Help for a newbie please!

[Woody3466]

Hi,

I know some on here will think this is a bad idea, but I'm considering buying a Stag from Ebay..... in the advert it looks ok - but I know nothing!

The car is in the Oxford area, whilst I'm near Bristol. I would like to get the car checked out before committing, can anyone suggest someone who can do vehicle checks in that area?

I have to admit to being pretty confused by prices for all classic cars, particularly Stags. You see three that on the 'net all look pretty similar, one will be 8 grand, another 12 and the last 20!

I am no mechanic, so want a fairly up together one. I can probably manage some basic projects but everything more complicated than an oil change will need a
real mechanic!

Any help and advice will be gratefully received.

Woody

[Woody3466]

Just to add to the above, are there owners near Winscombe , Somerset, who wouldn't mind if I came and had a look at they're car and asked loads of stupid questions? I haven't sat in a Stag since I was 18 and I'm now... well not 18 any more! Also want to check that at 6'5" I can fit behind the wheel!
thanks.

[Phil S]

I bought mine from an eBay advert.
I messaged the chap as it had been on for 2 weeks. he got in touch after the auction had finished. I went and had a good look round and agreed a lower price than he was asking as I found a few mechanical bit that needed work. the body was very good and that was my main area of interest.
have a look at them with someone who is aware of the areas of bodywork to look at and the mechanical checks to carry out.
if not a yourself get a local club member to have a look over it for you. I am lucky in the fact I've been a mechanic for nearly 50 years, but we will all try our best to help you get a good one.

[Goldstar]

The red one or the white one in Faringdon Woody?

[Woody3466]

The red one, think it's in Abingdon. Judging by the sellers user name and other adverts on Ebay, he is a car man. The engine bay looks ridiculously neat, which to my completely uneducated eye means it must be good!!

[jbuckl]

Welcome woody, can you post a link to the car? & how would a willing stag scout be able to contact you?
Btw, you are doing the right thing to post here beforehand to avoid getting a lemon!
(see ‘Still no car’ by matty stag )

[Jeff]

Drop Julian Leyton an email. He only lives about 10 miles from you. Doesn’t post on here anymore but he’d be happy to help.

[Woody3466]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133539971081

It's this one...

It does seem very easy to make an expensive and depressing mistake!

Jeff, thanks For the email address, I'll drop him a line.

Woody

[marshman]

Jeff,

I am sure Julian would be willing to help but send his email address by P.M. and delete it from your post, it is an open forum - I am sure Julian gets enough junk email as it is with out "bots" picking up his email address here and sending him even more.

Roger

[JeffW]

Be careful of eBay today - the usual bunch of fake ads for Stags are back up. I reported one so they should be down fairly quickly, but don’t think you are seeing a bunch of good deals!

Jeff

[Woody3466]

Welcome woody, can you post a link to the car? & how would a willing stag scout be able to contact you?
Btw, you are doing the right thing to post here beforehand to avoid getting a lemon!
(see ‘Still no car’ by matty stag )

I've tried to work out how to PM you, as I guess that's the way to do it but cannot see how to do it..... doesn't bode well for investigating the intricacies of a Stag wiring loom!!!!
Maybe I'm not yet allowed to as just a registered user at the moment and after the other comment about putting email addresses on the forum, probably best I dont!

Woody

[Goldstar]

Trial users can’t pm Woody. I’ll take a closer look at the ad

[Goldstar]

Looks decent on what I can tell from the ad. Only thing I would say is that they have done a lot of work in 2 years and suddenly he can’t drive it - I would be delving a bit deeper to confirm the story to be sure it wasn’t just a doer upper to sell. By the way who rallies a Nissan Micra for goodness sake?

[Woody3466]

By the way who rallies a Nissan Micra for goodness sake?[/QUOTE]


Maybe so you don't care when you crash it????

Yep the two year thing does seem to stand out a little. I sent him an email to ask a couple questions and he said he'd ask his dad, whose car it is to look thru the paperwork to see when the timing chain was last changed.

In many ways I would prefer to buy from a dealer, but most of them are well above my budget.

The yellow one on the SOC main site looks very nice and as it's a SOC members car it must be kosher!

[StagJonno]

"By the way who rallies a Nissan Micra for goodness sake?"

You've obviously not been following the "Bargain Racement" from the guys doing Project Binky - theirs are even smaller . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hne4XvaWDY