The advert had stated that the car was immaculate inside and out (a lie) and that it had been looked after for the last 8 years by a genuine enthusiast (which turned out to be true). I really didn't fancy a trip to North Wales just to view prior to bidding and having seen the description and pictures as well as chatted to the vendor, I decided to try and close the auction with a strong early offer which was duly accepted. The seller said he was so confident in the car he would be happy for me to walk away but that he knew no one would. Bold sales chat indeed !
I purchased my train ticket from Virgin, central London to Bangor and was robbed for 79 pounds due to the 'late nature' of my booking, you'd think it was Easy-Jet the way they price their tickets. Sitting on the train I found out that a lady in front of me had paid less than 30 pounds for the same journey booked early.
On my arrival at Bangor I was picked up by the car dealer who had clearly sold the car to a local man years ago and taken it back from him 8 years later. The prior owner of the car was a mature chap who my research had told me was a member of TIPEC and I though this was in the cars favour. On arrival at the dealers site I found it was no back street affair. It was a thriving site with many customers and in excess of 200 cars.I was immediately given the document pack and the keys for the car and told to take the car out for a test drive alone and on trust. This I thought a bit silly these days but the man had it seemed had either sussed what I was about from our previous chats or clearly just didn't care.
Looking over the car including checking sills wing tips boot lining etc as I had now learned to do it was immediately obvious that the immaculate inside and out was a bare faced lie. The car was certainly not rotten and the full Black leather Interior with sports seats was exceptional without doubt.
However the vehicle paintwork was showing its age with touch ups etc and the one major point for me was that the cars front N/S wing was not up to standard and would need replacing to do the rest of the car justice.
Despite being not exactly as described, I drove the car and found it to be far tighter in every respect than my old 944 Turbo and in my opinion worth every penny of the agreed price. The deal was done and I started a 5 hour drive home which I carried out with only one service stop. That alone should tell you how much I enjoyed driving the car. The journey was far from a chore despite no C.D's and near useless radio reception.
Since purchasing the car I decided that we would go as a family up to the Classic Car show at the N.E.C. It had been my intention to join TIPEC for some time but I thought it would be nice to do it face to face on the stand at the show.
Myself and the family visited the TIPEC stand, the PCGB stand, Volvo Owners Club
(a story in itself there) and generally looked round the show. I found the helpers on both the TIPEC ad the PCGB stands to be very friendly and welcoming and there were some great examples of the marque. One car that still stands out in my mind was an early 911 Turbo belonging to a man called Paul who was on the PCGB stand. This chap was apparently a ' normal member' and was clearly a true enthusiast and an asset to a club stand as was his car. I have to say there was far more to see at the Classic than you might expect and in my opinion the show knocked the 'normal' motor show for six as it was more than just sell you a car. The real joy of the show for me ws checking out all of the 80's classics including much to my suprise a Talbot Sunbean TI which I had been fortunate enough to own an example of as a teenager. How I wish I still had that car.
I would say though that with the crowds pushing a pushchair around and feeling pressured to move on was not ideal. If I went to the show again I would like to go alone and mooch around whilst having the odd pint along the way. I duly signed up to TIPEC before leaving the show and received an unexpected show membership offer which was welcome indeed.
Back in not so sunny Hertfordshire I now had time to think what I might like to do with the car next season as it became clear that very little happens in classic car circles through the winter. My first disappointment was at the total lack of an active TIPEC region for Hertfordshire. I was aware of this before joining as I had contacted the local coordinator and found out that both he and his deputy were not attending meetings and were due to resign. Being keen to stay with TIPEC I had a dilemma, do I put myself foreword to try and get meetings going again even though I'm a club 'Newbie' as we call them on the web or do I just sit back and hope that someone else does something. At first I didn't want to stand up and be counted but I quickly realised the region was dead on its feet and decided to start P.M'ing anyone I could to try and promote 'new meetings for 2010'. I also visited the pub that had previously held the clubs monthly meetings and found that it was large and comfortable with a huge floodlit car-park. It was suggested to me by committee members that I let Christmas and new year get out of the way and then try contacting local Porsche folk by E-Mail. This seemed good advice and at the time of typing new year is nearly up so this will be my next step. I can only hope that like me, a few other Porsche folk will think it worth having a Hertfordshire region but only time will tell.
I have had the car in the garage for most of the last four weeks as living down a rain or snow covered track in December isn't ideal for any car let alone a low slung sports car. Quickly I have found out that this is not ideal for a cars battery and so I have purchased and plugged in a vehicle battery conditioner. The make is C-Tec and they are very well known so for a few pounds I should now be able to keep my cars battery in tip top condition despite the freezing temperatures in my garage.
In the medium term it is my intention to treat the car to a 24,000 mile service and a belts change in the spring as despite having covered only 9,000 miles since the last change this was carried out many years ago.
Now we wait for January the 21st to find out if their will be an active Hertfordshire region of TIPEC and hope that I have something positive to report in the blog. Regards Mas
No comments:
Post a Comment