David Jenkins
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 04:06 PM |
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Sigh - end of the road?
I've come to the conclusion that there's no value in keeping my Locost any longer - I'm not using it and it's sitting idle in
my garage for months on end, taking space and costing me money. Unfortunately, I have no idea about how to sell it.
Can anyone recommend a sensible way to advertise it? In the past I've advertised it on this forum, but only got one tentative enquiry (after I
had eventually decided that I wasn't going to sell it!).
I won't be looking for stupid money, but I don't want to just give it away. However I need to sell it to someone who fully understands
what they're getting - an amateur-built car with a very old-fashioned engine (x-flow) that needs care and attention to keep it running - the way
it used to be in 'the good old motoring days'. It runs well, and I'm happy with the way it's working, but it ain't
anything like a factory-made car! It's reasonably well documented - especially the wiring - but it needs an enthusiast who appreciates these
things.
As usual - any guidance will be gratefully received. 
Cheers,
David
BTW: click on the WWW button below to get a look at the car.
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 04:31 PM |
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you could try selling on pistonheads ?, wrong time of the year right now
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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big_wasa
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 04:43 PM |
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What’s it worth to you ?
Decide on a price you can live with and stick it on here, there is a kitcar face book page and last resort for me would be eBay that still gets a huge
audience. Unfortunately it’s weighted to much in favour of eBay and the buyer.
In my opinion the “ make me an offer “ or “ contact me for a price “ routs rarely work well.
Push the positives, it’s a well known and properly registered book car.
Like you describe I was concerned about come back from somebody expecting Champagne ( or a Caterham 620r ) for lemonade money but I have loved seeing
mine used, abused and developed over the last six or seven years.
I thought I was about done with these little cars, then I went and bought another kit just so I have something in the garage to look at when I open
it.
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ian locostzx9rc2
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 05:44 PM |
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eBay classified ad as said big audience pistonheads both have worked for me in the past if there’s no hurry wait till the spring price it correctly
and it will sell
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r1_pete
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 05:56 PM |
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Ebay classifieds have always worked for me eventually.
You have to be prepared for the stupid questions, ridiculous offers, no shows, and general morons.....
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HowardB
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 06:50 PM |
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another vote for Pistonheads
Howard
Fisher Fury was 2000 Zetec - now a 1600 (it Lives again and goes zoom)
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steve m
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 06:52 PM |
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David, sad to hear of your intended plans 
But I can fully sympathise with your decisions, as I am now without my car, as you know, but I don't miss it, infact not one bit!!
I broke my car up, and sold all the bits stuff etc on fleabay, I made about 7k in total, but it is a real pita doing it, and when you factor in the
time, the days off I used up, the wasted emails back and forth, the timewaster (I only had one) but he lost me about a grand, and then the ebay fees,
the paypal fees, I think I cleared around 5k, for an awful lot of bits
So, if it was my car, I would stick it on ebay, lots of pics, lots of details, and let the auction end around mid April when the sun pops out, also
with a fresh MOT,
good luck, you wont regret your decision,
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 07:26 PM |
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Put it on Facebook in the kitcar section, seems to be a fair bit of interest on there
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Slimy38
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 07:27 PM |
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Could you maybe hold out until Stoneleigh? The 'sale' hangar is usually incredibly sparse (I think there was about three cars there last
year?) but being parked up on one of the pitches with a for sale sign could get you some interested parties? And if nothing else you'll be able
to sell it knowing that you had one last trip to Stoneleigh....
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steve m
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 07:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
Put it on Facebook in the kitcar section, seems to be a fair bit of interest on there
A lot of my "for sale stuff" was on Faceache, and I did not have one hit or question
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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r1_pete
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 07:41 PM |
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I’ve tried Facebook twice for selling, more idiots than ebay....
[Edited on 21/1/20 by r1_pete]
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SJ
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 08:09 PM |
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quote:
I've come to the conclusion that there's no value in keeping my Locost any longer - I'm not using it and it's sitting idle in
my garage for months on end,
If that was a good reason for selling nobody would own one!
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 21/1/20 at 09:32 PM |
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Thanks everyone!
This decision has been brewing for a while - in the past I used my car a lot, even in mid-winter on dry days, but various factors are now stopping me.
For example, we went out today in the wife's tin-top; I had to use the front and rear screenwash about every 3 miles due to the crud flying up
from the road. This is because they now put stuff in the road salt (molasses?) to make it last longer, so that even after 3 dry days the roads are
damp with salt - this is not good for an aluminium-bodied car. Motorcyclists also hate this stuff as it makes the roads unexpectedly greasy,
especially in shady areas.
Also, the local councils have been putting stupid speed limits all over Suffolk and Essex, well below the normal national speed limit. It's very
frustrating to be on a nice open road with no houses around, and limited to 40 or 50mph for little apparent reason. It's very telling when I
drive from Suffolk into Norfolk - all of the petty speed limits seem to vanish, with (mostly) the NSL in use.
The main reason though is that I'm just not using it enough.
Getting rid of the car means that I can also sell the bits of car-related machinery that clutter the garage, such as an engine crane, engine stand,
ramps, etc. (and, before you ask, I'm not selling them until the car's gone!)
As for the time for selling: I do intend to do it in early spring, partly because it's the best time, but mostly because I'm going to be
incredibly busy over the next couple of months and won't be able to give the task the full attention it deserves.
Your suggestions will be taken on board (although I don't fancy having anything to do with ebay). I do still have a PistonHeads login though...
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 07:23 AM |
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That's a pity cos it is a particularly nice looking car.
I think most people with hobby cars go through times like this, especially when the design restricts its use to certain seasons, just think how many
motor bikes that applies too... but I suspect that when the weather is nice you'll wish you still had it and that seems to be the main issue,
that you have built a summer only car.
My recommendation for what it's worth is sell the equipment in the garage, make some space and cash. Invest in a hood, a heater to make it more
usable, maybe clam shell wings will help too with spray. I used my JBA Falcon all year in all weather for 5 years which apart from opening doors was
no different to a 7, I just made sure it could cope.
When is someone going to make a decent gull-wing hard top for the Haynes locost...?
[Edited on 22/1/20 by Mr Whippy]
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SJ
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 07:32 AM |
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eBay is very hit and miss. I sold my last car this way and the first couple of idiots who turned up after winning the auction didn't really know
what they had bought and tried to haggle. I told them to wee off.
Second guy was perfect though.
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Norfolkluegojnr
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 09:04 AM |
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I might be interested when you get round to selling it!
I'm not far from you (just past Diss) so let me know when you've figured out what you want for it.
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nick205
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 12:44 PM |
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David,
Sad to hear your plans to sell up, but sometimes it's just the right thing to do. As above, focus on the key positives of it being a good car
and a great opportunity for someone to enjoy owning/tinkering with.
GLWTS
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 01:29 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
That's a pity cos it is a particularly nice looking car.
I think most people with hobby cars go through times like this, especially when the design restricts its use to certain seasons, just think how many
motor bikes that applies too... but I suspect that when the weather is nice you'll wish you still had it and that seems to be the main issue,
that you have built a summer only car.
Trouble is, I've been thinking this way for a year or two, but keep side-stepping the issue!
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theduck
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 04:54 PM |
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I have cleared out a load of kit car related stuff recently as I broke my car for parts - Most stuff went on facebook with far less idiots than I
expected and surprisingly mostly at asking prices.
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COREdevelopments
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| posted on 22/1/20 at 08:03 PM |
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I feel in the same boat as the OP. Been contemplating selling my car for a while and on the other hand I feel I've not had enough use out of it
and have always said I wanted to convert it to ITB's and make a cage but have never got round to it due to other commitments, so it just sits in
the garage gathering dust and taking up room while my head runs through other possible projects.
Think I will be joining you and selling up pretty soon. But will be staying on here as another project will be on the cards.
Atb
Rob
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907
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| posted on 23/1/20 at 07:07 AM |
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This is sad news David, but I know how you feel.
I didn't have mine on the road last year although it is still MOT'd. These last two years haven't been a great but come March I will
MOT again,
tax and insure.
The one problem is where to go. Remember all those pub meets and BBQ's ? Nobody seems interested any more. Its a shame.
Just sold the MX5 and I also intend to sell the Merc. The pair cost £650 in tax so the saving will put the Suttol OTR plus a couple of tankfulls.
Looking for a 10 plate diesel Mundano Estate as that will be £145 to tax.
At least 7's and 5's seem depreciation proof so hanging on to them doesn't cost the earth.
Best get the ally polish out then. 
Cheers,
Paul G
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Bluemoon
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| posted on 23/1/20 at 08:44 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 907
This is sad news David, but I know how you feel.
I didn't have mine on the road last year although it is still MOT'd. These last two years haven't been a great but come March I will
MOT again,
tax and insure.
The one problem is where to go. Remember all those pub meets and BBQ's ? Nobody seems interested any more. Its a shame.
Just sold the MX5 and I also intend to sell the Merc. The pair cost £650 in tax so the saving will put the Suttol OTR plus a couple of tankfulls.
Looking for a 10 plate diesel Mundano Estate as that will be £145 to tax.
At least 7's and 5's seem depreciation proof so hanging on to them doesn't cost the earth.
Best get the ally polish out then.
Cheers,
Paul G
I for one would like to see pub/BBQ meetups, no reason why not... I think the main problem is where to find the same interest groups, FORUMs are great
for that but they are "out of fashion"...
There are still some active clubs, including the Oxford group they still meet monthly in a pub What I find difficult is finding a list of active
ones and who to contact.
Best of luck David, with whatever you choose to do.
Dan
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 23/1/20 at 12:59 PM |
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I've been feeling the same about my 1967 Land Rover (109) for some years. I completely restored it some years back, properly, and yes, I do mean
properly. I've ruined the 'Classic making money' (sorry typo there, munny) appeal from what now seems to be the only reason the
market exists - by fitting a crate Japanese engine. I advertised it 2 years ago on PH, sensibly 'valued', only to attract one timewaster
who after driving the car said that he wanted to see a car built like this, because he's building one... I admired his honesty.
PH - personally, not a fan. It's better now than it was a while ago (it was terrible), but the scrolling advertising was a great put-off for me
looking there.
Ebay - Timewaster hell, volumes of electronic mail, all deleted of course, but it's all a headache.
Magazines - Seems to attract less timewasters, but also less response.
Folk only seem to interested in a 'Bargin' (Ebay speek), so we've (you and I) got to accept that. I did this with the kit cars, via
here. Appealing to greed appears the only way if you really want to sell it.
Quality seems not to matter. When selling the kit car parts, the response was simply 'I can get this thing for much less new', response
'well that's China for you, go for it'. The skip took a huge amount, simply because of the selling grief.
I suspect you'll end up like me, you look at the car, remember all the hours spend, grief and fun, deciding to keep it. You'll always want
to sell it when sanity kicks in, but the shear grief dealing with the folk out there simply drains that want away.
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AntonUK
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| posted on 23/1/20 at 01:15 PM |
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Interesting thread. I'm holing out for better weather before I put mine back up for sale. I feel I've had my time with it and its time for
a change. (a heavily modded track based r53 mini )
Build Photos Here
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Bluemoon
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| posted on 23/1/20 at 01:56 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by motorcycle_mayhem
I suspect you'll end up like me, you look at the car, remember all the hours spend, grief and fun, deciding to keep it. You'll always want
to sell it when sanity kicks in, but the shear grief dealing with the folk out there simply drains that want away.
Sanity is not high on the list of a car builders list where would the fun in be otherwise?
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