E30 Zone

pick up a car?
due to finances im after a 318is that will keep me entertained and wont rape my wallet...but cannot stand red or white cars!
interested in chrisfab's car but its 400miles away!
im 20mins from luton airport and its 9.99 to get to him....about 50squid petrol to get her home...flight is hour 'n ten mins, drive back @80mph most of way...5 hours
am i mad?just want a black 318iS but dont seem to come up much, have 2k budget including insurance soo cant afford the 1700+minters

i went from middlesbrough to sittingbourne kent for my m3. i just had to have it...

I'd travel anywhere in the ocuntry for a car.

A good excuse to see a different neck of the woods

I once travelled to norwich from penzance to pick up a car my old man was giving me. Thats 488 miles eeach way iirc.

To buy a car.... furthest I've gone is from plymouth to gloucester to buy my xedos 6. Took the train there.

Second would be this one, drove from plymouth to near poole in dorset. 250 miles round trip.

I got a train to bristol, then drove from bristol to peckham, then back to plymouth, then back to bristol, then got a train back to plymouth to pick up an engine (borrowed a mates car, he lives in bristol). That was 560 miles all told, not including trains.

Just be wary that once you've travelled that far, its hard to haggle on price. The seller knows not many people will walk away from a deal 400 miles away from home.

munky30 wrote:
Just be wary that once you've travelled that far, its hard to haggle on price. The seller knows not many people will walk away from a deal 400 miles away from home.

yeah good point,have to consider that

i've flown over from ireland at least a dozen times and have no hesitation in walking away if im not happy!

i got train to london to pick up the sport

its a fact today if your wanting a good car chances are itll be at the other end of country

think of it this way when you pull up at home 400miles later at least you know the car can do milleage etc
plus you have plenty time to find all the faults that need sorting on the way

Lie about where you've come from !!!

blatantarrogance wrote:Lie about where you've come from !!!

i think, probably being scottish, what with me living in bucks/beds all my life...he might just guess lol

this is where the friendly forums are very handy, you can find someone who is local to have a look at it before you waste a journey!! but like BA said definately dont tell them where you've come from!

when i went to get my car i already knew its history, had been to the ring in it, and i was paying the full asking price, i couldnt haggle because there was a massive queue of people wanting it, including a few from here!

I've travelled 200+ miles for the last 2 cars I have bought.

get the train there, book in advance if possible to get cheap tickets, often works out less to buy a single in each direction rather than a return, make the seller know you have a return ticket and ask them when they pick you up that if the car's not for you will they run you back to the station.

A friend of mine flew to Rome and drove back in a Fiat 500, he had bought for his wife as a 30th birthday pressie, he did the return journey over 2 days which in it`s self is good going when you maxed out at 50mph, he was alone and had no stereo.

dazleeds wrote: think of it this way when you pull up at home 400miles later at least you know the car can do milleage etc
plus you have plenty time to find all the faults that need sorting on the way

The drive home is always a nervous one Of course not with an e30 as they never go wrong.

A mate travelled 400 miles to buy a mk1 golf, got a 'sold as seen' style receipt for it and found out it had a rare chocolate engine transplant about 50 miles down the road.... gawd bless the RAC.

If this is to be your PBMW car a 318is is a no go, if not and its worth the journey do it

no lol its a 'entertaining run about' for now, im going to wait for the right 318i thats ready stripped and when i have a good trailor...decided daily drive+track car in one, for 2 years isnt clever bound to end in tears, double trouble n all

Bjorno's going to win this one surely.

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=55292

Antwerp to Rome for a 320is.

rome, feck lol in a fiat...
i just checked first trains....3 changeovers, 5 hours and 87 squid! and that was one way one adult with virgin standard
no wonder train companys are going down

I went to Telford via train, 2 changeovers (one only in Bournemouth lol!) which was about 4 1/2 hours, then same again on the drive home to get my Tech 1 Sport.

Also went to Ashford in Kent to trailer a car home. My old man thinks I'm mad - I don't understand why 'outsiders' can't figure out why we travel good distances for cars? To them it's just another old BMW but clearly not if we just put all that effort in going the distance to get one in the first place.

When i was looking for an m3 i looked at cars in germany, italy, wales, newcastle and cornwall and i walked away from all of them.

Found the one i wanted about a 45 minute drive from uni

Glasgow to Rugby for the Sport Evo. And To Leicester for my other car

I went to view my car in a garage that was a 320 mile round trip, agreed to get it MOT'd, serviced and a few other bits sorted then another 320 mile round trip to pick it up.

I looked at lots of ads but bought the first one I viewed but turned out ok

I went to Essex from South Devon twice in the same week to buy an E30 for breaking!
Also Gloucester to pick up my current one.

Always good to have a road trip

i went from aberdeen to doncaster for the birds ebay mx5.....i got very lucky with that one as it was a bargain

on sunday i drove for 2 hours to inverness to see a 318is.......i opened the bonnet and found a huge hole behind the lights....id spent all of 2 minutes looking at the car before i got back in mine and drove home.....specifically asked him about rust....fucking timewaster.

I drove to South Wales from Devon (Forgot my passport) so had to go back home again...

Andy

went from cornwall to brixam to pick up mine. half way home check light for oil came on about 100 yards b4 a garage. Topped her up, she hasn't used a drop since (only 3 months but still...).

bit of a ring clencher though.

I flew from Aberdeen to Heathrow to pick up my Sport from West Sussex and drove it back.
I drove from Aberdeen to Newcastle to pick up my M3 leather interior.
I got the train from Aberdeen to Blackpool to pick up my donor Ebay 535i.
Its a bit awkward living at one end of the country, why is it everything you need is at the other end?

I flew from Poland to London and drove the 325 back to Poland..... Not the cheapest option but I like a challenge

Wiggy wrote:I flew from Poland to London and drove the 325 back to Poland..... Not the cheapest option but I like a challenge

I thought i was doing well!

Distance means nothing to me!!!! I do silly mileage anyway!!

Live in Croydon and bought my minivan from somewhere down in the SW!!! Was a 6 hour drive home, in a 850 mini i hadn't even seen before - interesting!!
Bought my 850CSi from preston.
Have bought a few from over birmingham way, and more recently picked up a e30 from leeds!!

Cars i want are always miles away!!

On the plus side though, everythings cheaper up north - normally including cars!!!

850CSi id ride my pushbike to leeds for one of them!

picked up a car for dips which was in glasgow, took a flight from heathrow and drove it back via newcastle to pick up a body kit the bonus was that i had some female company with me to keep me entertained !


if its worth it go for it

brechi to essex for my sport about 1000 mile round trip but worth it drive home was epic

Ritchie wrote:I flew from Aberdeen to Heathrow to pick up my Sport from West Sussex and drove it back.
I drove from Aberdeen to Newcastle to pick up my M3 leather interior.
I got the train from Aberdeen to Blackpool to pick up my donor Ebay 535i.
Its a bit awkward living at one end of the country, why is it everything you need is at the other end?

tell me about it theres never anything up here when your lookin

Bedford to Dundee to pick my iS and Red is the best colour for a iS too

Don't what the mileage was, but it was la long drive...

Pal

dundee is where this black iS one is near....same trip same car