Buying back cars you once owned and sold

[Motown]

Is it nostalgia or just plain stupidity? I've done this with about three different cars now funnily enough they were all Rovers.

 

 

 

My wife and I first bought this car a good few years ago when we had multiple Rovers which we rescued and restored. It's an 820 manual saloon with prussian blue interior and the grille was fitted by the dealership on the run up to the release of the R17 (Mk2 800). I absolutely hated the grill on the XX (Mk1 800) and don't know why this was considered an upgrade at the time. From memory and the paperwork it was a BAE company car and was driven by one of the directors when BAE owned Rover it was even registered to a BAE company office address.

 After we bought it we put it back on the road before selling it to a friend who drove it for a year or so. I've just had confirmation from that friend it's coming back to us and I am absolutely delighted. The grille will be binned and a new bonnet fitted.

[Markeh]

My one attempt at doing this was the mighty Skoda, it chose to expire the day before I was due to collect it again

[Six-cylinder]

In 2007 I won a Citroen GS Special fitted with a 1299cc engine, 5 speed gearbox and Pallas trim on eBay. It was MOTed and a reasonable runner, I drove it 150 miles home with no problems. We had it a year and I realised it would need work in the future so sold it MOTed and running.

We then watched it get sold 4 times each time the condition was deteriorating until it was a needy, scruffy non runner due to a large hydraulic leak. Mrs6C said we need to buy it back and save it. So, in 2013 we bought it back and set about a mechanical recommission and a load of welding and a full respray.

Pictures are how we bought it in 2007, how it ended up in 2013 and how it is now. We still have it as a good working car.

 

[loserone]

The 305 was a lot more broken and sad the second time around after it had left the forum and returned.

 

The 106 was great.  When I sold it the guy haggled a wheel bearing off the asking price.  When he sold me it back I did the same cause he still hadn't had it done.  It's now an autoshite bike.

[stuboy]

back in the late 90s early oo's i had a mk2 cavalier glsi auto, it was clean tidy, bloody loved t, but shite wages ment it had to go, so sold to mum opposite neighbour so least i got to see it at times, then i think a year later i changed jobs, earnt 1/3 more wage, and saw the car up for sale round the corner, imeediatly knocked on his door, and he said the car was exactly same as id sold it too him for, bar needing a centre section, i said ill sort it, and he even charged me what i sold it too him for........ loved that car, 

[RoadworkUK]

10 hours ago, Motown said:

I've just had confirmation from that friend it's coming back to us and I am absolutely delighted. The grille will be binned and a new bonnet fitted.

I cannot overstate how much I'd like to take that for a drive. Hearty congratulations.

[AnthonyG]

The Rover is lovely. Glad to hear the grille (presumably an R8 one) is getting binned.

Can you imagine a franchised dealer doing that sort of thing now? Say ‘converting’ a DS to a Citroen or the like?

Aside from the fact it would be near impossible without completely rebuilding the front of the car, they would get severely bolloxed by the manufacturer, invalidate the warranty, kittens would die etc.

[Six-cylinder]

Guilty!

Back in the early 1990's I worked for a Vauxhall dealer, but the group was predominately Rover dealers. We had access to many nearly new Rovers and we converted a couple of cars to the later grill. It was done by our service dept so I didn't get to see the details.

[Pauly.22]

Bought this in 2013, sold it after 6 months, bought it back in 2017, sold it again in 2022

[Motown]

18 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

The Rover is lovely. Glad to hear the grille (presumably an R8 one) is getting binned.

Can you imagine a franchised dealer doing that sort of thing now? Say ‘converting’ a DS to a Citroen or the like?

Aside from the fact it would be near impossible without completely rebuilding the front of the car, they would get severely bolloxed by the manufacturer, invalidate the warranty, kittens would die etc.

Yes its an R8 grille in fact the car now looks like a giant R8 saloon. I think the grill looks natural on the MK2 with its curves but doesn't suit the lines of the Mk1.  

If my memory serves we well a lot of Rover dealers offered this for the R8, 800 and Metro.  I would be interested to know how you got on with the warranty as they essentially drilled holes into the bonnet pushed in a couple of plastic plugs and bolts to attached the grill. 

 

[Motown]

18 hours ago, Pauly.22 said:

Bought this in 2013, sold it after 6 months, bought it back in 2017, sold it again in 2022

 

 

[sierraman]

None of them, I’ve usually had to meet someone at the roadside and change my telephone number when it’s out of eye shot. 

[robt100]

Not personally, but my uncle has had the same car 3 times:

Mk2 Zephyr, bought it as one of his first cars back in the late 70s/early 80s I think, drove it for a few years and sold it. Saw it for sale again 10-15 years later, bought it back, ran it for a few years. Then some friends took it on a tour of europe and it came home on its last legs so was sold post haste...

Then, coming up to his 50th birthday, his mates spotted it for sale again, so bought it as a birthday present. It was rotten to the core and even now 20 years later sits in his barn with ventilated floorpans 😅

[brownnova]

Yeah, only done this once. 

The E240 was sold to a friend, it needed some work she couldn’t afford so I had it back from her. Her new car then grenaded a short time after… so she had it back!

It’s currently for sale on the side of the road nearby (and has been for a few months) as she traded it in against a Volvo S80 about a year later with a local dealer. The temptation to have it a third time is definitely there.