Perfect car... but its in Poland!

[cjhillman]

So last night i was looking around on the net for a ford escort mk3 as usual and found the perfect one..... in the depths of Poland. now theres no way i can entertain getting this car i'll just have to wait and wait for a UK one to come up for sale… probably out of my price range.

if there was one in France i might be tempted... (i say that, but i don't have much money at all )

Apparently its a 1294 mile drive lol. and the car is 1000zl? which currency converter said was about 190 quid i think.. Might be wrong though.

This idea got me thinking out of interest, has anyone else ever done anything like this? and does it cost a fortune even if the car is cheap?

Its an interesting concept.

[cjhillman]

o yeah this was the car i was on about btw gorlice.olx.pl/ford-escort-mk3-iid-105583459

[VIP]

Flight to Poland is about £40, then drive it home.

It looks tidy, only problem is Polish car 'can' be really badly repaired/lashed up, so you'll take your chances driving home. Go with a mate, if both of you are reasonable mechanically competant, there should be too much you can't overcome.

[EmDee]

Feb 7, 2012 12:56:47 GMT VIP said:

there should be too much you can't overcome.

^ I lolled

[PandaSelecta]

Does look very nice, but a long way to go when its only got two pictures. If you did go for it, it might be best to see if anybody on RR is able to have a look at the car for you (last thing you want is to find the side you cant see is damaged/rusty)

(slow typing fail )

[VIP]

Feb 7, 2012 13:00:16 GMT EmDee said:

Feb 7, 2012 12:56:47 GMT VIP said:

there should be too much you can't overcome.

^ I lolled

Typing phail!

If I was going to Poland, I'd double the budget to £400 and bring this honey home!

gorlice.olx.pl/polonez-1-6-lpg-caro-plus-2000r-iid-233734522

[PandaSelecta]

that 1000 zloty would also buy you a Lada 2103



gorlice.olx.pl/lada-2103-lakier-pomarancz-stan-dobry-tanio-gorlice-iid-260409881

[Mystery Machine]

The only thing that would be stopping me if I was in your shoes would be my current lack of passport.

I'd do it just as much for the adventure as for the end result. You'll then also get to laugh in the face of all those on the 'cars for sale' section who whinge at a car they want being 100 miles away. If you've got a passport then I reckon this thread is a bit of a non-thread and you need to be looking at and booking flights. If not for the Escort, certainly for something frickin cool that would make for an awesome roadtrip, amazing adventure and a nice car to roll around in at the end of it all.

Why are you still here??

[Autofive]

i'd want to see a photo of the sills and rear wheel arches (expertly obscured in the photos) before booking a flight.

[dbizzle]

Feb 7, 2012 13:28:48 GMT Mystery Machine said:

all those on the 'cars for sale' section who whinge at a car they want being 100 miles away.

I've always found that odd. If you want it, go and get it.

Go to Poland! DO IT! FORGE A PASSPORT FOR MYSTERY MACHINE AND TAKE HIM WITH YOU!

[Copey]

road trip!!

[deano123]

i work in hungary but regularly go to poland, was there last week infact in katowicze and krakow which is pretty close to gorlice where that car is

1000 zloty is about 200 quid

[cjhillman]

ha ha i didnt expect all this. I do really want one of these (been looking for about 3 years with real intent to buy... in the UK lol), but i honestly don't know if i could afford to drive a 4 speed back lol and if it went wrong i'd be screwed (very amateur mechanic here) ... ill have a think though. even if not this one maybe i should take my search to close parts of europe.

would it need loads of checks and costley registration for the UK? Also i bet the insurance would be sky high with it being an import and nickable wouldnt it? i think it was high for me with a uk spec one of these last time anyway.

hmmm tis rare though......

[WillCarter]

I'd be tempted to put a Wanted ad up on here for a Mechanically Minded roadtrip partner if you really want it that badly, that way you've got someone to share the adventure with as well as the driving and if something goes wrong you might have more luck fixing it at the road side.

[nutter81]

isnt there a guy on here who flew to greece and drove a car back I'm sure there was

you need to get on plane and buy car drive home job done

[akku]

What you need is European Breakdown Insurance which covers you for journeys not originating in the UK.

Then if you break down you call for whatever the local equivalent of the man in the yellow van is.

I'm seriously tempted to make my summer holiday a trip somewhere stupid to buy something stupid and drive it home.

[loudandproud205]

IIRC There is a guy on here that drove from the Netherlands to Grimsby and then home in an SD1 Rover V8.

I am so tempted to do the same over some cars

[jim jdh]

I had a chap recently come from Holland to buy some Volvo 480 leather seats. Was'nt coming for anything else, picked up the seats and rushed off to get the return ferry

[craig1010cc]

Are you sure its a 4 speed, its got a 5 speed gear knob on it.

The trip would be amazing, but by the time you add in flights (assume 2 going so £100), petrol to get you back (£200) and a ferry crossing (£50), breakdown cover (?) and then add on the cost of MOT and registering it its now a £5-600 car (assuming it isn't hiding any nasties). If it was for something like the lada (of which there are very few) or a cheap mk1/2 escort I could understand it, but I think I would keep hunting over here for something like
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-FORD-ORION-1-6-GL-SALOON-COLLECTORS-CAR-RESTORATION-ANTIQUE-PROJECT-/120854763192?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c238156b8

[composimmonite]

I thought Poland had worse winters than the UK so I wonder how much salt it has seen over the years ! Also from what I've read the Poles are skilled at bodging cars to keep them on the road when we would have scrapped them years ago. Personally I wouldn't consider unless you have had someone you trust inspect in person first before going all the way there to collect and drive back "sight unseen".
By the time you have added up the purchase cost, flight, accomodation, food, fuel, car ferry etc I reckon you are into the realms of what a decent UK car would cost - without all the hassle.
Have fun on a marathon road trip by all means but make it worth while for something rare and not a sub £200 Escort

Paul H