Desperately Seeking...

[denva2682 2 2 Cars]

Now call me a bit sad if you like, but I'm quite a nostalgic type and as far as cars go, I have often thought about trying to 'find' and/or buy back the cars from my past.

 

I just wondered if anyone else has ever managed to pull this off, outside of 'inter forum member' type trading? You know the sort of thing, you sell your car to a fellow member and you are able to keep tabs on whats going on with it.

 

But has anyone ever managed to get hold of one of their old motors by 'searching' for them by any means possible? Or better still, coming across it again by chance and were lucky enough to find the owner wanted to sell it?

 

Now, I personally want to find two cars from my past, both of which are 205's. I have been a bit cheeky by starting off with the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry to discover that they are both among the 3000-odd GTI's that are currently SORNED. So there IS hope, but the only thing is, where do you go next?

 

Well, after trawling the web for sites that can apparently help in this department, only to discover that they are a complete waste of time, I thought I'd see if anyone on here has ever come across them. This is more to find out what became of them than anything else, although if I'm completely honest, I would love to get my hands on one or both of them again!

 

I don't know how I stand with the moderators by giving out even part of the reg's for these, but I'm sure I will be getting any guidance or reprimand accordingly and as such, I apologise in advance, as well as ask the current owners (if I'm lucky enough to find you) for divulging this information.

 

One is a Graphite 1.6 reg E***RKR any info will be gratefully received, it would be nice to see what happened to the old thing.

 

The other is the one I am most keen to find. It's a White 1.6 (had 1.9 alloys with the lion outlines on the centre caps painted red and a bit of a polished inlet manifold at the time when I robbed myself by selling it.) Reg G***NKR. If anyone knows of/has owned/owns either or wants to sell this one in particular (hint, nudge lol), please get in touch! Most importantly though, just an update on both of these cars would be fantastic.

 

If anyone thinks that they have these cars or know of them and would be so kind as to let me know but do not wish to disclose their full reg to confirm with the whole forum, then any PM's would be highly appreciated.

 

Any success stories would be interesting to read so please do share them!!!

Edited March 28, 2010 by denva2682

[willo-1 0]

MY OLD 205 CTI After selling the cti mi 16 to get a 205 gti mi16 i still craved me little ct so when the crank went in the gti i searched for nearlly a year to find it ..When i eventually found it it was in a sorry state: the mi engine was replaced with a 8v and running gear needed a re-vamp but i still purchesed it but the spark had gone really i just couldent love it as it used to be... ive seen it since in the durham erea but that cars not fo me anymore...

[denva2682 2 2 Cars]

MY OLD 205 CTI After selling the cti mi 16 to get a 205 gti mi16 i still craved me little ct so when the crank went in the gti i searched for nearlly a year to find it ..When i eventually found it it was in a sorry state: the mi engine was replaced with a 8v and running gear needed a re-vamp but i still purchesed it but the spark had gone really i just couldent love it as it used to be... ive seen it since in the durham erea but that cars not fo me anymore...

 

So you managed to source it locally then? It's a shame that the flame had died for you. Then again, tbh I think it would have for me if I was used to the mi16 unit being there! I think if someone had completely changed the white one I want back or has let it go to ruin (it was VERY tidy) I would be gutted, but I think I would try to do a full back to standard resto on it nevertheless. Trouble is, now you've got me worried the same will happen to me if I ever find it again! Maybe it's best just to let sleeping dogs lie?

Edited March 28, 2010 by denva2682

[MrG 3]

I managed to locate and 'nearly' buy my old 106 rallye back last year, until the lad that owned it stuffed it into a lampost and that was that!

 

I also had the option of buying back my old 2.8i Capri that I'd owned many years ago (2nd owner etc) but when I saw it I thought it was best to leave the memories I had and not how it was then so walked away.

 

I did try and trace our first 1.9GTI but it had gone long ago (someone on here stripped and scrapped it due to rust) shame but there you go! If that was still about then I would have had it back regardless, many memories there.

[feb 47]

I sold my 205 Gti-S back in 2007 to Ger in the forum who I told to let me know whenever he plans to sell it. He fixed a few things that needed doing (cosmetically) and after a few months sold it to someone else without mentioning anything as he thought I would not be interested!

When I asked him he didn't even have the surname of the person, only that he was called Dave and was an optician working for a chain optic shop around Bristol/Cardiff area. I remember making desperate phone calls to optical express IIRC and trying to find the owner but without success. Suddenly it was spotted by Maxi in PH for sale. It was Dave who owned it and was going to convert it to a track car after spending a good thousand on it but due to divorcing he put it back for sale. My wife needed a car at the time so gave him a deposit and bought it after a week or two. I still remember the day I took it for a test drive, all memories came back and I had a permanent smile on my face. Unfortunately due to moving abroad after 10 months we had to let it go but the good thing is that it went to someone who is going to take good care of it and restore it. The 205 is a drug indeed. Good luck in finding yours.

Edited March 28, 2010 by feb

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

People tell me where my old Alfa is as it was quite a well known car. In order to be able to find your old car easily, it has to be quite distinctive, like Febs old GTI-S and then someone recognise it.

 

I considered buying back my Alfa 155 (owned for 7 years) when it appeared on ebay, but i remembered why I sold it in the first place; it was just starting to need some bits painting (cosmetics) to get it to the state I wanted it to be in. It could have only got worse really.

 

Buying back an old car would be like sleeping with your first true love again 10 years after you split, when she has had a couple of kids and a divorce since - her bodywork will be tatty, the handling sloppy and the engine management light will be on on the dashboard!!

[omega 82]

Buying back an old car would be like sleeping with your first true love again 10 years after you split, when she has had a couple of kids and a divorce since - her bodywork will be tatty, the handling sloppy and the engine management light will be on on the dashboard!!

 

true

but you will still have a big on your face

[denva2682 2 2 Cars]

I sold my 205 Gti-S back in 2007 to Ger in the forum who I told to let me know whenever he plans to sell it. He fixed a few things that needed doing (cosmetically) and after a few months sold it to someone else without mentioning anything as he thought I would not be interested!

When I asked him he didn't even have the surname of the person, only that he was called Dave and was an optician working for a chain optic shop around Bristol/Cardiff area. I remember making desperate phone calls to optical express IIRC and trying to find the owner but without success. Suddenly it was spotted by Maxi in PH for sale. It was Dave who owned it and was going to convert it to a track car after spending a good thousand on it but due to divorcing he put it back for sale. My wife needed a car at the time so gave him a deposit and bought it after a week or two. I still remember the day I took it for a test drive, all memories came back and I had a permanent smile on my face. Unfortunately due to moving abroad after 10 months we had to let it go but the good thing is that it went to someone who is going to take good care of it and restore it. The 205 is a drug indeed. Good luck in finding yours.

 

Thanks mate! I hope I do eventually! Just have to hope that someone has it off the road to restore. I'm hoping it's not been used as a track day car (shouldn't have been, it has the big vacuum sunroof) or that it's sorned because someone has stripped it for parts! Just have to keep ploughing through ebay/pistonheads/net in general until I find it one way or another...

 

 

It's good to see some stories from others! Keep 'em coming

[denva2682 2 2 Cars]

People tell me where my old Alfa is as it was quite a well known car. In order to be able to find your old car easily, it has to be quite distinctive, like Febs old GTI-S and then someone recognise it.

 

I considered buying back my Alfa 155 (owned for 7 years) when it appeared on ebay, but i remembered why I sold it in the first place; it was just starting to need some bits painting (cosmetics) to get it to the state I wanted it to be in. It could have only got worse really.

 

Buying back an old car would be like sleeping with your first true love again 10 years after you split, when she has had a couple of kids and a divorce since - her bodywork will be tatty, the handling sloppy and the engine management light will be on on the dashboard!!

 

Your right about that mate, the only thing that made the white one a tiny bit different was the red rear reflective tailgate trim and the good condition it was in! Looks like I may have to rely on luck!?

 

As for the simile regarding your first true love? Nice one!! LoL!

[24seven 104]

Buying back an old car would be like sleeping with your first true love again 10 years after you split, when she has had a couple of kids and a divorce since - her bodywork will be tatty, the handling sloppy and the engine management light will be on on the dashboard!!

 

 

[willo-1 0]

So you managed to source it locally then? It's a shame that the flame had died for you. Then again, tbh I think it would have for me if I was used to the mi16 unit being there! I think if someone had completely changed the white one I want back or has let it go to ruin (it was VERY tidy) I would be gutted, but I think I would try to do a full back to standard resto on it nevertheless. Trouble is, now you've got me worried the same will happen to me if I ever find it again! Maybe it's best just to let sleeping dogs lie?

 

remember it how it was ide say

[notamondayfan 44]

Buying back an old car would be like sleeping with your first true love again 10 years after you split, when she has had a couple of kids and a divorce since - her bodywork will be tatty, the handling sloppy and the engine management light will be on on the dashboard!!

 

You'd still take her out for a test drive, I mean, it would be rude not to!

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

This example doesn't have a lot to do with the thread but here goes,

 

When I was 14 I owned a Haro Psycho bmx, I loved it to bits and I spent hundreds of pounds upgrading everything on it, it was perfect except for a dent in the top of the crossbar. Anyway long story short one night it got stolen from out the back of my mates house and I never saw it again

 

As stupid as it sounds I still have a slight bit of hope that someday I'll get it back (Im now 31), I even to this day have a sneaky check of the crossbar of every old bmx I see

[CaptainK 11]

When I was 14 I owned a Haro Psycho bmx, I loved it to bits and I spent hundreds of pounds upgrading everything on it, it was perfect except for a dent in the top of the crossbar. Anyway long story short one night it got stolen from out the back of my mates house and I never saw it again

 

As stupid as it sounds I still have a slight bit of hope that someday I'll get it back (Im now 31), I even to this day have a sneaky check of the crossbar of every old bmx I see

I had my bike stolen a few years back. Trust me mate, you would not want your bike back. My bike was oldish at the time, but it had just been serviced, gear linkages all perfected and everything working fine. The bike was surprisingly found about a month later when the Police arrested the guy (a known bike thief in my area). I was asked to come in to view the bike and take it back if I wanted. The bike was in a horrid state, the wheels bent, stupid tyres on it (replacing my new tyres previously) and it had been spray painted and they had generally forked up everything on my bike and removed the mudguards and screwed up the brakes and gear linkages. It was quite sad really as I'd had that bike for so long previously. In some ways I wish they'd not found it and I hadn't see it again

[Jemehan 3 1 Cars]

remember it how it was ide say

Cars you have sold, Never feel the same when you drive them and dont own them, Leave it be man, its not worth the heart ache.