Seriously?

[Paulk]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Well that's been a rather informative day, albeit disappointing, but a lesson learned.....

Down to Poole last night with beavertail van, in readiness to pick up the blue 145 that BB posted that was on FB. Thought I would swing by where it was being kept to check route etc.

Cursory look around in the dusk, hopefully without looking too shifty all looked OK as expected, apart from grille having a few more dents than photo appeared, and 2 flat tyres that would complicate loading a bit, but no drama.

Text sent to vendor as we had indicated a first thing pick up around 8am, then he asked for 9am due to family emergency.... first alarm bell should have rung, but life/stuff does happen.

Anyway got there around 8:45 this morning, other guys in bodyshop said he was due in at some point.

With time to waste, I was looking closer & closer at the car, and every time I looked, more giant warning signals were screaming walk away. Too many problems to cover here, but the whole car had obviously been there for a few years, as a large green patch on the tarmac, windows left open........

Anyway, time got to 9:30 and still no contact, so I had to decide..... In the end, I swallowed my pride and had to admit to myself that it was not the ideal vehicle for me to start restoring as a first attempt.

Lessons learned, as whilst my time was not an issue, I still had lost deposit, hotel, van hire and diesel.

Only upside, was that Alan had posted about a 240 windscreen trim he had going spare and for free with clips, as these may fit the 140, I'd arranged to pick it up on my way back this afternoon. Bugger now, is I have a nice screen trim set, but no car

Oh well, quest continues??

Cheers
Steve

Oh dear sorry to hear it was a wasted journey hopefully you will find something better in the not too distant future

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Cheers Andrew,

Well I probably just need to stop looking so hard, concentrate on my workshop build, and a good one might just crop up a bit more locally, (oh if only...)

As we discussed this afternoon Steve, I think it would be a good idea to focus on that workshop build: get the roof on before November starts so you can sort out the inside during the winter. Once that is done you could start looking for a VWW at Xmas and probably find one during the gloomy months that will fill your new garage just nicely.

... I'd still get a 1982 or 83 240: a nice GL or GLE with a carburettor (PAS, electric front windows, bum warmer, proper lights...) VWW if you must

[BicycleBoy]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

I did try to 'join' the 140/164 group, but request gets rejected by administrators because I haven't got a photo thingy on my profile.... is that really 'a thing' ??

I have a picture of a bicycle soundsystem on mine from critical mass days, but that's never caused problems, so I guess they're not too fussed. Got any dog photos?

[Steve 940]

Originally Posted by BicycleBoy

I have a picture of a bicycle soundsystem on mine from critical mass days, but that's never caused problems, so I guess they're not too fussed. Got any dog photos?

Cheers BB,

Ah so it needs any old photo then, certainly have many hound snaps I can pop onto the profile and try again.

Many thanks

Cheers
Steve

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Surprisingly, the Metro and it's later incarnation, the 100, fetch good money these days Alan. The listing does say words to the effect of "Bad bits - rear wheel arches are both rusty, replacements available on ebay" but other than that, looks fairly good and probably worth £3-3.5k with the low mileage bolstering the value somewhat.

I daresay someone will probably have an "enthusiastic" bid near the end of the auction or it will be relisted until that happens.

Bidding on that Metro only got to £750 Dave - I suspect we'll see it going through the eBay grinder quite a few times before the seller's expectations become realistic.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Cheers Andrew,

Well I probably just need to stop looking so hard, concentrate on my workshop build, and a good one might just crop up a bit more locally, (oh if only...)

Goo point about an area 'viewer' however, one persons view of a car could be very different from another's.

Cheers
Steve

While i was looking for the CR-V that replaced my 760 Steve, i'd looked at umpteen possibles online (plus other from my shortlist) and every time i found a possible, as soon as i delved deeper, i found gremlins a-lurkin' in the history, dodgy MoT history or other similar undesirable things.

At the point of nearly giving up, i went into a (new ish) local dealer who seems to rent a lot of them out to the USAF personnel, as well as selling cars in general.

Driving in from the road, i spotted the one i have now, parked next to another i had already decided i wasn't intersted in, regardless of price. As it happened, the one next to it was manual so a no-go for me anyway.
Not only was a deal struck almost then and there but the deal included the 760 in PX and a possible future deal on my Rover too.
End result, i gained a CR-V and parted with the 760 and 827 and a bit of cash.

The moral of this tale is don't try to look so hard, the right car will pop up, probably locally in the not too distant future when your workshop is ready or almost to recieve it.

As i deduce Alan has suggested, concentrate on the workshop while the weather is good, get that done but keep an eye on the adverts and maybe even knock a few doors if you happen to see one while out and about on your travels.

Originally Posted by BicycleBoy

Sh*t, sorry Steve. That's two buckets of rust I've thrown at you now...

Third one's the charm!

Originally Posted by Othen

Bidding on that Metro only got to £750 Dave - I suspect we'll see it going through the eBay grinder quite a few times before the seller's expectations become realistic.

That sort of surprises me Alan but that said, people seem to be taking a lot of holidays at present and in general, the car market has dulled somewhat - could be the Cost of Living Crisis but usually, someone who has been looking has the necessary ready to part with.

I seem to recall suggesting it might go through a few times before the right buyer is found, whilst they are keen, they're not exactly plentiful, the following is small and loyal generally.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

That sort of surprises me Alan but that said, people seem to be taking a lot of holidays at present and in general, the car market has dulled somewhat - could be the Cost of Living Crisis but usually, someone who has been looking has the necessary ready to part with.

I seem to recall suggesting it might go through a few times before the right buyer is found, whilst they are keen, they're not exactly plentiful, the following is small and loyal generally.

I'm curious about this now Dave, so I'll keep an eye open and see if the Metro reappears for sale. I really can't see a motorcar like that being worth a great deal more than £750 myself.

I always have a chuckle at the 'cost of living crisis' term that the media seems to like. What crisis I wonder: the shops, bars and restaurants are full, folk are having hot tubs installed in their gardens and £15,000 kitchens in their houses, there is a waiting list for £75,000 Range Rovers, and obesity is the NHS's biggest problem. It is just another excuse for folk to see themselves of victims, that is all.

My own feeling is that there is some common sense coming back to the older car market. We are seeing lots of 240s failing to meet their seller's expectations (and by a long way). This is just an inevitable manifestation of the quantitative easing we started in 2007 unwinding. It will do folk good to get a bit poorer and realise the world doesn't owe them a living, so they might as well get back to work and stop gluing their arses to the M25.

Just the musings of a middle aged man with a beard.

Bobwalkin time

PS. Bob and I are just back from our first walk of the day (what a lovely morn it is). We bumped into one of our dog-walking friends (a nice German lady). Right on que she complained that she wouldn't be taking an overseas holiday this year because of the 'cost of living crisis', but in the next breath told me (proudly) that she was having a new £15,000 kitchen installed this summer... a bit of a first world problem thought I .

[BicycleBoy]

265 Romford £1100ono
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404345753276
Nope.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by BicycleBoy

265 Romford £1100ono
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404345753276
Nope.

as the seller says: 'Has very minimal damage'... so a couple of weekends to make it a show car.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I'm curious about this now Dave, so I'll keep an eye open and see if the Metro reappears for sale. I really can't see a motorcar like that being worth a great deal more than £750 myself.

I always have a chuckle at the 'cost of living crisis' term that the media seems to like. What crisis I wonder: the shops, bars and restaurants are full, folk are having hot tubs installed in their gardens and £15,000 kitchens in their houses, there is a waiting list for £75,000 Range Rovers, and obesity is the NHS's biggest problem. It is just another excuse for folk to see themselves of victims, that is all.

My own feeling is that there is some common sense coming back to the older car market. We are seeing lots of 240s failing to meet their seller's expectations (and by a long way). This is just an inevitable manifestation of the quantitative easing we started in 2007 unwinding. It will do folk good to get a bit poorer and realise the world doesn't owe them a living, so they might as well get back to work and stop gluing their arses to the M25.

Just the musings of a middle aged man with a beard.

Bobwalkin time

PS. Bob and I are just back from our first walk of the day (what a lovely morn it is). We bumped into one of our dog-walking friends (a nice German lady). Right on que she complained that she wouldn't be taking an overseas holiday this year because of the 'cost of living crisis', but in the next breath told me (proudly) that she was having a new £15,000 kitchen installed this summer... a bit of a first world problem thought I .

There has also been mention of a probablt recession due to inflation and interest rates going up. Certain news sources are reporting this as we are definitely going into recession. More media manipulation of facts.

As for your German lady, if she can afford £15k for a new kitchen, i'm pretty sure she could still afford a grand for a very nice package deal on a holiday. What's wrong with her old kitchen anyway?

Originally Posted by Othen

as the seller says: 'Has very minimal damage'... so a couple of weekends to make it a show car.

Yes - a show car for the banger track! A couple of races (never mind weekends) and it would likely be worse than it is now!