If you could turn back time...
...what car would you buy,and why? Most of us can probably recall at least one car from our past that we considered buying,or came close to buying,but ultimately let slip from our grasp. Perhaps it was just beyond our means at that time,or we didn't have room for it,or our "other half" didn't like it. Perhaps we just hesitated a bit too long and someone else swooped on it. For some reason,we let it get away and,years down the line,occasionally look back with regret. Try to look beyond the price difference due to inflation (ie. "I wish I'd bought an Aston Martin DB5 when they were £5000 new,'cos I could afford £5000 now,and they are worth 10 times that!".) Two cars stand out for me. The 1st was an ex-works Austin Allegro (!) rally car which I used to see parked up in Headingley in Leeds as I passed by on the bus when I was about 15. One day,I noticed a "for sale" sign in the window and I persuaded my Dad to take me to view the car. Sure enough,the car was a pukka ex-Leyland Special Tuning rally car which had been campaigned by Russell Brookes. It had a load of history and documentation to verify it's heritage,and it was amazingly original,even down to it's faded red/white/blue livery and BL motorsport-type decals. The chap was looking for £500 which would probably equate to about £2000 now - a lot of money for a 15 year old earning about £1.60 a week! Even so,I really wish I'd taken up my Dad's offer of a loan and bought this piece of BL motorsport history,albeit probably the least successful car to come out of Abingdon! I did see the car advertised as a restoration project in Motorsports News a number of years ago but resisted the temptation to get my cheque book out. I wonder where it is now? My 2nd regret is not swooping on the ex-works 6R4 shell advertised in MN a few years ago,which was offered with or without a "KOG" logbook. I think the seller only wanted £5000 for the Matter shell,still fitted with a few bits and bobs and complete with the ex-works registration. Unsurprisingly,the shell sold pretty quickly,while I was still looking into transport costs. How's about you guys? Any similar regrets? All the best, Gary :)
...what car would you buy,and why? Most of us can probably recall at least one car from our past that we considered buying,or came close to buying,but ultimately let slip from our grasp. Perhaps it was just beyond our means at that time,or we didn't have room for it,or our "other half" didn't like it. Perhaps we just hesitated a bit too long and someone else swooped on it. For some reason,we let it get away and,years down the line,occasionally look back with regret. Try to look beyond the price difference due to inflation (ie. "I wish I'd bought an Aston Martin DB5 when they were £5000 new,'cos I could afford £5000 now,and they are worth 10 times that!".) Two cars stand out for me. The 1st was an ex-works Austin Allegro (!) rally car which I used to see parked up in Headingley in Leeds as I passed by on the bus when I was about 15. One day,I noticed a "for sale" sign in the window and I persuaded my Dad to take me to view the car. Sure enough,the car was a pukka ex-Leyland Special Tuning rally car which had been campaigned by Russell Brookes. It had a load of history and documentation to verify it's heritage,and it was amazingly original,even down to it's faded red/white/blue livery and BL motorsport-type decals. The chap was looking for £500 which would probably equate to about £2000 now - a lot of money for a 15 year old earning about £1.60 a week! Even so,I really wish I'd taken up my Dad's offer of a loan and bought this piece of BL motorsport history,albeit probably the least successful car to come out of Abingdon! I did see the car advertised as a restoration project in Motorsports News a number of years ago but resisted the temptation to get my cheque book out. I wonder where it is now? My 2nd regret is not swooping on the ex-works 6R4 shell advertised in MN a few years ago,which was offered with or without a "KOG" logbook. I think the seller only wanted £5000 for the Matter shell,still fitted with a few bits and bobs and complete with the ex-works registration. Unsurprisingly,the shell sold pretty quickly,while I was still looking into transport costs. How's about you guys? Any similar regrets? All the best, Gary :)