Buying cars is fun and selling cars is not so much. It can be a mixture of good and/or bad emotions. Sometimes you need to sell because the car has driven you to the bottle, prescription drugs, some not-so-over-the-counter drugs or resorting to screaming at it in daylight hours in front of your neighbours.
I’ve had my fair share of cars over the years that have caused all of the above. We become emotionally attached to cars. I’m not sure how or why. Perhaps that’s an article for another time but not now. I do feel the attachment problems all start when we name them.
When we buy a car, we are filled with romance and a view clouded by those pesky rose-tinted glasses. If you’re like me, you’ll have bought the brochure years in advance and will know EVERYTHING there is about the car. Some call it research whilst others call it geeking.
I’ve had many cars over the years. They have come and gone and some I wished I’d never sold. But times or circumstances change and so the car has to go. As with the aforementioned, it could also be time to sell because the next part in your journey by vehicle has evolved and it’s time to try something new.
Selling
Back in 2012, I had to sell my much-loved Peugeot 504 Ti. It was bought as a spare parts car for my 504 GL I was about to restore. Having driven the Ti, the GL was history. More money that I had was spent on the Ti during the restoration. Bodily it wasn’t as good as the GL. And almost immediately half as much again after it was put back on the road when the fuel injection system failed.
Changes outside my control conspired to the downsizing of the fleet and the 504 had to go. At the time I had 3 cars. The Bus was still new to me and was not going anywhere. The 504 had to go. And here is where the problems start for anyone selling a much-loved car. What’s going to happen to it when the logbook is in someone else’s name?
The car spent the next 9 years in Ireland and had very little use. It came back to the UK in 2020. An old friend found it at a car show and through the medium of social media, I made contact with the new owner. We swapped a few messages, I’d sent a few DVDs packed with the history of the car in picture form and planned at some point to meet up.
A new event called Rustival was set up for March 2024 and I met with the new owner of the Ti. I have to say, it didn’t take David long to work out I was the previous owner of the 504. The Ti was still looking good after 21 years. And it still wore several of my little touches. I know that sounds big-headed and to some, perhaps a tad arrogant, but my heart and soul went into rebuilding that 504. For instance, it still wore the exposed silver rivets on the wiper arms and the twin ignition condensers were still thereThe Ti had a habit of burning through them and they were a bastard to fit. Talking to David while lifting the bonnet and talking about this filled me with relief and laughter when they were still there.
And no one had worked out I’d used insulation tape on the door window scraper rubbers.
Buying
When you take on someone else’s pride and joy, you must remember that selling it might not be what they want to do. Circumstances, goo for bad might have got in the way. The chap I bought my X1/9 from in 2013 was in a predicament as I was in 2012. He had lost the storage for the car and thus decided to sell it. He had driven it to and from the MOT stations for periodic testing. These short journeys hadn’t done much good for the little Fiat.
But should he look up the car on the web, I’d like to think that it still looks as well cared for in my hands as he had hoped. I’ll be honest though. If I ever have to paint the car, I would like to change change it. And this isn’t such an outrageous thing to do as you might think. He had originally painted it yellow. Only to dislike it so much that he painted it back to its original colour. Or perhaps that’s an omen and any colour change I do, it will go back to red. Below is a picture from when I bought it in November 2013 and 10 years later for Auto Italia.
I could have done so much to the Fiat over the years I’ve had it. But I’ve been sympathetic to its needs. It’s a 40-year-old Fiat so naturally it has received some cosmetic repairs. And I’ve had to carry out various mechanical repairs along the way. The problem with taking on an old car is the availability of what is out there. For some cars, they are not available in 3 or 4-digit numbers. Some are down to the ten cars on the road. And here lies another problem.
The New Owners
New owner David has enjoyed my old 504. Mechanically it wasn’t overly pampered in my ownership. I would hustle the old bloater around like it was a 205 GTi. But it was cherished and it wanted for nothing in my ownership. Despite the front now being peppered with stone chips (I can still remember where my first was on the car) it was great to see it still standing the test of time. There were a few rust spots and it had received some new paint over the past 13 years. Overall it was a testament to a meticulous rebuild, a drowning in waxoyl and my mate Dave who repainted it.
What was nice, and an absolute treat was being given the keys to have a drive. It was like slipping into some comfy trainers. Apart from the mileage being closer to 100k and the nylon cloth finally giving up on the driver’s seat, everything inside was as I had sold it. Tweeters on the dash mated to the same hi-fi. And even the over mats were the same.
It drove as I remembered it. The auto box was silky smooth and the brakes better than ever. So selling it had its perks. David had had the brakes rebuilt and they felt fantastic. But it isn’t mine anymore and it hasn’t been for the last 13 years. Someone else is enjoying it and I’m glad they are even if they do put *flask cups on the roof!
Are there any things I noticed that made me wince a little? The Ti badge is in the wrong place. It’s a trivial thing to most. To me it made my fingers itch a little. I remember printing a picture of the rear and measuring the badge placement when I removed it. And if I’m going to be picky, because I’m that kind of prick, the licence plate screw heads don’t line up.
Asked if I would buy it back, I’d be lying if I said no but no has to be the answer. The heart said yes, the mind said no. And there is a good reason for this: Been there, done that. I enjoyed my many years with it and it is only fair that others should enjoy it like I did. And like the way “new owner” David is.
Your Car……..
Wrongly or rightly, there is no correct answer to what you do when you buy someone else’s cherished car/project. We all want to personalise our cars to suit or express ourselves. This was highlighted one night when Luke from Luden Classic posted a resto-mod Jensen Interceptor on his Twitter feed. It caused quite a stir. At the end of the day, that is someone else’s car. Not yours or mine. They did to it what they saw fit. And this is something that will happen over and over until time ends. So what they do with it is subjective to them and how they want it. Not you.
All I will say is think carefully about what you do because your changes and ideas of what the car should be might not appeal to the next potential buyer. And this can seriously hamper you when you go to sell. The many hours and pounds you invest might not return to your bank account when you sell it. The Jensen didn’t sell through the auction.
So go forth. Do with it what you want…….and should you need to, tell the moaners to piss off! Chances are they aren’t going to buy it anyway!
*Private joke between David and I