One Careful Lady Owner

[ArunAlec]

I’m looking at car ads at the moment and although I haven’t come across the “lady owner” sales pitch, I have come across a couple that I’m not convinced are good selling points....
One advertised as having been owned by a ”well known racing driver” the other “previous owner works for Mclaren“.

 

[westfalia]

Make sure its been Pre- Loved
Lol.

 

[westfalia]

On the confuserator ive never been too sure about this colour
but ive seen a few on the streets and i like it.
Think its a bit of a marmite colour though.

 

[Borris]

I few years ago we needed a car quickly having just unloaded our car onto WBAC.com. It had just started to present auto gearbox issues which would have been expensive. Long story short, we arranged to meet dodgy Dave in a carpark near Brands Hatch. He was advertising a Golf Diesel Estate in the small ads. Whilst I checked over the vehicle just about every alarm bell was ringing and I definitely had the feeling that this vehicle was a wrong-un just like its seller. Still the paperwork etc all checked out and it drove well. Very well to be precise. As we needed a cheap car in a hurry our basic criterior was that it was both roadworthy and legal. It fufilled both so we bought it.
It turned out that said vehicle had be owned by a racing establishment near Brands Hatch. They had clearly been tinkering around under the bonnet with one mod being an oversized turbo charger. The result was that this lemon went liked a cat on fire. I said it was a lemon because it had clearly been comprehensively ranted uphill and down dale for most of its previous life and during the short time that we owned it the wretched thing presented just about every problem that a Golf was capable of.
It was a dog!

 

[ArunAlec]

On the confuserator ive never been too sure about this colour
but ive seen a few on the streets and i like it.
Think its a bit of a marmite colour though.
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i like it!
At least it’s not Agate Grey! Not that I dislike grey but just about every Boxster I see is grey.

 

[ArunAlec]

I once had a wreck of a Volvo estate and had it up for sale, I was open and honest about its condition in the ad.
Got a call from a ”geezer” whose only question was whether he was likely to get “pulled“ in it. He said he’d have it over the phone and duly turned up by taxi, handed over the cash and was away. The phone call and his appearance did raise my suspicions, so much so that I joked with my neighbour that I thought my car might be on Crimewatch.
Not long after I had a visit from the constabulary. It had been used in some criminal activity “up north”. Unfortunately I hadn’t sent off the slip from the log book so a few months later I got a bill from Midlands Police for storage of my Volvo (they’d got the car but not the villain) luckily they were kind and let me off the storage.

 

[Vagophile]

"Never raced or rallied" VW Polo advertised by a female schoolteacher in Coventry. Inspected by me, price discussed by me, price finally agreed by my wife requesting a further reduction of £100 "because it has a little bend in the rear bumper". Lasted 12 years.
My first VW Kombi camper was swapped with an Irishman resident in Birmingham for a Volvo 145 estate. He said he was looking for a camper to go on a fishing holiday in Ireland. Unfortunately, he left most of his maggots in the spare tyre recess of the Volvo and they all hatched into large blowflies over a period of about a month! At about the same time I was visited by a "Man in a mac" who asked if the Volvo belonged to me. It transpired that said Irishman had done a bunk back to his home country leaving behind several significant debts, including outstanding H.P. on the Volvo. I was allowed to keep it and it subsequently became a 180,000 miler before I sold it.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Back in the day an "Italian tune-up" - a blast down the nearest dual carriageway in third gear, 5000 revs at (ahem) mph - was a well respected way to DIY de-coke a petrol engine.

 

[andyinluton]

That’s called the daily commute for some of us

 

[Broch Hunter]

I think this highly entertaining and truly honest sales pitch is superb.

However, I don’t think I would buy a used California from her.

 

[andyinluton]

On the confuserator ive never been too sure about this colour
but ive seen a few on the streets and i like it.
Think its a bit of a marmite colour though.
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I have lotus Elise in a very similar colour. Never received so many positive comments about a cars colour. I would suggest black wheels would make it look better still.

 

[SimonK]

On the confuserator ive never been too sure about this colour
but ive seen a few on the streets and i like it.
Think its a bit of a marmite colour though.
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I love Miami Blue. Just because if I was ever in the position to buy myself a Porsche, I wouldn't have to pay silly PTS prices to get something similar to my all time favourite colour, Riviera Blue

 

[Jodalo]

Back in the day an "Italian tune-up" - a blast down the nearest dual carriageway in third gear, 5000 revs at (ahem) mph - was a well respected way to DIY de-coke a petrol engine.

Years ago I remember decoking my beloved Ford Escort Mexico with some STP. After about half an hour took it for a blast up the M23 slip road J10, leaving everything in a real ‘pea Souper’ of a fog. I was relieved to find there hadn’t been a pile-up on the way back down the other carriageway. Sold it to a bloke from Kent for about a £1000. Wish I still had it, would be worth a tidy sum. Happy days.

 

[2into1]

On the confuserator ive never been too sure about this colour
but ive seen a few on the streets and i like it.
Think its a bit of a marmite colour though.
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Is it a bit "Jimmy Saville's Cali" Blue? (you'll need to have here a long time to get this).

 

[Velma's Dad]

Years ago I remember decoking my beloved Ford Escort Mexico with some STP. After about half an hour took it for a blast up the M23 slip road J10, leaving everything in a real ‘pea Souper’ of a fog. I was relieved to find there hadn’t been a pile-up on the way back down the other carriageway. Sold it to a bloke from Kent for about a £1000. Wish I still had it, would be worth a tidy sum. Happy days.

Just rallied against this Escort, one of the original 1971 works cars. Glorious in the Gulf livery.

 

[Jodalo]

Just rallied against this Escort, one of the original 1971 works cars. Glorious in the Gulf livery.
View attachment 56889

Fantastic! What a beauty, I’m having pangs of regret. Mine was red with white decals. Still remember the reg DKT 953K.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Yes, drool away, I certainly did. I believe that particular car was campaigned by Hannu Mikkola and Timo Makinen, among others.

 

[DrJuanKerr]

Years ago I remember decoking my beloved Ford Escort Mexico with some STP. After about half an hour took it for a blast up the M23 slip road J10, leaving everything in a real ‘pea Souper’ of a fog. I was relieved to find there hadn’t been a pile-up on the way back down the other carriageway. Sold it to a bloke from Kent for about a £1000. Wish I still had it, would be worth a tidy sum. Happy days.

I remember getting £500 for a MK1 RS2000 in the early 80's. I was over the moon with £500. Same damn car now is worth £40k

 

[Jodalo]

I remember getting £500 for a MK1 RS2000 in the early 80's. I was over the moon with £500. Same damn car now is worth £40k

Hindsight/Crystal balls etc.

 

[Vagophile]

Hindsight/Crystal balls etc.

I wonder what the Austin A30 that I bought for £40 in 1966 would be worth now? I think an increase in value applies to any car as it becomes rarer. (Even a Lada?). My thinking was: if it's good enough for James Hunt, it's good enough for me. Eventually written off by being sideswiped by a bus in a Northumbrian snowstorm.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I wonder what the Austin A30 that I bought for £40 in 1966 would be worth now? I think an increase in value applies to any car as it becomes rarer. (Even a Lada?). My thinking was: if it's good enough for James Hunt, it's good enough for me. Eventually written off by being sideswiped by a bus in a Northumbrian snowstorm.

£27k asked for this one. More like £5k to £10k for a good original road-going example but that's still about ten times your £40 in 1966 even after inflation.

 

[SailSki]

I picked up my Cali from a full service and investigation of potentially expensive warning light at a VW/Audi specialist and he showed my the almost totally original Ur-Quattro he is finishing bringing back to its full glory - has had it since 18 months old and will be glorious when finished.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I picked up my Cali from a full service and investigation of potentially expensive warning light at a VW/Audi specialist and he showed my the almost totally original Ur-Quattro he is finishing bringing back to its full glory - has had it since 18 months old and will be glorious when finished.

Absolute legend of a car, I drove one once in the 1980s and nearly wet my pants. The first rally car to have 4WD, turbo and 300bhp on tap.

 

[2haw]

The only car I’ve regretted selling. Bought in 95 for £13,995, sold in 97 for £11500 to a man I had to meet at Stansted airport. He had flown down from Manchester.

 

[SailSki]

Only last year my father sold the 1990 big bumper Mk2 Golf GTI that I bought in 1993 and he took over in the late 90s. Such a lovely car (when it was in its prime) and I would have loved to get it back up to top condition but not enough time or space.