What car have you sold that you wish you never had? [WIN]

[James Baggott 227]

Morning all - I'm wondering have you ever sold a car that you wish you never had? My brother used to run a used car dealership and had a series of cool cars. As he traded he used to pick the nice ones for himself, drive them for a year of so, then sell them on.

 

But some he wished he never had. One of those was a Mitsubishi Evo FQ360 - it was yellow and bonkers fast. I remember it well as he bought it from Mitsubishi's press fleet. I was working at Auto Express at the time and it was our long termer. He loved that car, but eventually sold it to someone in the town and then every time he saw it after that he wished he'd never let it go.

 

So, my question is, if you're a dealer have you ever sold a car that you wished you kept for your own? Maybe it's because they're now worth a fortune, or perhaps it was just a car that you loved driving. And if you're not a dealer - same question. I know I've sold cars that I wish I hadn't. 

 

In a new series of posts on this forum I'm going to give a prize for the best answer - judged by the Car Dealer team - so please ensure you post in here by no later than December 16. 

 

PRIZE: LED Lenser torch. 28 Lumens bright. 93mm long and will work for 47 hours on one battery. Shock resistant and weighs just 115g. Comes with two sets of batteries.

 

 

[Guest]

I have no regrets selling my two Citroen C2s over the years...

[Guest]

The only car I wish I never sold was my 1965 Beetle.

It still had a 6 volt battery, the full beam was foot operated and the heater channels worked! I loved that car.

I even attempted to buy it back some 5 years later. I was given first refusal, then the seller seemed to forget all about me.

*Simon Bates "My Tune" playing in background*

[Andy Entwistle 96]

1993 Porsche 911 993. Last of the Air cooled. 

 

Sold it to pay for my Wedding....... god i miss that car 

[Guest]

Not sure I regret selling any car that I've had... I do however regret buying a couple! Focus ST...... Astra VXR......

 

Actually, I regret selling my Beetle. A lovely brown 1303 example off of the 70's with a Sony walkman and desk speakers for a stereo. The exhaust tips would fly off at anything over 60mph and it smelled like a gusset of a tramp's pants. Don't get me wrong, I don't really miss the car, but I bought it for about £200 and I reckon that it would be worth at least another zero on that today! That's why I regret getting rid of it, and that's what I had to do... Get rid of it! 

 

My dad made me give the car away to a local VW restoration barn when we moved to a 'posh' area. "I don't want that car outside our new house" ..... A house that now has a new owner and an 06 plate Mazda 6 on the drive (yawn). Well, if you don't want to be noticed........ 

 

Also, I wish my dad hadn't sold his mk1 Capri and my uncle hadn't sold his XK-120 and Escort Mexico! 

[Jon Reay 4]

No regrets here. Much, anyway. I do miss this though:

 

 

But in fairness it was starting to rust in irreparable places like wot all small 90s Fords do eventually. Might pick up a mint-ish one in a few years and show up Baggott's XR2.

 

Also toyed with the idea of buying it back 6 months ago, but it's disappeared off the DVLA's database since then

 

PRIZE: LED Lenser torch. 28 Lumens bright. 93mm long and will work for 47 hours on one battery. Shock resistant and weighs just 115g. Comes with two sets of batteries.

 

#AccidentalPatridge

[barriecrampton 6]

I dont get attached to cars, so I've never really sold one that i wish i had kept for myself. Perhaps the closest was the brand new Boxster 550 Anniversary Special that I bought in 2004 however I've sold plenty of cars to customers who i wished i hadnt sold them to, heres just 3 examples

http://bccars.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gang-man-style.html

http://bccars.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/porsche-guy.html

http://bccars.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-straw-that-broke-me-and-bc-cars.html

[Hants4x4 2]

I have to say it was my 1982 Range Rover 3.5 4 door. It was the 17th factory production vehicle, and when I bought it in 2007, from its one owner, I paid £250 for it. Full history, garaged all of its life and pristine.

I sold it in 2010 for £3750, having spent no money on it other than the 3 mots that it passed 1st time.

Thought I'd had a result, but I've missed it every day since (not to mention that it's worth £15k+ in today's buoyant Range Rover Classic market.

Now need the torch to tinker with my latest one at the roadside......

[Paul Stewart 8]

The only car that my other half has broke down when it was driven away, was a Honda Prelude 1999 2.2 VTi with motegi body kit. 

 

Was a lovely motor, wasn't brilliant on fuel but everything else was perfect, and a real drivers car. Everything since then has been boring family / life over cars. 

 

Oh those were the days.

[williamblackshaw 43]

Not sure if this counts, an S reg Almera GTI MK2 was on the pitch at our dealership, I was only 15 at the time and would walk past and look at it every day on the way home from school, hoping , my Dad would keep it for a further 2 years for when I was 17. Guess what, it was sold never to be seen again. Now I understand 90 days and it goes!!! Never seen one on the road since!! It was a gorgeous crystal blue colour

[Gavin@Rousdon 137]

Not sure if this counts, an S reg Almera GTI MK2 was on the pitch at our dealership, I was only 15 at the time and would walk past and look at it every day on the way home from school, hoping , my Dad would keep it for a further 2 years for when I was 17. Guess what, it was sold never to be seen again. Now I understand 90 days and it goes!!! Never seen one on the road since!! It was a gorgeous crystal blue colour

 

I took the same vehicle in part exchange earlier this year, S reg and Blue !! The 'mature' owner couoldn't stop saying how much he loved it so it seems Almera GTI's have an 'effect' on certain people !!

[ttirreM_nitraM 6]

I really wish I'd never sold my first car, a Jet black 1978 Ford Capri 1.6 GL, lovely car and a lot of fun to boot.

 

I always wonder what happened to LVH 191T...

[Jamie Edmonds 28]

I've had 30+ cars in the 15 years I've been driving and the only one I really miss is a bit of a strange one - a 55 plate Mini Cooper S Checkmate.  For those who don't know, this was a slightly dubious run-out version of the supercharged Cooper S in metallic blue with a silver roof (good) and with a silver cloth/blue leather interior combo (not so good).  I bought it from a Mini dealer at about 5 years old at a knock down price, the supercharger whine was seriously addictive, and once it had been back for a replacement clutch and flywheel under warranty it was fantastic fun to drive at semi-sensible speeds on UK roads.

 

My wife and I drove it from Bilbao up the west coast of France back to the UK in summer which was one of the best holidays we've had, but not long after I had to sell it (and take a £2,500 bath after 9 months) to fund a house move

 

Maybe I need a JCW GP as my next fun car, especially as their values seem to be starting to soften a bit now.

[Ian 15]

Urgh you've reminded me of a horrible drive back from Barcelona in a Cooper S, with a broken seat that wouldn't move back (I'm 6' 2") - whoever thought that might be fun? Oh, hang on...I did!

 

I wished I'd never sold my first car - a FIAT Mirafiori - that was handed down to me, when I say sold it what I mean is the fact that I wrote it off four days after passing my test. I was heartbroken and sat amidst the crumpled remains sobbing. I vowed I'd never drive again, I was so upset. My Dad offer of driving his XJS did the trick though and I was soon back behind the wheel. But, for all it's rust, dodgy carburettor, rust, joke/choke, rust, rust and er, rust I'd love to see that old beauty drive round the corner and back into my life. With that car went my driving dreams. Well at least for a year or so.

 

RIP my X reg Mirafirori - Rust In Peace.

[Ian 15]

EDIT for double post. The emotion made me do it.

[James Baggott 227]

Thanks for all these posts. I've enjoyed reading them all. But there has to be a winner and, purely because I smiled the most when I read it, Hants 4x4 wins the torch. If you could let me know your address I'll get it in the post to you on Monday.

Congratulations.

Sorry to those that didn't win this time. I'll be thinking of another topic for a competition soon.

[Hants4x4 2]

Thank you! A very Merry Christmas to you and the Blackball team.

[Ian 15]

Congratulations Hants!