Ace

No worries - I read it back to myself and did wonder if I could've worded it better. There are quite a few examples on a par with this one in terms of quality, that I'm sure have been for sale for a lot longer. The general idea was that in this climate, with so many differing examples of Supras available (plenty of which for rock bottom money), he has had a great result in completing the sale relatively quickly.

It's not a slur by any means - there are lots of examples probably on a par with this car that are going at lower prices, and countless "bottom end" Supras that are available for rock bottom prices (3000 quid and under) - yes, almost all are N/A powered, and at least 90% of them auto. No doubt this has stood out for its quality, and in such a difficult market it has sold quite quickly. I'm willing to suggest many people have looked at some of those sub-3k cars and seriously considered the outlay required to do a manual conversion, or a NA-TT / NA-T conversion. It probably wouldn't be that far off what Simon was selling this car for. Some of those people might have bought the dirt cheap option and planned a conversion because they didn't have 7500 quid to pay for the car as is, with all that work already done. Not many people have that amount of money in cash waiting to buy a car...

Considering some of the examples currently available, you've done very well to get this sold so quickly. Well done.

Have seen this a few times up and down the A2 - it's a lovely car. Good luck with the sale.

Correct - they're already fairly widespread in and around Dartford, have been for a few years now. I think they've drawn a circle around every major school in the area with a radius of a mile and made every road in that area a compulsory 20mph limit.

By any chance, is this in quicksilver, and located in Buckfastleigh?

Can't believe this one never went.

Flat caps.

"but at least someone else will have the pleasure of driving her!!!" Not in that state, they won't...

Much obliged. Jurgen has popped up with two which could fit the bill, I've already asked him the pertinent questions, but it doesn't hurt to have another pair of eyes.

In that case, don't let this thread sway you at all - I visited Jurgen toward the end of summer last year for a look around and notify him of my interest in getting a facelift TT6; he had warned me I'd have a long wait due to their popularity. I'd missed two through him by a few days, I had a browse elsewhere as well, and thought a thread on here wouldn't hurt on the off-chance someone comes up with a pearler. I wouldn't blame you for keeping it, the thread was primarily designed to sound out options first and foremost rather than encourage a hard sell. Jurgen has mentioned that he may have one in the near future anyway, and I'm off to look at a gunmetal TT in Devon at the end of March (although that's a tiptronic).

It seems I'm largely restricted to using a trader while I can use only a credit card to make a purchase. Paypal shows its charges to be 3.4% + 20p - I think its free to pay via the system, but you receive the percentage charge to take the money as the seller - in this instance, it's not Scooter's fault that I have chosen that particular method, therefore the responsibility of charges should fall to me. 3.4% in this instance would be almost 300 quid. I agree with Scott M in that it becomes a massive leap of faith by sending large sums of money electronically to a private individual. I'm sure Scooter is just as reputable an individual as anyone else on here, but I can imagine the throat going dry as soon as you click "confirm" and realise you've effectively given away n thousands of pounds and entrusting the seller to still provide the car (in this instance) once they've got the money. Will have to check out the small print on electronic bank transfer from credit cards to current accounts - I'm pretty sure it's viewed as a cash advance and charged as such. Shame really - Scooter's motor is almost exactly what I was after.

I saw that on Paypal, but the gift option then requires a phone call to the credit card company to find out whether they'll consider it a straight cash transfer (and therefore charge the higher interest rate that comes with it). Some investigation required on my part, it seems.

Caught out hook, line and sinker there Here's the clincher for Scooter though - is Paypal out of the question? A lot of people tend to fear it. I only ask because my original intention was to buy one through a dealer on a credit card. The idea of an individual wanting to part with theirs escaped me, so the only payment method readily available remains plastic.

There are indeed pictures on that thread, looks very nice. Whereabouts in Surrey are you? And I presume the MOT and tax expiration dates are now sometime this year rather than last year...

And just while I'm thinking about it, although I know the lines blur between registrations around that time (due to the imminent registration system change in 2001), I'm pretty sure S-regs were 98-99 models, and V-regs was 1999-2000 (or maybe even 2000 only). I'm happy to be corrected though.

I tend to agree; although I always think I should be calling a seller because I am prompted to do so on the strength of a brilliant, well laid-out advert, rather than calling them to clarify questions that arise due to uncertainty in their advert.

Looks good but I've always been wary of buying something like a car on eBay. Plus I tend to go over adverts like that with a fine toothed comb; for example, the item specifics show the number plate as an S-reg, but in the freetype section below, the seller describes it as a V-reg. To me, if I am looking for someone to potentially part with 12000 quid for my car, I'd make sure the advert was absolutely error-free and spot on factually, just as I'd expect from any car dealership, large or small. Maybe I'm just too picky...

That sounds promising, Jurgen - let me know when you've got the pictures. After coming up to you from Kent last year, I've only seen the 2000 VVTi in black you had a few months back, and you sold that within two days...

As the title suggests, been looking for one of these for some time now. Will consider any example, but the following are preferred:- Colours: black, gunmetal, silver, red Exterior: as close to stock as possible Naturally, as many little extras as possible (VVTi, air con) would be welcomed.

Hadn't thought of that - I might have to see how restrictive their charges are these days...

It's a shame you can't pay private individuals by credit card, really... Good luck with the sale.

That perfectly encapsulates my quandary - I don't want to rush and buy what is potentially a duffer; equally, patience is not one of my virtues. I am more wary of the reduction in price though - it could be eight grand for something that turns out to be a shed, or it could be eight grand for an absolute minter. I think I might wait it out and place my faith in Mr Vallons. Pay cheaply, pay twice and all that.

Update - the car listed in the first link has now been reduced by a grand. Would anyone else make an effort to check the car over in person at this, or the previous, price?

Food for thought there. Maybe it wouldn't hurt just to check the car in person; after all, I had driven the 600 mile round trip to Newcastle to visit Jurgen, and that was only for peace of mind that I would be dealing with a reputable, trustworthy company if I were to use them.