www.jec.org.uk

I was reading elsewhere of a father in dispair of how his teenage youngster bought a car without knowing anything about it, buying a complete lemon and effectively losing all their hard earned and saved money.

I rather think a lot of us made a similar mistake if we are honest, so it's confession time. Did you buy or sell something you really regretted yet likely learnt a valuable lesson for the future?

To start, when I turned 17 I bought a really bad Honda CD175, happily paying the full asking price in crisp tenners. Many things didn't work on it and when I changed the (jet black) oil, bits of metal came out. I quickly advertised it in the local paper and sold it to an equally daft teenager although the smile on my face was wiped out when 2 days later he left the bike on my dad's drive with a note sellotaped to the seat saying he had cancelled the cheque

Some might remember a beautiful looking X308R I bought some years ago.

Lovely looking car bought from a friend of a friend in the pub whilst full of beer. My worst mistake ever. Whilst the car would have graced Downing Street and had a full gas kit installed, I took it to Jagcare in Portsmouth for look over. Up on the ramp, the worst was revealed. It was rotten to and from the core. All along the sills, across the floor pan, in the front legs and turrets but worst was the rear A-frame which you could pull chunks out of with your hand.

The car got fired out on eBay as only suitable for spares. After some difficult negotiation with a character from Poland, the car was last seen being loaded onto a tank transporter destined for Eastern Europe. Two months later, despite filling in export paper-work, the DVLA tried to clobber me with two months outstanding road tax and a fine. This attack was vigorously defended and the matter was successfully concluded in my favour. Never again! The net loss on the whole sad and sorry scenario was just £72.

Indeed, a lucky escape.

Mike

Funny story about the bike; good old cheques.

Were the X308s more susceptible to rust than the X350s?

I bought a Fiesta XR2 when I was 17. A few months later, MOT time comes around and the car fails miserably on rotten chassis. Worst the tester had ever seen apparently. Sold it for scrap to a mate who wanted it for parts. He jacked it up and the car almost split in two; it was a cut and shut.

My first car was a Mark One Cortina, bought through a small ad in the local paper. As a kid I’d always wanted a Mk1 Cortina, but as a seventeen year old petrol head by the time I got to own one, it had to be a GT! By the early eighties these cars were disappearing fast, and desperate to get behind the wheel, I bought the first car that I went to see... None of my mates could understand why I wanted to drive such a clapped out old banger – sixties Cortinas not being remotely collectible in those days (Lotus models excepted). Frankly this car was a wreck, although I could never bring myself to admit it. Sold for spares six months later, after it had failed the Ministry Test in spectacular style!

There have been other regretted purchases since: I’m thinking of a certain yellow TR7, and of a Rover P5, acquired as recently as last year. But these cars had been woefully mis-described, and foolishly I’d agreed to buy without bothering to view them first. As ever, Caveat Emptor applies!

JP.

First car was Ford Anglie 105. Bought it from a reputable dealer (supposedly). I was just 17 and spent all my hard earned savings on it. Learnt a lot with that car, easy to work on thank goodness. However when rust started showing around headlights decided to repair it thinking I could weld in a patch I found 1" thick filler mixed with all sorts! Then the sills the same. It had a full MOT when I bought it and when I complained to the supplying garage was told it was out of 3 month warranty and it must have been like that when they part exchanged it! My dad said he would go round and sort them out but I said lesson learned, I properly repaired it with available sections and part exchanged it for another car.
Stood me in good stead for working on all my cars ever since and probably why I became an engineer!

Who else owned a readers Digest book of the car in the '70s showing how to repair rotten sills using chicken wire?

I`ve a copy, Al. It is a first edition dated 1970. The first motoring book I ever read.

One of the contributors is one A. Baker Esq. BSc (Eng), CEng, FIMechE, ACGI. Would that be you, Al?

Apart from the inept advice given on structural body repairs, the book is a must read for all aspiring amateur car mechanics. There are useful bits about learning to kiss which is disguised as the bit about mouth to mouth resuscitation. Best of all though on page 384 is a most useful section on the correct way to transport a plastic bag full of live gold fish back from the garden centre. As young 12 year old youngster when the book was first published, I remember being greatly impressed with the depth the AA went to to ensure the goldfish were safely transported home at warp speed in a 1500cc Austin Maxi (single SU carb model).

Mike

i didn't use chicken wire but aluminium mesh was available that did the same job on my first car ('66 B Roadster).
I also fixed the rotting hole in the floorpan by riveting the side of an old washing machine to it and then undersealing copiously.
Worked a treat.

I was at school in 1970 Mike and never had that many letters after my name.

In the days before t'internet, we had to make do with what information we could get. Us youngsters had to make do with RAC and AA yearly guides and Readers Digests. Some of the older boys progressed to National Geographic magazines and hedge porn

Ah yes, hedge porn!!

I remember falling out big time with my Dad when I had met with a guy and shaken hands to purchase a Mk2 Capri but when I asked Dad to help with the deposit he said No! Most likely he saved me from buying a pile of shi?@ as I knew nothing about what to look out for. I then got use of the family 2nd car and spent many a happy week end practicing filling holes with aluminium sheet and filler as was a typical 70s Ford Escort, which although only 3 or 4 years old was beginning to dissolve in front of your eyes! This afforded me more experience in what to expect when looking at a prospective purchase so a few years later after university I bought my own car which was a MK4 Cortina - great car; bodywork lasted well but did need regular touching up and the odd hole filling! So different to now - had the pleasure of spending last week at a scarp yard and was amazed at the Audi cars that had been scrapped, probably due to a mechanical or electrical issue that was too difficult or expensive to repair, yet the bodywork was rust free. There is no doubt if you are handy with the spanners you can keep one of these well built cars running for a long time - my Galaxy is 19 years old and has 200,000 on the clock but is deteriorating now, both body and inside so will have to admit defeat soon and let it go. Problem is the diesel engine is the Audi unit and is amazing - still going strong with no issues

1985 E28 BMW M535 - great car in terms of performance (had the dog-leg 5-speed transmission) but clearly had previous form as it did not track straight. I was 17 at the time and an idiot because the indie dealer would not let me test drive it; he said insurance reasons but he was in fact disguising the fact that it did not drive straight and pulled badly to left. Sure enough - it ate through a £220 (in 1992!) continental metric sized tyre in the space of 3 months - oh - and the ABS system blacked out at motorway speeds due to corroded speed sensors. One of the sills started to corrode through due to a DIY repair, the head gasket went, the single camshaft lobes started to degrade and deform, the rear subframe collapsed, paint required to the near-side rear valance as it came off during a jet wash experience, the exhaust nearly fell off, the radiator had to be replaced and the viscose fan coupling failed whilst stuck in traffic on Shaftsbury avenue. After many tickets and many bills the car was finally scrapped. Should have stuck with the Granada V6 - boring, safe, dependable and much cheaper to run and maintain.

Ah, those were the days.
Or is that recent?