Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Reading dbleBill's post about a Series III E-Type, reminded me of years ago when I was selling my XJ12 S1, someone came along and offered the full asking price for it. Further inquiries revealed that he wanted my car to rob it of its low mileage engine, swapping it for the smokey unit in his E-Type 2+2. He was shown the door shortly afterwards, much to his confusion.

Has anyone else refused to sell a car to someone, or felt the need to make very sure of a potential buyer's worthiness before entrusting your car to their ownership?

RJ
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[P3steve]

Yes I was once selling a Daimler V8 250 that needed restoring and two chaps who came to look at it let slip that they wanted it for banger racing so I told them some one had already seen it and made an offer for it so I had to give him first refusal it did later sell to some one whom was after a project.
later on to my everlasting regret I sold a very low milage (36ooo) 3.8 mk 10 jag full service history and a loverly interior it needed some body work mainly just paint but it went with four not fitted mint new old stock doors full mot and tax on the road but checking on the DVLA web sites its never been taxed again and looking back I think the chap wanted it just for the 3.8 engine its a shame as it was a very sound car, one of the last jobs done was to replace all the sub frame mounts at a Jaguar dealer who said it was like new underneath it was that good that I've still got the cup it won for best of class at an east of England Jaguar rally back in the 1980s but back then there was little demand for the Mk10 420G Jags so they went for next to nothing no mater how good they were.
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If the world didn't suck we'd all fall off

[Roger-hatchy]

I wasn't selling the car but was offered £5,000 for the DLM by an American gentleman in 1973.

He even pulled out a wad of notes at the time.

"Not for sale thank you"

[Ellis]

For reasons I still don't really understand, very rarely does a month go by without someone knocking on my door asking if the Series 2a Land Rover is for sale. It's parked in the open on some land I own behind the house.
Most enquirers are polite but some....................

I once also refused to sell my Mitsubishi L200 4x4 (late 80s/early 90s shape) pick up to a local young lad on the grounds that he drove his own car like a madman. A high gravity and poor handling commercial like the L200 in his hands would have been an accident waiting to happen.
Somebody else without such qualms later sold him a Toyota HiLux. It lasted three months before being stuffed into a wall in a serious accident.

Lastly, in 1980 some newcomers to our village were selling a much modified Triumph TR6. The main interested buyer was a 21 year young lady and they refused to sell it to her, sensibly, on the grounds that it was too powerful for any 21 year old, leave alone a female.
The husband told me later that he didn't know that young ladies were capable of using such language!
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Scotty]

When the classic car investment bubble was almost ready to burst in the mid-1990's I owned a 1952 Ford Anglia, which whilst in my opinion was tidy, was far from immaculate.

At a show here at Dalmeny House a guy came up to be and offered me £3000 for it on the spot - I chased him and politely suggested not to be so silly!

I sold it a year later for £1000, which I reckon was a good price for it even at that.

[clan chieftain]

If I was offered a lot more for my car than what it was worth then yes I would sell it.......and then buy another one and still be in profit.
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The Clan Chieftain

[Rick]

Given that a good number of people have joined up since November, I thought I'd bump this thread up again to see if anyone else has refused to sell a car to someone!?

RJ
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[MikeEdwards]

Some years ago I was advertising my Sportshatch (the very rusty one I'm now rebuilding slowly) as a project, and a chap came up from the Midlands to look at it. Apparently he had a mint Firenza 2300 Sport SL (produced in relatively large numbers, but now very rare due to rust, rallying and not being kept well) and always fancied a droopsnoot, so his plan was to cut the front off the hatch and graft it on to the Sport SL, thus ruining two nice original cars in one go. I wasn't asking much for it, wanted the space more than the money, so I politely declined. Even when he offered a straight swap for a spare axle rather than actual cash.

A few years later I sold the car to someone who came down with his father and made all the right noises about restoration, inspected it thoroughly and declared it saveable. I wish I'd refused him, because it turned out that he pulled the engine and box out for another car (that they weren't even the right parts for) and sold the hatch on within a fortnight. Still, it worked out as I have the car back now.

[Rootes75]

I once had a lovely 1939 Hillman 14, she was well looked after and looked very nice. One chap quite seriously offered me good money for her and I must admit I was considering it until he let it slip that he would take it home and hand paint it military green for re-enacting!

[Rick]

Six years have passed so I thought I'd re-bounce this one, in case anyone has anything to add

RJ
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[mikeC]

Yes, about twenty years ago I was selling a very early Triumph Herald coupe; I advertised it at well below the market value and the first chap to view it offered me a significantly lower figure. He wouldn't come near my asking price, so I just told him to go away as he obviously didn't appreciate the significance of the early date ... at which point he then offered my asking price! I said no and he went away rather unhappy! I subsequently sold it for a very similar figure to his first offer to a young chap who obviously coveted it but couldn't afford it; I was more interested in it going to an appreciative home than making any money on the deal.
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in the garage: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Recently departed: 1953 Lancia Appia, 1931 Austin Seven, 1967 Singer Chamois, 1914 Saxon, 1930 Morris Cowley, 1936 BSA Scout, 1958 Lancia Appia coupe, 1922 Star 11.9 ... the list goes on!

[BigJohn]

My Escort has been in the family for over 30yrs, when it was in the custody of my youngest son he decided to sell it when he prior to university. A chap arrived having travelled some distance and was duly shown around the car, I was a passive observer sat on the garden bench.

He was possibly one of the most arrogant and rude people I had heard in a long time. He was verbally bullying my son into a cheap sale. He obviously had paid no attention to me, sat quietly nearby. When I slowly stood up to my full 6'6" stretched out my 19 stone frame and told him to do something physically impossible and also there was not a hope of him buying the car he decided he needed to be somewhere else, fast.

We still have the car and I have been approached on numerous occasions by willing purchasers, but it's not for sale.
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1974 Mk1 Escort.

[lowdrag]

I have refused to sell the E-type countless times over the last 35 years and in hindsight I should financially have sold it a couple of times at the top of the market, but then again I have no regrets. This weekend she'll be out and about doing a charity rally once again. However, it is not I but a friend who refused to sell my XKSS when it was at XK70 last year and the sum was ridiculously indecent, and if I had been there I would have walked home. I could have bought another and had plenty of change!

[consul 57]

i have been constantly asked if my d/cab hilux was for sale, the garage that sold it to me first then lots of gypo's!