yet another wasted journey !

[Budgie]

Well I'm slowly loosing faith in the human race as I have yet again been on a 200 mile round trip on a fools errand and wasted a days holiday and fuel money into the bargain !Why oh why do people "send people up " by boasting about the so called "excellent condition" of their minors for sale and when you tell them that you'll be travelling a long way and have been let down in the past, they still string you along to their homes only to find a car that needs sooooo much money and time spent on them that it isn't even worth Half of what they're asking. Oh and by the way this is another minor apparently "restored " in the past by one of the so called minor specialists!!! p.s. this particular car is on all the usual sites to include gumtree, ebay, car and classic so if you want to save a journey p.m me for the details , it's a 1967 almond green traveller.

[biomed32uk]

I looked at plenty like that, had some good trips out where the best part of the day was lunch in a decent pub.

However it did add to the experience of knowing what to look for, I remember looking at one that had been professionally restored where on inspection one of the front chassis legs looked like it was entirely made out of patches.

Another 4dr I looked at the B pillar was so far on the skew you could easily see it, and the front door was hitting it. It was one of them that had been on car and classic for months, in the end it was more curiosity why I went to have a look, as if it was as good as the ad was making out why was it hanging around. Someone bought it as it vanished and its been SORNed for a couple of years, waiting for it to appear with someone restored properly.

Don't get disheartened, the right one is out there, I found mine and still found loads that wasn't to my liking. 3 years later and we are getting there now !.

[Budgie]

Well thank goodness it's not just me with lady bad luck following me closer than my shadow! I was very lucky ten years ago when I bought my tourer as I travelled a fair way to look at her and I didn't have a computer at that time so I just went on the basis of a telephone conversation so I know that they are out there somewhere, it's just sooo annoying when it keeps on happening , ah well I suppose I've calmed down a bit now I just hope no one else wastes their precious time , energy and money on this ad [and others like it] .

[Tea]

It can be very frustrating - it's almost as though they forget you will actually be going to see the car in person. I've started asking for as many detailed photos as possible prior to making a trip and if they seem hesitant I usually pass unless it's very close by.

[Budgie]

I always ask for clear detailed close up photos but most either send the same as what is on the advert or as one guy said very recently"if your a serious buyer I suggest you call and take a look at her" needless to say I forgot about that one but in all fairness it sold a week later, or at least that's what the advert said!

[les]

Expecting an accurate description of a vehicle? What planet are you from?

[myoldjalopy]

Well, people should be up-front and honest, Les, although many aren't. It is getting harder to find a nice Minor nowadays:
They are all older than ever, which means more time for them to deteriorate, or people to bodge/muck-up the cars. There are very few 'untouched' cars in good nick now, although these occassionally come up for sale. Of course, on the other hand, many people have restored cars very well indeed and these come up for sale too. Unfortunately, as these cars get rarer, you will have to travel further than in days gone by when there were Minors for sale in the local paper every week! The right one will come along in time, though........

[les]

If you could rely on a glowing report from the seller the buyer could just arrange for the car to be delivered! Going to look is indicative of suspicion. So a possible wasted journey is always on the cards! Buying cars is no fun.

[Budgie]

Well I'm still living in Planet Hopeful it just gets soo annoying and tedious but as stated before, I bought my convertible ten years ago with just one phone call as I had no computer and I travelled quite a way for her and she's still a gem, well in my eyes anyway .But the worst thing I suppose is these cars are like yo yo's on the usual sites with some unsuspecting novice wanting a minor ends up buying it at an inflated price with all its horrors.