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I have gone on road and rail trips to buy cars and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I like train journeys to places I’ve never been before and I like the feeling of anticipation as you get there whilst wondering if it’s going to be as described. Most recent was my current Saab where me and my son laughed like drains on the way back from Hull to Bolton as we explored the upper reaches of the boost gauge. If what you’re looking for is fairly unusual, chances are it ain’t gonna turn up in next door but one’s garage. Once you’ve made the decision, it’s as easy to go 100 miles as it is to go 20. Off peak train fares can be stupidly cheap if booked a few days in advance.
The problem I have at the moment is time as much as anything but needs must. I’m looking for something fairly humdrum as a new family hack and, weirdly, there are none I like around Manchester but loads on the wrong side of the pennines. When I started researching there were umpteen cars within a 5 mile radius of my house that looked perfect but now there are none. The plan is to throw a tank of fuel, a day, and a load of junkfood at the problem on Saturday and see what turns up. If something crops up in Manchester in the meantime it’ll save me time and money but I’ll also be a teensy bit disappointed.
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Jaguar S-Type 3.0 SE
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... ive found 2, ones in Norfolk and ones in Southampton! and I'm in kent! FFS. I asked a mate and all the places you mention are "Down South" so I guess they're near you & each other Man up! How long does a 100 mile trip take? I'd guess not a lot more than an hour
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Chances are anything I want won't be in Shetland and if I am very fortunate it may be in Aberdeen which is a 14hr ferry ride away !! Otherwise it's overnight on the boat then x number of hours on various forms of transport to get there and x number of hours driving back to the ferry port in Aberdeen.
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this is making me wanna go on a road trip and buy an old stuff.. the furthest ive ever been is only 81 miles to ludlow for <<<that capri
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2001 vauxhall corsa 1972 VW Beetle 1986 Ford Capri Laser1999 BMW E36 323i Touring 1991 Volvo 940 estate 2002 Mazda 323f 2.0 sport 2016 Mercedes Sprinter 1999 nissan almera 1.4 1995 lexus gs300 1995 lexus ls400 1975 bmw 1602 fiat punto 2003 ford fiesta something else...
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stuuuu
Part of things
Posts: 62
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100 miles is definitely classed as local when it comes to buying a car you're actually looking for, and not just a modern thing to get you around. I live in Newcastle, and these are the distances I have gone for old curse word... Morris Minor - 332 miles one way (Cardiff) Fiat Panda - 326 miles (Kent) VW Camper - 227 miles (Conwy) Fiat Panda - 270 miles (Oxford) and the Lada wasn't even in this country (Northern Ireland). Of course cars being local makes things so much simpler, but it rarely happens. plus for some reason, no matter where you are in the country at the moment of looking for a classic car or even just car parts, the ones local to you are no good, and you have to travel to the other end of the country for something. LOL! your post did make me laugh, but also made me feel a bit better about my eccentric car buying!, I would travel that far but its a total bollock ache, I have to go into central London from kent then a tube then another train. It takes half the day just to get there, why cant the cars I want be for sale in the next street lol.
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The car you want WILL be in the next street - once you have bought a car (and said car will be cheaper, better condition, and with full history, but you can't sell your latest purchase in time to buy it )
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1993 Fiat Panda Selecta 2003 Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI van 2006 Mercedes Kompressor Evolution-S AMG SportCoupé
"You think you hate it now, wait til you drive it"
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stuuuu
Part of things
Posts: 62
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I'm on the lookout for a car at the moment and trying to get people to take a half decent picture is proving a problem. I specifically asked a guy for and engine photo so he sent me one of each inner wing ! I gave up with that and he has since re-advertised it with an engine bay shot which shows brand spanking head bolts. Why he didn't mention it when I quizzed him about all the coolant round the header tank I don't know and made up a story about leaving the cap off. Well I do it's probably because it didn't fix it ! My latest possible is up in Norfolk, I'm in Hampshire. I'm considering hiring a transporter to get it as I can't find anything locally but the seller is still being a bit difficult answering a few questions. I ask for specific photos and MOT test number/reg number. You can then look up the MOT history and get some idea of a cars condition but even then one turned out to be a complete pile. If everyone was honest about what they are selling it wouldn't be a problem but things start getting expensive if you go viewing a few and they aren't any good. Tell me about it, trying to get people to take proper photos is a nightmare, the amount of times ive seen ads with 1 pic of the front and 1 pic of one side of the car and that's it!, you then ask for more and they really don't want to take them!, the common excuse is: I don't really want to take more pics, its just a cheap old car!
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stuuuu
Part of things
Posts: 62
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The car you want WILL be in the next street - once you have bought a car (and said car will be cheaper, better condition, and with full history, but you can't sell your latest purchase in time to buy it ) Exactly lol, like I saw sods law, encouraging to here that others go a long way for average cars though, I need to pull my finger out.
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Special cars require journeys, mine have all been the total opposite.
8 year old ax, walked to where it was, seller was my dad's work colleague.
2 year old stilo, ex fiat car from slough. Was at my dad's mate's dealership about 15 miles away.
12 year old focus (current car bought 2 1/2 years ago) was 5 mins from home.
My dad is mr epic road trip when it comes to cars, there was south wales for a restoration project, possibly Telford for another, Preston for an slk, although the car he bought 11 years ago and still owns came from a garage 10 mina walk from his house.
Ironically my other hobby is classic games, I have stuff from America, Canada, Denmark, Germany, and various other places and have sent things even further afield.
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Last Edit: Jul 1, 2015 22:22:53 GMT by flatapex
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Tell me about it, trying to get people to take proper photos is a nightmare, the amount of times ive seen ads with 1 pic of the front and 1 pic of one side of the car and that's it!, you then ask for more and they really don't want to take them!, the common excuse is: I don't really want to take more pics, its just a cheap old car! Thats just lazy on the sellers part, I sold my Polo 6n2 on here for £450, advert had a bout 8 pictures & I was asked for more, So I took another 75 & put them all on the advert. Sold pretty much straight away for asking price to a lad on here from down south.
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I love to hear the stories about people travelling large distances for cars but I just wouldn't dare do it. I'm looking forward to my first retro maybe early next year when funds allow. I won't be able to afford to waste £150 on travelling to some far flung corner of the UK to buy a £500 car. I don't have the mechanical knowledge to be confident checking something so bringing a mate along is necessary really. I'd prefer to get something reasonably local, say within 50miles, so me and a friend can drive there to take a look. I also don't have insurance to do a test drive as I'm on company car insurance with no ability to drive other cars.
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The Millenium Volcon"Get yourself a Volvo if that's what you really want, you might be dead next year. In the meantime, you could be going sideways in a gigantic land barge."
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The car you want WILL be in the next street - once you have bought a car (and said car will be cheaper, better condition, and with full history, but you can't sell your latest purchase in time to buy it ) I bought a Disco v8 from a chap in Swansea about 12mth ago,travelled down from N Shropshire for it so not that far. Had my fun with it and put it up for sale.The lad who has bought it lives 2 streets away from the last owner. .......... And my current daily is a P38 that was advertised on here 3 mth ago. That 1 was picked up in Bournemouth and driven home. If the Euro exchange rate does take a dive in the near future then a trip abroad beckons for something a bit special...
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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I'd love to have the "distance no object" attitude when I buy a car but sadly I don't have the spare time or the cash to waste time and money going a long distance to buy a car that may not be as described. The only cars I've travelled 100+ miles for are cars from forum members (various forums) who I know to be honest and trustworthy. I was burnt once by going to Exeter to look at a "mint" MX5 that turned out to have rotten sills, curse word all oil in it, a slipping clutch, warped brakes and the worst tracking I've ever experienced, not to mention the "full service history" that turned out to be 4 MOTs and a receipt for oil and filters. I gave the guy a massive bollocking for wasting my time and money, and then came home. I was with my mate in his 320i E36 so I then gave hime £100 for fuel
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When I went to pick up my P38, it was a six hour round trip. Total distance? 30.6km!
Before I bought it I was looking at a yank tank 4 islands away, but never got any response from the seller - probably just as well with the Roll-on, Roll-over ferries.
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