Been after a Bay for a while, scoured here, prototype bay, VZi, Autotrader, Gumtree, Preloved (which incidentally you have to pay £5 to become a member so you can reply to adverts less than 3 weeks old) and of course eBay. Saw one on eBay - 73 Bay recently restored, £3.5k respray, lots of new panels, new canvas on poptop, new seat and bench covers blah blah blah - got carried away, went over budget by well over £2k!!! Emailed and spoke to the guy - he's splitting with his wife and that's why he needs to sell desperately. Spent £15k so far, I wont be disappointed and so on. So went to bank, transferred money around - lost interest on some for early withdrawal without notice, booked train tickets to London from Manchester. Spoke to him again and he said a few things that didn't quite match up with what he's claimed in the ad or he'd said earlier. So I did a bit of digging around on the internet and found that he isn't a private seller at all but a dealer who appears to buy cars, tart them up a bit and sell them on. Don't get me wrong I don't mind people making a living from this sort of thing but this guy appears to be a bit of a bull****er and that I don't like. All of the adverts I've seen have a familiar ring to them - loads spent, new this and that, expensive re-spray etc. It appears that these top price re-sprays are actually done in his small garage by him and his business partner and they are not done very well either - certainly not to £3.5k standard anyway. The guy I spoke to tonight has got some serious rust and paint issues on the car he bought around a year ago - so much so he's selling it as he isn't in a position to get any major work done at this moment in time so is taking a big hit on a classic car that he was expecting to at least hold its value. The new interior he was promised was incomplete and very poor standard, a few of the jobs he was told would be finished weren't and he felt a bit ripped off I'd say. So here I am back to square one, about £100 out of pocket and pretty cheesed off. I was so looking forward to picking my 5 year old daughter up in a new camper - she's no idea I'm after another one and is always asking when Chester (the splitty I sold but told her he was in the garage being repaired) is coming home. Oh well these things are sent to try us.
Just take it on the chin, mate. At least you didn't hand over the full whack. I assume there'll be more of this kind of thing as prices increase. Still plenty of busses out there...
Reading that I'd be glad I lost the £100 and didn't buy the whole thing! Marmite happens for a reason dude!
sounds like you had a lucky escape, spending £100 has learned you a lesson and will save you money in the long run, good luck searching.
Better to buy an honest bus and do it yourself than buy a freshly restored one and find out a year later its full of filler and undeseal and its a kipper If i wasent honest i could make a decent living out of tarting rotters up giving them a lick of paint and selling them on I know though karma would come back and kick my arse many times over Keep chatting on here dude and im sure at the right time the right bus will cross your path
As you probably already know, it can be a real minefield buying any second hand car - often more than not the sellers are full of bull s***. Chin up fella and good luck searching.
Thanks guys Just messaged him telling him how unhappy I am - cant see him saying 'sorry mate I'll send you a £100 to cover your costs' somehow. Got a good mind to report him to trading standards though - you cant make claims like that as a trader! I expect a bit of bull but not that much!
sorry to hear you were messed about, but!! Now your back at square one, the best recommendation is that of a previous buyer from anyone! im not suggesting anyone bad mouths anywhere, but if anyone has had good experiences pass the word. There is also a forum area on Vzi for recomendations, always worth a look! I have seen great buses from kieft en klock, and through experience would definately go for an import as a start point. Just my thoughts
He's near me@paradox lol... I told him he shouldn't have sold the splitty... you'd like him he's a bit or a strange one is dave haha
There seems to be a few 'decent looking' ones (as far as pics can tell) on ebay based in the North West - at least you can get details and go look before agreeing to a sale - that's more or less what I did, looked locally and fell really lucky both times I bought my vans. Horses for courses though, depends what you wanna spend etc. One thing I don't get on ebay is this "I'm selling this for a friend". Surely "friend" can't be so computer illiterate as to not know how to sell on ebay? Those sellers often can't spell either and use poor grammar. (no I'm not grammar / spelling police but there are limits)
Having had a very bad experience with our previous daily I don't think I'll ever be buying off a trader again! I'm sure they're not all crooks, but I reckon there's a high percentage!
dont rush into buying ... im sure if you have had a split you will have some idea of the pitfalls....
Excuse me??? So because we'd have had matching buses and I was going to buy a long curly blonde wig so I could look just like you - that makes me strange does it
