About 20 years ago I very nearly bought a second hand (but still in very good nick) Porsche 944 from a friend who was leaving the country and was prepared to give me a good deal for a swift transaction. I could have afforded it at the time and I would indeed have been ok for the running costs too. It would have fitted my needs and desires at the time nearly perfectly. Instead, I bought a Granada Ghia 2.9 4x4. Not sure why now. Not that the Granada was a bad car, just, well, not a 944 !!!...
Won't ever buy one now of course but still feel I should have.
And you? What do you regret not buying ( or indeed buying ! )
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I was offered a MK1 Granada Coupe for a song.......3.0 V6 - I actually went to kick the tyres.....wish I had now.
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Everyone would've had to call you "Guv" amd you'd have had to drive it through stacks of cardboard !
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At No time was Detective inspector John "Jack" Regan seen driving around in a Granada Coupe
He was driven in
1/ A Ford Consol GT
2/ A Mk1 Ford Granada 3.0 Ghia
3/ A Mk1 Ford Granada 3.0s
4/ A Mk1 Ford Granada GXL
5/ A Mk2 Ford Granada 2.8iS
MAybe you got confused with:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEsmGzo2UE
Yes I want one.
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Ah yes, quite right Z, apologies. I had quite forgotten that you are a fair bit older than me and would remember such things in more detail...
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About 4 years ago i was seriously tempted by an E39 (yes the handsome shape) BMW M5.
It resided at a BMW dealer and was an approved used.
60k miles as i recall, one owner 03 plate in Oxford (very dark almost black) Green, my favourite colour with beige leather.
Most unusual spec for one of these, nearly all are the standard blue, black or silver and all normally have the sporty interiors, this particular one was armchair executive spec but with the mighty V8, a combination i really like.
Most annoying thing it was a bargain £13k or thereabouts and probably still worth about the same now.
Doubt it would have LPG'd very well, can't see standard LPG injectors putting enough juice through to feed the beast mind, and i'd have been having kittens about work and being able to keep it...so probably for the best...he sniffed.
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When i was 16(many moons ago!) my friend had a British Racing Green FD Vauxhall VX 4/90 2.0 litre with twin carbs.
A bit like this one but darker green.
farm7.staticflickr.com/6006/5915971419_89eba5ceba_z.jpg
He restored the car to immaculate condition over the space of 2 years.
He then got bored and offered it to me for £800.
At my age i didn't even have £20 so £800 was out of the question.Looking back i'd wished i'd bought it because it was a fantastic looking car.
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Lancia Delta integrale. After first year of work and a 50% pay rise I came very close luckily I didn't as Partner 1.0 announced she (probably not very PC, none of this we stuff) was pregnant shortly afterwards. Should have done it (the car that is) in hindsight.
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Jensen Intercptor back in about '79, going for £1400. I bought a Capri instead for around the same money and have regretted it ever since.
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I was offered a 4 year old Lancia Beta Berlina, the MOT was due, I have no regrets over not buying it.
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When I was 19 I had a 1983 Cavalier worth around £1800, it had belonged to my late grandfather and my purchase of it had been subsidised by my grandma. A friend's neighbour had an orange and white mid-1970s VW Camper with an A4 "For Sale" notice in the window... priced at £1750. After a conversation with the owner i discovered he was looking for a sensible family car to replace the VW with, and was willing to swap. The concept appealed greatly to me, as I fancied the whole lifestyle that ownership of a camper van implied, and not to mention its clear potential as a magnet for the laydeez.
My parents wouldn't let me swap it, and made me keep the Cavalier. My life would have turned out so different if they'd allowed me, it's one of my biggest regrets.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Tue 6 Mar 12 at 19:24
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I was a hard up apprentice and a work colleague had a Messerschmidt that was just outside my pocket, but I probably could have stretched to afford it.
A little later I went to look at a Berkeley, but I wasn't brave enough. I could see the drive couplings had gone, but didn't think I had the expertise to tackle the job.
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Something I posted in a similar thread a couple of years ago in t'other place:
Around 1980 or so, Mrs. K and I were on a weekend break in Cape Town when we parked up outside a used car showroom on Adderley St. Parked at the side was a 365 GTB/4.
The blue paintwork was faded and the black leather interior had some sun damage. The salesman explained that it had just arrived and it would be resprayed and re-trimmed before sale. It had one previous owner, had done just under 20k kms and had been serviced a few months earlier. When I explained that we lived over 800km away he offered to sell it unsorted to drive away. His asking price was R12,000 (about £7K).
Reasoning that a V12 Ferrari, even as a toy, in the Namib Desert was an invitation for a whole lot of grief and expense I managed to talk myself out of it.
Fast forward to 1990 and we're living near Basingstoke, a very easy cultural transition.
We're looking for another weekend toy and a guy near Guildford had a Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV for sale. It was a complete beast that flexed the bodywork when you touched the throttle despite all the channel-iron strutbraces. Pretty good dark red paintwork but the white vinyl interior needed work. I thought it was overpriced at £10k but the seller wouldn't budge so I walked away.
Each of them would be well over £100K today.
Are there any bigger fools out there?
Kevin...
PS. You'd have enjoyed the 944 Humph - I had an AFN Anniversary "S".
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Like gb, also an M5 but considerably older. I had just sold my quattro (G646 JNV as driven by JC on TG!) because I was working 7 days a week and we were a 2 van family and could not justify a car as well.
Man maths won in the end so I requested a test drive and two chaps brought it round to my home from the main BMW main dealer in Leeds. They condescended to an 'extended' 30 minute test drive, then they began to act like time share sales people. At this point I showed them the door.
What I should have done is gone round to the dealer the following day and negotiated in a civilised manner but those two pratts really got my goat up.
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I've mentioned this before. About 15 years ago, still living in the UK but on a business trip in Germany and on the lookout for a performance car. Drove past the local Porsche dealer and they had a black 911 Turbo on the forecourt, 1988 model costing 45,000 Mark (15 grand). Very low price as it had no Catalytic Converter making it incredibly expensive to tax (in Germany).
Took it for a test drive, checked the very low mileage, the immaculate condition, the leather trim, aircon and sunroof. I, of course, had to think about it. I rang the dealer the following week and of course the car had been sold. That one still hurts.
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Not a car I bought.... in the 70s my dad bought a rust bucket of an Audi. Didn't keep it long. I recall once when the bonnet flew/blew open when we were going a fair speed.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 6 Mar 12 at 23:10
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>>I recall once when the bonnet flew/blew open when we were going a fair speed.
Same happened in a friend's Renault Fuego doing *ahem*ty over the Erskine Bridge.
The front of the bonnet managed to poke through the sunroof!
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Many years ago, the local Nissan dealer had a Jag 240 taken on trade-in.
Purple, with a god-awful aftermarket glass sunroof that needed ripping out and replacing with a Webasto. Otherwise pretty much immaculate and came with impeccable history.
1600 quid at the time. I really should have bought that as the things go for silly money these days.
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There aren't any cars I wish I'd bought, but there are a few I wish I hadn't bought ...........
1936 Wolseley Fourteen
1936 Citroën 12
1952 Phase I Standard Vanguard
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I was offered a 1950s Rolls Royce in 1967 for £600.
As a learner driver only earning pocket money I wisely decided I couldn't afford it, and bought a Triumph Mayflower for £10 instead.
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Nice condition ugly Duck Citroen.Should have bought.Private seller for 600 pounds.
Test Mercedes Benz high mileage excellent condition.First car I bought Hillman Imp blue lovely little car,shame about the engine.
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I bought one.
When 21 years old I bought a 6 year old V12 Jag XJS. Stunning car in a bright red colour with black leather interior...'OFF413S'.
I was off to buy a 3 litre Capri, but ended up with that instead. My mate's dad was an insurance broker so that was covered (£600 in 1984 though).
I only kept it 6 weeks....because....I wasn't enjoying it. Every time I parked it somewhere it worried me whether it would still be there or be damaged..and..being a young plod and the car having such effortless performance, I was concerned i'd get done for a hideous speed and lose my job.
So off it went. I enjoyed my brief ownership, but was was glad to get rid. With a car like that you need to be able to afford a garage and use it sparingly...and definitely not leave it in dodgy car parks.
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>>There aren't any cars I wish I'd bought, but there are a few I wish I hadn't bought<<
I'm with L'gastropod = Citroen BX, Renault Clio, Peugeot 306 XRDT.
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Daimler V8 250. This model, colour and cosmetic condition but with an engine fault.
www.flickr.com/photos/albertsbite/4957214540/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Only £500 or so in the late 70s. Walked away and have always thought I should have given it a go.
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Three and a half years ago - 1995 Bentley Continental R from a Bentley collector. Wanted to haggle a bit off the 32k to go towards the 2.6k euro 'fine' it might have attracted on re-registration in France because of its eco-unsuitability, but he wasn't having any. It was the car I always wanted, I lost my nerve and I've regretted it ever since.
I do, of course, have some consolation, having found the Beast and top-down motoring...
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>>Daimler V8 250. This model, colour and cosmetic condition but with an engine fault<<
Luvly motors guvnor, but every V8 250 I tuned was an oyl burner.
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HEHE! i hope that was before you tuned them!! ;-)
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>>HEHE! i hope that was before you tuned them!! ;-)<<
Isn't it time for your afternoon nap?
:-D
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OT - but remember the glorious sound of a Daimler Dart with the loud pedal pressed?
The BIB had some in Sarf London, SE6, when I worked for The Car Mart (Austin distributors for London in their day)
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>>but every V8 250 I tuned was an oyl burner<<
Mine never used a drop.
Mind you, I think some of the stuff on the dipstick was anti-freeze...
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>>think some of the stuff on the dipstick was anti-freeze...
Yes this one I was offered had a GTX/glycol mix.
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When a student I turned down a 1925 RR 25 for £90.. I did not have £90 at the time...and even then £90 would have not gone a long way to running it.
(it was ropey with iirc a dodgy clutch)
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>> OT - but remember the glorious sound of a Daimler Dart ........
Daimler had to rename it SP250 because the name Dart was "owned" by Dodge in America. tinyurl.com/alb4pl At the time I worked for Dunlop's car disc brake division which was not far from Daimler.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Wed 7 Mar 12 at 13:52
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Wish I'd bought a Soarer 2.5 twin turbo that I looked at (instead spending a third of the money on a 2.5 v6 omega).
Loved driving the omega but gave up after 3 months of constant 'issues'.
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I wish i`d never bought my mk2 Cavalier! - because i had to trade in my beautiful Triumph 2.5S, my then missus made me! I wish i`d traded her in instead! . I did eventually, and treated myself to a luvly Senator 3.0 cdi, then I married again, and five years later, we don`t have a car no more! ;-(
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Snap, Dog. I also regret buying a 306XRDT. They may well have handled really well, but to find that out it had to be working!
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>>I also regret buying a 306XRDT<<
They went quite well if you put hit the loud pedal (when the head gasket wasn't leaking that is)
but a VW Golf would have been a far better choice!
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Cars you wish you'd bought and, the others... - R.P.
