Need Help When Buying A Car Some Distance Away?

[Mats]

Originally Posted by Ken Lion

Hi Mats, I had a look at the car - see messages.
Pic of engine compartment:

Thank you very much, Ken. You are a great help.

[Colbo68]

Originally Posted by Reebs

Buying a used 75 or ZT that is some distance from where you live, can at best be an incovienience, and at worst a complete waste of money and time.

I myself wanted to buy a ZT which was for sale in Sheffield some months ago. Not a problem, unless like me you live in Southampton. However, with the help of fellow member Duotone who lived nearby, I was able to get an initial heads up on the car which then enabled me to decide whether to travel the 200 miles and pay the considerable train fare to see the car for myself.

Duotone, who I value as a friend, gladly accepted my request to take the initial inspection for me, and he was able to take photographs showing the actual condition of the vehicle, not just the images supplied by the seller.

On the strength of his report, I did make the trip, and purchase the car. This experience has prompted me to post a suggestion which other members might find useful.

Namely that If you are a club member who has spotted a car for sale on the forums, ebay or Autotrader, but that is located at the other end of the country, why not consider asking any members listed below, who live close by, to take the initial look for you. If the area is not covered, then an appeal in the General forum should be the next best option.

With any private sale, one mans 'perfect' may be another mans 'poor', so written descriptions could disappoint, but the beauty of this suggestion is that everyone here has a good eye for our cars, knows what to look for, and can quiz the seller with a detached manner that they couldn't if they themselves were considering buying it.

In addition, asking whoever volunteers to view the car for you, to take a few pictures would certainly help in acertaining the true condition of the car for sale.

So please don't be afraid to ask on the off chance, in the long run it could save you a considerable amount of time and money.


EDIT:
rrobson has compiled an excellent check list of things to look for when viewing a used car, print off and take along if required
General Car Checks


Further to this, below is a list of members who would be happy to view a vehicle if approached by another club member, click on their names to send them a PM:

UK -

England

The South

fathead431 - Andover, Winchester and Basingstoke triangle
Hantsdave -Portsmouth, Havant, Petersfield and Chichester
Houxboy - Poole and Wimborne
Kully - Basingstoke / Reading / Maidenhead
MangoMan - Southampton, Fareham and Eastleigh
Petetourer - Buckinghamshire and Berkshire... Possibly others
Redfive - Weymouth Dorchester area
Reebs - Southampton
thomas 75 connie -Plymouth to Brixham


The South West
arnosvale65 - Bristol
Dorset Bob - North Dorset
DragonFly - Bristol area
Ratty - parts of Devon & Cornwall
Windslore - West Dorset/ Devon region
wylie66 - Cornwall and West Devon

The Midlands

1gp - Derby and Notts area
Andydote - Coventry, Leamington, Rugby, Nuneaton, Warwickshire etc
Bernard LPG - borders of Worcesterhire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire
Coolguy - north Northamptonshire
Jezzer 1 - Warwickshire / West Midlands
john493 - North Oxfordshire / South Warks
Kiltman - Stoke, Staffordshire, Crewe,South Manchester
Mark2000cc - Sutton in Ashfield, Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Skegby, Kirkby in Ashfield, Oak Tree, Edwinstowe (all in the Nottinghamshire area) but not all of Nottinghamshire
MR190 - the midlands
MrDoodles - South Lincs and North Cambs
spawn666 - Peterborough area
trebor - Walsall & Wolverhampton
Trophy Blue Tourer - Bletchley/Milton Keynes
victorgte - Gloucestershire/Worcestershire (South)

The East

championdaddy - Letchworth North Herts
Davy Goody - South East Essex
Drewski - East Anglia
guru - Norfolk and north Suffolk


Yorkshire

Jakey010 - Leeds, West Yorkshire
Nikonite - West Yorkshire
rrobson - West Yorkshire
sikelsh - South Yorkshire Area
stocktake - Leeds
Xtra100 - Doncaster

The North West

andyg2011 - Manchester
Frank Incensed - Manchester
Ken Lion - Radcliffe near Bury, North Manchester
prezz1 - Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria

The North East

bazza004 - 20 mile radius of Newton Aycliffe Co. Durham
suzublu - Hartlepool & North East
trikey - Durham & North Lincolnshire
bobred9 - Northumberland


Cumbria

jonathan63 - South Cumbria & Furness

Northern Ireland

andymc - mid & north Antrim/east Derry area
Colin_NI - Northern Ireland (General Antrim area, but will help out elsewhere!)

Eire

bongi69 - Dublin & all of Leinster
trojan - Midlands area, Eire

Scotland

Captain Leisure - Aberdeen, South Aberdeenshire/Kincardineshire and maybe a bit further
Ennine - Portmahomack & Inverness
FrazzleTC - Dumfries and Galloway
GRAHAM1961 - Edinburgh and the Lothians
kieranswood - Edinburgh, west Lothian and Fife
klickmarket - Central
Les4048 - Elgin, Moray and surrounding area
stockwell1 - Glasgow & 30 mile radius
Terrorfex - Perthshire / Tayside area

Wales

andrewldog - South Wales and the Valleys
Dragrad - Cardigan & district
spider13 - Newport, Gwent (SE Wales)
steve811 - South and East Wales
TheSamPeople - North Wales. Angelsey and Gwynedd area

International -
(None)



Disclaimer:
The members listed on this thread will view cars in their local area on behalf of fellow club members entirely in good faith, and AT THE PURCHASER'S OWN RISK, no liability can be attributed to the person who viewed the car, or to the Club, if they do not discover any potential fault at the time of viewing, which may arise after purchase. All purchases are made at buyer's own risk, the viewer can only give their honest opinion and their comments should reflect the true status of the vehicle as seen.

I found my 75 v6 on Autotrader and journeyed down to Marlow to see it (I'm in Leicester).
The seller is a Rover enthusiast and we bounced emails off each other for ages before I finally took the plunge.
To be honest, it was as I thought it would be. The only obvious issue was the exhaust box on the back (still the original double-skinned job) was clearly going. That's now been replaced for a single skinned one (so much less money than going to a dealer) and the performance feels improved!
I think if you do your homework beforehand, chat to the seller, weigh it all up then you have a better chance of not buying a pig in a poke.
And I've met another enthusiast.
I'm more than happy to add my name to the Midlands list, however I'm no expert like many on the forum are!
I'm hoping the 75 keeps going... And I love to drive it. It's effortless with the Auto box and SO comfortable for an ageing bloke like myself with a bad back.

Colin

[Dragrad]

Originally Posted by Colbo68

I'm more than happy to add my name to the Midlands list, however I'm no expert like many on the forum are! Colin

Thank you Colin you have been added to the list. You do not need to be an expert just report back with your own observations and honest opinion, that is all that is required.

[john493]

Colin - I bought my 03 Tourer from a guy in Marlow too - he had a green V8 in his front garden too - I'm wondering whether it was the same seller ? I think he had an Italian-sounding name........

[Colbo68]

Originally Posted by john493

Colin - I bought my 03 Tourer from a guy in Marlow too - he had a green V8 in his front garden too - I'm wondering whether it was the same seller ? I think he had an Italian-sounding name........

Yep sounds very familiar mate......
Nice bloke. Very informative

[Wayne2015]

Just want to say this is a brilliant thread with members offering their invaluable time and fuel to look at potential buys for other members


I am relatively new here, never owned a Rover and therefore have little idea what to look out for with regard to things costly to fix for the Rovers and for a car that is 200+ miles away - it would have been an expensive and long day for me to see a car that may not live up to my expectation at the end.


Browsing on the original post list of members offering their services,
I contacted Dave Goody to see if he can help to inspect a car in his locality. Expecting no reply or "it will have to be next week" - after a few PM and text exchanges, Dave immediately said "I have booked to see the car tonight at 7:30 and will report back at 9:30"


Just after 9:30 Dave rung me.
He explained in detail the condition of the car inside and outside
How it drove and what would be needed to be fixed, what would be nice to fix and how much it would cost.
And then concluded how much he would pay for the car.


It was like reading a report from a £200 AA Car Inspection.
But Dave was quicker at feeding back that the AA,
added his own take on purchasing the car with concerns,
and his report was better!



Dave
Just like to let everyone know what a gentleman u are!

U have save me time, money, the anxiety of having to travel for 100s of miles and u have given me an invaluable report from an experienced Rover owner of many years.

Based on your inspection, I have now made a well informed decision on the car


A BIG thanks to u, Dave and remember whenever I am in your area let me buy u a pint (or 2)!!!




And respect to all the other members on the original post too

[planenut]

Hi All, is there anybody in the Harlow area could look at a vehicle for me please? perhaps somebody could P.M. me and I'll then speak with the seller.

Thanks.
Fred (Planenut) Ashford near Heathrow

[Dragrad]

Originally Posted by planenut

Hi All, is there anybody in the Harlow area could look at a vehicle for me please? perhaps somebody could P.M. me and I'll then speak with the seller.

Thanks.
Fred (Planenut) Ashford near Heathrow

Actually the idea is that you PM those volunteers in the area that you want the car to be looked at

[planenut]

Originally Posted by Dragrad

Actually the idea is that you PM those volunteers in the area that you want the car to be looked at;

As the search of the messages did not reveal anybody living in that area, it seemed reasonable to ask.

However, due to there being no response to my emails or phone calls/texts from the seller, it looks like this is a no go, so all on hold.

[Dragrad]

Originally Posted by planenut

As the search of the messages did not reveal anybody living in that area, it seemed reasonable to ask.

However, due to there being no response to my emails or phone calls/texts from the seller, it looks like this is a no go, so all on hold.

if there is no one listed in the area of interest, pop a post into the general forum, as you may get more responses than in here