's like Discoverys fetching more than Range Rovers.

 

Older wheel is preferred to, as the airbag one is ugly as sin.

 

Not fussed about the wheels...though the cross-spoke ones are an utter swine to clean, and will probably need a refurb by now.  I've usually been more interested in the tyres that are on them...Seems all too common to see them with a mix of four different tyres on, and not even necessarily in the same size.  That level of care and attention to the looking after of a car usually starts ringing alarm bells!

 

The ideal one for me really would be mechanically sound, structurally solid but scruffy.  I've got this crazy idea to paint every panel a different (as violently clashing as possible) colour.  The thing looks like a life-sized Tonka toy, so why not run with that idea...

 

Think the potential fuel bills for the 4.0 scare a lot of people off.  I'm honestly not fussed though, I never do big miles these days and I'm more interested in being able to shift four adults and a large dog in comfort than economy.  Which pretty much writes off LPG for me as that takes up half the boot in most Cherokee installs I've seen so far.

 

The Grand Cherokee just never appealed to me in the same way...it's just too much like a Discovery or Land Cruiser...It's the slight oddness of the Cherokee, especially inside that really appeals to me.  Plus I've wanted one ever since I first saw one when the arrived on our shores in 1993.

[John F]

BenHar, on 19 Mar 2018 - 4:25 PM, said:

My old mum used to say "don't assume everything is an insult".

 

Sorry if I offended you in any way.

 

It's just my shite sense of humour.

 

Ben

 

Probably best you add a couple of smilies in future then, because it came across as a specific dig against my new car & the equipment level I was looking for.

 

Anyway, no harm done.

[Asimo]

Guilty!

Audi A2, must be yellow or orange, "colour storm", no glass roof, the 15"" aluminium wheels that look like steels, drum rear brakes, 4 seater not 5 seater, no leather.......

 

Cherokee? Red or "primer" grey, 4 litre, manual, 2 door, 2 wheel drive, steel wheels, cloth.........

[Timewaster]

Woah there!

 

Imho this is a terrible idea.

 

Fine for a new or nearly new car but you could very easily drop your guard and end up buying a total shit heap just because it had the right spec.

The rarer it is the more likely you are to be blind to its faults.

At our end of the market, buy on condition, history and price.

 

Of course I end up doing the same as everyone else.

Find me a blue, sound, mot'd example of my chosen heap and I'll be welding up a red one for a week.

[dozeydustman]

Sort of guilty, though my fussiness when buying a car is down to being 6ft 5, have size 16 feet and built like a brick shithouse. I hate having my knees cramped around the steering wheel and cramped pedals. If I can't get a comfy or safe driving position, I don't consider a purchase.

 

I like tons of gauges in a car's instrument panel, always have done since I was a kid, but only factory fitted ones, so a car without a rev counter I don't consider.

[Jazoli]

Anyone else guilty of this? I am looking for a car but want a specific colour and trim level. There are currently none for sale on autotrader or Ebay. The car of choice isnt particularly shite, its a B5.5 Passat Estate TDI Sport in Inky Blue. Been looking for a few weeks and the only 1 I was going to look at has gone now. It was 200 miles away and I couldn't get there quick enough. I am not in too much of a rush as long as my mk4 Golf doesn't die before the MOT runs out in June. There are a couple on Gumtree but both have issues. I missed one by a couple of hours a couple weeks ago. 

I may end up having to compromise on something, depends on how desperate I get!

 

Like this? ( I have no idea what a B5.5 is!)

 

 

Looks tidy enough, parked about 100 yards from me.

[dave j]

Yes! Exactly like that!

[dollywobbler]

I do the opposite. I build up a picture of what I want, then buy a car that meets none of the criteria. I wanted an S-MX normal model, in metallic orange, with orange seats. So, I bought a black Lowdown, with grey seats...

[Cheggers]

For me it comes down to budget.

 

At the very low end, buy on condition. Sub-1000 I didn't even restrict myself to a particular make & model, I just knew whether I wanted big, small, sporty, 4x4 etc.

 

It's only when I was spending more that I became more choosy about colour & spec.

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[Jazoli]

Yes! Exactly like that!

 

Haha! happy to have a poke around it for you, its not that far from you!

[dave j]

Thanks Jazoli. Just looked up where it is, it's a fair trek! 340 miles away in fact.