Driving regrets, missed opportunities
Discussion
We all must have vehicles that we had an opportunity to drive but due to circumstances beyond our control it didn't happen .
Mine was 30 odd years ago .
I was running Parc Ferme at the end of a European Rallycross round at Lydden. One of the competitors parked his Metro 6R4 Turbo and asked if I would bring it back to the paddock when it got released .
Boy was I looking forward to that ! Even if it was only for half a mile or so at low speed ,how often do you even get the chance to be up close and personal with a proper competition 6R4 ?
Guess what! I couldn't drive it ,my size eleven para boots wouldn't fit in the bloody footwell ,came up about two inches short of the pedals . My mate with dinky size 8 girly feet couldn't believe his luck ..
The following year I did get to do 3 laps driving a proper original AC Cobra race car . A true assault on the senses ,brutal ,noisy . Just 3 laps later I had a blister on my left hand from the gear lever of the race box . Just even thinking of touching the loud pedal would make it twist sideways .
Mine was 30 odd years ago .
I was running Parc Ferme at the end of a European Rallycross round at Lydden. One of the competitors parked his Metro 6R4 Turbo and asked if I would bring it back to the paddock when it got released .
Boy was I looking forward to that ! Even if it was only for half a mile or so at low speed ,how often do you even get the chance to be up close and personal with a proper competition 6R4 ?
Guess what! I couldn't drive it ,my size eleven para boots wouldn't fit in the bloody footwell ,came up about two inches short of the pedals . My mate with dinky size 8 girly feet couldn't believe his luck ..
The following year I did get to do 3 laps driving a proper original AC Cobra race car . A true assault on the senses ,brutal ,noisy . Just 3 laps later I had a blister on my left hand from the gear lever of the race box . Just even thinking of touching the loud pedal would make it twist sideways .
A couple for me. I had an opportunity to drive a mates new Mini Cooper S back in 2002, and I turned it down because I was worried about potentially damaging it because it was so new.
Also back in 1997 I had a test drive booked in a Ford Puma, but something came up and I couldn't make it. So they are two examples that I regret still.
Also back in 1997 I had a test drive booked in a Ford Puma, but something came up and I couldn't make it. So they are two examples that I regret still.
Lots of cars that were attainable in the late naughties that are now if not unobtainable then too expensive to bother scratching the itch.
Remember being £500 away from a deal on a nice S15 Silvia but the buyer wouldn't budge. I saw he put it through its MOT soon after and it needed a few bits that will have added up to more than that. That was £7k, don't know what a good costs these days.
A lovely Silver Shadow 11 that was being sold as part of a deceased estate at £3500, not the usual rust bucket either. Would have had to keep it on the street though so I passed it up.
On a slightly less serious note I'd just finished uni and used to while away a boring office job thinking of ways of funding a £150k-£175k F40.
Oh and a V10 diesel powered Dennis fire engine when they were £2k on eBay, it was going to be our gate guardian for the Mess in Germany, never came off though.
Remember being £500 away from a deal on a nice S15 Silvia but the buyer wouldn't budge. I saw he put it through its MOT soon after and it needed a few bits that will have added up to more than that. That was £7k, don't know what a good costs these days.
A lovely Silver Shadow 11 that was being sold as part of a deceased estate at £3500, not the usual rust bucket either. Would have had to keep it on the street though so I passed it up.
On a slightly less serious note I'd just finished uni and used to while away a boring office job thinking of ways of funding a £150k-£175k F40.
Oh and a V10 diesel powered Dennis fire engine when they were £2k on eBay, it was going to be our gate guardian for the Mess in Germany, never came off though.
15 yeasrs ago booked test drives on a 355 and a 550
Was coming from Penrtih to Preston and Shap was closed due to snow.
Both had sold by time I tried rearranging.
Both would have been a real financial stretch.
Even more so now they have soared out of sight.
Always a huge pang of jealousy whenever I see one now.
Was coming from Penrtih to Preston and Shap was closed due to snow.
Both had sold by time I tried rearranging.
Both would have been a real financial stretch.
Even more so now they have soared out of sight.
Always a huge pang of jealousy whenever I see one now.
When I was running my Chauffeur business I had a very good customer ask if I would drive his almost new Ferrari 599 to Heathrow airport so he could drive it to join his family staying with friends from there and not have to come 110 miles home to collect it.
It was New Years day so the roads would have been very quiet, but the weather forecast was not good, snow and ice, so I very reluctantly said I would not want to take the risk of anything happening but was very pleased that he trusted me to drive it.
A decision I always regretted making.
It was New Years day so the roads would have been very quiet, but the weather forecast was not good, snow and ice, so I very reluctantly said I would not want to take the risk of anything happening but was very pleased that he trusted me to drive it.
A decision I always regretted making.
Not buying a 1971 911 for $25k in 2011, thinking they’d still be that money the next year and I needed a sensible car, so bought a jeep wrangler instead. Follow me for more investment tips.
Experience wise, a friend informed our group chat that he was doing a trackday one weekend in his mclaren p1. I was in the country and very close by and would just need to change my return flight in return for some fast pax laps with a very capable driver. Only my (ex) mrs went spare when I suggested this, so it didn’t happen.
Experience wise, a friend informed our group chat that he was doing a trackday one weekend in his mclaren p1. I was in the country and very close by and would just need to change my return flight in return for some fast pax laps with a very capable driver. Only my (ex) mrs went spare when I suggested this, so it didn’t happen.
At a trackday in my TVR Chimaera, I had the opp to drive a TVR Tuscan race car if I let the owner have a go in my TVR. I was too attached to it at the time as I'd only had it a few months so I turned down the chance.
Baldchap said:
Evos and Skylines. So many clean, cheap cars. At the time I wanted something cheaper to insure.
Crazy prices now, eh? I bought my freshly imported and tuned R32 GTR with 650bhp for about £13k in 2003. Sold it for £8k with a new gearbox. I'm not going to check what it would cost to buy now.Back in the early 2000s I was hankering after a Ferrari 328GTS. A decent one could be had for less than £25k at that time. I couldn't afford it, but my ex, whom I lived with and who owned the house we lived in, said to stick it on the mortgage and I could pay the extra. That would have worked. I didn't go ahead because we didn't have a garage and I didn't know where else I could keep it. In the years since I'd easily have been able to pay it off. The same car would be well north of £80k today. Bugger!
Been offered lots of Jag XJRs over the years but always at the wrong time ,all have been cars in great condition with history .
Most are worth at least three times the original asking price these days . Having knackered knees these days and a very dodgy back getting in and out of them is near on impossible .
Most are worth at least three times the original asking price these days . Having knackered knees these days and a very dodgy back getting in and out of them is near on impossible .
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