7 offers and counting

-

Two weeks in and still the car’s not sold. But it’s not all bad.

So far, I’ve had 7 people contact me about the Mini, despite it only being advertised on Pistonheads. That’s already 6 people more than ever enquired about the Puma when I put it on Autotrader. Anyway, of the 7, the breakdown is as follows:

  • 2 dealers: one offered too little and had nothing of interest in stock; the other had interesting-but-not-perfect cars, so I decided to hold out
  • 1 scam merchant, at least according to an email I subsequently received from PH
  • 4 people offering part-ex: an ‘05 S2000; a 1990 Elan SE; a highly-tuned TT; and a Y-reg S2000.

Of the part-ex deals, I’ve been most tempted by the S2000’s. The first was too expensive (but nice enough to make me want to stretch my finances) and the second is possibly a little old. And maybe a little too Kev’d up, albeit only with exhaust, alloys and adjustable suspension. I’ve yet to reply to the latter enquiry, but then it only came in an hour ago. Not sure what I’ll say, but I might pass on it. To compound my reluctance, it’s in Dorset, so it would be a mammoth journey just to check it out. We’ll see.

In other news, Phil just got burned by a crappy part-ex when he replaced his Clio with a new Mini. I’m not surprised he hates garages. The most ridiculous part of the story, however, is the fact that you can pick up a brand new Clio like Phil’s for less than the garage is now selling his. I understand they need to make a profit, but it’s daylight frickin’ robbery, if they get away with that. Moral of this tale? NEVER trust garages. :-(

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Driving the Tank

-
I don’t normally give cars nicknames. With the Zed, however, I’m tempted to call it The Tank. Not because of its size or muscularity, but as an abbreviation of sensory deprivation tank. Yep, that’s right — and it’s not a good thing. The test-drive concerns I had about the 350Z being too comfortable a car are still with me. Except now, I’ve translated that nebulous feeling of unease into a sense that it simply doesn’t provide enough feedback. Journeys at night and in wet weather can be absolutely exhausting. I find myself trying to heighten my senses to the tiniest cues coming through the steering wheel, chassis and pedals. Often I’ll end up leaning forward in my seat, as if listening to a quiet friend in a noisy pub. Thankfully, however, it’s not like that all the time. When you put your foot down and hustle it a bit, the car starts talking again. You begin to feel you’re dictating things rather than reacting to them. Sadly, I’ve had very little opportunity to grab the bull by the
Read more

Windfall

-
You get a £500 bonus at work — how do you spend it? The big decision for half of my colleagues appears to have been XBox 360 or Playstation 3? Myself, I’ve opted for a front bumper respray. Of course, as soon as I said as much, I was told, quite earnestly, that I really need to stop thinking about cars so much. Hehe. Well, it made me laugh anyway. :) Yes, I might well be chucking money away — I doubt the work will add the equivalent value to the car come the day I sell it — but it won’t half improve my enjoyment of the car. As it stands, the polka-dot affair I’ve got at the moment (courtesy of Bill Heaney’s crap finishing) makes my heart sink every time I approach the thing. In just a week’s time, I’m going to be smiling again instead. It’s been at least 6 months since that last happened (the lack of blogging here in that time is no coincidence) and maybe it’ll reinvigorate me full-stop. Dammit, I love driving too much to feel depressed about my car. Roll on the good times. Oh, a
Read more