As Alex points out that car is an auction and bids are ongoing. It's gone up from £311 to £440 since yesterday, and given the low mileage I expect it to go a lot higher in the remaining 40 hours or so. I'm guessing it might go as high as £600 despite the panel damage because of its rare low mileage and "one elderly driver". (Albeit not a very careful one by the looks of it...
)Apart from the mileage we know nothing about it though. Bidding on and buying a car over 400 miles away without even seeing it is not my modus operandi, when buying a car I would always at least see it in person before handing over the money, even if I have to make an on the spot decision. (Which has usually been the case in the past)
That panel damage would annoy me quite a bit, and I know from past experience that I would never get around to fixing the damage - I drove this car with a huge gouge across the bonnet for 2 years and never did anything about it, I could see the same happening again if I had a car in that condition.
Small scratches and marks don't bother me (I really need to put some pictures up of my current one to show how bad it is!) but not huge scraps and gouges...rust and panel/paint work are two things that I simply don't like dealing with on cars - I'm definitely a mechanical/electrical person, NOT a body worker, and I have no interest or desire in learning to do panel repairs. I've tried to learn before and I just don't have the knack or inclination.
I'd far rather be fixing a hydraulic, mechanical or electrical problem, (provided it isn't major, like a gearbox or engine rebuild...
) To me stripping down, cleaning, reassembling and refitting/adjusting a height corrector is a fun satisfying job, while dealing with a rust hole or other panel work is just a chore.General maintenance and repairs like brakes, suspension and so on don't bother me at all, neither does troubleshooting electrical systems.
So the eBay car doesn't appeal to me for a few reasons, too far away, pay before even seeing it, the bidding will probably take the price up to something I'm not willing to pay, panel damage which I know will annoy me every time I see the car but which I'll never get around to fixing, and just a lack of any knowledge about the condition of the car other than the mileage and a few exterior photos.
As Alex says we're also in the middle of trying to buy a house (we looked at a couple today) so organising all this is a bit inconvenient - should I win the auction I have only 7 days to arrange pickup. So as I said I'll pass on this one.
An Activa does tempt me but I'm well aware of their foibles and the large number of NFP parts that they need, it's just not the car for me at this moment, maybe later when I have room for two cars and/or somewhere to work on them properly. (An Activa makes even the V6 seem like a practical daily driver
)
